natural girls
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Althea, you do tickle me with your pizza, I get the cravings for certain foods too.....like today I had milk chocolate "twix bar"....I enjoyed every bite....
I wonder if it will affect our bones as we age if we give up dairy....my calcium blood levels have been fine...but I haven't hit menopause yet....
Floridalady, I agree about the phyto estrogens in plants....It is hard for me to believe bad estrogen comes from them.....though the pesticides used to get great crops may have the bad estrobgen effect on our body.....I like what soemone said about washing fruits and veges with soap....but what if the chemicals have been absorbed into the fruit or vegetable. I guess organic is the best if you can afford it.
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Althea, I have no idea whether she will convince you but I truly belive that everyone who has had BC should read what she has to say about it. Then you will have to decide for yourself what, if anything, of things she recommends you want to incorporate in your lifestyle. Her book is not without controversy so not only does she not ban soya for hormone positive cancers she positively recommends it. I hope she is right as I use soya products although not as much as I used to (having read some recommendations on this site which were against it). Anyone read other threads on green tea being controversial for bc? Again hope not.
Vivre, I tried to order No Dairy book on British Amazon and it looks like it is out of print. Jane Plant has written a book on osteoporosis which I have ordered in November, again from Amazon but all they keep sending me are notes about the delay. In the book that I have she argues that enough calcium can be obtained without eating dairy. She uses large animals who are vegetarian as example. Also she says that countries with most dairy consuption have biggest problem with osteoporosis although I cannot remember how she explained that correlation.
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I ordered the No Dairy book on US amazon and was able to get it today. But they only had a few copies left when I ordered.
My onc does not believe that soy is the problem. . She went over the studies of the low breast cancer incidence in Japan and that when the same women move to the US and start our high in meat diet, their incidence of breast cancer goes up. Anyway that is for those of you who are taking soy and afraid of it. I think that no one really knows what is best and we have to figure it out. Hence, this thread.
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I have traveled throughout china. There are plenty of fresh fruit and veggies everywhere.The locals eat healthy but like to add the pickled veggies and high soduim soy to their food for fllavor.
I have added the omega 3 supp to my diet. How many should we take a day and what brands are better to buy? Thanks to this thread I have bought the book you were talking about.Thanks ladies for all the healthy advice.
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mumayan - about the omega 3's - don't know if you've seen them but in Shoppers they carry a brand of supplements for women called FemMed. My gynecolgist/integrative dr. recommended them as soon as I told him about my bc - I guess largely because he was on the board who devised their formulas? - (does he get royalties, I wonder) - I take Heart health for the omega 3's and Breast health - for the I3C's. both have other herbs/supplements for a synergistic effect. Expensive, maybe only available in Canada - but just a thought. Femmed has a website.
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ps - would love to receive anyone's fave recipes a la anti-cancer. Also just reading about agave nectar and any advice on using that? partly for me, partly for my partner who is diabetic with a non-stop sweet tooth.Please pm me with them? thanks!
I have a few, too.
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Althea,
Let me know what you find out about that book. I got Almond dream yesterday and had it today on cereal and coffee. It was not as good to me as Organic fat free cows milk. I may need to read the book too! lol
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Hey I am a Japanese living in Japan. Of course there has never been a day when I didn't drink green tea ever since I can remember. We drink it just as it is, would never think about adding any flavors to it. Maybe that's because what we drink here as green tea is different than what you have in the U.S. As for Matcha, yes it is very expensive and we don't usually drink it except for the formal tea ceremony. But it is often used as an added flover/taste to other forms of tea or even totally different kind of food such as cakes, snacks etc. Have you ever heard of Genmaicha? It is made from Bancha tea leaves harvested in the fall, then combined with roasted brown rice, creating a brisk, medium-bodied tea with a toasty flavor and nutty accent. It is often sold with Matcha added to it. It's my favorite because it's actually yummy and relatively reasonable. Genmaicha is said to be a powerful antioxidant because it combines many health benefits of drinking green tea with the nice flavor and significant health benefits found in roasted brown rice.
Unfortunately most Japanese green tea wholesalers/retailers do not ship overseas. But if you are interested, I will try my best to help you purchase green tea from my country.
Hugs,
Fumi
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I went back to read posts that I have missed and am adding few thoughts/questions inspired by them.
Vivre, I noticed you take beta carotene supplement. Some years ago they did a long term research and they found that people who took this supplement had more cancers than controls. I read about this research at the time but was remided of it in Dr Plant's book. As I recal she recommends taking it through betacarotene rich food (carrots, oranges, sweet potatoes, squash, yams, apricots - as a rule of thumb orange colored food) rather than supplements as it may be something else in these foods which stops it from being harmful.
Re earlier disussion on turmeric. Before I knew I had bc I started having joint pains. Someone recommended turmeric and low and behold within days of taking it the pains went. They are back now with Tamoxifen but I am back on turmeric so I hope that it works again.
I wanted to ask about oils and plastic bottles. There is a controversy about chemicals in plastic leeking into food (particularly fats). If that is the case I shudder to think about all the oils I have consumed from plastic bottles over the years. Not to mention baby bottles I warmed up milk in for my child. I have started now buying olive oil in glass bottles but most other oils are still packaged in plastic, even in health food stores? Anyone else thought about this or found a solution?
Best Nena
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I don't think we can compare the diet that people eat in China or Japan or even Europe with US. The fact that the Asian people eat soy and do not have cancer cannot be taken out of the context of the entire environment. Besides soy, they also eat fish, rice, and fruits and vegetable that we in US do not even know exists. I do not think you can pick just soy from somebody's diet, added to our diet, and expect to have the same outcome. I lived in Europe before moving to US, I visited Japan last year, and I can tell you that the same food tastes differently on each continent. We added some of the foods from Japan to our menu ( Shabu- Shabu, my favorite) but I buy the meat from the Japanese Store in NJ and also their mushrooms and other veggies that I cannot find in US stores. I believe that eating soy in excess (and unfortunately in US now it is added to almost everything) it is not healthy.
On the same idea, it is well known that the French people don't have cholesterol and they live longer. It is from their diet of red wine, cheese, fish and olive oil. Also, the French people don't eat too much meat either and when they do it is more ducks and chicken than beef or pork. So I don't believe that alcohol necessarily increases the changes of breast cancer. I will still drink a glass of red organic wine any time I fell like. (haven't had one since November 2008 due to chemo).
I also recommend the tea made out of loose leaves. I buy organic Japanese Green Tea from Whole Foods.
I am for glass no plastic. Also, no meat or cheese in plastic bags either. As soon as I am home, I take all the meat out of the packages and the cheese I move them in glass containers.
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Simvog, what a good suggestion to move your cheese to glass containers. I try to keep things in glass as much as possible but I had never thought of putting cheese in simple glass containers. Thanks.
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Nena, I like you haven't seen any regular oils in glass bottles...olive oil is the only one...and for some reason, I have only seen it in glass bottles....but olive oil isn't good heated up.
plastics are disturbing factor....everyone is exposed to them...some people are affected and some are not.
Thanks for the info on japanese tea.
souad, great that your onc is supportive with alternatives.
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I have found Safflower oil, Canola oil, Seasme oil and a number of other oils in Glass bottles at Whole Foods. All of the oils by Sprectrum are in glass jars and there are some other brands as well. Hope that is of some help.
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amberyba - Sadly, it it not my onc who is supportive. He thinks that eating anything special is a waste of time. It was my gynecologist, who went complimentary/integrative about 12 years ago when he srtopped using HRT. I didn't know who else to ask about supplements/lifestyle changes at that time.
here's a question: ok, I'll admit it, I make French fries from time to time. I know, I know. I use ordinary olive oil, not extra virgin. (rather than a polyunsaturated oil which I believe is very unstable at high heat). would I be better off using peanut oil, as it is stable at high temps I believe or even gasp -lard? it's only once in a while........
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Thanks, Fumi, for the info on green tea.
I believe I will be able to find some Japanese tea here, as I live in NYC. If I find out anything about mail order sources, I'll post it here.
Janet
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http://www.mitsuwa.com/tenpo/newj/eindex.html
Here is the link to the Japanese store in NJ.
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amberyba - Whenever I need to fry something, I use coconut oil. Refined coconut oil (labeled 'for medium and high heat on the front, Spectrum brand) doesn't get damaged by heat (damaged oil = transfats), and even is good for you. As a matter of fact, I use coconut oil for anything that requires oil for heating. Eggs, sautes, etc. Google coconut oil, and you should come up with references that describe coconut oil's benefits.
I only use olive oil for non-heat cooking purposes. Heat creates transfats with olive oil.
Unrefined coconut oil is for low heat uses, but it retains the coconut flavor. Not necessarily a bad thing, but less appropriate for a lot of recipes. Unrefined ("low heat" on the label) coconut oil is also excellent for skin uses.
Coconut oil is also antimicrobial! This stuff is a great thing to keep around for cuts and scrapes, among other things. For this, I think you really want the unrefined stuff.
I use flaxseed oil and olive oil ONLY for salad dressings and unheated uses in recipes. I substitute a portion of the olive oil in dressing recipes with flaxseed oil. I keep a container of ground flaxseed in my freezer, and take a few spoonfuls out to sprinkle on foods. (I don't have a grinder yet. When I do, the whole seed will live in the freezer and I'll grind them onto my food.) Keeping in the freezer really slows down aging of the oil in the seeds or ground meal, which causes rancidity.
I use butter, SPARINGLY, as a flavoring agent/condiment. And I do mean SPARINGLY. Butter is another fat that will not become damaged by heat, like - as you mentioned - lard. Neither of these animal fats offers a great deal of nutritional value or health benefit to balance their downsides. I do believe a small amount of butter from organic sources is not a bad thing.
Olive oil on bread, as a meal appetizer, does give me an avenue for consuming it with a meal that doesn't use it in the recipes, and does reduce the appetite. To me, that's all good!
If you're using the frozen, pre-cut fries from the grocery store, here's something I discovered: you can put these in the oven (at about 350-375 degrees) or put them in a skillet on med-hi heat WITHOUT ADDITIONAL OIL and they will cook up very nicely. This technique also works with most frozen and breaded foods. I don't eat them often, but sometimes I have to settle for what's affordable rather than what I want, and that includes sale items or donated foods. Which means I get something frozen and breaded, once in a while. It seems that there is oil already included in the ingredients of the coating on the food. I figured that out, when I started reading labels. LOL
When you cook these foods this way, you have to watch them until you get the heat and timing on your stove worked out, but it works!
If you are using a deep fat fryer, I can't help you. I haven't done any research or experimentation with that, as I avoid deep-fat frying. I've discovered that putting an inch of melted coconut oil in one of my large skillets is cost-prohibitive, and I've never been able to deep fry without a really greasy taste. So, if I'm frying, it's with the skillet bottom just covered but not measurably deep.
I believe, if I had a deep fryer for fries and such, I'd prolly use lard. Lard is cheap and particularly good for this use because it doesn't get damaged by the high heat. And after enjoying this very rare and wonderfully tasty deep fried dish, I'd load up on the healthy oils to help sweep the stuff out of my system - along with a lot of fresh organic vegies! LOL
Maybe fresh kale salad (substituted for lettuce) and sliced vegies, topped with walnuts or almonds and a homemade vinaigrette (olive and flaxseed oils and organic apple cider vinegar) would be a good side to go with the fries!
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Heat creates transfats with olive oil
maybe after it's over heated about 100 times. Olive oil would not convert to trans fat under normal cooking methods.
(not to discredit any benefits of coconut oil)
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apple, I stand corrected! I've just done some googling on olive oil cooking and here's a bit of what I found:
When sautéing or frying, use either a combination olive oil (one that is simply a blend of extra virgin and regular olive oil) or a straight olive oil.
For deep frying, the olive oil grade "olive oil," is excellent because it has a higher smoke point (410º F) than virgin or extra virgin oils. http://whatscookingamerica.net/OliveOil.htm
Olive Oil Myth: Olive oil loses its benefits when heated
The Facts: Excessively heating olive oil will evaporate the alcohols and esters which make up its delicate taste and fragrance. Heating olive oil will not change its health aspects, only the flavor. Use a cheaper olive oil which doesn't have much flavor to begin with if you want to fry with it, add a more flavorful olive oil after cooking or at the table.
Olive Oil Myth: Heating a cooking oil will make it saturated or a trans-fatty oil.
The Facts: As far as making a saturated fat, according to Dr. A. Kiritsakis, a world renowned oil chemist in Athens, (Book - OLIVE OIL FROM THE TREE TO THE TABLE -Second edition 1998), all oils will oxidize and hydrogenate to a tiny degree if repeatedly heated to very high temperatures such as is done in commercial frying operations. Olive pomace oil and virgin olive oil are both highly monounsaturated oils and therefore resistant to oxidation and hydrogenation. Studies have shown oxidation and hydrogenation occurs to a lesser degree in olive oil than in other oils. But in any case, the amount of hydrogenation is miniscule and no home cook would ever experience this problem. http://www.oliveoilsource.com/cooking_olive_oil.htm
This is just two of the resources I found. Thanks for the correction, apple!
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What a wealth of knowledge DAnn...thanks...and souad you too!
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Good info ladies of olive oil1
flalady
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D-Ann - thank you!
you know.. i just hate to waste anything, including words. i am usually so terse. after the fact, i often wonder if i've offended anyone by not going thru the politeness paces.
(it's not so nice to make corrections without first apologizing).
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I am so glad for your research. I started panicking as I use olive oil most of the time now.
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http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090205113743.htm
This is on olive oil...I just bump into this looking something else up for another person.
flalady
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It is so refreshing that we now have a thread where people can share opposing points of view by offering evidence and not nasy accusations as in the past. This is what those of us who have tried to keep these threads going, have been hoping for. I am so thankful that a group of women are gathering here who sincerely care about helping each other, and not about being right or self rightous. Let's hope we can sustain the good thoughts and ideas.
Fumi-love your avatar and appreciate your insight into tea. I drink a lot of tea and I love trying new kinds. My friend is a flight attendant and regularly flies to Japan. What kind I tea can I ask her to look for?
Deanne-thanks for all the tips on coconut oil. As I said I am going to try to use it more but I am not crazy about the smell or taste of coconut, so it may take me some time for adjustment. I have been using grapeseed oil as a moisturizer. As you said, what is on our skin absorbs faster than even injesting it, so I am hoping the antioxidant benefits of grape seed oil will be extra beneficial put directly on the skin.
I just made my favorite lunch. I use about a half tbs of butter, just for a little flavor, and saute some mushrooms and garlic. Then I stir in some cleaned fresh spinach(the water still on it helps to steam everything), add a little sea salt and yum! It literally takes 5 minutes from start to finish.
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vivre ~ Your idea of using Grape Seed Oil on your skin really caught my attention! In fact, my first reaction was, "Brilliant!" As you probably know, Grape Seed Extract is not only an antioxidant, but there is research being done on its potential benefit as a natural aromatese inhibitor. It hadn't occured to me yet to use it topically. Do you also use a Grape Seed Extract supplement? Deanna
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vivre, sounds really helthy..here we are talking "fast food"
love this, Anna
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wENDY,
tHANKS FOR THE LINK TO THE JAPANESE STORE. tURNS OUT IS ONLY 45 MIN FROM MY HOME. tHINK i'LL TRY GO GET THERE TOMORROW!
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D-ann- I cracked open my jar of coconut oil and warmed it in my hands like you said. WOW what a great moisturizer! I will still use the grape seed oil for the antioxidant effect, but this will be added to my arsensal. Even though the coconut oil is pricey, a little dab goes a long way so it is still cheaper than any moisturizer out there. I was pleasantly surprised that it had no smell at all, so I do not feel like a beach bum! Thanks for the tips.
Deanna-I still take a grape seed supplement daily for good measure and curcumin and cinnamon too! It seems God gave us all the medicine we really need.
Yeah, Anna, we are taking "You are what you eat" to a whole new level here. Now we are "Good enough to eat". We need to stay away from those cannibals! LOL!
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oh girls, I just fell off the natural wagon! In a moment of weakness, I ate and shamefully enjoyed a Hersey chocolate bar with almonds! It was really good, but now I wish I didn't do it. I suppose the almonds were good for me!!!!! LOL!
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