What foods to eat........

herdizziness said:

Veggie Recipes
I have a few favorites for veggies, BUT, they all contain butter, or buttermilk, or cheeses.
Let me know if you still want them anyway.
I've been anti-veggie most of my life (I think it's the way it's cooked), but as I experimented with fresh vegetables (I live in California for pete's sake, I'm surrounded by fresh vegetables) I made them quite palatable to myself, and have fallen in love with them.
Heck, I even love brussel sprouts now.
Winter Marie

gfpiv said:

Diet
Good for you that you're taking an active role in your health. Although I haven't heard of any definitive studies regarding relationship of diet to colon cancer treatment response or recurrence likelihood...it certainly can't hurt to treat your body better, can it? Personally, I feel that moving to a more natural and low glycemic/insulinemic diet has helped in my own treatment. One caveat is that those on active chemo (which I don't believe currently applies to you?) should consult their onc before taking supplements or heavy amounts of antioxidant-rich foods, since they may reduce the effectiveness of certain chemo drugs.

You'll find plenty of proponents of exercise on this board (including myself), and you're probably aware of the studies that indicate a slightly reduced likelihood of recurrence with regular exercise. And of course, for those of us lucky enough to be able to exercise regulary, it simply makes you feel better overall!

As to specific recommendations on diet, I'll avoid inundating you with a bunch of references I found useful, but both the ACS and MSKCC websites have good reference sections which discuss foods/supplements with purported anticancer activity. I also found the following link to be relevant and relatively succinct: http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/T040300.asp

Lastly, a book that I (and probably others here), have found very interesting is "Anticancer: A New Way of Life" by David Serban-Schreiber.

I know there's a slew of info out there about healthy diet for cancer patients, so I wish you the best of luck wading through it. And I wish you good health in whatever you do.

-Chip

Joy1216 said:

Informative Book
A very informative book is Foods That Combat Cancer: The Nutritional Way to Wellness by Maggie Greenwood-Robinson, Ph.D.
Joy

lizzydavis said:

Colorectal Cancer and Meat — What’s the Connection?
Colorectal Cancer and Meat — What’s the Connection?

Posted: 05 Aug 2010 10:03 AM PDT

Written by Kate Murphy.

Are those steaks and hot dogs bad for you?

Several studies have found a connection between eating red and processed meat and colorectal cancer. But the reason for that connection hasn’t been clear.

To answer the question, researchers collected detailed information about the type of meat eaten by a large group of over 300,000 men and women and how the meat was cooked.

Linking that information to data on meat iron content, chemicals used in processing meat, and chemicals produced when meat is cooked at high temperatures, they were able to find that heme iron, nitrates and nitrites, and heterocyclic amines (HCAs) from high-temperature cooking increase risk for colon and rectal cancer.

Among 300,948 patients enrolled in a large, prospective trial, 2,719 developed colorectal cancer. When researchers ranked diets from those who ate the least red and processed meat to those who ate the most, they found:

Heme iron was associated with a 13 percent increase in risk.
Nitrates from processed meats increased risk by 16 percent.
HCAs produced during high temperature cooking raised risk by 19 percent.
Generally, risks were higher for rectal cancer than for colon cancer, with the exception HCA proteins, which only increased colon cancer risk.

Heme iron is available in the diet from meat, poultry and fish. Nonheme iron comes from plants, including lentils and beans. It is also added to enriched cereals, flour, and grain.
Nitrates and nitrites are used to process meat into bacon, hot dogs, and sausage.
HCAs are produced during high temperature cooking like grilling.
Amanda J. Cross and her associates concluded,

In conclusion, we found a positive association for red and processed meat intake and colorectal cancer; heme iron, nitrate/nitrite, and heterocyclic amines from meat may explain these associations.

SOURCE: Cross et al.,Cancer Research, Volume 70, Number 6, March 15,2010.