Living With CLL - diet

After the shock of my husband being told he had cancer again had worn off a little, I think the hardest issue for us to digest was the complete and total change in his diet………..and I mean CHANGE. 

We couldn't believe
all the foods his Oncologist and Nutritionist told him he could no longer eat.  I have never met anyone that is on such a restricted diet and stays on it every day without fail (but that also could be because I do all the cooking so he really doesn’t have much choice). 

Below are just some of the foods he can no longer eat and why and what we found to be healthy substitutes for them and why.  Most of this information I ‘googled’ using “cancer diet” in the search engine.   That led me to hundreds of other sites discussing hundreds of other cancer related issues.   Some information we learned from friends going through cancer and a very
knowledgeable lady that works at our Vitamin Discount Center (VDC) in Tampa, where we live and where Tom gets all his all-natural and organic medicines.  She was in the beginning, and still is, a wealth of information.  

You may or may not agree with what is written here, but it is what I have learned on line during the last 1 1/2 years.  By following this diet, Tom’s cancer has not gotten worse and his hematocrit has even gone up a little.  His Oncologist told Tom to continue doing what he’s doing because it’s helping.  These are my thoughts, ideas, viewpoints and opinions.  No two people are alike.  What works for us may not work for you.

WHITE FLOUR and WHITE BREAD:

White flour is an empty carbohydrate and has little nutritional value. White bread is a starchy carbohydrate that turns into sugar.  Cancer thrives in sugar.  Both are bad for you.  Do you realize how much food is made from white flour?  It seemed like practically everything.  Cakes, cookies, baked goods, breakfast cereals, breads and noodles begin with white flour.  I started googling “white flour and white bread substitutes” and was lucky enough to find  Sami’s Bakery.   They sell several        types of gluten-free items made with flaxseed and/or millet flours.  NOT white flour.  Very healthy and very tasty.   Some of their selection includes several types of breads and bagels, chips, pizza crust, hot dog and hamberger rolls.

Other alternatives to white flour (for baking) are flaxseed flour, millet flour, oat flour, garbanzo flour and ‘Red Mills’ all-purpose flour (this flour
contains soy so I don’t use it).  There are several others.  Some of          these flours are heavier than regular white flour so you would want to mix a couple of different types together until you find the right blend.  Also sift together several times.

 NOODLES:

Most noodles are made from white flour.  White flour is an empty carb with no nutritional value.  Tom tried the quinoa noodles but he didn’t enjoy them.  Then we discovered brown rice noodles in the gluten-free section of Walmart.  Really delicious.

CHICKEN:

I read so many pro and con articles regarding eating chicken if you have cancer that I decided to talk to the knowledgeable lady
(mentioned above).  She recommended a book by Dr. Peter J. D’Adamo called “4 blood types, 4 diets.  EAT RIGHT 4 YOUR TYPE”.  The book talks about foods you should and should not eat according to your blood
type.  Chicken is not good for Tom’s blood type which is ‘B’.  The book    actually states that chicken poisons his body.  This book is extremely informative whether you are ill or completely healthy.  You have nothing to lose by reading it.   We learned a lot from it.  (If your Oncologist has given you a strict diet like Toms did, ALWAYS follow your doctors’ orders).  This book helped us understand what foods are most beneficial or detrimental to his blood type so we could make well informed decisions.   For those of you that can eat chicken, it was just discovered that a chickens naturally produce a substance called NK-Lysine.  This substance is supposed to be able to fight cancer cells.  But on the flip side of that coin, someone else said that chicken has a cancer causing substance in it.  Too many pro’s and con’s.  I’ll leave this for you to figure out.

RED MEAT:

NO RED MEAT!   There is so much information on line about all the different types of cancers that could be caused by eating red meat that we just don’t chance it.  Now Tom’s diet is limited to turkey-ham, fresh turkey breast,  Jennie-O turkey products, {all of which are really good}, lamb, tuna in the package (not canned), and fresh fish at least twice a
week (especially Salmon).  Unfortunately, some of these food choices are processed (which you should not eat), so we limit processed foods to once or twice a week.   Turkey breast is good for you to eat if you have cancer.  It is rich in protein, niacin and vitamins B6 and B12.  It contains folic acid and vitamins and minerals like zinc and potassium.  It contains
the trace mineral selenium which is an antioxidant. It is also low in fat.   Lamb is also another good food choice even though it is considered
a red meat.  It is a good source of a high quality protein, iron, vitamin B12, zinc, selenium and niacin.  It is also low in saturated fat.  Lamb does have cholesterol and sodium, so eat in moderation.   I have learned 50 different ways to cook these items so meals don’t get boring.  

WHITE RICE AND WHITE POTATOES:

White rice and white potatoes are considered empty carbs.  They contain NO nutrients and can cause a sudden spike in blood sugar because they both turn into sugar as soon as they are eaten.  Remember, cancer loves sugar.  Tom eats brown rice.  Brown rice has not been processed and contains magnesium, vitamins, iron & fiber.  It helps lower triglyceride
and bad cholesterol levels. 

CAFFEINE:

You will have to make up your own mind about caffeine in coffee, tea or hot chocolate.  (You can buy hot chocolate that is sugar-free but it still contains caffeine).  If you google ‘caffeine vs cancer’ you will not      believe how many different views there are about this.  Several
studies show caffeine kills cancer cells while other studies show it causes cancer cells to grow.  Tom’s Oncologist told him not to have caffeine       so he doesn’t.   He drinks caffeine-free organic green tea (from VDC).

SUGAR:            

Tom & I are both diabetics so not having sugar in our diet was not a problem.   Cancer loves sugar.  It needs sugar to survive whether it is
sucrose (table sugar), fructose (high fructose corn syrup) or glucose (the natural sugar in the foods you eat).  A healthy diet will always include
some sugar because it naturally occurs in fruit and milk. Just don’t add any more sugar to your diet.  Eating too much sugar causes your body to produce too much insulin which will encourage cancer cells to grow.  For a sugar substitute we use ‘Kal’ pure Stevia with Iuo han (from VDC).  It’s all natural and doesn’t contain aspartame or saccharine.  

SOY: 

We use Bragg liquid aminos which is a natural soy sauce alternative (from VDC).  

We use Earth Balance soy-free margarine because it doesn’t have a soy or milk base.   

We use "Winona Pure" heart healthy 100% canola oil (in the green can).  It's only ingredient is canola oil.  All the other cans of cooking spray had some type of soy in it.   

DAIRY:

Tom can’t have cows’ milk or soy milk, so we use Almond milk.  There is sweetened and unsweetened.  He doesn’t really enjoy the flavor of either, so I use the unsweetened almond milk to make homemade          oatmeal or creamy brown rice hot cereal.  I just add the pure Stevia to it.  It’s perfect.  I'll give you my recipes.

My granddaughter told me about a vegan cheese called Daiya.  Daiya is FREE of soy, dairy (casein, whey and lactose),  gluten, eggs, rice, peanuts and tree nuts (except coconut oil).  It is really delicious.  We buy it at Whole Foods or Abbeys Nutrition. 

Ice cream was the hardest food for him to give up and what he misses the most.  We both loved the “no sugar added” ice cream.  He does eat the sugar-free ice pops.  I did just buy a YOnanas to make frozen dessert  out of frozen fruit, but I haven’t used it yet.  Has anyone tried one?  It’s supposed to make frozen fruit have the same consistency as ice cream.

GLUTEN:   

Tom cannot eat any foods with gluten as gluten could aid in the creation of cancer cells.  I READ ALL LABELS VERY CAREFULLY. 

OTHER CHANGES

TOILETRIES:   

Tom no longer uses ‘store bought’ soap, shampoo, mouthwash or toothpaste.  He uses all-natural or organic body soap, shampoo, mouthwash and fluoride-free toothpaste (bought at VDC).