Starving Cancer
Ironically (or not), I had started a paleo lifestyle in eating prior to learning I had cancer (10 days prior to finding out I had cancer). Basically, paleo is clean eating with specific guidelines to help. This includes no grains, no legumes, no dairy -- when you think about it, it's big umbrella is elimination of 'processed' -- anything with preservatives will contain something like sugar or sodium which messes up our potassium and sodium levels causing inflammation. Inflammation is the culprit. Getting rid of inflammation will get rid of quick aging and many disease. I started to think that food practices that eliminated causes of inflammation would be good because if I'm reducing inflammation then I'm allowing my body to have a natural unimpeded flow.
My particular paleo plan started as a way of jumping on the bandwagon of two of my friends who were also going paleo for the year for health reasons. Both had also seen the movies I had seen -- like Hungry for Change, Food Inc, Tapped, Supersize Me, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. These inspired us for change. And, because we have seen friends took on a paleo path in the previous year -- producing amazing results both medically and physically (these friends glowed and shed a couple of decades on appearance).
My particular paleo plan started as a way of jumping on the bandwagon of two of my friends who were also going paleo for the year for health reasons. Both had also seen the movies I had seen -- like Hungry for Change, Food Inc, Tapped, Supersize Me, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. These inspired us for change. And, because we have seen friends took on a paleo path in the previous year -- producing amazing results both medically and physically (these friends glowed and shed a couple of decades on appearance).
All last year paleo was planted on my path after meeting friends like these who had amazing results. I also kept hearing about paleo from random people who also chose this path. I noticed cookbooks at Barnes & Noble. I saw the delicious recipes (like 'breads' not made with carbs but with coconut or almond flour with the same taste as 'bread'). The Internet is loaded with paleo recipes -- basically if you type in the word 'paleo' in front of any food in a google search, you'll get a ton of free recipes from paleo apple pie to paleo pizza and zitti. You can eat so many of the items you normally eat -- but there are substitutions in the recipes. For instance, wherever a recipe calls for sugar then use raw honey. If something calls for wheat or white flour then instead use almond or coconut flour. If you need milk or yogurt, use coconut milk or coconut yogurt. These are some of the tricks in mind shift. More are learned along the road. It's practical, safe, healthy, and easy once the shift happens.
When the two friends I mentioned went paleo for the start of the new year 2013, I started a blog. Immediately I knew my biggest challenges were going to be coffee and carbs. I bought paleo cookbooks of all types to download digitally, enjoyed the swap of information with these friends, and enjoyed all creative and easy to make foods. Once the first week passed-- I didn't miss my old carbs at all. In fact, I craved the new foods that tasted real. In just one week I could really taste preserved items aversively when sampling at stores like Costco. (Coffee was a different challenge. I had a hard time with this so, based on a paleo principle of 80% paleo and 20% indulgence (anything), I allowed coffee in my diet until I learned I had cancer. Then I started eating scared and removed coffee as a 100% paleo plan (no more 20% for me).
Paleo has really helped me on so many levels. At three weeks now, I can see the benefits of paleo: I think more clearly, I'm more calm, I crave only good foods, I lost roughly 5 pounds without trying -- I think these are the ones that are in my waist because this shrunk, my skin and hair feel better. Yesterday at my optometry appointment my eyes had improved instead of staying the same or getting worse (worse has been my trend over the past decade).
When the two friends I mentioned went paleo for the start of the new year 2013, I started a blog. Immediately I knew my biggest challenges were going to be coffee and carbs. I bought paleo cookbooks of all types to download digitally, enjoyed the swap of information with these friends, and enjoyed all creative and easy to make foods. Once the first week passed-- I didn't miss my old carbs at all. In fact, I craved the new foods that tasted real. In just one week I could really taste preserved items aversively when sampling at stores like Costco. (Coffee was a different challenge. I had a hard time with this so, based on a paleo principle of 80% paleo and 20% indulgence (anything), I allowed coffee in my diet until I learned I had cancer. Then I started eating scared and removed coffee as a 100% paleo plan (no more 20% for me).
Paleo has really helped me on so many levels. At three weeks now, I can see the benefits of paleo: I think more clearly, I'm more calm, I crave only good foods, I lost roughly 5 pounds without trying -- I think these are the ones that are in my waist because this shrunk, my skin and hair feel better. Yesterday at my optometry appointment my eyes had improved instead of staying the same or getting worse (worse has been my trend over the past decade).
Now with this cancer battle I'm upping the ante on my paleo plan in that the focus of foods will be on choosing more of the paleo foods known to have properties to fight or heal cancer. So within paleo, I would now be eating more of the cancer fighting foods.
My overall approach in terms of being a proactive food consumer is to look at all things with eyes of 'what 'truth' or 'reliable data' can I extract from this source and what 'truth' or 'reliable data' do I know in other sources. I try my best to balance these truths against rigorous experimental data. Not easy for anyone even the experts -- but it's definitely something that's on my mind these past nights in terms of finding ways to starve this beast and ease my recovery. I don't believe in accidents -- everything happens for a reason and the fact that nutrition was my original number one modification (or paradigm shift) for the year with all the people planted on my path, then there is a call I was meant to answer at this exact moment in my life.
Disclaimer:
The statements expressed on this blog, expressed by the author who is on a cancer trail, are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Readers of this blog should seek their own professional counsel for any medical condition or before starting or altering any dietary or exercise routine.
This "upping the ante" also means looking at other diets that are designed to fight cancer. The two I was introduced to by family and friends are Gerson Therapy and Ketogenic/Metabolic Therapy. Both diets are two-week flush or cleansing diets which then gradually incorporate more foods. Basically Gerson Therapy is a vegetarian diet; Ketogenic/Metabolic Therapy is a meat protein diet. Gerson Therapy supplements with proteins; Ketogenic/Metabolic Therapy supplements with plant-rich supplement nutrients. In practice, Gerson Therapy incorporates 13 juices daily for the two weeks along with vegetarian cooked meals throughout the day; Ketogenic/Metabolic Therapy incorporates 3 daily meals with a protein-to-carbohydrate ratio that ranges from 2:1 to 5:1 (eg 5 proteins and 1 low glycemic value carbohydrate per each of the three meals). Water drinking in each of the plans is also key.
At this stage of my knowledge, I see similarities between both of the Ketogenic/Metabolic diets with the Paleo diet. I see all of these as Paleo with more specific guidelines. For instance, if I eat a meal that has three proteins and 1 low glycemic value carbohydrate this could well be within the guidelines of Ketogenic/Metabolic Therapy or Paleo diet. If I eat a vegetarian lunch with juice this could well be within the guidelines of Gerson Therapy or Paleo diet. The quantity is what is different. Paleo is general but Ketogenic/Metabolic offers specific quantities and Gerson Therapy does the same. So Ketogenic/Metabolic is Paleo and Gerson is Paleo -- but Ketogenic/Metabolic is not Gerson and vice-versa. In addition, Ketogenic/Metabolic offers other guidelines (various forms of Ketogenic/Metabolic exist) such as measuring 'ketones' in urine on a daily basis (more on this on another post). And, Gerson Therapy recommends daily enemas.
So for me all my paleo cookbooks are still useful. Gerson and Ketogenic/Metabolic cookbooks are also very useful. I can see studying the cross difference between Ketogenic/Metabolic and Gerson. My goal is to starve cancer from any food it likes -- fake sugar, fake sodium, preservatives, fake grains, fake meat, etc. If cancer likes pesticides, processed items in machinery laden in harmful chemicals, genetically-modified (GMO), growth hormones, then I'm not going to be these items friend to invite them into my body. If an item doesn't say organic (which means free from these harmful items I mentioned) then I eating it would be counterproductive for my mission. If I have any control over minimizing effects or maximizing recovery then I'm prepared to do that. I know I have to go into surgery next month and I have the option of chemo prior or chemo post. I'm feeling like opting for a pre-and-post-surgery-killer-diet plan as the best choice for me -- and talking to my doctors about this!
Disclaimer:
The statements expressed on this blog, expressed by the author who is on a cancer trail, are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Readers of this blog should seek their own professional counsel for any medical condition or before starting or altering any dietary or exercise routine.
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