“The kitchen is a country in which there are always new discoveries to be made.”

— Grimod de la Reyniere, Almanach des Gourmands

Have you ever gone to a bookstore and actually looked at the number of health books on their shelves?  It is staggering.  Have you ever stopped to look at how many food commercials there are?  All of this creates information overload, where the average consumer does not know which way to turn.  On top of this we seem to have a modern day malady when it comes to food, i.e., actually believing that what we eat has no impact on our health or that the conditions of our animals that we eat cannot harm us.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Okay.  So where do we go from here?  I think that I need to tell you the truth about the food you are eating and this may give you the incentive to change your habits.

MILK

“It does a body good”.  We have all heard this from commercials, our parents and lots of propaganda.  Is it really true?  The commercials show cows eating grass peacefully on a beautiful green pasture.  This is marketing at its best, showing the public something that is far from the truth.

All mammals that give birth, lactate and feed their off spring milk from their bodies. All milk has a growth hormone called IGF-1. This is a natural occurring growth hormone. The sole purpose of this hormone is GROWTH.  All mammals suckle for a limited amount of time and then begin to eat their normal food.  Once they are weaned they no longer consume milk.  Humans are the only life form that consumes milk and milk products for life, with consumption is an increased level of growth hormones that are not intended for life forms after the toddler stage.

A Harvard Gazette article written in 1999 states that, medical researchers have found High levels of a well-known growth factor significantly increase the risks of colorectal, breast, and prostate cancer.

It takes ten pounds of milk to make one pound of cheese so in essence when you eat cheese you are getting a high concentration of dairy meaning far more IGF-1.

Most people in the world lose their ability to digest milk when they are young. [1]

I could go on for pages.  Instead I recommend you go to the website www.notmilk.com for a thorough understanding of this subject.

Just know that growth hormone is natural in milk, but now we have cows getting additional hormones added to the milk, which is like double jeopardy for our health.  There are now so many milk alternatives that giving up dairy is not that hard to do.  As Mr. Campbell states in his book The China Study, give it a try for two months and see how you feel.

MEAT

We hear all the time that red meat is bad for you.  What gives? Protein is essential for life, why would red meat be bad? According to the European Union’s Scientific Committee on Veterinary Measures Relating to Public Health, the use of six natural and artificial growth hormones in beef production poses a potential risk to human health.ⁱⁱⁱ These six hormones include three which are naturally occurring—Oestradiol, Progesterone and Testosterone—and three which are synthetic—Zeranol, Trenbolone, and Melengestrol.

The Committee also questioned whether hormone residues in the meat of “growth enhanced” animals and can disrupt human hormone balance, causing developmental problems, interfering with the reproductive system, and even leading to the development of breast, prostate or colon cancer. [2]

The natural food for cattle is grass.  In recent history cattle feed has turned into a monstrosity, which is beyond belief.  Go to this link to read the article that lays out all of the information. http://www.seattlepi.com/local/158359_feed28.html

So what is the answer?  The only actual answer is to go out and find a local farmer who raises cattle naturally.  The price should be cheaper and the meat will be far healthier for your body than eating meat that is raised in horrible conditions with added antibiotics and hormones.

Soy Feed

Even organic meat is raised with soy and corn.  Soy contains phytoestrogens (plant hormones that mimic the female hormone estrogen, which regulates female reproductive functions.) Per Dr. Servan-Schrieber, the author of Anti-Cancer, soy products can cause inflammation and possibly cancer. It is also linked to obesity.

I sent a letter to a company that sells organic chicken and asked them if the chickens are fed soy.  The answer was affirmative.  Soy is linked to so many health problems that I cannot possibly list them all here.  Do your own reading or purchase the book Anti-Cancer at http://www.anticancerbook.com/

How can one know if they are getting too much of something if they are eating meat that consumed soy throughout its whole life?  It is not that small amounts of soy are bad, they are not, but we are now surrounded by soy products such as protein powders, pills, cereals, flours and so on.  It is too much!

Antibiotics

Because of overcrowding and poor diets our livestock require antibiotics to prevent illness.  These same antibiotics are used on humans.  It is my opinion that because of this practice we are creating super bugs that do not respond to medically given antibiotics.  This is another reason why all meat that you consume should be organic.

Gaining Knowledge

This one action is so very important.  Open your eyes, read labels, look up the definitions of those terms that cannot even be said on a label.  This course of action will help guide your actions towards health. Here is a list of books or websites that I found very helpful and informative.

This link is 101 Facts You Should Know About Food.  The way it is written is hard hitting bullets of key information.  After you go through the facts he then gives more information on each one.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/16209967/101-Facts-You-Should-Know-About-Food-by-John-Farndon

This link takes you to Dr. Servan-Schrieber’s website detailing his research into cancer prevention after being treated for brain cancer a second time.  His writing is very easy to understand, while his caring of people speaks volumes. http://www.anticancerways.com/

Taking Action

Anything that you eat should not contain hormones, antibiotics and filth.  This is particularly true with meat of any kind.  Look for grass fed and organic meat.  How you can mitigate the cost is to make stews with less meat and far more vegetables.  If you plan your menu carefully the cost of eating well is not that expensive.

Organic produce is recommended because it contains less chemicals.

Fresh fruit should be eaten every day.

Green vegetables should be eaten every day.

Our Chinese doctor gave us a great rule of thumb saying that five different colors needs to be eaten every day.  A salad with tomatoes and carrots is at least three colors.  If you add an orange and apple there is your other two colors meeting the five-color rule.

We eat eggs that are organic and ideally have Omega 3 added to their diet.

I was able to find a local farmer that raises his cattle naturally meaning the cows eat grass.  The cost of this meat is $3.00 a pound and the taste is phenomenal.  There is no comparison to factory-raised meat.

Sprouted grain breads have the highest nutritional content.

Brown rice is far healthier than white rice.  Any foods that increase blood sugar should be limited especially for cancer patients as some of the medical protocols have medications that increase blood sugar, which increases the chance of getting diabetes.

Quit all dairy and remove soy from your diet.

Breakfast

Children need protein for their first meal of the day.  Actually all of us need protein at breakfast but because of growth it is far more important with children that they get a nutritious breakfast.  Numerous studies have shown that they perform better at school when given a healthy breakfast.  What is a healthy breakfast?  Eggs and toast or eggs with a bowl of oatmeal.  Sugary cereals have no nutrition or staying power therefore a child will end up tired by midmorning.  I made the mistake again and said a child instead of person.  All people will get a sugar rush from most cereals and then will feel tired by midmorning.  This is why protein at breakfast is so important.  Two eggs equals 12 grams of protein and 12 grams of fat.  Add a piece of toast and your adding 3 more grams of protein.  That is a total of 15 grams of protein.  Personally, I eat egg whites for breakfast and feed my daughter regular eggs.

Here is the protein content of some major cereal brands

Cheerios, General Mills                                3.3 grams

Cocoa, General Mills                                     1.2 grams

Corn Chex, General Mills                             2.1 grams

Frosted Wheaties, General Mills                1.5 grams

Honey Nut Clusters, General Mills            4.4 grams

Raisin Nut Bran, General Mills                  5.16 grams

Total Corn Flakes, General Mills               1.82 grams

Wheat Chex, General Mills                          3.0 grams

Other brands of cereals have similar content.  You are far better off with eggs and toast.

Now compare a 3 ½ x 3 by ¾ inch steak equals 17 grams of protein.  You see how small the portion of steak is compared to 10 ounces served in your local eatery.  The measurement is about the size of a palm of a regular size hand. If you get too much meat in one sitting you are overloading your digestive system, which leads to weight gain.  Then add those lovely mashed potatoes and your blood sugar goes out the roof.

Meals

Your remaining meals need to include some lean protein with vegetables.  Snacks should be fruits.  There are so very many choices in food that I do not feel a need to elaborate more.

I do not consider TV dinners, fast foods, as actual food because of the hidden ingredients, high salt content, high sugar content and questionable food practices.

Conclusion

We all know we should eat better but this is especially crucial for anyone undergoing treatments for cancer.  Chemotherapy is very toxic and taxing to the body.  My whole thrust with my daughter and her treatment was to try and stack the cards in our favor. Every action that could possibly help her physically was considered another card in our favor.

Clean water = 1 card

Good food every day = a couple of cards

Clean air in our home = a card

Approved supplements = a couple of cards

Joy through games and fun = a couple of cards

Exercise every day even if in bed = a card

Lessening a side effect = a card

Every one of these actions is thought of as stacking the cards against  cancer and also side effects so that quality of life is increased.  Each step forward is of benefit, however small.  You too can play this game of stacking the cards in your favor.

~

References

1. http://www.scribd.com/doc/16209967/101-Facts-You-Should-Know-About- Food-by-John-Farndon

2.  The Issues Artificial Hormones.  http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/hormones/