Organic Diet Benefits
I asked him about Zinc to help with my taste buds after treatment. (only 3 left out of 30) He said he really didn't know about it and doesn't hold vitamins in high regard as there isn't much research on their efficacy. Some do help with certain issues but a good diet would insure you wouldn't need them.
He attributes bad diets for the increase of certain cancers. High cholesterol affects prostate cancer and possibly others, and being overweight surely doesn't help.
I have been craving lots of vegetables and fruits since I've started RT and can't eat my normal diet which wasn't all that bad. But I do enjoy my Taco Bell and a good burger and fries a few times a month. Mostly my wife and I eat pretty good. But now I've decided to go organic as much as possible. Our closest store is Fresh and Easy and I think they sell all organic food. We want to get away from processed foods and meats that have added hormones, etc. Organic is the only way. Yes it is more expensive but we'll just have to do it for our health. I cannot fathom going through all this over again. Now to find a good cookbook for either an organic diet or a vegetarian one. I still want my meat, just healthier cuts from properly fed animals. And luckily I love veggies.
Has anyone talked about this before and made the change? And if so, was it hard or did you feel it was the right choice?
Thanks for reading my post,
Tommy
Comments
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I'm With You
In theory. I keep dipping my toes in the healthy eating pool, then toweling them off, and heading out in search of french fries. I feel it is the right choice. Do I think that having glasses of carrot juice will reverse whatever disorder I may have - umm, no. But I do believe that a diet rich in veggies and fruit will help boost the immune system. I have read in several places that vitamins and supplements are not nearly as effective as the "real" food.
I have decreased my intake of animal protein and processed meats. I usually try to avoid corn syrup and artificial preservatives (why the bleep do some companies put preservatives in frozen dinners??). There are a few others tweaks I try, at least from time to time. But I'm having a hard time committing. When I'm on the wagon, I really feel like I'm doing the right thing. When I'm off, I guess it's due to a combination of feelings of deprivation and laziness. I have found that, since treatment, I actually crave veggies from time to time (this NEVER happened before treatment). Luckily for me, I prefer most veggies I eat steamed, without butter (except, of course, for the magic fried onions and peppers).
As for recipe sources, I usually take my chances with the magic Google. Let me know if you come across something yummy. Would REALLY like something that reminds me of lemon curd without a bucket of sugar. Also would like to find a good mild curry (yay, turmeric).0 -
Same HerePam M said:I'm With You
In theory. I keep dipping my toes in the healthy eating pool, then toweling them off, and heading out in search of french fries. I feel it is the right choice. Do I think that having glasses of carrot juice will reverse whatever disorder I may have - umm, no. But I do believe that a diet rich in veggies and fruit will help boost the immune system. I have read in several places that vitamins and supplements are not nearly as effective as the "real" food.
I have decreased my intake of animal protein and processed meats. I usually try to avoid corn syrup and artificial preservatives (why the bleep do some companies put preservatives in frozen dinners??). There are a few others tweaks I try, at least from time to time. But I'm having a hard time committing. When I'm on the wagon, I really feel like I'm doing the right thing. When I'm off, I guess it's due to a combination of feelings of deprivation and laziness. I have found that, since treatment, I actually crave veggies from time to time (this NEVER happened before treatment). Luckily for me, I prefer most veggies I eat steamed, without butter (except, of course, for the magic fried onions and peppers).
As for recipe sources, I usually take my chances with the magic Google. Let me know if you come across something yummy. Would REALLY like something that reminds me of lemon curd without a bucket of sugar. Also would like to find a good mild curry (yay, turmeric).
I too wrestle with eating the right foods. Sometimes urges are very hard to ignore.
No one really knows what causes cancer. A lot of good guesses and some real obvious ones like smoking.
What gets me is Linda MaCartney. She died from breast cancer and was a long time vegetarian. Both her and Paul have eaten very good food for most of their marriage. She didn't smoke or abuse drugs from what I've read. Her cancer cannot be explained.
Just by me typing this topic out might help me to commit to a better diet. My wife eats whatever I cook, so she's been on my diet since the beginning of my disease treatment. I've lost 17lbs and she's lost at least 5. I've tried to offer regular food but she refuses and likes the fact of losing weight with me. Hopefully it won't be too long until we start eating real food, meaning, other than a soft diet.
And we too love our curried shrimp or chicken. Love that spice.0 -
THE SIDE EFECTS FROM TRATMENT FORCE US TO EAT BETTER
I too have benefitted from the side effects hen it comes to what I can eat. I actually had a 32 oz bone in ribeye a week before I discovered the "old neck lump." Since treatment ended 17 months ago, I do not think I have eaten 32 oz total of red meat. It just will not go down.
My fairly steady M-F routine is a banana in the car on the way to work, 1-2 cups of greek yogurt around 9 followed by a big serving of oatmeal about 10:30. Lunch for the longest time was more yogurt, another banana and 100 grams of protien in a shake. Dinner is healthier except for some reason I can eat the hell out of a pizza and tacos. Go figure.
My pre C routine was a Quick trip breakfast sandwich or some kind of fat ridden biscuit, either leftover dinner which was usually comfort food or a foot long deli sandwich with all of the good "NO NO" italian meats and cheese. Dinner was almost always meat and potatoes.
For the most part now on weekends I may do homemade sausage and gravy over biscuits,only because it goes down, and I figure one meal a week in the AM will not kill me, but even if it does, I am OK with that as look what the hell we have all been forced to give up. My biggest vice is when the St. Louis Blues are playing hockey on TV that turns into a 3 ring circus with junk food and beer.
If that kills me, then so be it as I have flipped my life completely around since C.
In short, I am eating MUCH healthier than in years past,and had to stop competitive powerlifting as I cannot even bench 250 anymore, and traded off for high rep high set weight training and feel great. I am in the gym 5-7 days a week.
I cannot say I am 100% sold on "organic" but am sold 100% on the changes I have made in my diet.
I live by the rule that if I listened to all of the news media regarding what else causes cancer, then why even come out of my house when according the the media, every thing we are exposed to will cause cancer and kill us.
If I want to drink 3 cups of black caffinated coffee each morning, I am going to. If I want to tilt back a few beers in the evening I will.
Thats just me. I think the excercise is equally as important if not more important to the prevention of not only C, but other chronic disease.
BEST!!
Mike0 -
A agree...but...luv4lacrosse said:THE SIDE EFECTS FROM TRATMENT FORCE US TO EAT BETTER
I too have benefitted from the side effects hen it comes to what I can eat. I actually had a 32 oz bone in ribeye a week before I discovered the "old neck lump." Since treatment ended 17 months ago, I do not think I have eaten 32 oz total of red meat. It just will not go down.
My fairly steady M-F routine is a banana in the car on the way to work, 1-2 cups of greek yogurt around 9 followed by a big serving of oatmeal about 10:30. Lunch for the longest time was more yogurt, another banana and 100 grams of protien in a shake. Dinner is healthier except for some reason I can eat the hell out of a pizza and tacos. Go figure.
My pre C routine was a Quick trip breakfast sandwich or some kind of fat ridden biscuit, either leftover dinner which was usually comfort food or a foot long deli sandwich with all of the good "NO NO" italian meats and cheese. Dinner was almost always meat and potatoes.
For the most part now on weekends I may do homemade sausage and gravy over biscuits,only because it goes down, and I figure one meal a week in the AM will not kill me, but even if it does, I am OK with that as look what the hell we have all been forced to give up. My biggest vice is when the St. Louis Blues are playing hockey on TV that turns into a 3 ring circus with junk food and beer.
If that kills me, then so be it as I have flipped my life completely around since C.
In short, I am eating MUCH healthier than in years past,and had to stop competitive powerlifting as I cannot even bench 250 anymore, and traded off for high rep high set weight training and feel great. I am in the gym 5-7 days a week.
I cannot say I am 100% sold on "organic" but am sold 100% on the changes I have made in my diet.
I live by the rule that if I listened to all of the news media regarding what else causes cancer, then why even come out of my house when according the the media, every thing we are exposed to will cause cancer and kill us.
If I want to drink 3 cups of black caffinated coffee each morning, I am going to. If I want to tilt back a few beers in the evening I will.
Thats just me. I think the excercise is equally as important if not more important to the prevention of not only C, but other chronic disease.
BEST!!
Mike
I agree that eating healthier (more fruits and veggies, less meat and processed crap) and organic when possible is obviously better for us and will reduce the risk for disease and certain cancers. I think we should all make the healthiest choices we can for our bodies.
That said, I was vegetarian (not one that ate processed foods and french fries) for 7 years and a gluten-free soy-free mostly organic vegan for another 2 years after that and I still got cancer.
I spent a lot of time blaming myself and wondering what I could have done better, eaten better, etc.... but diet had nothing to do with the kind of cancer I got. They don't know what causes it, but my genetics didn't help.
Sometimes, even despite our best efforts, we will still get sick.
So I guess I want to encourage everyone to do their best to healthily fuel their bodies, but to keep in mind that a healthy diet isn't a cure-all. I thought I was healthy because I ate healthy and exercised, but I wasn't. Listen to your body and try your best, but we are all human after all. Sometimes cancer happens even when we try our best... it doesn't play by the rules of what "SHOULD" be.0 -
Dietary focuszipperneck2012 said:A agree...but...
I agree that eating healthier (more fruits and veggies, less meat and processed crap) and organic when possible is obviously better for us and will reduce the risk for disease and certain cancers. I think we should all make the healthiest choices we can for our bodies.
That said, I was vegetarian (not one that ate processed foods and french fries) for 7 years and a gluten-free soy-free mostly organic vegan for another 2 years after that and I still got cancer.
I spent a lot of time blaming myself and wondering what I could have done better, eaten better, etc.... but diet had nothing to do with the kind of cancer I got. They don't know what causes it, but my genetics didn't help.
Sometimes, even despite our best efforts, we will still get sick.
So I guess I want to encourage everyone to do their best to healthily fuel their bodies, but to keep in mind that a healthy diet isn't a cure-all. I thought I was healthy because I ate healthy and exercised, but I wasn't. Listen to your body and try your best, but we are all human after all. Sometimes cancer happens even when we try our best... it doesn't play by the rules of what "SHOULD" be.
It seems like a luxury to think about an anti-cancer diet but it is always part of the game plan. In the forefront for us, at this point, is trying to physically consume a basic healthy diet that contains enough calories and protein to put lost weight back on or maintain that ideal weight fought so hard to reestablish! We always strived for a diet of organic, local, vegetable- rich foods, low in fat and processed carbs, etc. But like zipper neck said...cancer still happens. I think we are all more conscious of our food habits now. Much more eating to live rather than living to eat. I hope all can enjoy food as much as possible, given the various challenges faced by each individual situation. Nothing taken for granted any more!0 -
Eating well can't hurt
I too have tried the "kill it with good food" diet. I'm pleased to say with mostly good results, although it is still too soon to tell. For the past two months I have been on a macrobiotic diet. It is really hard for me to stay on it as all the old food cravings raise their ugly head a lot. My last CT scan just last week showed a slowing of the growth of tumors. I prefer to think of that as a stopping of the growth after a period of normal growth. We will find out next scan I guess. However the other benefits I gained include: 35 lb. weight loss (I am now at my ideal weight and have leveled off), no more acid reflux, no constipation or diarrea, and I actually think I look younger. Oh, and the big benefit - I no longer need insulin or any diabetes medication. I have been dealing with diabetes for 14 years and poof - it's gone. All that is wonderful, but I still have a hard time breathing, and I just hope the diet wins out over the tumor growth.0 -
Great Stuffsnowdancer said:Eating well can't hurt
I too have tried the "kill it with good food" diet. I'm pleased to say with mostly good results, although it is still too soon to tell. For the past two months I have been on a macrobiotic diet. It is really hard for me to stay on it as all the old food cravings raise their ugly head a lot. My last CT scan just last week showed a slowing of the growth of tumors. I prefer to think of that as a stopping of the growth after a period of normal growth. We will find out next scan I guess. However the other benefits I gained include: 35 lb. weight loss (I am now at my ideal weight and have leveled off), no more acid reflux, no constipation or diarrea, and I actually think I look younger. Oh, and the big benefit - I no longer need insulin or any diabetes medication. I have been dealing with diabetes for 14 years and poof - it's gone. All that is wonderful, but I still have a hard time breathing, and I just hope the diet wins out over the tumor growth.
I agree with everyone's opinion about eating healthy. It does seem like since my DX there hasn't been much craving for fast or unhealthy foods. After a few weeks of RT I craved my greens. Bought a large bottle of V8 and a few cans of spinach and that got rid of the cravings. Although I'm not crazy about eating food out of cans or plastic, it had to be very soft and slick to go down my sore throat. I am looking forward to being able to eat fresh foods again. Only bananas have been okay so far. Everything else has come from a can like peaches. One does what one needs to do to eat. Fortunately for me I've always loved most all fruits and vegetables. Now I need to just eat more.
On the Superthread there is some great organic and healthy recipes listed. Great stuff!
Tommy0 -
Snowdancersnowdancer said:Eating well can't hurt
I too have tried the "kill it with good food" diet. I'm pleased to say with mostly good results, although it is still too soon to tell. For the past two months I have been on a macrobiotic diet. It is really hard for me to stay on it as all the old food cravings raise their ugly head a lot. My last CT scan just last week showed a slowing of the growth of tumors. I prefer to think of that as a stopping of the growth after a period of normal growth. We will find out next scan I guess. However the other benefits I gained include: 35 lb. weight loss (I am now at my ideal weight and have leveled off), no more acid reflux, no constipation or diarrea, and I actually think I look younger. Oh, and the big benefit - I no longer need insulin or any diabetes medication. I have been dealing with diabetes for 14 years and poof - it's gone. All that is wonderful, but I still have a hard time breathing, and I just hope the diet wins out over the tumor growth.so how did you fair with your vegetables and fruit diet. Did it continue to heal you?
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Maybe she waited too long fortommyodavey said:Same Here
I too wrestle with eating the right foods. Sometimes urges are very hard to ignore.
No one really knows what causes cancer. A lot of good guesses and some real obvious ones like smoking.
What gets me is Linda MaCartney. She died from breast cancer and was a long time vegetarian. Both her and Paul have eaten very good food for most of their marriage. She didn't smoke or abuse drugs from what I've read. Her cancer cannot be explained.
Just by me typing this topic out might help me to commit to a better diet. My wife eats whatever I cook, so she's been on my diet since the beginning of my disease treatment. I've lost 17lbs and she's lost at least 5. I've tried to offer regular food but she refuses and likes the fact of losing weight with me. Hopefully it won't be too long until we start eating real food, meaning, other than a soft diet.
And we too love our curried shrimp or chicken. Love that spice.Maybe she waited too long for a diagnosis. Vegetarian doesn't mean healthy either. Were they organic? Pesticide free? So many factors.
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Nobody knows the damage, ifzipperneck2012 said:A agree...but...
I agree that eating healthier (more fruits and veggies, less meat and processed crap) and organic when possible is obviously better for us and will reduce the risk for disease and certain cancers. I think we should all make the healthiest choices we can for our bodies.
That said, I was vegetarian (not one that ate processed foods and french fries) for 7 years and a gluten-free soy-free mostly organic vegan for another 2 years after that and I still got cancer.
I spent a lot of time blaming myself and wondering what I could have done better, eaten better, etc.... but diet had nothing to do with the kind of cancer I got. They don't know what causes it, but my genetics didn't help.
Sometimes, even despite our best efforts, we will still get sick.
So I guess I want to encourage everyone to do their best to healthily fuel their bodies, but to keep in mind that a healthy diet isn't a cure-all. I thought I was healthy because I ate healthy and exercised, but I wasn't. Listen to your body and try your best, but we are all human after all. Sometimes cancer happens even when we try our best... it doesn't play by the rules of what "SHOULD" be.Nobody knows the damage, if any, that was done before becoming vegetarian, vegan, whatever.
I've smoked since birth because my father and most of the males in my family did. Everyone smoked inside too. I started smoking myself and got tongue cancer. Would I have gotten it eventually anyway? Who knows?
0
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