Fighting Cancer with Good Nutrition

As a newer practitioner in the field of nutrition, I am still learning from experts in the field.  Today I am sharing an excellent post about nutrition tips for the many people who are dealing with cancer from Jillian McKee, Outreach Coordinator at Mesothelima Cancer Alliance in New York.   Mesothelioma cancer is the most serious of all asbestos-related diseases. Although uncommon, mesothelioma cancer is no longer considered rare.  The primary cause and risk factor for mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos. 

Thank you Jillian for sharing your knowledge.

The battle against cancer is a long, hard road for many people. Often times, the therapies that are used to treat cancer, and even the cancer itself, can affect your ability to take in adequate nutrition. This makes cancer even harder to deal with, because the mind and body both suffer from a poor diet. Not getting the nutrition you need could also hinder your body's ability to resist cancer.

Starting a nutritious diet is essential regardless of your health status, but it can make a particularly significant impact when you have cancer. Studies have found that cancer patients who maintained a healthy diet have more energy and enjoy improved moods, better overall health and fewer side effects. Good nutrition has also been shown to improve the effectiveness of cancer treatment--even treatments for mesothelioma. Here are some of the ways that you can enhance your nutrition to improve your quality of life.

Limit Processed Foods

While there's nothing wrong with occasionally indulging in less-than-healthy foods, they are far from ideal as a part of your regular diet. They contain little in the way of meaningful nutrition and are instead loaded with chemicals, sugar, sodium and unhealthy fats. You're better off rebuilding your diet to only include fresh foods and meals you've made from scratch. This way, you can control what goes into your food as well as what you get out of it.

Use More Spices

Without spices; most foods would be quite bland. However, spices do more than just make food palatable. Many possess the ability to enhance digestion, which has the added benefit of increasing nutrient absorption. Numerous spices also contain high levels of certain vitamins and minerals, making them even better for you. Adding more spices to your diet could even help your body win the fight against cancer, according to some studies. Common seasonings like turmeric, cayenne, basil, oregano and cumin have been shown to kill cancerous cells and stimulate the immune system.

Fermented Foods

Fermentation is one of the original methods of preserving food for later use. Within the last several years, people have begun rediscovering the joys of home fermentation. Vegetables like radishes, cabbage, tomatoes and cucumbers are placed into brine and left to ferment naturally. After a few days to a few weeks depending on the vegetables, methods and conditions used, you will have fresh and healthy fermented food. The good bacteria, also called probiotics, colonize your digestive system where they fulfill several important roles:

- Aid digestion and the secretion of digestive juices

- Improve nutrient absorption

- Convert dietary fiber into usable vitamins

- Produce serotonin in the gut

- Keep populations of harmful bacteria in check

- Train the immune system to better recognize threats

Eating fermented foods at least once per day can make a dramatic impact on your health and well-being. If you don't want to wait for the fermentation process, taking a quality probiotic supplement is recommended.

Avoid Refined Sugar

Eating refined sugars is one of the worst things that someone with cancer can do to their health. Sugar not only causes blood sugar problems and weight gain but also inflammation and immune suppression.  Researchers have discovered that consuming sugar results in a weakening of the immune system that can last as long as five hours. Sugar also depletes the nutrients from your body much the same way alcohol does. Some good alternatives to sugar include apple juice concentrate, stevia, fresh fruit or raw honey.

Reorganize Mealtime

A lot of people like to have something to drink with their meals, but this may not be a good idea if you're battling cancer. People with cancer often suffer a lack of appetite due to their illness or its treatments. If this is a problem for you, then the nutritional content of everything you eat matters. Try to avoid liquids with meals, as they take up room in your stomach that could be used for more substantial nourishment.

Avoid Excessive Alcohol

While occasional drinking is normally okay, those suffering from cancer should keep their consumption to a minimum. Even in healthy people, alcohol strains the body by slowing down metabolism, hindering thyroid production and raising cortisol levels. It also depletes your body of vitamins and minerals, most notably magnesium, calcium, phosphorous, sodium, zinc and the B vitamins.

Nutritional Supplements

Studies have confirmed that commercially grown food isn't as nutritious as it was 60 years ago, mostly because of modern agriculture and farming practices that put profits over people. Sadly, this means that it's not as easy to get enough nutrition purely from food sources. This is especially true for people who have increased nutritional needs, such as cancer patients. In order to make sure you're staying as healthy as possible, it may be helpful to begin a supplement regimen.

Written by Jillian McKee, Outreach Coordinator at Mesothelima Cancer Alliance in New York.  http://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/jillian/.

Drink to Your Health!

Summer is just around the corner, with endless opportunities for outdoor activities.  As the temperature rises, be sure to increase the amount of fluids you drink every day.  Your body requires water for just about every function, including digestion, transportation of nutrients throughout the body, healthy skin, and regulation of body temperature.  Every day our bodies lose over 2 liters of water through sweating, exhaling, urination, and bowel movements.  This water must be replaced or dehydration could result.

A Tufts University study found that mild dehydration was associated with negative mood, including fatigue and confusion.  Our nervous systems need water to function, and our brain is about 90% water.

Not thirsty?  Thirst is not a reliable indicator of the need for hydration because it doesn’t kick in until the body has lost a significant amount of fluid.  It is best to drink fluids throughout the day at a level that keeps urine clear vs. yellow in color.

Did you know??

ü  Roughly 55-60 percent of an adult’s body is made up of water.  

ü  Water aids in the digestive process and prevents constipation.

ü  Water leads to overall greater health by flushing out wastes and bacteria that may cause disease.

ü  Water helps to maintain healthy body weight by increasing metabolism and regulating appetite.

ü  Water can prevent and alleviate headaches.

ü  Water naturally moisturizes skin and gives it a healthy, glowing appearance.

ü  If you aren’t drinking enough, you may notice dry skin, cracked lips, loss of appetite, nausea, concentrated dark yellow urine, or constipation.

How much water do you need?

Daily fluid requirements for healthy individuals is 30 to 35 ml per kg of body weight, or around ½ fluid ounce per pound.  For a 180 lb person, this works out to 87 to 93 oz/day.  Requirements can vary based on age, activity level, and medical condition.

Nearly every food or drink provides some water to the body.  If you eat a whole foods diet rich in fresh fruits, vegetables, and cooked whole grains, you will obtain a significant amount of water from your foods.  If you get too full during mealtime to drink a beverage, drink fluids between meals to stay hydrated.

What to drink?

Water is always the best choice.  If you prefer, add fresh lemon or lime, choose bubbly water, or flavored water that doesn't contain added sugar. 

It's Spring - Time to Move!

Even though spring temperatures haven’t quite reached our little corner of the country, the days are noticeably longer and the cherry blossoms are showing their color.  After a long winter, spring is the perfect time to get active and improve your fitness level to make the most of the summer season.

Over the winter, I had the opportunity to spend two weeks completing nutrition assessments in a long-term care center.  A key insight I learned after spending two weeks with a diverse group of elderly residents:  use it or lose it.  Loss of strength and mobility was a significant barrier to independence for many of the residents.

I was reminded of a question posed by Dr. Michael Ross, trainer extraordinaire here in Seattle – Are you fit, functional, or fragile?  I’ve shared his definitions below.

1.      Fit – At this level you capable of doing anything you want to do.  Train to go on safari in Africa? Join a kickball league with friends? Train to run a half-marathon? Help your best friend re-roof their shed, move furniture, push their car out of a snow embankment?  Are you able to go snow-skiing, water skiing, or play catch with your child or grandchild?  Or, also at this extreme of fit, train to climb Mt. Rainier?  These are the things that make life more than regular.

2.      Functional – At this level, your days consist of: Get up, get ready, go to work, maybe go shopping or have a drink with friends or go watch someone else play sports on your way home, come home, watch TV, go to bed.  Basic fundamental tasks needed to sustain your life.  On the weekend, you do some yard work, shop, go to a movie.  Perhaps if you push it, you may sign up for a 10K or half-marathon walk.  But, that would be a significant accomplishment.  You may go to the gym but you are not able to really push the extremes of you health and fitness and do those once in a lifetime events, more than once in your lifetime.  You read about people who climb mountains or trek through distant lands.  You watch your fit neighbor build her shed, and re-roof her house, and then go play kickball with their friends, and then go out and have a great time.  At the functional level you are proud if you do one of those things, and can¹t imagine doing two or all three.

3.      Fragile – At this level, you need to watch what you do for fear of injuring yourself.  Don¹t want to hurt your back.  Or you have weak ankles so a soccer match for charity is not a good idea.  This level is plagued with old injuries that keep you from enjoying your bucket list items to their fullest.   Sure, you might go on a cruise to the Mediterranean, but you see the sights from the window of the bus, or walk the level ground to the viewpoint overlooking the awesome sight where a 75 year-old couple is hiking IN the awesome sight.  You might be able to help a neighbor move, but you would be the one packing boxes, or directing traffic, or setting up the kitchen.  Other healthier people would be lifting the boxes or moving the furniture.  These are the people who don¹t mind when someone says, “be careful, don¹t hurt yourself.”  At the fragile level, you consider a full day going to work and then able to shop for dinner afterwards.  Or, mowing the lawn on a Saturday would be a real accomplishment.

Which describes you the best?  Even more important, which do you want to be when you reach your retirement years and beyond?  Fit, functional, or fragile?

It is estimated that we begin losing a pound of muscle mass each year after the age of 40.  Why?  A big component is that this is when we start becoming more sedentary.  That brings me back to “use it or lose it.”

Even if you don’t have a goal to run a marathon when you are 75, including physical activity in your lifestyle is important for health as you age.  Think of physical activity as any movement you can get in your day.  It doesn’t have to include 20 minutes on the elliptical machine or a special circuit in the gym.  Build in movement as part of your everyday life.  Find what you love and enjoy it as frequently as you can.

Here are some ideas that don’t require a gym membership:

·         Walk with a dog/kids/spouse/friends

·         Enjoy the outdoors while working in your yard or garden

·         Play frisbee

·         Fly a kite

·         Try something new – yoga, rock climbing, kayaking, snow shoeing

·         Take the stairs whenever you can

·         Sign up for a walking tour

·         Visit the zoo or an arboretum

·         Clean out your garage

·         Wash your car by hand

·         Reorganize your closets or attic

·         Repaint a room

·         Rearrange your furniture

·         Play tennis on a free court in the park

You get the idea – any activity that keeps you moving will benefit your fitness level for the long term.  The best part is that the more you do, the easier it will become.  When you find yourself facing a list of excuses, ask yourself which direction you are heading – fit, functional, or fragile?

Valentine’s Day = Cordial Cherries – What’s Inside?

My husband reads Wired magazine (to my benefit, he’s somewhat of a tech geek) and he recently passed on an article about what’s inside a Queen Anne Cordial Cherry.  I grew up eating these, since they were a favorite treat of my Mom’s on Valentine’s Day.  Before you indulge in your next chocolate covered cherry, be aware of what is waiting inside.

1.       Maraschino Cherry – plump and juicy, a result of infusion with water, corn syrup, and high fructose corn syrup.

2.      Red Dye #40 – one of the most commonly used food dyes, with possible increased risk of cancer, hyperactivity, and allergies.  Yet it is on the approved FDA list of food colorings.

3.      Sulfur Dioxide – used to preserve the color of the cherry, but it may trigger asthma attacks in some individuals.

4.      Sugar – this is an obvious ingredient, the viscous center is very sweet.

5.      Invertase – a digestive enzyme derived from yeast, but also found in saliva and the small intestine.  It is added to digest the sucrose (sugar) slurry so that it remains gooey (forever, I think).

6.      Vanillin – a synthetic version of real vanilla.

7.      PGPR – Polyglycerol polyricinoleate – used to emulsify the milk chocolate so that it can be spread more thinly to save costs.  This is done at the expense of cocoa butter. Need I say more?

8.     Milk Chocolate Coating – made of sugar, cocoa butter, milk, and chocolate liquor.  Doesn’t sound so bad after the previous three ingredients.

For many like my Mom, chocolate covered cherries a tradition on Valentine’s.  I still think of them fondly from the many years that my siblings and I bought them for my Mom. 

Now that I am older and wiser, I care about what is in the food I eat, even if it is something I eat only once a year.   While I still love both chocolate and cherries, I prefer them separately without the artificial ingredients.  This year I will eat some high quality dark chocolate and delicious dried cherries.Another good option: the dark chocolate covered cherries from Chukar Cherries (http://www.chukar.com/product/Dark_Chocolate_Cherries7/chocolate-cherries-berries-and-nuts).  The ingredients: a dried Bing cherry dipped in seamless dark chocolate. No additives, no preservatives, just cherries and dark chocolate at their finest.

Hungry for Hash

I’ve noticed a new trend in the Seattle area for brunch:  Hash!  Duck confit hash, corned beef hash, beef tri-tip hash, porchetta hash…you get the idea.  I have discovered that I love it and it is showing up on my home menu too, even for dinner.

What is hash?  I looked it up and the official definition is “A dish of cooked meat cut into small pieces and precooked, usually with potatoes.”  The brunch version also includes a couple of poached eggs and sometimes a decadent sauce. 

The best thing about hash is that you can use leftover meat and roasted root vegetables to create a quick, delicious dinner.  Or, if you prefer, skip the meat and enjoy it vegetarian.

Creating your own recipe is an opportunity to try some root vegetables that you may not eat on a regular basis.  Root vegetables are plentiful in the winter and very satisfying on a cold winter night.

Root vegetables are rich in vitamin C, potassium, and fiber.  They also provide health-promoting phytonutrients; the deeper the color the higher the content.

First, select two or three different root vegetables to give your hash some variety and color:

Yukon gold potatoes Purple potatoes Red potatoes Sweet potatoes Carrots Parsnips Rutabagas Celery root

Yams Turnips Jerusalem artichokes Golden beets Purple beets Chioggia beets (red and white striped) Daikon radishes

Wash, peel and dice the vegetables into 1/2 –inch cubes.  Toss them with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and roast them on a sheet pan in a 400 degree oven until just tender when pierced with a fork (begin checking after 20 minutes).  The time required for each variety may vary, so it is best to separate them on the sheet so that you can remove them as they finish cooking.  If you do not plan to eat them all right away, cool and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

For the meat, you can use just about any leftover cooked meat or meat alternative:

Chicken Turkey Duck Steak Roast beef Corned beef Pork loin Pork chop Ham Smoked salmon

Shrimp Crab Lobster Tofu (extra firm) Tempeh Seitan Bacon Pancetta Prosciutto

Cut the meat into ½-inch cubes and set aside.  Note that if you choose to use bacon, pancetta, or prosciutto, use just a few tablespoons for flavoring.  These meats are very salty and a little bit goes a long way.

Now you are ready to create your hash!

Basic Hash Recipe (Serves 2)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon Butter or Oil (olive, canola, coconut)

2 cups Root Vegetables, roasted ½-inch cubes

1 cup Meat/Meat Alternative, cooked and cut into ½-inch cubes

1 clove Garlic, minced

1 tablespoon Fresh herbs, minced (see note)

4 Eggs, poached

Salt and Pepper to taste

1.        Heat butter or oil in a medium skillet on medium-high heat.

2.      Add root vegetables and meat; reduce heat to medium and cook uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until heated through.

3.      Mix in garlic, fresh herbs and season with salt and pepper.

4.      To plate, divide the hash between two plates and top each with two poached eggs.

Note:  Try thyme, basil, oregano, chives, rosemary, or tarragon.  If you use rosemary, add it to the pan at the beginning of cooking.

Once you’ve mastered the basic recipe, experiment with other ingredients including chopped apple or pear, kale, mushrooms, bell pepper, or jalapeno pepper.  Enjoy your favorite hash for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

Plan. Shop. Prepare. Eat.

Most of us are opportunistic eaters – we wait until we are hungry and then we eat whatever we have quick and easy access to.  If this sounds like you, then you can use this to your advantage by following these simple steps:  Plan, shop, prepare, eat. 

You can spend a little time planning to ensure that the foods you turn to are those that you feel good about.

Planning your meals isn’t as hard as it sounds.  There are endless recipes available on the internet, in magazines, on television, and in cookbooks to choose from.  You don’t need to plan seven different breakfasts, lunches and dinner each day.  Plan a couple of different alternatives for breakfast and lunch and then change them up each week.  Plan three dinner ideas and then make use of leftovers during the week. 

Start with breakfast!  I can’t emphasize enough how important breakfast is every day – ideally with foods providing protein, fat, and carbohydrates.  Starting your day with a balanced breakfast boosts your metabolism, promotes balanced blood sugar, and will provide you with consistent energy.  Start this week by trying a couple of the ideas below. 

1.      Leftover Vegetable Frittata

Leftovers can make a great breakfast.  Try this recipe for dinner with a salad and then enjoy leftovers in the morning:  Vegetable and Cheese Frittata

2.     Yogurt and fruit parfait

In a goblet, layer the following ingredients twice: berries (1/4 cup of sliced strawberries and ¼ cup of blueberries—can be fresh or frozen), 6 ounces of vanilla low-fat yogurt, and 2 tablespoons of granola (and finish with a few berries on top).

3.     Toast with Nut Butter and Fruit

Try almond butter, cashew butter, or peanut butter to find your favorite.  Look for whole grain bread with the first ingredient being 100% whole wheat (or an alternate grain if wheat is not for you.)

4.     Avocado Sunrise

Try this easy-to-make, energizing morning meal: cut a ripe avocado in half, scoop it out of the peel, remove the seed, put your favorite fresh salsa in place of the seed, and sprinkle with a little sea salt.

5.     Immune-Boosting Smoothie

Combine 1 cup of strawberries, 1 cup of raspberries, a half cup of pineapple, 1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds, 1/3 cup yogurt, and 1/3 cup coconut water in a blender and mix until smooth. (If you want to make it cold, toss a few ice cubes into the blender).

6.     Energy-Boosting Oatmeal

Combine 1/2 cup of old-fashioned oats and 1 cup of milk (cow, soy, rice or other) or water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook for 3-5 minutes over medium low heat, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat, add in 1/8 teaspoon of vanilla, sprinkle in some cinnamon and honey (to taste) and then stir in 1-2 tablespoons ground flax seeds (start with 1 tablespoon and gradually increase).  Top with fresh berries.

7.     Breakfast Burrito

Scramble two eggs, sprinkle with cheese and then roll up in a whole wheat tortilla.  Top with your favorite salsa and some fresh spinach.  If you are not a fan of eggs, fill a tortilla with a banana and 2 tablespoons of your favorite nut butter.

Enjoy!