So I have made some changes to my diet and lifestyle, if you have any further tips I would love to hear them (commenting below means everyone can learn from you).
Changes Ben has made since being diagnosed with cancer:- Breakfast: Bran, puffed millet, puffed rice, psyllium husk, ground flax seed, bee pollen + soy milk.
- I juice twice a day. Each juice has green tea leaves, turmeric, black pepper, garlic and bee pollen as its base. Ingredients are a mix of beetroot, tomato, cucumber, celery, carrot, zucchini, apple, lemon, lime, orange, strawberry, broccoli, pineapple.
- Two bowls of mixed berries per day.
- I swim 1.5 km per day and run for a minimum of 30 minutes.
- I aim for two meditations (30 min each) per day.
- No dairy products, no meat products.
- No fats except olive oil and flax seed oil.
- Green and rooibos tea all day.
- Two glasses of pomegranate juice per day (thanks Rach).
- I read through a series of affirmations when I remember to (thanks Sana).
- I use a non-BPA and non-leaching drink/tea bottle.
- I don't warm things up in the microwave in plastic containers.
- Refined sugar intake is limited to three squares of 70% cocoa chocolate per day, I usually eat this alongside 100 ml of red wine.
Vital Greens (http://www.vitalgreens.com) worked a miracle for healing me. It was a great mixture of things that help the body heal itself. I loved it in my juice, or in my morning cereal mix.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm not sure where you're getting your protein from (you'll need a bucket load with so much exercise) but I loved Phyto-Protein by the same company (look under 'Products'). It's is delicious and a fantastic source of protein.
Finally, when your stomach really starts to struggle a little later down the line, you'll need good bacteria to reestablish digestive function. Most products available are not from human strains. There is an awesome new product called Progurt (http://www.progurt.com) which made me feel like a whole new person.
All this advice is from two years of trial and error, and advice from the woman I owe my quality of life to: my naturopath Janes Miles at the Go Vita in St Ives. If you are ever in Sydney, I can't stress how much I'd recommend going to see her. She'll change your life, I promise.
Good luck Braves! You're a hero for us all! xo
Oh, and on avoiding toxins - it seems safest not to eat, cook or store any foods in plastic of any kind if you can help it. That includes cups, bowls, plates, spatulas, ladles, crockery etc. Stainless steel and ceramic all the way baby!
ReplyDeleteAnd though it's true sugar feeds cancer cells and so refined sugars should be avoided, there seems to be an agreement that complex carbs are really really important. So chow down on you sprouts and pulses, they are the Wolverine of superfoods. Avocados, coconut oil, cauliflower (remember my raw cauliflower and pumpkin dip fetish?), broccoli, cabbage, spirulina and seaweeds are right up there too.
Finally, there is snowballing evidence that vitamin supplements in ultra mega doses have extraordinary cancer fighting powers. I've been scouring medical journals and will send you my report soon as I can!
Your new diet sounds so healthy it scares me. I was getting all hot and anxious just reading what you were eating for breakfast...then I got to the juice with broccoli in it and had to close the browser until I stopped screaming. xox
ReplyDeletehi ben, I was eating my way through a bucket of kale last night and got into a discussion with ed about kale vs spinach. I was on Team Spinach. the internet was the arbitrator; no contest, Team Kale won.
ReplyDeletethen I stumbled across this great blog (http://www.365daysofkale.com/) by a nutritionist and multi cancer survivor. she details why she eats kale and cruciferous vegetables every single day, references lots of studies and science-y things I think you'll appreciate about anti-cancer foods. lots of recipes and other tips for what she does to stay alive and healthy.
Also, it might be worth checking out traditional chinese medicine if you know someone reliable. when I was in london in the fall I met a man who had been diagnosed with tumors in four different spots the year before; his doctors said it was inoperable, incurable and he should go home and get his affairs in order.
ReplyDeletehe went to see a TCM doctor, raised a huge stink with his hospital, and ended up doing TCM herbs for a couple months, then 6 months of chemo, then more TCM herbs.
when I met him his tumors had all shrunk quite a bit and were still shrinking, he'd regained 60 pounds, didn't look sick at all, and planned to take his TCM herbs for the rest of his life. it's impossible to say how much the TCM worked or even how it worked, but his doctors have been shocked by his recovery.
of course, the herbs looked and smelled like forest poo.
Excuse me Ben. I am concerned about your calcium intake...
ReplyDeleteThe best thing to do: drink wine (French one, of course)...
ReplyDeleteTwo French proverbs: "One can meet more often old drunkards than old doctors" and 'Donot listen to your doctor, do as him: drink wine"...
Also donot forget to eat Chocolate: chocolate is very good for longevity, according to Jeanne Calment:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanne_Calment
Update: the Pharmacist at my hospital went through my bag of goodies and I have been advised to limit these items during chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
ReplyDeleteWhy?
1. Radiation and chemotherapy are designed to damage cells.
2. Free radicals are created when cells are damaged.
3. Antioxidants gobble up free radicals.
4. I was on a high-antioxidant diet.
5. If I have too many antioxidants in my system the free radicals in my tumour will be gobbled up and it will be able to heal itself.
6. Tumours are not good at healing by themselves because they no longer obey the rules of the road.
See: http://benbbrave.blogspot.com/2011/03/cancer-cars.html