Ketogenic diets linked to tumor growth...

omg! reading this thread today - I was just getting ready to do low carb diet starting tomorrow as I have gained so much weight  - and so much of it is settling in my stomach - and now I am wondering if it is a good diet or a bad diet.. no diet is seeming to work, and I know low carb is my last weight loss hope.. now I am not so sure <sigh>

I am so overwhelmed by this thread and have spent hours thinking about what it all means.  I am done treatment and having undergone radiation, so now want to treat my body as best as I can.  Exercise is a given.  But diet is so much less clear.  By diet, I refer to what I am going to put into my body.  I walked for two hours today with my dogs and came to this conclusion and feel so good about it.  I want to write it down before I forget any of it:

1.  I will eat in a fashion that reduces harm to the environment and to animals, thus purchase locally if at all possible and only free range or humanely raised (and without hormones or antibiotics).

2.  I will purchase organic first and then other things that I cannot get organically.

3.  I will eat all foods closest to their original form, nothing processed; must be recognizable.

4.  I will stress plant based, whole grain, low fat, low salt, low sugar, high fibre.

5.  Protein must have the fewest legs whenever possible (fish, then poultry and last of all, lamb, beef or pork).

6.  No supplements other than a multi-vitamin. 

7.  Wine for my heart and soul (very modestly).

This makes sense to me and supports my beliefs and values and I believe that I can stick to it.  It is really what I have been doing without really thinking about it. And I will be able to maintain this on my trip to Italy!!

Now I am going to quit thinking about this any more.  Ciao

Glad to see someone finally mentioned loss of stromal Cav-1!! That is what hit me the most from the article Selena!! It seemed to be a 100% indicator of mets! I wish they'd focus on that one.

As for diet, I've gone both ways.... nothing. I stopped alcohol completely upon diagnosis and it's been over 5 years and not a single ounce of weight came off!! As for red meat, part of the risk is if it's barbecued as there are so many carcinogens in that process. I figure that's where I got mine from....red wine and BBQ steaks, baked potato with butter!! Strangely enough, I weighed LESS on that diet than now!

As for Metformin, I was just put on it 3-4 days ago and I stunned at how less hungry I am! Much less acid ripping through my gut and begging for food! I looked up "Metformin and weight loss" and it can happen! My sugar has been high for years and I've been to 2 different hospital nutritionists who have both okayed my diet. Go figure! Then I read (believe it or not) a T-SHIRT on Facebook that mentioned having to use Metformin due to Hydrochlorothyazide (I take it!) and blood pressure meds (I take them!) and Synthroid and all sorts of meds that I do take. Could it be that I have med-induced diabetes????

My brother and I went on an ALL protein diet for 5 months. I found it easy as I don't look for carbs. Put food in front of me and I eat it, it's just fuel for me. Anyway, I was on Lyrica at the time and didn't lose an ounce. He lost 75 pounds!!!! Found out that with Lyrica you can gain as much as a pound a WEEK. Whew! Dodged that bullet!!!

I'm of the belief that anything can fuel cancer. It just needs the perfect storm to be turned on...

Heidi, the point of the NO carb diet is to put your body into ketosis, so I would wonder if that's smart after reading the article. (I'm pretty sure that ANY extreme can't be good.) You get pee-sticks at the pharmacy when you're on the no carb diet and check daily to make sure you're keeping your body in the purple area. I could only get up to a deep pinky-red. My brother bragged that his was so dark for so long that the doc he was using for this program told him to eat some carbs!! He was paying for the doc and I was just doing what he was told. 

TB I like your list and I'm working my way over in that direction.  Only thing is, I was doing triage--I went on the keto diet b/c my blood sugar was in the diabetic range, my BMI was 30 which is borderline obesity, and most of that was tied up in belly fat.  My priority was to get that blood sugar down and quickly and knock some weight off quickly as well since fat makes estrogen.  However, I don't think I'll ever be 100% vegetarian either.  I could shorten that list for you though--"eat closer to the way God made it."  Right now I'm eating a mango and that is not keto!  Back on tomorrow though--hey have fun in Italy--I love that place.  

I'm reading a book right now that I think should be a must read for us all.  It's called Eating on the Wild Side:  The Missing Link to Optimum Health by Jo Robinson.   She talks about how much nutrients we've lost in our food and exactly which varieties to choose at the supermarket or farmer's market to get the most vitamins and phytonutrients, and she also discusses cooking techniques to preserve these.  One thing I did not know is that if you want to preserve the allicin in garlic when you cook it, all you have to do is chop it and let it sit for 10 min before cooking and all the phytonutrients will stay intact.  Or that Golden Delicious apples are so devoid of nutrients that you'd be better eating a candy bar!  Really good stuff in there.  

TB90 the danger of BBQ is when stuff gets charred or even caramelized. Once that process starts you are into the carcinogens. The safest BBQ would be infra-red. That's the last one we bought and LOVED it!!! My DH is actually the Grill King of a HUGE region here in Ontario. We used natural gas, not propane or charcoal. I can't imagine charcoal being any good for you, sad to say! Propane would be way better. Apparently it's when the fat drips to the flames below and causes a flare-up that hits the meat where it is so dangerous. But that's the BEST part of the BBQ!!!! We don't barbecue any more, sadly....we got an electric grill but DH just hates it. We're in a smaller area and didn't want to lug our huge que over here.

I would think that as long as you didn't consume the "burnt/best" parts, then it shouldn't be as bad.....but this concept of the carcinogens being transmitted by the smoke from a flare-up.... 

Hey, the horse is out of the barn any way, right?

IamNancy, low carb is not the same as a keto diet. My approach is to focus on getting 8 servings of veggies a day (I do not always succeed) and supplement the veggies with some beans and lentils, a little fish, chicken and an occasional egg. I do eat carbs, but try to get mainly high-fibre carbs and leave sugar and sweets almost completely out of my diet.

So, most mornings I eat a wholegrain muesli with berries and nuts, but no added sugar. I add extra raspberries (frozen) and a little lowfat milk.

Typical lunches/dinners: salmon with steamed veggies; tomato salad with barley rusks; piece of fish or chicken with hummus and a salad or roasted cauliflower or broccoli and mushrooms sauteed together; salad of lentils, chickpeas or beans with tomato, cukes, peppers and avocado; steamed greens (chard, rabe etc) with a piece of fish or chicken etc.

Once in a great while I may make some sort of noodles or have a slice of pizza or whatever, but it is actually fairly rare.

Wow Momine! Your diet sounds fab, but very labour intensive!!! How do you find the time to prepare all that??? I'm impressed.

Aha, I NEVER eat out and would have to buy AND prepare all those veggies!! I don't like using frozen, so will just use whatever is in season. 

Good points Momine...sigh. Maybe it's just the whole process. My DH does the cooking - we collaborate on what to have and then he makes it. Tonight is roasted brussel sprouts with skinless chicken breast done in coconut "oil". Rather than mixing up a bunch of different veggies, we'll have a LARGE helping of one.

I like roasted cauliflower, but who the heck can eat a whole head of it? Does it heat up well, like spaghetti does?

I"ve heard that too Selena.  Have seen it several places but basically fat and protein will slow the glycemic rise from carbs.  

hey voracious reader, that describes me as well.  trouble with no dairy, no refined carbs, I need the calories for the weight

Hi Barbe1958, that's pretty funny about the birds and the 12-grain bread! I have run across whole-grain bread before that I thought would work better as a defensive device (thrown at someone's head) than food.