AntiOxidants: Good or Bad? So confused now.

DorothyB · August 2019

I've also / heard conflicting advice . . . but one thing that has been pretty consistent is that anything (including anti-oxidents) are better for us when they come from "whole foods", not "supplements". The one item that I haven't heard that about is "matcha" which is ground green tea - I haven't heard much negative about matcha. I'd be curious about if you asked about eating specific foods that are high in anti-oxidents like blueberries, strawberries, pecans, dark chocolate and spinach.

Staceybee · August 2019

I did ask about anti-oxidant fruits, specifically, mentioned blueberries, and he said, those are good for you, but it seemed a very offhand comment. I did not want to get in an argument with him, but it is just not logical to me. If I eat blueberries it is going to prevent cancer cells from proliferating but if I eat concentrated blueberry powder it will protect cancer cells and drive proliferation? I honestly feel like he was winging it and they don't really know, so they just say low-sugar whole fruits in moderation not because they are antioxidants but because they are part of a generally healthy diet. Again, this is the head of integrative medicine for a major cancer center. He really did not want to engage a lot on the antioxidants and supplements topic, he spent most of the session trying to convince me that cognitive behavioral therapy will help me sleep better.

Sorry if my frustration is showing. When I was first being treated last year, one of the residents working with one of my doctors said to me that they know more about breast cancer than any other cancer because of all the research and studies and women who participate in trials, but now I am struck about how little is known.

DorothyB · August 2019

I was not overly impressed w/ my integrative doc visit either. I've done a good bit of reading on-line and books and watching podcasts. I've also read about studies. I'm basing my diet choices on the things that I've learned. Overall, lots of whole foods and lots of variety; much less processed foods and added sugar.

Beesie · August 2019

CBT rather than Melatonin to help with sleep? Seriously??

I'll take the word on melatonin from my MO, and from here:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5503661/#idm140719484960064title

It's a long article, so here's the abstract:

santabarbarian · August 2019

'Integrative' is used too loosely. It can mean Tai Chi and massage + standard chemo + burgers and milkshakes, for god's sake!

MY Integrative MO, Dr Keith Block, recommended 1. an intense exercise plan including interval training and piltes or yoga and lots of walking, 5 hrs a week. 2. a squeaky clean whole food pescatarian diet, w/ <20% fat, no sugar, no processed foods, no booze. 3. lots of supplements-- mostly food sourced (omega 3 fish oil, curcumin, reishi mushroom powder,, super greens powder-- and yes, matcha) also quercetin, selenium, D3, Ubiquinol, B6, a baby aspirin,Calcium C Glutarate... plus I am sure there are others I cannot recall off the top of my head. I take about 30 pills 2 x a day.

He was also pro High dose vitamin C IVs, which I got from a naturopath n my town.

My hometown MO is totally conventional abd gave me the standard "it hasn't been tested"-- but he respected my right to do my own risk/benefit analysis, without needing a double blind clinical trial for myself, and to decide to take something if the danger level was slim to none, as with IV C. (There were a few things I read about/asked about that he vociferously objected to but nothing from Dr Block.)

gb2115 · August 2019

I think there's a huge difference between antioxidant level of a handful of blueberries and an antioxidant in supplement form. With cancer I would definitely avoid excess of anything, but fruit as part of normal eating is not excessive. A lot of things in fruits and vegetables are also somewhat bound to fiber, so who knows how much you actually absorb.

AntiOxidants: Good or Bad? So confused now.

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