How important is healthy eating?

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For cardiovascular health, a glass of red wine a day seems beneficial, but that amount of alcohol consumption significantly increases your risk for breast cancer.

There clearly are major diet/lifestyle effects on BC risk.  The classic example is that Asian women in Asia have a very low risk of BC, but Asian women who have lived in the US for a generation have essentially the same risk for BC as other US women.  http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/85/22/1819.short

Note that the "new normal" for body weight in the US is not normal at all.  For a scary video, see http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html

David

I try to eat healthy since my diagnosis, but my diet was pretty good before that I am not a big red meat eater. I ate alot of salads and veggies befor my diagnosis and I love mushrooms and blueberries and I think they are supposed to be cancer fighting foods, also if anything I was underweight when I was diagnosed so is weight a real factor? Asked all of my doctors well why then did I get this and none of them could give me an answer they areeat doctors. The one thing they said was that the enviroment can play a factor.

Hello all,

It won't hurt and it might help. :)

But good luck if you are looking for definitive studies.  Every time there is a study saying that a particular way of eating wards off recurrence (e.g. the WINS study with people eating 20g of fat/day showing reduced recurrence), a follow-up study seems to contradict it (larger WHEL study showing no such effect).

There is, however, a decent rationale for eating in a way that keeps inflammation down and blood sugar in the normal range.  The inflammation associated with high fat, high sugar diets accompanied by a low exercise lifestyle produces an environment full of growth hormones and cytokines that could potentially trigger dormant cancers or inflame existing ones. 

So, despite the conflicting evidence, it makes sense to eat healthfully and get lots of exercise.   Which doesn't mean avoiding all fats, or never having a cookie.  Just mostly eating well, exercising as much as possible (an hour a day on average), and keeping our weight in the low but muscular range.   We can probably take how we are feeling as a guide.   If we eat and exercise so that we feel good, we can probably believe that this is helpful.

But plenty of people with perfect diets and exercise recur (e.g. Connie, with her no sugar, very low fat diet), and plenty of people who live in McDonalds and never get off a couch unless it is to open a refrigerator do not.    No blame, no credit.  Some things are just beyond our control.

Love,
d

Considering the many known and unknown variables (genetic, environmental and co-morbid diseases) in the general well/cancer human population, in my opinion, we will never have definitive studies about one diet or another (excepting those for laboratory mice). So it really comes down to a philosophical decision about what you want to do with your life.  Whatever changes you want to undertake, it helps to have a supportive family/friends to keep on track.

Katie- as a struggling but somewhat reformed sugar freak I too think twice about eating that sugary treat.   The very thought I'm feeding my cancer turns me off from sugar and with rare exception I decline it now.   So does red meat.  I haven't touched it since I was diagnosed.  I've always eaten less fatty protein and try to gobble down as many fresh veggies and fruits as possible- I love all veggies, but fruit not as much.  And,  I don't always succeed.  Part of the problem is my appetite has decreased.   I eat such small amounts I can't be getting all the nutrition I need.

There's abundant evidence pure blueberry juice and blueberries are good for Triple Negatives.  I've also been studying the supplementation in the Edge-Cam Program and there's some pretty compelling info there, too.  

I was taken off all antioxidants during chemo, which has been difficult on my psyche. I do take flaxseed oil, Vit. D3, magnesium and calcium.  So many good antioxidants are also good anti-inflammatory boosters, too.  My regular doctor doesn't understand why I can't supplement, yet am free to eat anything I want- which ultimately have some of the same properties.  So my only choice right now is to get the nutrients through food.  He's also huge proponent of Curcumin/ Tumeric and claims compelling evidence of baying cancer time and time again.  I'm also reading Anti-Cancer- A New Way of Life edition 2, and trying to incorporate some of the late David Schreiber's food suggestions.

I think Donna & Denise nailed it.   Donna's point of not depriving yourself of a few occasional treats that make life enjoyable makes perfect sense- after all, we are here and now... life is to be enjoyed.  I believe everything in moderation while doing all we can to improve our lifestyle choices.

Denise points out that no matter what lifestyle alterations are made it appears cancer has a mind of it's own- with no rhyme or reason- with or without modification of diet and exercise.  It's a roll of the dice.  I believe we have to find our own way to lifestyle changes and sometimes it simply doesn't happen overnight.   For me, I feel if I don't at least try to modify some of my past bad eating habits, and get some decent exercise,  no matter what happens, I didn't do everything in my power to beat this.  I feel pretty powerless right now as it stands.  I don't beat myself up when I slip at times.

Nobody can predict the future regardless of what we eat.  We can only try our best- one day at a time.

Great topic, Sharon.  Wishing you the best.

Mindy


Edited by mindy555 - Feb 08 2012 at 7:56pm

Thanks everyone for all of your helpful advice.  I appreciate it!  You all have been very motivating for me.  My doctor , like Donna's, promotes and encourages the anti-inflammatory diet.   She gave me a copy of Dr. Andrew Weil's Anti-Inflammatory Pyramid.  Donna posted a link to it.  I'm going to try my best to follow it. My doctor said that even if it doesn't "guarantee" (nothing does) to prevent a recurrence it could quite possibly prevent a new primary cancer.