Diet and Lifestyle
Comments
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The Power of Positive Thinking
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2016/12/optistic-women-live-longer-are-healthier/
Findings from the study- “The most optimistic women (the top quartile) had a nearly 30 percent lower risk of dying from any of the diseases analyzed in the study compared with the least optimistic (the bottom quartile), the study found. The most optimistic women had a 16 percent lower risk of dying from cancer; 38 percent lower risk of dying from heart disease; 39 percent lower risk of dying from stroke; 38 percent lower risk of dying from respiratory disease; and 52 percent lower risk of dying from infection.“
Sounds pretty good to me!
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Warrior,
As always love it. Thank you for posting.
I have been invited to a colleague for lunch - she is from Bangladesh and was kind enough to cook with me watching - fascinated by the Indian and Japanese diet at present,so digging into that. She makes her own ghee and the recipee for potatoe chat was bliss but what came as a huge surprise was the quantity of spices they use - turmeric, red chillip powder, curry powder and cumin seeds ( both the usual and black cumin) were stored in 500 grams jars. They prepare their spices either by soaking seeds and grinding them by hand or dry roasting and blitzing. Heck if I ate two tablespoons of turmeric/cumin tossed in ghee for absorption plus black pepper everyday for years I don't know...
(()) to All making small or big steps to opening their world and that of those around ...
😊🌷🐣
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Wildplaces,
Your lunch sounds fascinating and delicious! 0 -
Warrior, Freaky! Thanks for posting that study.
Wildplaces, my mom went to India several times, when I was kid and learned how to cook Indian food while there. The freshly ground spices were part of my upbringing and it is a whole different thing.
Speaking of food, when I want some starch as a side, but with fibre, I boil small lentils and brown basmati together. Today I sauteed a pound of mushrooms and folded the rice/lentils into that. It was tasty and satisfying. Other times I do them plain, but add spices while they are cooking: cumin, coriander, chili etc.
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Momine - boiling lentils and rice together - great idea. That should save time.
Lately, I have been trying to cook without oil. I was able to stir fry tofu and vegetables in a little bit of vinegar. I recently cooked mushrooms in a little bit of water.
Someone on this website talked about changing out her cooking pans from the non-stick pans to stainless steel. So I have been thinking about that, but I read reviews - people either love them or hate them. Some say clean up is easy, some say it's difficult; some says the food sticks, others say it doesn't stick. If I am cooking without oil, I think sticking will be an issue. If it's a nightmare to clean, that is definitely a deal-breaker. So what type of cookware does everyone use? (I'm still using the non-stick pans)
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GoKale - I've been thinking about pans too & had the same thought process. I have friends who swear by some of the thick steel ones but I think they use a lot of fat in the pan, or cook high fat items in them.
I have French made non stick (which I trust a bit more than Made in China non stick) but I've been pondering switching to cast iron. A well seasoned cast iron pan should work for things like tofu & veg & prepping onions and garlic for soup bases etc. I think there are still some cast iron pans made in North America (side note, I just recently got new cutlery and opted for some made in USA; I feel more confident they're really proper stainless and the workers were paid...) Bonus of cast iron - it doubles as an arm workout :P
I'd consider one steel pan for making tomato based pasta sauces cause I think I read you shouldn't put tomato stuff in cast iron.0 -
Cast iron pans have the added benefit of leaching iron into your food. We have some cast iron skillets but you definitely have to use oil if you're cooking something that sticks. Ditto for a wok. I have been slowly collecting GreenPans. I get them when they're on sale at Sur la Table. Otherwise they're super expensive.
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oh, the GreenPans look good! I might try a couple of those.
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Cast iron is certainly tried and true. They are heavy (stainless steel are heavy, too) which is a consideration because I have one weak wrist.
Hapa - thanks for mentioning the GreenPans. I see they sell them at Target. I might swing by there and buy one to try.
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Yes, apparently you can get GreenPans much cheaper at Target or on Amazon. I had no idea. I don't know what I'm getting for the extra 100-200% I spend on them at Sur la Table.
I like cast iron pans for roasting veggies on the grill in the summer. We live in phoenix so I don't like to run the oven when it's 110F outside.
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My sister uses enamel cookware.
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I find the thick stainless pans are easy to clean but it’s too easy to burn things in the thin ones.
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Momine,
😊I am off to a Indian Spice shop tomorrow - I don't think I will eat it everyday but I can easily see a couple of vegetable meals incorporated in our menu. Lentil dhal, potatoe and peas chat, a basic curry paste and so on... I have Rick Stein India book and I love the vegetable section of it.
I use Esteele ( Italy ) for stainless steel and I have two Le Creuset cast iron pans ( one standard oval shape and one smaller size). Over the years all the nonstick (to me) have been unsatisfactory independent of make, price, or claimed surface - so now I own two, Pyrex , they used to be Swiss something... that I change regularly but if anyone has a solution - love to know. I try and keep my cooking to stainless steel or cast iron.
Moth - I try and buy local or trusted brands with a long, preferably family owned, history whenever I can. If I can not afford something on the spot - I try to do without until I can. For multiple reasons - aesthetics being a big one for me - things that are factory made with no thought to balance or purpose, by the thousands or millions with one aim in mind - to make money - are besides (and here I go stating the obvious ) being horrid for the planet, just not beautiful
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GoKale, why no oil, if you don't mind me asking? As for pots, I have a set of Cuisinart stainless pots with copper disks in the bases. I do keep one small non-stick pan around for breakfast item. Making omelettes in the stainless pans is not great. It tends to stick around the edges, where the pan is just steel, with no copper (different temperature). However, if you have a gas stove, get cast iron pans. They are the best and cheap too. You can get cast iron frying pans that are not as super-heavy as the traditional ones. Check on Amazon.
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Momine - I read about using no oil on the "Forks over Knives" facebook page (still need to watch the video). Also in the "How Not to Die" book by Dr. Gregor, he talks about how olive oil is not healthy. It's much better than corn oil which is why it gets so much attention, though. I am not 100% compliant though - I've cut back on dairy, but I still consume some.
Actually, I'm on the fence about certain dairy products like eggs, cheese and yogurt. And also oil. I'd like to cut back greatly, but not completely rule it out so that in certain situations where I unknowingly consume some, I don't get ill.
I suppose I should watch the "Forks over Knives" video and the "What the Health" so that I can be convinced of the necessity.
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I had a giggle over this joke this morning.
"The five years of life you gain by eating healthy are spent preparing healthy food."
from Joel Ingersoll on twitter https://twitter.com/FlyoverJoel/status/28864605567...0 -
Hahahaha! True and funny moth.
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Hilarious because it is likely true!0
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Read this today-
A book, The Plant Paradox, claims that lectins are a molecule hiding in healthy foods making you sick—is it true?
“In a study led by one of Kouris's PhD students, Irene Blackberry, they found that legumes were the most important dietary predictor of survival in older people in four different countries: Japan, Sweden, Greece, and Australia. They looked at 785 people who were 70 years and older, and then followed them up to seven years. "Irene analyzed the information on every single different food that she collected," Kouris says. "And then when she compared statistics, the most important food group that came out as being significant for mortality, or reducing mortality, were legumes."
It's easy to find many more, large-scale studies online which show that consuming nuts and legumes reduce heart disease, stroke, and diabetes, or that eating whole grains is associated with lowering the risk of chronic diseases and with lower BMIs and weight management. Kouris says studies usually show that vegetarians have lower rates of chronic illness, which wouldn't make sense if lectins were bad for you. (Also, Katz and Kouris both assure me that you don't need a pressure cooker to eat beans. The people in the Blue Zones didn't need pressure cookers, and neither did the people in Greece or Japan that Kouris and her colleagues studied.)”
The article also mentions the reduction of cancer risk when consuming lectins. Very interesting article I think.
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Stress - I heard on the John Tesh radio program a little tip on calming your reaction to stress. He said to pay attention to your forehead and be mindful if you furrow your brow. Try to keep your eyebrows from rising up. Sounds funny when I type this out, but I have been paying attention to my eyebrows today and noticing when I tense up then drying to breathe through it and calm myself.
Here is his website and some tips on stress: https://www.tesh.com/categories/health/#search
I have all these great intentions to start meditating, but I have not carved out a regular time to do it. When I am home, I forget about it or other people are around and I have a hard time retreating to a quiet place. The few times I have done it, I just want to hurry up so I can go do something else. So I need to work on that.
I have started watching a Chris Wark video series.https://squareone.chrisbeatcancer.com/go-now-a He wrote Chris Beat Cancer. A lot of it doesn't apply to me since I did the whole surgery, chemo and radiation treatments, but I hope to further change my lifestyle.
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GoKale, how did you feel about his assertion that cancer "was a divine tap on the shoulder"? I know I have said before on these threads that I look for things I did or didn't do that caused cancer to develop in my body, but his presentation seemed pretty harsh. There is no evidence to suggest that by "doing everything right" you can reduce risk to zero. I do think that the risk can be reduced though, otherwise I'd be enjoying a glass of red wine every night. I'll be watching the series anyway. Always good to learn or review positive lifestyle choices!0
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Pi-Xi - I tend to overlook anything I don't agree with in search of any nuggets of useful information. I have not read his book so I am not entirely sure what I'm in for, or what "completely change" my lifestyle will entail. What did surprise me was that he said "your doctor probably said nothing you did caused your cancer". Yep, sure enough; that's what my doctor said.
So anyway, I know how you feel, and I respect that. I agree that you cannot reduce risk to zero, and I believe he says that. I am just hoping he proposes lifestyle changes that I can reasonably implement.
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😊🌷
I react strongly when someone suggests to women there is something they have done to cause their cancer - because I think it's b...s..t.
In a scientific rigorous randomised control trial world I don't believe it was anything specific I did that caused my cancer. Much of the literature on beating cancer by "natural methods/lifestyle changes" refers first to stimulating and then upkeeping " the healthiest immune system". There are sections when dealing specifically with BC that refers to an anti-oestrogenic way of life. Thus they don't deal with what specifically causes cancer but what to do to have an immune system capable of mopping up.
The question I ask myself is could I have different/more to prevent my BC manifesting at my age - so delay it or even to prevent it altogether - of that I am not certain - maybe if I implemented some of my current lifestyle changes my cancer diagnosis would have been delayed. There is clear and important distinction between causing something and putting measures in place to delay/prevent/deal with it.
Pi-Xi the literature on wine is fuzzy - certainly there is a weak association between 2-3 drinks per day and cancer - not just breast, but for my liking there are two many uncontrolled variable in that setting - does one have the wine with potato chips? Or dessert? Or after 2 good drinks are you less inclined to walk or have tea after dinner? So is it the wine ( and it could be there is sugar in wine) or the several other actions associated with wine consumption. I have a small glass about 4 times a week, it's red, organic and a real pleasure. I have it early with my dinner, and I rarely ( aka almost never) have food after 7 pm.
So absolutely walk, run, find some weights, think about what you eat and enjoy, take time out and sleep well, but please don't let thoughts of what did I do to cause this in... there are billions of dollars being poured into this subject and I am hoping we are getting close - I don't believe lifestyle will be biggest chunk of the story, apart from food quality and I am referring to everything from fertilisers to pesticides to sprays that wash out produce.
The video and book Moth posted on this were brilliant!!
(()) to all
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Wildplaces, I'm inclined to agree with you on many counts.
The alcohol "evidence" disturbs me and if I truly believed that there wasn't VAST under reporting of consumption, I don't think I'd partake at all. I think the majority of people have half a bottle of wine in a glass and think it's a serving! I do have a glass once a week and a few tiny sips when my husband has his glass (usually organic) with dinner.
I wish I could have delayed the onset of the disease further. It really took me by surprise. I was shocked by breast cancer, I had scheduled colon cancer for 10-20 years later. Some days dealing with the spectre of recurrence really wears me down. All that eating well and planning my life around meals and exercise doesn't allow me much opportunity to put down the mental burden. I should be really enjoying life right now. I know it's not going to get better than this! Some days I can do it pretty well, until I tucker out hours earlier than I used to, but other days are still challenging. The tamoxifen probably does not help in this regard! 😊
You seem to be doing well with the mental side of cancer. I will study you! 😉0 -
PiXi,
You are very kind and make me smile - I think every woman I know, myself included, with breast cancer has been or is terrified - it is just the way it is. But somewhere in that terror, hopefully there is a voice that says - I am going to be ok, and until I have hard proof otherwise I will keep living my life. That should be all that is hoped of anyone - as to what changes you may choose to make - for me change that lasts is hard and slow, takes a lot of time, and goes in spirals. But I do sleep more, work less, goes outside more, get more exercise, eat better and just worry less about stuff that in the past I would hold myself widly accountable fo. I roll with it a bit more, I choose to carry less.
I, like everybody else make no mistake, have many days when I am afraid - and that is ok with me, it's ok that I am afraid. As long as that fear does not immobilise me, it too is part of BC and now BC is a part of my life.
PiXi - a woman on BCO - very sassy andwise - told me - to change you must first accept. Still working on that one but I hope this year I will be better at it. 😊🌷
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I really think the cause of cancer is a variety of things - for me most likely were stress, diet, birth control pill and exercise. I never tried to control stress. And while I ate fruits and vegetables, I also ate a lot of junk and too much overall. For exercise - the intensity just had not been there for quite a few years in my forties, whereas I was a dedicated high intense exerciser in my 30's.
As for the changes I am trying to implement from what I have recently learned and being reminded daily of cancer, I am hoping these changes will soon become automatic/routine and just become part of who I am. Then it isn't about disease prevention anymore; it'll be "this is what I do".
And I agree that this was not on my radar. I was focusing on my genetic predisposition of heart disease, diabetes and dementia so now I can add cancer to that list, too. Fortunately, a plant-based diet can address all of these at once.
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Hello Everyone. I'm back on land after a month away exploring nooks and islands along the coast. It was gorgeous and so relaxing. Here is a sample of the beauty that we saw up at Desolation Sound:
Internet was spotty so I didn't post but I followed along when I could and was thinking of you!
I was amazed to find my Mediterranean lite diet was easy to keep while boating, even with just a single butane burner and small BBQ. (I worried about the fumes though.) I brought lots of veg and stocked up at local markets when I could. Every night we grilled multi veg, sometimes four different kinds.
Found a great recipe for grilled sweet potatoes. Peel, slice, oil, salt and grill until they get nicely brown. Then toss with olive oil, lime zest and lime juice. You can add cilantro if you like it. So tasty! https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/grilled_sweet_potatoes/
We grilled salmon and chicken and some meats for my DH. I ate tiny portions of the meat/fish but lots of veg. Made lentils a couple of times and had hummus and raw veg for lunch with sprouted bread or small wraps, nuts for snacks and fruit of course. We hiked every couple of days when we could so I was able to stay active.
Even though we ate out a few times, and I had a glass of wine every night
, I didn't gain weight. In fact, I lost three pounds. I am back on the wagon with wine every second night. I too wonder about the connection between alcohol and cancer. I suspect part of the problem is EUI - eating under the influence. Boaters are notorious for happy hour. Drink 1,2, 3 glasses of wine and it's easy to consume mindless amounts of cheese and crackers. A whole meal full of calories in under an hour. I have abandoned the habit and will nurse a glass and carefully count out any snacks, or just cut up an apple for myself.
I nver thought I would say this, but don't want to lose more weight and am trying to figure out what I should eat more of ....Cheese - no. Red meat - no. Carbs - nyet. Cookies - absolutely not! Chips - NO NO NO.
I can't eat any more veg or I will turn into a donkey!
The good news is that I have truly changed my pattern of eating and got rid of a muffin top that I thought was my new lifelong companion. I enjoyed my meals just as much as before, if not more. Of course. the veg was so fresh and seasonal and delicious on the barbi. .But I don't want to become anorexic either. I think my fear of eating is tied to my fear of recurrence so I will have to ease up a bit. Just not sure what to add back...
I hope everyone is feeling well and enjoying the fruits of summer!
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DearLife, I can hear my thoughts in your words! When I was doing my highest intensity workouts last month I was terrified. The scale just kept moving downward. My first thought was "Oh my God! The cancer's back!" Then I thought, I'm burning a ton of calories... I had to add some extra food to stop the loss. It only took adding a daily large serving of fruit and some more nuts. I too worry about what to eat. It seems like everything is a problem except for vegetables and it's hard to gain weight on those! I'm only happy ina narrow range of weight. I always thought I tended toward anorexia, but during the many months of diagnosis and decision making, I was so thin I couldn't even stand to look at myself! That was one positive discovery in all this - I am not anorexic.
Your trip sounds like it was wonderful! Congratulations on parting with the muffin top! Nice to have you back. 😊
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Thanks Pi-Xi. Yes, I did worry that my cancer was back when I kept losing weight. But my DH has lost weight too, so it is the change in diet. He has mostly been on board with me, even ate tofu quite happily yesterday! (smoked, barbecued on a skewer with veg and peanut sauce dip. Quite good really.)
I will eat more nuts and see what happens. My BMI is still 21 so no real worries. But we are "older" and need a bit extra.
People tell me now I look "great" but sometimes I wonder if they mean I am not dead lol. I don't want them to think I am disappearing because of illness. Or maybe cancer is just making me hypersensitive.
Are you still doing high intensity work outs? It must be hard to fit it in if you are still working.
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DearLife, I am continuing with a hybrid workout program by taking my favourites from the very intense workouts and interspersing them with an intermediate-advanced weight training program. I am on holidays right now, but I workout everyday regardless. The workouts can be hard but only last 30-60 minutes. It is my priority and my husband makes it possible with taking on meal prep. That way no matter how exhausted I am when I get home I can still bust out an exercise session.
I'm at a BMI of 20.5. The redistribution of weight from tamoxifen means that to keep the abdomen slim, my face is hollow. I have gone back to the weight training to make sure I look strong instead of sickly. I prefer doing cardio and just using body weight exercises, but it is not always about what I like. My sister questions my health regularly based on my weight. Oh well!0
