Treating estrogen responsive cancer naturally
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TB -- plantain weed (Plantago major) is a weedy broad leafed plant -- grows in our yard and is generally a pest for those trying to have lawns made of grass. (I'm mid-Atlantic US, but they're widespread)
http://m.livescience.com/15322-healthiest-backyard-weeds.html
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Thank you Lojo!
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TB, do a google image search. This "weed" is so widespread that it grows almost everywhere in North America, though it was actually the Europeans who brought it over. The Native Americans used to call it "white man's foot" b/c it followed us across the continent but they took advantage of its medicinal powers. It's very good stuff. BTW, it is not related to bananas in any way. You can make a spit poultice with it too by chewing up some leaves and then applying them to the eczema.
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Piper's and Lojo, funny! I looked at the link and thought the plantain weed looked familiar. In my childhood, people in the country gathered this from the borders between dirt roads and the fields. It was eaten much like spinach.
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Just to point out how prevalent it is: Plaintain weed and dandelion are the only lawn invaders that I know by name. Back in the day when I lived in the suburbs and had lawn ( as opposed to my current "short meadow"), I used to systematically wrench both weeds of the ground. While dandelion greens would occasionally wind up in a salad, it never occured to me that plaintain weeds might have a purpose other than annoyance. I'm feeling a bit apologetic.
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Brookside, I have a theory and that is that the more useful a plant is, the more common it is. Whatever your religious beliefs, if you believe in a great Creator, this is part of the plan. I also think there is no disease on earth that can't be cured using natural, mostly plant based methods. The hard part for us is figuring out what works and maybe sometimes we're not meant to find out b/c we're being called home and should go with gladness. Easier said than done I know, but when was life ever easy?
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Hi haven't read the entire thread so sorry if this has already been mentioned. I just saw an interesting study about a plant called red seaweed which was found to be superior to tamoxifen in this study;
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23441613
The tropical edible red seaweed (Eucheuma cottonii L.) is rich in nutrients and polyphenolic compounds that may suppress cancer through its antioxidant and antiproliferative properties. The study reports on rat mammary tumor suppression and tissue antioxidant status modulation by E. cottonii ethanol extract (ECE). The effect of orally administered ECE (100 mg/kg body-weight) was compared with that of tamoxifen (10 mg/kg body-weight). Rat was induced to develop mammary tumor with subcutaneous injection of LA-7 cells (6 × 10(6) cells/rat). The ECE was more effective than tamoxifen in suppressing tumor growth (27%), improving tissues (plasma, liver, and kidney) malondialdehyde concentrations, superoxide dismutase activity and erythrocyte glutathione concentrations (P < 0.05). Unlike tamoxifen, the ECE displayed little toxicity to the liver and kidneys. The ECE exhibited strong anticancer effect with enzyme modulating properties, suggesting its potential as a suppressing agent for mammary gland tumor.0 -
So help me out here. I need to eat a low-fat (due to pancreatic issues) gluten-free diet. I eat small amounts of HF beef and pork. I also drink organic milk. My problem is this - when I tried to do a vegan diet, my levels of most nutrients went down and I was deemed malnourished, even though I was juicing with large amounts organic fruits and veggies. I struggle to keep my weight at 96-98lbs, and have a BMI of 18.1, underweight. I have no body fat at all. I actually saw on my medical records that I am considered "failure to thrive," something that is usually only diagnosed in elderly nursing home patients. I don't feel comfortable doing the dairy and small amounts of meat, but I don't know how else to keep my weight up. Most drinks I've found have too much sugar and/or flavors that are unacceptable. I should add that I am 90-100% estrogen positive. I feel I'm in a Catch-22 situation. Anyone have any suggestions for me?
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what does HF stand for?
re organic milk, pls make sure it's not ultra pasteurized bc the shelf life is super long meaning it's practically dead. i wouldn't drink any pasteurized milk, i'd recommend almond milk or coconut milk. or you can try raw milk which not everyone comfortable with.
may be eat more protein, like nuts and beans....
i also read vegan diet involves quite a lot of processed food. i don't know.
i've always thought our fellow member momine (pls look up her posts) eats a very balanced diet and very healthy diet. and try her receipts....i would also try carbs (whole grains) into your diet as well. i just went home to visit my parents, we are chinese and rice is a must. she made me some red rice (something like brown rice, unprocessed rice) and i felt it's more filling with carb. now i came back to the US and i skipped carbs at dinner, and i feel hungry after a meal (just ate an hour ago...)
btw, i think my BMI is about the same 118 pounds 5'7". i think i am underweight but i think i can "thrive" if i want to but who wants fat (estrogen).
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Mini, please keep a food diary for a week or two, then schedule a couple of sit downs with a nutritionist who will analyze your current meal plan and educate you on the tweaks that will supercharge your nutrient intake while honoring your priorities. You need a truly healthy diet and, it kind of sounds as though you are focusing a lot on very specific areas while ignoring the whole picture. It's a forest and the trees kind of thing, perhaps. I agree with Ping that it looks as though your protein intake needs attention. Dairy, meat, and fish contain complete proteins. Grains, nuts, and legumes contain incomplete proteins and need to be eaten in specific combinations. If you are trying to do away with meat, dairy, and grains, that could constitute a problem.
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I try to be balanced, but it is difficult. I have found that most vegan dishes use a lot of soy and sugar, both big no-no's. It would be easier to get a variety of foods if I wasn't gluten-free. Oh, and yes, HF is hormone-free. I have a couple of friends that have a few chickens. I do use almond and rice milk in my smoothies, and rice noodles for my pasta. I do like white potatoes, which I buy organic. When I was really sick with my stomach and pancreas last year, I drank smoothies until I couldn't stand to see one.
Unfortunately, I can't afford a nutritionist right now. And even if I could, it's slim pickin's around here. I did go to one at the hospital. I knew more about what I could eat than she did. She was more for someone that lives in fast food restaurants and needs to improve their diet for diabetes and such. I already ate healthfully, I just needed to tweak it to make it better. She was a waste of money.
Where does it say on the milk if it is ultra pasturized (sp?)? I assume it is since the date is pretty far out.
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mini - do you need to stay on the vegan diet??
and here is the explanation of pasteurized vs ultra p. milk. and usually it's stated on the carton whether it's p or ultra p....
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Hmm, I'm not sure where the idea of vegan food being largely processed or full of soy and sugar comes from. I mainly eat a vegan diet, although I do add wild salmon now and then. Here are some of my usual meals: for breakfast oatmeal or creamy buckwheat or five grain cereal with almond milk and blueberries and flaxseed. Lunch is romaine/red cabbage/carrot/sunflower seed salad with balsalmic vinaigrette or leftovers from dinner, dinner is three bean chili with onions, peppers and zucchini, broccoli-mushroom thai curry over rice, kale-corn-sweet potato-onion enchiladas with black beans, lentil-green-chile-walnut burgers with sweet potato fries, kale pesto on whole wheat pasta with salad, bean and rice burritos with guacamole and salsa, among other things. I eat nuts and fruit for snacks. I guess if I were trying to add weight I would add more servings of nuts (mostly walnuts and almonds) and dishes with coconut milk, like vegetable korma or thai curry, and avocados (as guacamole or on salads). I'm 5'3" and 115 so definitely not underweight. If anything, I'd like to drop 5 pounds.
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No, I don't have to be vegan. I just thought is was supposed to be better for you. I mostly got the idea of the sugar and soy from the recipes I found on line. Numerous recipes called for 2-3 tbls. of maple syrup, or fairly good-sized porions of cooked tofu. I can do a limited amount of nuts. I have to watch my fats because of my pancreas, but I use them with dates to make the pie crust for my raw apple pie. I eat eggs, but thought they would be considered dairy. Being able to eat eggs would be very helpful to me. I like frittatas and other egg dishes. I wish I knew someone that was also a vegan. I need a diet buddy. :-)
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mini,
Eggs are laid by birds and are not dairy. Dairy comes from milk and milk products. Vegans do not eat eggs. Good luck with your diet.
Caryn
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mini - make sure your eggs came from those free range chickens....
fallleaves - i think i got the idea of vegan food were mostly processed food from some documentaries (netflix). can't recall which one since i've watched so many since my off time (been taking some time off work since feb). one example like margarine were highly recommended for vegan diet but it's so bad.
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OMG--A date and nut pie crust!!!! What could possibly be better? I agree about adding eggs. Also, most advice out there is for a plant based diet, not a plant-only diet. Another thought is that not everybody out there is a big fan of juicing, as removing the fiber removes much of the value of the fruit or veg. Fruit juice is high in sucrose and without the fiber to slow down digestion, goes pretty quickly into your bloodstream.
Have you thought of starting a healthy eating thread? Lots of vegans and others will be sure to hop on board. You do want to be careful to weigh ideas against standard advice--it's quite easy to get off base. www.choosemyplate.gov is a USDA site that, among other things, has a supertracker where you can enter each food you eat and see which nutrients you are and are not receiving. Great fun. You can also track exercise and weight, and, I think, neat other stuff.
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Mini, I have seen no evidence that being vegan is superior when it comes to warding off cancer. You want to eat a plant-based diet, yes, but plant-based doesn't mean plant only. I would recommend that you eat a couple of eggs per week as well as some lean fish and poultry.
June, thanks for the vote of confidence.
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Hi mini, I actually think eggs are pretty healthy, I just don't eat them because of animal cruelty issues. I still buy them for my son (who is definitely NOT vegan!), I just try and get organic ones labeled "certified humane raised and handled," or I get them at the local farmer's market. My go-to breakfast used to be an egg over easy and wilted spinach cooked in olive oil on a piece of whole wheat toast, which kept me going when I worked at a job with a lot of lifting. Eggs have a lot of things your body needs in them, and even when I was eating an egg a day, my cholesterol was only 150. I think eggs got a bum rap cholesterol-wise.
There are a lot of good cookbooks for vegans out right now. I check them out from the library and try new recipes all the time. Some of my favorites are "Chloe's Kitchen", "Forks over Knives, The Cookbook", "Veginomicon", and "The Vegan Table". I also like the websites, www.theppk.com and www.ohsheglows.com
BrooksideVT, I'm with you on the juicing. It seems odd to be removing so much fiber, when fiber appears to have anti-cancer benefits. Fruit and vegetables seem to be perfect packages the way they are, as they combine vitamins, phytochemicals and fiber. Although, sometimes cooking them helps your body access the nutrients better (and sometimes cooking destroys nutrients, like vitamin C, so I try and eat them both ways).
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Thank you everyone for the advice. I have watched and recommended Forks over Knives often. Food Matters is another good one. I think I must have just thought eggs were dairy because vegans don't eat them. Who knows. I have the memory of a gnat these days. I have some friends that raise chickens that I know are free range (vs cage free). They're serious foodies and he left an upper management job in a major food company to help small businesses that are trying to create good, healthful food. Plus he's a scientist. And we do have a good farmers market which I frequent often. I'm starting my own garden this year. I used to have too much shade, but the tornado took care of that problem.
I eat my raw apple pie for breakfast some days. It's just the date and nut crust, raw apples, a little honey, lemon and cinnamon, and topped with raw coconut. It is scrumptious. If you have it for dessert, you can put some frozen bananas through the sorbet nozzle on your juicer and eat it like ice cream. Yum. My son also told me about a pancake recipe made with oats and apples. I'll have to get it and pass it along. Thankfully, I have naturally low cholesterol, so I don't have that worry. I need to be better about eating legumes. I need a legumes for dummies cookbook. :-)
I'd like to find a good Indian food class to take. They have such great recipes using cumin, coriander, etc. I'll get the hang of it one day. Although I must admit that it is very frustrating for me to see people who consume copious amounts of sugar, alcohol, etc., carry their weight in their bellies, and use hormone replacement and they have nothing wrong with them. Not that I would wish this on anyone.
HAPPY TUESDAY!
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Mini1, that raw apple pie sounds delish! Is the crust uncooked also? I'd love the recipe for that if you feel like sharing.
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I have a question.....My Oncologist told me to avoid Flax seed oil because of its estrogen properties...is there a difference between the seeds and the oil ? i was er, pr positive....thanks
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missing - my integrative doc gave me a hand out saying even though some studies say flax seeds helps to fight BC but not conclusive and so not recommending me to take flax seeds.
personally i don't think it has counter effect. a lot of naturopath doc use it. and i don't know if there's diff between oil and seeds.
not all estrogens are bad, only very few are bad. but i can't recall the name specifically.
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Mini, I think you should rethink your position on eggs and find the cleanest most natural source you can. For one thing, eggs and dairy have sulfur in them, which is a pretty potent cancer fighter. If you still don't want to eat eggs and dairy though, you may want to google "sulfur and cancer" and a good supplementary form is MSM, which is best bought in the purest flake form you can find and mixed with water.
I was just reading this article, which is very interesting. It's talking about lab cultures, but still fascinating. The best part is that MSM does not cause apoptosis, but instead turns cancer cells into healthy cells. MSM and cancer It would seem that sulfur is the nutrient you never hear about and your liver needs it very badly to produce glutathione.
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I love eggs. Not being able to eat them was my main opposition against some of the diets recommended. I like milk and cottage cheese, but can live without them. Eggs were a harder choice. Luckily, I have several good sources for fresh eggs. I'm thrilled they are OK to eat.
I was also told to avoid flaxseed. My CA is 90-100% estrogen positive, so that may be why, I don't know. From what I've read, even those that recommend flaxseed recommended whole seeds that you grind yourself, not ground flaxseed. I'm erring on the side of caution and avoiding them altogether.
I'll have to get the recipe for the raw apple pie out (to make sure I give you the right measurements). The crust is made of nuts, dates (or raisins if you don't have dates), and a little cocoa. I don't generally like Brazil nuts, but I find they make the best crust. But you can use walnuts too. I use raw instead of roasted if I use them. Some times I just throw in whatever combination I have left. It taste good whichever you use.
HAPPY WEDS!
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OncoWarrior, I have actually been tempted to get a few chickens for eggs (my in-laws have 3). The animal cruelty aspect I can't get past is the sex selection part. Most male chicks aren't needed and are gassed or less kindly killed shortly after hatching. This doesn't bother most people, who eat chickens anyway, but I feel sorry for them! We all have different comfort levels.
As for flaxseed, I'm on the bandwagon. I usually eat 2 TB a day. I've read it's better to grind your own, so I do, to reduce the chance of rancidity. There are 4 or 5 clinical trials going on right now, involving flaxseed consumption to reduce the risk of BC or of recurrence.
Anyway, Mini1, I hope the eggs help you put on a bit of weight. Thanks for looking up the recipe for me!
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