If nothing ever changed, there’d be no butterflies

I was hoping to have a post ready to celebrate my two year anniversary last month. But, July came and went. Now we’re into August, and I thought I’d try again – before coming across the notes for an unfished post I’d started on food and diet. It”s a question I get asked often.

When I was told that my cancer was terminal, I did what a lot ofother people do, I turned to the Internet for a cure. For a while, I even thought I’d found it in the form of a ‘miracle’ diet. Sadly, I don’t believe that there is a diet, superfood, vitamin, or drink that can cure cancer. Sure, many of these appear well intentioned, but if I could’ve thought about it rationally, no amount of carrot juice was going to make my cancer go away.

Not only that, but I actaully ended up adopting some pretty unhealthy eating habits, and I had to remind myself the fundamental reason why we eat in the first place. In order to get enough calories to survive. The other problem is that alot of these so-called healthy foods are often ultra-processed and contain hidden nasties (sneaky sneaky).It doesn’t matter what diet you’re following, if you’re not giving your body the energy it needs, and that includes carbs, fats and protein.

A lot of attention goes towards zero, or no-carb, diets, but carbs are probably the most important source of energy we can feed ourselves. They provide essential nutrients that keep our organs working properly and power our brains, nervous system, muscles… that doesn’t sound like something I should be giving up. Carbs get a bad rep, but not all carbs are bad for us. Once you understand this, it just makes sense – but then again, that’s true for anything.

To put it simply, whole natural foods that come from the earth tend to be ‘good’ carbs, whereas processed foods that have been stripped of all their fibre and nutrients in a factory tend to be ‘bad’ carbs. If food manufactures know this, why do they do it? Simply to make them more pleasurable to eat. Did you know that all rice starts out as brown rice? And yet most people would probably say that white rice tastes better. In fact, the food you’re eating might actually worse for you than other foods not marketed as healthy.

At the end of the day,it’s the chemical and food manufactures who decide what is nourishing, or safe to eat. That’s probably wrong. The best advice I can give if you’re worried about what you’re eating is to stick to natural whole foods and get savvy when checking products labels. Hint: the ingredient list says a lot more than the nutrition label.

Look for things like hidden sugars (often listed as sucrose, fructose, corn syrup, or dextrose), and generally anything else that you wouldn’t normally find in a typical kitchen. Also, the higher up an ingredient is on the list, the more it’s likely to contain. A lot of these chemicals (such as Potassium Bromate) can potentially cause cancer, and so I avoid these.

The good, the bad…

Examples of good carbs include:

• Whole Grains including brown rice (all rice starts off as brown rice), quinoa, oats, and whole wheat bread and cereals.
• Whole fruits (with the skin on) like apples, bananas, and berries. 
• All vegetables, especially starchy ones like sweet potatoes, peas, and corn, are good sources of complex carbohydrates. 
• Beans, lentils, and chickpeas are excellent sources of both carbohydrates and protein.  

Examples of bad carbs include: 

• White bread and pasta, which are higher in carbs and low in fibre and nutrients.
• Sugary cereals and other sugary foods and drinks (like biscuits, fizzy drinks, chocolate, and cake. These have a lot of calorie, but often very little else.  

Bad carbs can lead to blood sugar spikes / crashes, and contribute to weight gain. They do contribute to your energy intake, but don’t provide a slow and steady source. That’s why they don’t keep you feeling full for very long. It’s important to be aware of this. Try to reduce, or remove them, when you can. This also applies to ‘free’ sugars which are naturally present in honey, syrups and fruit juices! 

They think I’m nutty

While not primarily a carbohydrate source, nuts and seeds contain healthy fats, protein and fiber. I try to eat these everyday, along with:

• Tomatoes
• Olive oil
• Green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, kale, and collards
• Nuts like almonds and walnuts
• Fruits such as strawberries, blueberries, cherries, and oranges 

Plus, I’ll eat fatty fish, like salmon, mackerel, tuna, or sardines three times a week.

I know what it’s like when you’re desperate. I’ve been there and you will try anything. If this is you, I don’t blame you. I want to get you to think differently about diet and lifestyle though. Not by following fads, or spending money on supplements that don’t work. But, by making simple and realistic changes to your diet.if I can do it, then so can you.  

Inflammation is one our most powerful weapons against threats such as bacteria, injured cells and chemical irritants. Without it, we probably wouldn’t survive. It’s also one of our most powerful enemies as far as cancer development is concerned. Inflammation is known to accelerate tumour growth and spread around the body. We might need inflamation, but too much can cause serious damage so, again, you might want to think about drastically reducing, or removeling, these foods from your diet. 

Fortunately a lot of the foods I eat, which are predominantly whole ‘plant-based’ foods, are also Anti-inflammatory. They’re good for me. Importantly, they’re good for my immune system too, and I do believe that by eating the right foods has made a big difference in my fight against cancer. There’s nothing restricted from my diet though. If I want a slice of carrot cake, I will have one (every now and again). Eating is supposed to be fun.

You should feel free to make your own choice because, what’s right for me, might not be right for you. A well-known popular myth is that cancer cells can be starved. But this simply isn’t true. The idea was based on an outdated, and disproven, study. But, it doesn’t stop people trying to make money off the back of it.

Cancer cells can use anything you eat, wherever and however it is stored in your body.The best things you can do is to eat right and take care of yourself. Even if what you’ve read is well-intentioned,a lot of these cures and diets can actually be harmful, while many others are doing nothing other than taking advantage of the fact that you might be vulnerable. It’s shaneful. Eating healthy might not be sexy, and it probably won’t slow or reverse the growth of your cancer. It does help me feel more in control of my health though. As well as making my body, and immune system, stronger. I feel better equipped to fight the disease.

If you cant give up your favourite foods, it can help to think about what you do eat, as much as what you don’t. So if you’re going to have something you know is bad for you, but you just haveto have it,try wrapping it with something nutritioal instead. And, if you’re overweight, you should probably think about this because it does mean you’re more likely to get cancer.

All of this is easier said than done, but definitely worth it. Your body,and your mind, will thank you for it.