Basic principles to fighting cancer:
- Cancer loves sugar so avoid refined sugar and starchy carbs that quickly turn into sugar such as white rice, pasta, potato, bread and any processed grains or foods with a flour base such as muffins, rolls, waffles, crackers, etc.
- Your immune system kills cancer but only if you keep your immune system strong. Sugar weakens your immune system. Stress and poor sleep also weaken your immune system. Many foods and supplements can serve to strengthen your immune system but processed foods are not among them.
- Toxins promote cancer and compromise your immune system. This is why organic foods are helpful and why non-organics contribute to you getting and growing cancer. Avoiding toxins is accomplished by filtering your water, eating organic, avoiding all plastics as much as possible, taking supplements that remove toxins and promote healthy liver detoxification.
VEGETABLES – a daily commitment to vegetable intake is required. Vegetables contain polyphenols, flavonoids, antioxidants, phytochemicals, vitamins, minerals, all of which have been shown to fight cancer. Commit this to memory it is this simple – vegetables kill cancer cells and promote healthy immune function. There are more than 10,000 carotenoids and 8,000 bioflavonoids and they are found in vegetables and fruits. You should aspire to get the following:
- 3 cups of leafy green vegetables such as spinach, kale, arugula, romaine, “spring mix”, swiss chard, and others
- 3 cups of colorful vegetables and/or berries: red cabbage, carrots, sweet peppers, squash, berries, berries and more berries of all kinds, and any other brightly colored vegetables as they contain flavanoids and polyphenols.
- 3 cups of cruciferous vegetables: brussel sprouts, broccoli, kale, collard greens, mustard greens, cabbage, cauliflower, bok choy, rutabaga, etc. Onion and garlic are important as well and I will include them in this list of sulfur containing vegetables.
Organic is best as these plants are more nutrient dense than commercially grown toxic versions. Follow the “Dirty Dozen” list when purchasing fruits and vegetables (Google “EWG dirty dozen”). Always buy the following produce items as organic: apples, celery, strawberries, peaches, spinach, nectarines (imported), grapes, sweet bell peppers, potato’s, blueberries, cherries, pears. See website noted above for list of least contaminated.
FRUIT – Some fruit is fine but keep it in check. In general 2 pieces of fruit per day is ample. Attempt to keep the ratio of fruit to no more than one serving for every three servings of vegetable. The best fruits are berries, apples, and pears. The fruit to limit or avoid is the very sugary ones: pineapple, watermelon, cantaloupe and other melons. Some banana is OK but aim for mostly berries and apples. Vegetables have much less sugar than fruit.
BLENDERIZING – While we are talking about vegetables and fruit I want to mention the art of blenderizing which is simply mixing vegetables into a smoothie either with or without protein powder. May seem strange but it is quite common and exceedingly powerful. Studies show that when we blend up vegetables in a high-speed mixer the blades actually break the cells open and release three times as much nutrient compared to simple chewing. A simple Oster type blender will work but a more powerful blender such as a BlendTec or VitaMix blender does a much better job. These blenders cost around $400 but are worth the investment in your health if properly used. I prefer this type of nutrition to juicing as it is easier, more cost effective and less messy. Anyone can do this in a matter of minutes. Quick clean up and easy.
Standard recipes would include some liquid such as water or unsweetened almond or rice milk. Protein powder, my preference would be an organic undenatured whey, or rice and pea options. Some frozen blueberries and a handful of spinach to start. As you get more comfortable with the taste you can expand your vegetable options to include any and all vegetables, but especially carrots, spinach and cruciferous vegetables. It is quite easy to get 3 servings (or more) of vegetables in one protein shake.
You might even try a midday smoothie of just fruit and vegetables. Try adding ice to make it thicker and colder. Add nuts or nut butter if you like to alter the taste. I also like to add a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, or avocado oil to aid fat soluble vitamin absorption.
MEAT - Eat organic grass-fed meats only or range free organic chicken.
This allows you to avoid the pesticides, hormones, and antibiotics typically included in non-organic meats. Always select lean cuts of meat when possible. Avoid farm raised fish especially tilapia. Ask for wild caught fish and low mercury tuna. Low mercury tuna are smaller fish that have not acquired the heavy mercury content of larger predatory fish. Your weight divided by 2 equals the amount of protein grams you should get in a day as a minimum. So for example if you are 150 pounds then 75 grams of protein should meet your requirement. Exercise would increase your needs. This includes any protein powder as well as protein from nuts, soy, beans and other sources. Beans are included in this section and are fine to eat (all varieties).
NUTS & SEEDS – These are healthy for you and have good monosaturated fats as well as a good source of magnesium and other minerals. They work well as a snack. Excellent fat content.
FATS – Avoid all trans fats (man made fats) as these promote and grow cancer cells as they suppress the immune system. Grass fed animals have more healthy fats such as omega 3 fats and other healthy fat content. Do not live in fear of saturated fat as long as you are eating vegetables. But avoid excess omega 6 fats found in all processed foods and vegetable oils.
The following fats should be avoided: corn oil, canola oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil. The fats to include are good omega 3 fats and monsaturated fats found in olive oil, nuts, seeds, olives avocado, coconut and other whole foods. The tired old MYTH that fats causes heart disease was disproven more than 20 years ago. Don’t live your life in fear of healthy fats. A Ketogenic diet that provides 70% of calories from fat is a cancer killing strategy that works.
SEASONINGS – Go baby go. Spices have wonderful antioxidant properties in general and should be used however you like. Flavor your foods to make them savory and delicious. Salt is preferably a Himalayan pink salt. Many spices such as Rosemary, Turmeric and garlic have strong anti-cancer properties. Use and enjoy lots of great spices.
WHAT TO AVOID !!!!!!!
No bread, white rice, potato, or pasta. No processed grains contained in cereals, processed foods and fast foods. Cancer loves the sugar contained in these foods. No bagels, muffins, crackers, waffles, rice cakes, tortillas, box mixes such as brownie mix, cookie mix, cake mix, chips, buns, rolls, pretzels. All of these foods have high amounts of sugar or refined grains that turn quickly to sugar.
“But I love those foods” . . . yes you do. And cancer loves these foods as well. When you put this food to your mouth you might as well announce to the world, “I love my cancer cells and I want to make them big and strong”. You are in a battle and you need to be conscious about your decisions. I am not saying that one cookie every other week will kill you BUT your mental attitude has to be so strong that when you engage in these behaviors you are aware of the consequences and blunt the pleasure of those foods such that they become a rarity and not a habit. Starches, wheat and carbs are exactly what led you to the oncologist’s office in the first place.
No processed foods. If it didn’t exist 100 years ago then you should not put it in your grocery cart and certainly not in your mouth. This takes discipline and a new mindset. The foods you eat are either hurting you or helping you. There is very little middle ground when fighting cancer.
Other foods I would find potentially problematic include: all cow’s dairy, sugary yogurts, granola, cereals, instant oats, and protein bars. That still leave lots and lots of great, flavorful, savory and delicious foods to enjoy. Target the bad guys and go enjoy the foods that love you.
WATER – I recommend 80 ounces daily as a minimum. Water is water and nothing else is. Green tea is healthy and any thing else is NOT. So there are only two liquids that are healthy to consume – water and green tea. All other beverages are harmful. A list of common drinks that are harmful to you: cows milk, juice, alcohol (small exception for modest amounts of red wine), Gatorade, soda pop, bottled teas.
Coffee is OK but keep it to a minimum and don’t delude yourself into thinking this is healthy, it is simply acceptable.
If you want to feed cancer and make it grow then eat processed foods and sugar and grains such as bread and granola bars. Cancer loves that stuff. Cancer also loves dairy foods such as milk and cheese. A LITTLE cheese is OK (always organic and only once a week) on occasion but if you want to feed cancer cells then have it every day.
You get to decide if your life is more important than convenience foods. Taste is not an issue because good food properly prepared tastes delicious. Good healthy food doesn’t have to taste bad or be boring but our American culture seems to gravitate toward processed food with poor nutritional value. You can be a typical American or you can live a long healthy life but you can’t do both.
Nutrition is critical to your efforts and a key to killing off cancer cells. Lifestyle choices, food choices, and attitude are more powerful than any other factor available to you. What you choose to feed yourself is a declaration regarding your interest in a healthy life. Eat cheese and bread and suffer the anguish or eat vegetables, meat and healthy fats to discover the fountain of life, and choose to enjoy the relationships that make life explode with pleasure. It is your call.
Dietitian, Chelsea Dorsett RD, LD, is a member of our HippEvo clinician group. She can be a tremendous resource and help you navigate this terrain more easily. Reach out to her at (513) 366-2123 if you are struggling.
With 30 years spent in the medical arts I say the following with absolute conviction:
There is nothing more powerful on this earth
to drive away disease and empower robust health
than your beliefs and your food.
