What to eat when you have cancer?

[oiseau]

I'm not completely sure whether this belongs here or in Health & Healing, so feel free to move it. I'm looking more for food advice than cancer healing advice, so I decided on here.

So, the title pretty much sums it up. What do you eat when you're dealing with cancer. In the week since I've been diagnosed, I've read so much contradictory advice for what's best to eat when you're going through treatment. Some say raw, vegan food. Some say only cooked food, no raw. Some stuff recommends all kinds of food/herbal supplements while others act like any supplement will keep your chemo from working and could kill you. It's looking impossible to come up with the "right" answer. I know that even when I'm well, I could never stick to any one prescribed diet, so I'm just trying to general idea of stuff that's definitely good for me, stuff that's definitely bad for me and stuff that's not perfect, but won't be awful. (If it makes a difference, I have Hodgkin's lymphoma and will be doing chemo every other week for 6mo. or so).

Here's what I'm thinking right now and then I'm wondering if I could get some suggestions as well.
-Homemade bone broth (I usually do chicken or turkey) to drink or make light soups out of (i.e. throw some shredded turkey in and add chopped avocado & garlic...super yummy!)
-Smoothies (once I get a blender)-I can mix these up depending on how I'm feeling and try to sneak some extra nutritious stuff in
-Miso soup (with seaweed for extra nutrition)
-Proteins: roast chicken, turkey, ground beef hash with lots of veggies, eggs
-As many green leafy veggies as I can handle; squash
-Stews
-Dishes with beans, when I can handle them
-Fruit, esp. bananas (because they're my favorite); other fresh and/or dried fruit
-Homemade yogurt
-Homemade or store-bought lacto-fermented sauerkraut
-I'm trying to avoid a lot of grains because no matter how hard i try, I just can't bring myself to like brown rice or WW pasta. Since white is back, I'll probably just try to avoid them and sneak in some WW bread when I can
-I'm also trying to avoid dairy as much as possible because I'm in some way allergic/intolerant. I love cheese like nothing else, but I'll be avoiding it. I'm ok with yogurt and the probiotics help a lot, so I'll leave that on the list.

Anything else? I'm trying to focus on quick, easy stuff that I can store so snacks and mealtimes are simple for everyone. I also have my partner to feed (he can fend for himself), so I'm trying to find stuff that's ok for me to eat and will also be a good meal for him.

Thanks in advance for any advice/recipes!

[desertpenguin]

Originally Posted by oiseau

-I'm trying to avoid a lot of grains because no matter how hard i try, I just can't bring myself to like brown rice or WW pasta. Since white is back, I'll probably just try to avoid them and sneak in some WW bread when I can
-I'm also trying to avoid dairy as much as possible because I'm in some way allergic/intolerant. I love cheese like nothing else, but I'll be avoiding it. I'm ok with yogurt and the probiotics help a lot, so I'll leave that on the list.

so when you say you can't bring yourself to like brown rice, do you mean brown rice alone or do you mean brown rice pasta? i've found that tinkyada brand of brown rice pasta tastes pretty much the same as white flour pasta and cooks very nicely. i've also found that many gluten free breads in general are very mild in flavor while also being whole grain. i would think going gluten free would be a good idea while dealing with a serious health condition, particularly cancer, since it seems that most people cannot digest gluten properly anyways from what i've read.

as far as yogurt, i would switch that out for kefir since it has more probiotics and can be made cheaply and easily at home. you can make it with coconut milk or water, or any nut or seed milk. you could also do water kefir instead. kombucha is great as well for probiotics but it's also supposed to be great at detoxification so you should probably do some research on that if you think you might want to add that in.

you can add plenty of good stuff in smoothies. i like to do them with kefir, some leafy greens, and frozen berries/fruit and stevia if it needs some extra sweetness to cover up the green taste.

crispy nuts might make a good snack and you could easily make a trail mix or grain-free granola with them.

anyways, hth! healing vibes!

[Dandelionkid]

Along the smoothie line there was a woman on Oprah that began juicing greens daily when diagnosed with cancer. Can you get a good juicer?

[jenniepaige]

I'm not sure about eating but you should really really drink aloe vera juice. It oxygenates the cells. And when cells are oxygenated cancer can't thrive it in. You can get it at health food stores or take body balance which also has sea vegetables in it. They are a pure source of all those leafy greens as well as all the omega fish oils as well.
It's one of those direct marketing things though but you can just buy the product. It really will change your life.
I'm also really sorry about your diagnosis and wish you a quick recovery.

[love2all]

My dh has worked with a few people who have used a macrobiotic way of life in helping them cure cancers..
lots of seaweeds and squashs, leafy greens, beans, miso
NO NIGHTSHADES- potatos, peppers, eggplant
NO processed foods- white sugar, white flour, additives and preservatives

GODD LUCK to you mama- Stay Strong -
you are in my thoughts and prayers..

[Leenie]

Seconding the no sugar! Cancer loves sugar. I've heard wonderful things about juicing as well, and supplementing with fish oil is a good idea. Big huge s to you sweetie

[nicolelynn]

Your personal diet plan sounds excellent.

I have struggled with intestinal problems (parasites/candida/leaky gut) for a year now, and I too have researched a ton and found a mind boggling amount of contradictory ideas. The thing is, different people HAVE healed on as vastly different diets as raw vegan to the Optimal Diet (80% saturated animal fat, primarily from butter, cheese and pork).

So I realized after months of trying different diets that the key is #1 whole foods, #2 litsen to YOUR body.

Once I gave up the restrictive diets (anti-candida, SCD, etc) I finally gained back all the weight I lost (got down to a dismal 92 lbs), improved my digestion significantly, got energy back and am in general much happier even though I am still fighting a bit. I am even on a road trip out of state as we speak, something I couldn't have done 2 months ago. I just stopped being afraid that grains, sugars in fruit, etc were going to kill me and just enjoy all the whole foods I want. I am feeding my own personal vitality this way.