I’m pretty sure you’ve heard about my comfort food meal already somehow … just in case, here it is again ;) . After chemo, I am managing digestive side effects and don’t often have a huge appetite (also things kind of taste like crap). I’ve started to use non-metal utensils to eat with as a tip from my nutritionist, which I think helps some. The only two definitive things I can say still taste delicious are stiff ginger beer and bacon! With the help of my wonderful health team, I’ve been stressing less about eating perfectly during chemo. I am doing my best with the energy and resources I have, and that is absolutely good enough. I had a great follow up call with my naturopath Keoni this week who reminded me that stress is just as harmful for cancer! So I am happily focused on getting calories in as I can to minimize losing weight and muscle mass, which is an essential part of my immune system.
This pleasing one bowl meal is vegan mac and cheeze, and I add in chicken sausage, garlic, green onion, spinach, Siete habanero hot sauce, my newest spice in the cupboard, curry powder, and crushed red pepper. Sometimes I throw an egg on top for more protein like tonight, overhard as I have to be careful on chemo about eating anything undercooked. The curry powder is a great way to get more turmeric, cardamom, and cinnamon in my diet, all cancer fighters. Keoni encourages us to cook with spices as much as possible to make our food healthier. He also reminds us that each of our cancers are unique to us as individuals, and thus our approach to treatment would need to be tailored specifically to us as well.
My diet is quite the balancing act, as I am managing years of autoimmune conditions: Crohn’s disease, hypothyroidism, and chronic migraine. With my Crohn’s, veggies are best digested cooked, and so eating them on top of pizza or pasta has been a way for me to include them and not flare my gut, hence why they are in this dish. I was vegan when I met Keoni fifteen years ago seeking help for my severe Crohn’s, and my best friend Cori was also vegetarian, who came to my first appointment with me with Keoni and his brother Jade, both practicing naturopathic doctors in NC. Cori was pregnant with her first daughter Eliana at the time, and the first thing they said was for her to start eating animal protein to have a healthy pregnancy and avoid postpartum issues. Highly educated and both ex-vegetarians themselves, they presented compelling arguments to us both for adding in animal protein back into our diets in a healthy, humane, Earth-conscious way in the vein of our Paleolithic ancestors.
I did so much better eating a higher protein diet. I don’t overeat protein ever. I don’t like to cook it or touch it, and yet, I know I have to have it for optimal health. I couldn’t tolerate beans or soy, sources of plant-based protein, and frankly being vegan was not serving my health well at all. The top two tips my integrative oncology doctor shared regarding breast cancer when we connected were to stop eating processed meats and to not drink alcohol. While my processed meat is the organic, nitrate-free, Whole Foods variety, way better than a conventional hot dog, I am still working to cut down on it drastically and cook more from scratch. It’s convenient when I am eating for one person. And back to imperfection, it’s OK for me to eat some of this now as I am going though chemo. I’m not a big drinker at all, and don’t drink on a regular basis, i.e. a glass of wine every night. My occasional gin, ginger and lime cocktail is even OK in moderation says my health team, particularly if it is paired with health-promoting fun, levity, and relaxation time. My focus on the anti-cancer diet to minimize recurrence will begin more in earnest once I am done with treatment and I have more bandwidth to do so; for now it’s good to ease in.
I’m working on finding the balance between eating Keto/Paleo which makes my gut happy with ramping up more anti-cancer interventions, which includes eating more antioxidant-rich foods and compounds, more fresh fruits and veggies, less sugar. Eating an adequate amount of protein, trying to eat more Mediterranean-style with less red meat and more poultry and fish, and include things like nutraceutical-grade whey protein to support my immune system. Trying to be conscious about considering a diet lower in methionine (mostly animal proteins), which is showing promise in research, but which seems to counteract keto/paleo (keto also shows anti-cancer promise). Argh! Eh? I’m eating berries and bananas which help my digestive system, and some gluten free whole grains to help sustain me during chemo, but I don’t miss added sugars otherwise thankfully. I’ve made the switch in the morning to an unsweetened bulletproof coffee concoction with turmeric, mushroom powder, coconut oil, and coconut creamer.
Tonight after this meal as I write this I’m sipping on herbal rooibos chai tea with cloves, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves, a perfect nightcap. I guess the bottom line is, we must do what’s right for our bodies. I’m actively engaged in trying to figure that out in light of my newest diagnosis, and make enhancements where I can, without adding additional stress- a balancing act, indeed!
