A Vegan Diet (Hugely) Helpful Against Cancer
Comments
-
Bounce - When the "why" makes sense, the "how" is easier. Even if the doctor disagrees.
Love that statement in your post; I can see myself using it for a variety of situations.
-
Here's another beautifully done website & blog with recipes I came across yesterday while looking for more vegan inspiration & ideas. Sharing for anyone who might be interested.
-
I just discovered that Amaranth is high in methionine (and it tastes like sand)
and that the rutin in buckwheat is an antidote against x-rays and other forms of radiation. (I have not verified this from another source.) I wonder how much you have to eat for it to be effective?
-
Your post really intrigued me, Bounce, so I went on a Google hunt. There was a pdf I read that was quite interesting about the effects of radiation on the buckwheat itself but once I got into it I realized it might as well have been written in another language....I didn't get any of it. I did read though, that miso and sea vegetables are even better. So much so, that apparently they used that in the Japan and Chernobyl disasters. But yikes....the salt. Lately I've kind of felt that excessive salt intake might be more dangerous than sugar when it comes to this cancer thing. Oh, and also soaking in baths of sea salt and baking soda draws out radioactive toxins. Never knew that. But, wondering, when you're soaking in it, is ALL of it absorbed? Anyhoo, going to continue checking into this buckwheat thing and hope in the meantime someone provides more info. Fascinating that such a simple, accessible food could be the answer.
-
Thanks for those two interesting bits of information, Bounce. I definitely want to read up on the rutin link to radiation, as I do have a real concern about the constant scanning that comes with a Stage IV dx. I wonder if you're suppose to ingest it regularly, or if you can load prior to a procedure, or how you get the radiation protection benefit? I'm not a fan of buckwheat, but I'd make an effort to eat it if it's truly protective. I think rutin is also available as a supplement. Sounds like something I need to delve into a bit.
leggo, your comment on miso and sea vegetables made me remember that shortly after I purchased a little bag of Spirulina Crunchies (knowing spirulina is suppose to be a superfood), I read that it's very high in methionine. You really have to be careful that something that's considered healthy by most standards meets our individual dietary goals. Right now, I'm banking of the low-methionine diet helping me, and I had no idea methionine was high in Amaranth ("Food of the Gods," I think I've seen it called), which I occasionally eat as an ingredient in gluten-free pastas, cereals and breads. Since it's occasional, I'm not going to worry about it if it's not a primary ingredient, but I certainly won't explore using it further now.
Yesterday I was at a farmer's market where I spent some time talking to a mushroom farmer. I bought a beautiful Maitake mushroom (it's like a big clump of mushrooms), but I was also fascinated with the various powdered mushroom supplments they make. He gave me the name of his herbalist, and I'm going to call him this week and get a quick education on which mushrooms could be especially helpful for us. I'll share here if anyone's interested.
-
Good reminder Deanna, about healthy foods not necessarily being healthy for "us". A person could make themselves mental figuring all this stuff out. I rely on the good folks with brighter minds to lead me in the right direction. Healthy, I got, healthy for advanced disease, not so much. Weird too, because the majority of my career was spent in the palliative diet field, where the first rule was "eat whatever you can eat". I hated preaching it and I would never do it, so I was obviously in the wrong line of work
.I am also very intrigued about anything that can mitigate the effects of radiation. Scans every 3 or 4 months since 2006 is certainly going to accelerate my death. I hate, hate, hate that they're this necessary evil. I often wonder if I should just call it a day on those scans. What, realistically speaking, are they going to do about it any way.
I'm so jealous of your access to fresh food. I live in a produce desert it seems. Makes these choices infinitely harder. Ugh. My mouth is watering thinking about that mushroom. Look forward to finding out which mushrooms your herbalist recommends. I could eat mushrooms all the live long day.
-
Just thought I'd share this article from my nutritionist. She has recommended I do this 4 weeks after any radiation treatment or immediately after a scan.
-
Thank you, Annie! I've heard that epsom salts & baking soda are good for detoxing in general. I'd never realized you can detox rediation with them!
Here's an interesting link I just heard about and thought I'd share. Lots of good information, including a search feature to find vegetarian restaurants in your area. http://www.happycow.net/
-
I changed to an all organic vegan diet after my dx and have also eliminated refined sugars and processed foods. My food shopping bill has skyrocketed but I have never felt better. I thought it would be stressful at first but I've gotten used to it and don't miss anything about my prior diet.
I'm most excited though that I am bringing up my daughter healthier than my parents raised me. With all the toxins that were going into my body for years, I'm not that surprised that I ended up with cancer. I'm hoping to reduce her risks.
-
Oh, gosh. I just stumbled on this thread and feel like TB90. Everything I put in my mouth lately has seemed like a misstep after I find out that what I thought was good for me was actually bad for me.
I didn't know about the methionine and cancer link; I eat a fair amount of nuts because I eat so little meat. Does that mean I should stop? If I don't eat them, I'm so hungry for some other kind of fat that isn't so good for me. I am dairy-free and low-fat, low-carb, low-processed sugar, except for an occasional plain organic greek yogurt that I mix with fruit. But I have egg white protein in my Jay Robb protein powder that I make a smoothie with 3x a week, with berries. Have I endangered myself? Or do the berries cancel out the egg whites?
And I just found out that the citrus pectin I've been taking 3x a week on a maintenance level (with a bunch of months off because the stuff is so expensive), recommended by my NO, has grapefruit extract in it, and can interfere with my arimidex. *&*%(#.
It seems everything I try to do to protect myself against recurrence (except exercise/yoga, Vit D supplements and avoiding alcohol) comes back to slap me in the face. Crapshoot, indeed.
-
Claire - You can keep taking MCP: http://www.inspire.com/groups/lung-cancer-survivor...
I take it also. ~kat
-
claireinaz, it's next to impossible to eliminate all animal protein, so I wouldn't worry about the few sources you've mentioned (i.e. Greek yogurt and a high quality protein powder with egg whites), since you only do them a few times a week -- not excessively or even daily. If you don't eat meat, your methionine intake (if you decide that even matters to you personally), is probably still fairly low. And I'm not sure what's wrong with nuts. I eat nuts and seeds -- just not peanuts (which aren't nuts anyway) since reading some recent research showing the MUC1 in peanuts may (not does -- may) be a pathway for some (not all) cancer cells (if you even have any in your body, which I clearly do) to move around and stick somewhere.
Yes, grapefruit and grapefruit juice may not be good for us -- again, in excess. But there does seem to be a lot of good research on modified citrus pectin, and I have been searching for a good one myself to supplement the citrus fruit (mostly dried oranges) I eat because I believe the citrus pectin is helping my mets. What brand are you using? I've been eyeing this one by Dr. Isaac Eliaz, which is, as you said, very pricey. http://www.dreliaz.org/recommended-product/natural...
From what I've read, grapefruit pectin, which seems more readily available, is not exactly the same as modified citrus pectin. Not sure if all modified citrus pectin contains grapefruit, but thanks for the heads up since I've been shopping for one.
kat, I couldn't get into that site without registering, which I didn't feel like doing to read one article. Can you share any highlights? Which brand of MCP are you using? Deanna
-
Oops, sorry about that. I take PectaSol-Ca.
The PectaSol-C® Modified Citrus Pectin is derived from the water soluble fraction of the inner white pith of citrus peels followed by a non-GMO food grade enzymatic process, which is controled by pH, to modify the soluble fiber length. It does not contain any of the pigmented outer skin or essential oils of the peels. There is no citric acid, pulp or juice in the PectaSol-C® Modified Citrus Pectin. There is nothing remaining from any of the citrus fruit that has known contraindication with medications.
About the Grapefruit effect: Bergamottin is a natural furanocoumarin found principally in grapefruit juice. It is also found in the oil of bergamot, from which it was first isolated and from which its name is derived. To a lesser extent, bergamottin is also present in the essential oils of other citrus fruits. Along with the chemically related compound 6’,7’-dihydroxybergamottin, it is believed to be responsible for the grapefruit juice effect in which the consumption of the juice affects the metabolism of a variety of pharmaceutical drugs. They are inhibitors of some isoforms of the cytochrome P450 enzyme, particularly CYP3A4. This prevents oxidative metabolism of certain drugs by the enzyme, resulting in an elevated concentration of drug in the bloodstream. PectaSol-C® does not contain these compounds.
Please feel confident that the PectaSol-C® does not contain any detectable amount of the non water soluble components of grapefruit peels or any components of the pulp and juice that would cause an effect on the absorption of medications. -
By the way, MCP is most effective taken an empty stomach for 2 hours between other supplements, meds or food. I don't know about you, but I find that very hard to manage!
-
dIb823....I too also take ecoNugenics, PectaSol-C Modified Citrus Pectin. When I went to Dr. Block, at the Block Center for Cancer, this is what he recommended along with many other supplements. I just called today to use a coupon they sent me only to find that a deal they have for everyone was a greater savings. They have what they call a bundle deal....the PectaSol-C runs 79.95 per bottle of 270 caps....but if you buy 3 you get one free. They also have a bundle deal of if you buy 5 you get 2 free. Don't know if this helps you with cost, but they will send you a coupon after you start buying for 20% off their products. Promise I have no vested interest in this company, just sharing a way I try to save on the high cost of supplements!!
One li tip I'll share about taking this on a empty stomach....as this was hard for me too...is that I leave a tall glass of water and 6 capsules on my bedside table at night. When I make my restroom run during the night between 1-4 a.m. I take these supplements as its been several hours since I ate or will eat.
-
I take the Ecogenics brand as well, recommended by my NO. I don't know where I got the nuts and methioline; I might be mixing it up with Brazil nuts (which I dislike) and pumpkin/sunflower seeds, which I do like and all have higher amounts.
The CP powder I take is flavored with lime. It still takes like dirt to me when I drink it first thing in the a.m. (albeit dirt flavored with lime). Awful stuff.
Now I've read elsewhere on this board that curcumin, which I've been taking, but not in high amounts, as an anti-cancer preventative is reported to have estrogenic properties. Shazbatt. What next? Food in general? Sheesh. I'm about ready to stop with all supplements except for Vit D, Vit A, and a good multi-vite.
Claire
-
Further to the salt baths above, does anyone know how much sodium is absorbed when using sea salts? I couldn't find a brand with less than 4% sodium. Google searches aren't clear about sodium absorption.
Any news on the mushrooms Deanna?
-
Thanks for the reminder, leggo. I'd actually forgotten (all too typical for me!) to contact the mushroom folks until I saw your post. Emailed the mycologist yesterday, and I'll post when I hear back from him.
And that's an interesting question re. sodium absorption from bath salts. I don't know the answer, but I would assume you would absorb some, since mineral absorption, especially magnesium to promote relaxation and detoxification, seems to be the primary reason for doing them. Are you concerned because of LE or high blood pressure or skin irritation? It looks like there are a few websites that specialize in bath salts. Maybe one of them could best respond to that question.
-
Thanks Deanna. I hope it didn't sound like I was to lazy to check myself. I checked with my naturopath a couple years ago and he identified shiitake and maitake. Also reishi, but in powdered form. I was just hoping to compare notes with you.... Truth be told, it seems like he might be going a little senile, so I wanted to confirm with somebody.
About the salt thing, I read an article a while ago and also discussed with doctors about excess sodium being a very bad thing for cancer patients, so I've tried to decrease it as much as possible. It's hard enough for me because I so love awesome food, but if all the sodium in bath salts is going to make it into my system, I'd rather stick to epsom. Just one of those things I never gave much thought to until I read those posts above. I don't have blood pressure issues or anything, but I still like to keep it under 1200mg. No scientific proof or anything, but the neuropathy from my paraneoplastic syndrome improves with less sodium in my diet.
-
That's interesting about sodium bad for cancer. My sodium blood levels have always been low and my MO always exclaims over the results: "your sodium levels are a little low". I always wonder why since I feel fine. I eat very little salt and prefer to simply believe there is enough natural sodium in whole foods, which seems to satisfy me.
Claire
-
Claire, I agree....enough sodium in foods naturally. I think a lot of it has to do with kidney function. Good kidneys, good sodium processing. My kidney (lost one), sucks. 1500 mg. is all a body needs. I don't want to make mine work any harder than it has to. I have heard, though, that low sodium might be a side-effect of chemotherapy. Who knows.
-
leggo - as a retired RN I think no need to worry about salt absorption in a bath. Same w/magnesium ( Epsom Salts) benefit far outways the risk. I had some dialysis patients try to tell me their fluid weight was up because of the wet weather. They are on strict fluid intake limits and sometimes their weight went up 10 lbs in 2 days ( all water weight). Restricting salt intake orally is good though- there us a lot in processed food. Mrs Dash a good alternative and pepper.
ClaireinAz- Blood sodium levels are often low because of excess water in the body not because salt intake is low so don't add more salt as that will increase water retention.
-
Huh. My sodium levels were low before chemo, during chemo, and sometimes now. I figure it's because that's my physiology, not water retention, which manifests itself in other ways: my rings get tight and I can't see the bones in my feet.
Anyway, I made a nice vegan sweet potato chowder last night (organic too) and hubby had to put pieces of chicken in it. Sigh.
Claire
-
Thanks GrammyR.
-
This is wandering off topic a bit, but yesterday someone who is even more into nutrition & alternatives than I am suggested to my son that the migraine headaches he sometimes gets and had a killer one of yesterday might be more related to a lack of salt than dehydration, as we've always thought. Since we're talking about salt, I just thought I'd throw that out there to see if it sparks any recognition amongst those of you who are athletic, yet limit salt intake, as I do (but my son doesn't). It certainly jibes with what GrammyR suggested. If he drinks a lot of water (which he does) to avoid kidney stones (a past problem), then he might be inadvertently diluting his blood sodium level too much, even though he doesn't particularly watch his salt intake.
Claire, I would love to know how you make your sweet potato chowder. It sounds wonderful! Deanna
-
Hmm...now I don't know what to think. My sons are both body builders and maniacs about what they put in their mouths. My oldest suffered a lot with kidney stones, prior to a strict salt intake. Hasn't had any since monitoring sodium. Got to ask him about his fluid intake and see how they jive.
-
-
Hi D, I used two-three large sweet potatoes, quart veggie broth (about 3/4 of it was used), mushrooms, celery stalk, yellow onion, unsweetened almond milk, red pepper flakes, Ms. Dash...boiled the sweet potatoes after peeling and cutting in chunks. While that was cooking I used food processor to chop up the other veggies, then sauteed in olive oil. Used FP again to smash up the potatoes, added to the saute, added the veggie broth and about a 1/2 c. of almond milk, a bit of salt, cracked pepper fresh, sprinkle red pepper flakes, Mrs Dash to taste. For better color you could use yams, because they are prettier and give a nice orange color. I think fresh parsley chopped would have been lovely but I didn't have any.
It was really tasty, all organic, and vegan.
Claire
-
Thanks for that link. Just did a little reading on this funky thing. Apparently it grows parasitically on caterpillars and other bugs. Kinda gross, but hey, whatever works. Kind of made me laugh that it bothered me because I'm sure I've eaten a thousand bugs in my lifetime without knowing it. I remember watching a documentary about bugs and feces in our mostly canned, processed foods and drinks and how a certain amount was acceptable (can't remember the number, but it wasn't that low). If I can eat that I can certainly down a mushroom growing on a cute little caterpillar's back
-
I wondered why I've seen cordycep supplements and powder, but have never seen them in stores! That must be why. And, yes, totally gross sounding! I happen to believe that God (or Mother Nature or whatever your higher power may be) put everything we need on the earth to heal all of our ailments. But He must have been on a creative roll when he came up with that one! And ewwwwww to bugs in canned goods, but unfortunately that's not limited to processed foods. One time I was munching on a raw, whole red pepper, only to have a worm crawl out of it. And I also had that happen once washing cauliflower. Needless to say, I'm extra careful about thoroughly washing raw veggies now and proceed carefully when eating them!
Thanks for the soup how to, Claire! It sounds delicious!
Categories
- All Categories
- 679 Advocacy and Fund-Raising
- 289 Advocacy
- 68 I've Donated to Breastcancer.org in honor of....
- Test
- 322 Walks, Runs and Fundraising Events for Breastcancer.org
- 5.6K Community Connections
- 282 Middle Age 40-60(ish) Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 53 Australians and New Zealanders Affected by Breast Cancer
- 208 Black Women or Men With Breast Cancer
- 684 Canadians Affected by Breast Cancer
- 1.5K Caring for Someone with Breast cancer
- 455 Caring for Someone with Stage IV or Mets
- 260 High Risk of Recurrence or Second Breast Cancer
- 22 International, Non-English Speakers With Breast Cancer
- 16 Latinas/Hispanics With Breast Cancer
- 189 LGBTQA+ With Breast Cancer
- 152 May Their Memory Live On
- 85 Member Matchup & Virtual Support Meetups
- 375 Members by Location
- 291 Older Than 60 Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 177 Singles With Breast Cancer
- 869 Young With Breast Cancer
- 50.4K Connecting With Others Who Have a Similar Diagnosis
- 204 Breast Cancer with Another Diagnosis or Comorbidity
- 4K DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ)
- 79 DCIS plus HER2-positive Microinvasion
- 529 Genetic Testing
- 2.2K HER2+ (Positive) Breast Cancer
- 1.5K IBC (Inflammatory Breast Cancer)
- 3.4K IDC (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma)
- 1.5K ILC (Invasive Lobular Carcinoma)
- 999 Just Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastasis
- 652 LCIS (Lobular Carcinoma In Situ)
- 193 Less Common Types of Breast Cancer
- 252 Male Breast Cancer
- 86 Mixed Type Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned
- 189 Palliative Therapy/Hospice Care
- 488 Second or Third Breast Cancer
- 1.2K Stage I Breast Cancer
- 313 Stage II Breast Cancer
- 3.8K Stage III Breast Cancer
- 2.5K Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
- 13.1K Day-to-Day Matters
- 132 All things COVID-19 or coronavirus
- 87 BCO Free-Cycle: Give or Trade Items Related to Breast Cancer
- 5.9K Clinical Trials, Research News, Podcasts, and Study Results
- 86 Coping with Holidays, Special Days and Anniversaries
- 828 Employment, Insurance, and Other Financial Issues
- 101 Family and Family Planning Matters
- Family Issues for Those Who Have Breast Cancer
- 26 Furry friends
- 1.8K Humor and Games
- 1.6K Mental Health: Because Cancer Doesn't Just Affect Your Breasts
- 706 Recipe Swap for Healthy Living
- 704 Recommend Your Resources
- 171 Sex & Relationship Matters
- 9 The Political Corner
- 874 Working on Your Fitness
- 4.5K Moving On & Finding Inspiration After Breast Cancer
- 394 Bonded by Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Life After Breast Cancer
- 806 Prayers and Spiritual Support
- 285 Who or What Inspires You?
- 28.7K Not Diagnosed But Concerned
- 1K Benign Breast Conditions
- 2.3K High Risk for Breast Cancer
- 18K Not Diagnosed But Worried
- 7.4K Waiting for Test Results
- 603 Site News and Announcements
- 560 Comments, Suggestions, Feature Requests
- 39 Mod Announcements, Breastcancer.org News, Blog Entries, Podcasts
- 4 Survey, Interview and Participant Requests: Need your Help!
- 61.9K Tests, Treatments & Side Effects
- 586 Alternative Medicine
- 255 Bone Health and Bone Loss
- 11.4K Breast Reconstruction
- 7.9K Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 2.7K Complementary and Holistic Medicine and Treatment
- 775 Diagnosed and Waiting for Test Results
- 7.8K Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 50 Immunotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 7.4K Just Diagnosed
- 1.4K Living Without Reconstruction After a Mastectomy
- 5.2K Lymphedema
- 3.6K Managing Side Effects of Breast Cancer and Its Treatment
- 591 Pain
- 3.9K Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 8.4K Surgery - Before, During, and After
- 109 Welcome to Breastcancer.org
- 98 Acknowledging and honoring our Community
- 11 Info & Resources for New Patients & Members From the Team