Vegan and no sugar

Fayard said:

Jan
Thank you for your input.
Yes, I add vegan protein, but it tastes like h...!

I do take supplements, but not much.
Currently I am only taking Vitamin D and C, B12 and Calcium.

I watch the documentary in Netflix.
The muscle building is a great idea. I am doing yoga about 3 timer per week, walking 5 nd nw I am starting on light weights every other day.

RoseyR said:

What Diet is BEST? WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM OTHERS.


Of course we're all still struggling with this question--since major studies of diet's impact on cancer patients are so few. Claudia has sent us a lot of useful tips, of course, but despite all of those messages and great ones from Jill, as well, I too am still struggling with the question: what is the best comprehensive diet for us?

I too am not SURE that going totally vegan is the answer--for the following reasons:

1) The Mediterranean diet is touted by many doctors (including alternative doctors such as Bruce West) as the healthiest in the world. West repeatedly says that the last thing he would recommend to a cancer patient is a "very lowfat diet." His own mother allegedly has survived metastatic uterine cancer (to the lungs) for nine years now via the Meditteranean diet and supplements (thymic peptides, etc) from Standard Process Labs.

3) Dr. Russell Blaylock heartily recommends olive oil for cancer patients because of its squalene and recommends taking curcumn capsules with a tablespooon of olive oil.

4) The book Anti-Cancer also extolls olive oil and Mediterranean diet.

5) Even doctors with a very radical approach to treating cancer such as Nicholas Gonzalez of Manhattan recommend organic meat a few times a week depending on their patients' blood type; some do better as vegetarians; others do not.

6) My own integrative doctor, an MD from U Penn, studied integrative medicine for six years in Eastern Europe, where a "lactovegetarian diet" was deemed the best approach to treating cancer. Obviously any dairy consumed needs to be organic, but he assured me a few days ago that eating cheese ocasionally, esp goat and sheep cheese, is just fine. (Curiously, since I've been eating goat-cheese and fig sandwiches with arugula two to three times a week for lunch, for just thte past two weeks, I've been feeling better. I hardly EVER had cheese or dairy IN the preceding nine months, by the way. However, I DO have why protein for breakfast every day--the brand is "Whey 2 Go," recommended by the doctor who treated Schreiber for years.

____________

ON THE OTHER HAND:

I too have seen articles, blogs, etc. warning against ANY dairy consumption, including a book by a woman with ovarian cancer who claims that the reason Asian women have nearly none is that they avoid all dairy products.

And obviously, none ofus wants to consume milk, cheese, even yogurt that's not organic.

Dr. Blaylock warns not to consume any dairy or any milk except goat's milk.

_______________

WHEAT: A NEW CONUNDRUM?

7) Some doctors warn that WHEAT is a culprit in raising our blood sugar far too quickly--even whole wheat products: that we are better off with oats or rye.

High blood sugar levels (even above 85) via standard blood test (nonfasting blood sugar levels) are associated with higher rates of recurrence and recently several articles have warned that whole wheat raises our blood sugar faster than even many kinds of conmercial pastries or muffins. Obviously it offers more fiber and nutrition, but apparently it raises blood sugar very quickly and its reputation as a low-glycemic food is undeserved. (Mercola's web site recently featured research on this subject; if any of you can refute it, thank you, since I don't want anothr dietary element to worry about!)

Best,
Rosey

Fayard said:

Jan
The name is VEGA and is all plant protein.
It does not taste too good.
I am doing weights a little every day.
How much do you weight, if you do not mind me asking?

I am going to have to start eating fish again!

Tresia23 said:

Vegans and osteoporosis
Hi, I have been following this topic and just wanted to add that my brother was a very strict vegan for thirty years and about five years ago was diagnosed with osteoporosis in his spine and hips. He now eats organic free range meat once or twice a week. He also has a raw egg with juice for breakfast (ugh). He drinks organic milk and has yoghurt now too. When he was a vegan he used to also have problems with gout from eating lentils and nuts.

He used to be very short tempered in his vegan days. He said he also had problems with concentration which have disappeared since he revised his diet. We all remember him being tired and on edge before he made some healthy changes. He walks every day for an hour or more with weights. His bone density has now reverted to normal for his age and build (he is now 65).

I really believe that nutrition is about balance and moderation. David Servan-Schreiber's book is an excellent guide for optimising diet to make our bodies inhospitable to cancer.

Keep up with your weights, and maybe look at those pretty ones that strap onto wrists and ankles. You can get used to wearing them.

Georgia

Rewriter said:

My changing diet plan
When I ended chemo and began to regain my strength ( during treatment, I ate a high-protein diet that included lean meat), I started to follow a no-sugar, vegan diet that included lots of vegetables and fruits, nuts and seeds, almond milk, and low-inflammation-factor (IF) beans and grains. I have no idea whether or not my cancer would have recurred if I had not followed this diet; but chemo and radiation ended in November '08, and I remain NED. Despite not knowing the impact of this diet on staying cancer free, my overall health has vastly improved. As I mentioned elsewhere on this board, my cholesterol is excellent, I got off blood pressure meds, and my heart attack risk is very low.

I have continued to follow this mostly vegan/no sugar diet, and I track everything I eat using the free chart/nutrition analysis tool available at nutritiondata.self.com I also track each food's inflammation factor using this chart http://nutrition.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=nutrition&cdn=health&tm=18&f=21&su=p1026.30.336.ip_&tt=6&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http://inflammationfactor.com

The positive aspects of my diet are that it:

--is strongly anti-inflammatory
--contains an appropriate balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids
--provides me with more than enough vitamins
--includes far less fat than would a diet that included regular consumption of meat and dairy

The negatives include:

--too many carbs; I almost always exceed the RDA for carbs by about 50 percent
--not enough protein or iron; although I don't think that we need as much protein or iron as what is currently recommended, I get less than 50 percent of the RDA

Lately, I am craving meat; and I can't get the picture of a steak or burger out of my head. I pay attention to cravings, because I think our bodies generally tell us what they need. That being said, I am considering having ONE piece of organic, grass-fed beef to see how it makes me feel.

The upshot is that I believe in cutting out ALL sugar (including honey, maple syrup, molasses, even agave nectar and Stevia; I use pureed bananas and figs as sweeteners); planning meals around anti-inflammatory foods that include a variety of fruits and vegetables; eating no or small amounts of dairy; and eating meat and poultry ONLY when my body craves it.

I hope this helps.

Jill

RoseyR said:

Your Diet Makes Sense, Jill

From what I can see, this is as close to an ideal cancer-protective diet as I can imagine based on all my reading to date.

I'm trying to do the same, Jill, although I've fallen away from almond milk (assume it's highly alkaline?) to make my whey smoothies in the morning with mere water and a banana.

I too have cut way back on the animal protein I ate three to four times a week during chemo (organic chicken and turkey, mostly) and now have it just twice or so a week. Mostly quinoa and vegetables, beans, salads as staples.

A recent indulgence I worry about a bit is my fig spread and goat cheese sandwich on whole grain bread with arugula--made at my health food restaurant a block away: all organic products, including milk and cheese. (I ADORE figs but worry that they have too much sugar to consume three times a week, as I do. In fact, the only "cookie" I allow myself now is a fig (no sugar added) cookie in oat dough: scrumptious: fulfills those laste-afternoon cravings.

I seem to feel especially good after eating eggplant stew, by the way. (In Asian medicine, eggplant is administered for uterine disorders, including cancer! I hadn't known that before I knew that eggplant makes me feel good!)

But I agree we should ENJOY what we eat--and indeed, my daily meals are one of my great pleasures.

Love,
Rosey

Rewriter said:

FIGS and goat cheese
Rosey,

I have been eating dried figs because ten of them provide 269 mg. of calcium, about as much as a cup of skim milk or 8 oz. of lowfat yogurt. Also, figs are an alkaline-forming food.

As for the goat cheese, it has almost twice the amount of protein and half the fat of cream cheese. In addition, it is only mildly inflammatory. There are 8g of fat in one ounce, and your sandwich probably does not contain much more than that.

If you love this sandwich, it's really not that bad! In fact, it contains some very beneficial nutrients.

Enjoy,

Jill