The NHS's backward 'nutritional' advice!

Sure you all know how much further I think we can go to heal through correct diet (macrobiotics is my weapon of choice as many of you know) but good to know some US hospitals at least starting to change the shocking advice oncologists give patients... Time to a change NHS - wake up!!! Even the American Cancer Society has information on macrobiotics... This is all the Royal Marsden has to say and this from the 'top' cancer hospital in the UK. By 'a sensible and balanced diet' they mean anything you like pretty much - as long as you dont lose weight! Ridiculous... even if you're overweight (a LOT of cancer patients) they will still say if you lose weight its a sign you are being overtaken by the cancer. Wrong on so many levels ... I am 10kg lighter than I was diagnosed but you know what, I feel GREAT!!! When I was on chemo and started losing weight they gave me carte blanche to eat as many pudding as I wanted despite the huuuuuuge body of research into how suga can feed cancer (one such article here) and sent me off with me a crate of nasty aspartame-filled drinks (I think we stlll have almost ever single one of them dont we Mum?). Truly revolting & it seems quite poisonous too (decide for yourself here here or here!)

This is more for those who have chosen the conventional route of treatment, long put behind me (I wont see my oncologist til April next year now so really going it alone now!) 
Anyway...


Memorial Sloan-Kettering and MD Anderson urge people on Chemotherapy to ‘Choose Healthy Foods’

In contrast to UK recommendations, which include pictures of cheeseburgers, sticky, sugary buns and milk shakes, top American cancer centres MD Anderson, Texas, and Memorial Sloan-Kettering in New York recommend much the same as Chris Woollams and CANCERactive do in the article ‘A Diet for chemotherapy’. You will note they talk about limiting sugar intake – but then six or so studies in the last 18 months have shown glucose feeds cancer.

"When you´re being treated for cancer, it´s important to avoid extreme diets that may leave you short on key nutrients," says Veronica McLymont, PhD, RD, director of food and nutrition services at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

* Choose whole grain breads and cereals.

* Drink 100% fruit or vegetable juices.

* Fill half of your plate with vegetables and fruits.

* A few times a week, choose meatless meals such as vegetarian lasagna or vegetable stir-fry.
* Snack on carrot sticks, sweet pepper slices, and fresh or dried fruits.
* Have a leafy green salad with dinner.
* Limit sugary foods -- the kind with lots of calories but very little        
nutrition.
* Pick lean meats and fish more often than red meat and processed
meats.

 

Try to Eat, Even If You Don´t Have an Appetite

Lack of appetite is common during cancer treatment. Some treatments can even make food taste unpleasant. "Even though you don´t feel like eating, it´s important to get adequate nutrition," says Sarah Rafat, RD, a senior dietitian at MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Here’s what to do: 

* Choose high-calorie, nutrient-rich foods such as avocados, nuts, beans,      
seeds, puddings (not sure about this one!?!?!?), and cooked cereals.

* Eat small meals throughout your day.
* Don’t wait until you´re hungry to eat. Instead, eat at certain times of day.
* Keep your favourite foods close at hand - not burgers my friends!!!
* Make your meals look appealing. Add parsley, lemon slices, cherry      
tomatoes, and other colourful garnishes to your plate.

read more here ... Source Cancer Active

To read the CANCERactive article, ‘A Diet for Chemotherapy’

JustGiving and full personal update coming next few days I promise...
 

Macrobiotics, intro to beans & recipes!

So, due to popular demand here goes with my monthly or so food section of the blog. The ideas is to focus on one food group each week and give some ideas for recipes mainly from the Kushi Institute too.

''Some general guidelines for the Japanese style macrobiotic diet are the following (it is also said that a macrobiotic diet varies greatly, depending on geographical and life circumstances):
    •    Well chewed whole cereal grains, especially brown rice: 40–60%
    •    Vegetables: 25–30%
    •    Beans and legumes: 5–10%
    •    Miso soup: 5%
    •    Sea vegetables: 5%
    •    Traditionally or naturally processed foods: 5–10%
Fish and seafood, seeds and nuts, seed and nut butters, seasonings, sweeteners, fruits, and beverages may be enjoyed occasionally, 2–3 times per week. Other naturally raised animal products may be included if needed during dietary transition or according to individual needs.''
(source Wikipedia)

I should be starting with whole arguably but this month its BEANS, mainly cos everyone seems to want my recipe (thank you to my teachers) for hummous! So, a few snippets of info from Bettina Zumdick's excellent new book follows with some information I learned over the summer. Beans are from the western perspective a valuable source of protein, fibre, minerals and fat. In combination with whole grains will provide all the daily requirements of essential amino acids, which are the essential protein building blocks that cant be synthesised by the body. Bean products like tofu or tempeh (yum!) can easily replace animal protein in a diet to give you all the protein you need and unlike animal products which contain high levels of saturated fats which are well known factors to increasing cholesterol and chance of heart disease (see the China Study) beans have been found to do the opposite. From an eastern perspective beans strengthen the kidney and urinary function. Beans also contain valuable amounts of minerals such as iron, phosphate, copper, the list goes on. They also help regulate blood sugar level, and contain good levels of insoluble fibre linked to preventing gallstones and normalising overproduction of bile acids. I hugely recommend Bettins's book 'Authentic Foods' if you want to know more. If you are worried about lack of vitamin B12 wild caught atlantic fish would be your best bet.

Beans should make up no more than 10% of your daily intake of food by weight, next to 40-50% grains (that's about a quarter of your plate only) and most of the rest vegetables, according to macrobiotic principles if I am not mistaken. The macrobiotics also love to have a pickle at the end of a meal, the fermentation of which I have started to get quite into lately. The recommended for daily use beans (most energetically helpful on regular basis) in macrobiotics are: lentils, chick peas, black soybeans (hard to find) & aduki beans. Aduki beans are a favourite as they work so well in desserts too!

Guide to approx soaking amounts per cup of beans (cups) / cooking times for UK pre-soaked / unsoaked:
Chickpeas: 3-4 cups / 2-2.5 hours / 3 hrs
Aduki beans: 2 cups? / 45 mins / 1 hour?
Lentils: 2-3 / 15-20 mins / 30-45 mins
Black soybeans: 4 / 2-4 hours?
Butter beans: 4 / 45 mins - 1 hour? / 1.5-2 hrs
Kidney beaks: 3 / 1 hour / 2 hours
Black beans: 4 / 30-45 mins / 1 hour
Mung beans: 2.5 / 1 hour / 1.5 hours

The main trick with beans is don't add salt til the last 10 minutes or the beans wont cook. About 1/4 tsp salt (good quality sea salt only!) per cup is maximum you should ever use. Use konbu to soak regularly but if you have trouble with gas/indigestion after eating omit the konbu until cooking starts and make sure you soak with lemon juice for up to 24 hours and then throw out the soaking water before adding your cooking water. Also if the beans are taking forever you can 'shock' them to speed up process - pour cold water carefully down the sides of the hot saucepan onto the beans. You can eat the konbu after the cooking process - it contains plenty of excellent trace minerals.

Macro hummous (serves 2-4)

- 2 cups chick peas
(if from dry soak overnight with postage stamp sized piece of konbu* aka kelp. cook for approx 1 hour or until soft)
- 1 clove garlic (optional)
- 1/4 onion / grated (optional)
- 2 tbsp tahini (experiment with different types)
- 2 tbsp of olive oil
- 1 tbsp ume paste*
- 1 tbsp ume vinegar*
- lemon juice to taste

Blend all ingredients until smooth. Be sure to save the chickpea water to use as you need to achieve the desired creaminess. You can leave thicker or go for smooth peanut butter consistency. This chickpea water is highly nutritious and can also be used as base for a soup if you cook an extra 1/4 cup of chick peas to add as well plus one veg such as cauliflower. You can use spring onions instead of onions or neither if you want too keep the hummus for more than a 2 days. if no veg is used this will keep for 4 days or so. I like to keep a few chick peas aside and add at the end to give the end result a bit of texture when adding them into the blended hummus. Enjoy!

Cauliflower & chickpea soup soup

- 1/4 cup chickpeas
- 2 cups cauliflower florets
- 1 litre of pure water
- 1/2 cup cauli greens/branches sliced thin
- 1 small onion
- whole cumin seeds
- bay leaf
- pinch of salt
- pepper to taste

Dry roast the cumin for a few minutes in a hot saucepan. Add some oil and once hot add the onion. Cook until glassy. Add water, chickpeas, cauliflower, salt & bayleaf plus any other veg leftovers like carrot (diced small) if you wish. Bring to boil and simmer for about 10 minutes until the cauliflower is starting to soften. Don't overcook it. Serve immediately with parsley garnish.


Aduki bean & squash pudding

- 1.5 cups cubed squash
- pinch salt
- 1 cup fresh apple juice
- 1 tbsp tahini
- 1/2 cup rice syrup*
- 2 pinches cinnamon
- 1/2 cup kuzu* or other thickening agent like arrowroot
- few drops vanilla essence

Boil squash with 1 cup apple juice and pinch of salt. Mash. Dissolve kudzu with small amount of water, add to squash 6 apple juice plus other ingredients. Blend, adding any seeds or buts at the end if you wish. Deeelicious!

* all starred items are available at any good whole foods store or at the macro shop I use. the brand to look out for in the UK is clearspring. I use konbu every day, kuzu is bit pricey but very useful and ume paste for a LOT of dressings.

Hope you find this informative and useful! sorry I dont have pics!!!
Health update coming soon…
d.