Following a Natural Path of Eating
It was after a PET/CT scan in March that showed continued small spots or possibly lesions in my lungs that I revisited what I was eating. I pulled out my stored information on the ketogenic diet. I had first looked at it when I started chemotherapy, but back then I didn’t have the mental resolve to follow such a precise way of eating. Initially, it was the compelling anti cancer benefits of low carb/no sugar that attracted me to this particular style of eating.
KETO FOR CANCER
Going on a keto diet for Cancer is quite specific in terms of how much carbs, protein, and fat you’re allowed to take in. The caloric intake is dependent on your weight, height, age and amount of exercise you do. I also cannot lose any weight and so it was important to make sure I was getting enough calories from good fats. Ellen Davis has an excellent book on how to follow the specific amounts of carbs, proteins, and fats. If you’re interested in more about this she has an hour long youtube video called: Fight Cancer with a Ketogenic Diet
FATS
a range of 'bio' organic healthy fat oils
So it all began just before Christmas, I ventured onto the keto path with Geoff and Megin. Instead of eating crepes made with spelt and wheat flour, Geoff began exploring cooking with almond and coconut flour. We began to discover new ingredients to use that ended up in delicious versions of many familiar and favorite foods. To increase the ‘good’ fats, I started slowly introducing different nut oils into my daily eating such as: avocado, almond, chia, and macademia. Also an oil called: MCT which is excellent for keto diets and is derived from coconut.
I dropped all grains because of their high carb content and this includes my highly desired Tuscan beans. Needing more concentrated protein sources, I went back to eating organic chicken and having fish or seafood 1-2 times a week, as well as increasing my egg consumption. My bean soup was replaced with a comforting chicken and vegetable soup. Breads are also tricky, however the keto community has found away around this by making bread with almond flour and coconut flour. This is a completely satisfying alternative to other breads and very filling.
SUGAR!
Cancer cells cannot thrive without sugar and so in a simplistic cellular way of thinking, I could just stop eating sugar. Even though, I am not a big sugar fan, I loved my apple a day and baked pear cobbler. On a keto diet, fruits are out except for small amounts of berries: blueberries, raspberries, or strawberries. There simply is too much sugar in them even though it’s natural. Eating in a keto style calls for finding some creativity around the sugar issue. With some research, we discovered that there is a form of sweetner that doesn't raise blood sugar in the same way as other sugars. This sweetner is called: Erythritol. I found a product called: Swerve in Canada. It is a decent tasting sweetner that replaces all forms of sweetners when baking. I have also found a sugar replacement that is a mix of Erythritol (Erythrit in German) and Stevia in Switzerland. It's called: Stevia Sweet. With both these sugar replacements, I am able to satisfy my chocolate chip cookie cravings!
My other favorite treat is dark chocolate that is 80% and higher. Very dark chocolate, 85% and above requires the tastebuds to adjust, but it is very satisfying and its bonus qualities are: high in protein and fiber with a much lower carb/sugar count than dark chocolate 70% and below.
It's not so hard to let other foods go when I can find comfort and satisfaction in a few well chosen items!
FROM COW TO SHEEP & GOAT
Sugar also comes in the form of carbohydrates and in almost all foods there are some carbs. This is why grains and legumes are put on the sidelines for now. From the beginning of my diagnosis, I refined my food down to a plant based diet and mostly vegan. I cut out all breads, dairy and cheese from Cow and only had natural yogurt and milk from Sheep. Even the slightly added fruits to yogurt spikes up the sugar and carb content significantly. Occasionally, I enjoyed either Goat or Sheep cheese. These cheeses are easier to digest and less prone to creating inflammation in the body. I found it surprisingly easy to stop eating all Cow based dairy. I even discovered that I preferred Sheep dairy instead of Cow and started using Sheep milk for my cappuccinos. Sheep dairy products are surprisingly mild and can be used just like regular milk. (my one cow dairy cheat is: whipping cream. Full fat dairy is actually a bonus when it comes to the keto way, so I have embraced my whipping cream!)
With time, adjustments were made all the while learning to listen more closely to what my body was asking for. My doctors all encouraged me to listen to my body and choose foods it is asking for. As the body is in active healing, it's so important to tune in and give it the nutrients it's calling for. I guess if my body is saying, ‘eat processed, fast foods with lots of sugar’ then maybe the guidance would have been different. I share these quirky eating habits with you because I’m only human and I like to find foods I enjoy within the boundaries of this particular diet. I don’t want to feel like I have to cut out the few foods I really enjoy, otherwise there's just no fun left in eating!
EAT WITH ENJOYMENT
Always open to enjoy a delicious cappuccino!
The bottom line that comes through time and time again is, ‘whatever you eat, enjoy it!’ There is no one simple solution when it comes to what you ingest I’ve discovered. The key is to find out what works for you!
I am still enjoying eggs and these are great on a keto diet. While trying to figure out how to eat my egg without bread one morning, I put together a soft boiled egg inside half an avocado and added a few sprouts. This turned out to be a delicious and satisfying first meal of the day filled with lots of good fats, protein and very little carbs.
Combining common foods makes for a new and delicious meal!
CHALLENGES
Finding a balance between sticking to a way of eating and listening to my body is the biggest challenge for me. I have read numerous Cancer healing stories about people eating all kinds of different foods and healing themselves from their cancer. Probably not just on food alone, but it seemed to be a significant factor among their healing protocols.
Is simply believing in what you’re eating the healing factor, or is the food supporting your cells to strengthen your immune system that can then go and deal with the cancer cells? Or is it a combination of both?
I found it extremely challenging to keep my carb intake down to the very low suggested count of 12 per day that is needed to get your body into ketosis, a state of burning fat for fuel instead of sugar. This metabolic action kicks in when you have basically starved your cells of sugar and the healthy cells now start looking to use fat as their energy source.
In order to really know how many carbs, proteins, and fats you get everyday, you must measure and weigh out everything you eat. I find this tedious and a challenge to do. I realized it’s not my personality to be so specific with everything I eat. When I tried to do this, it just made me not want to eat anymore so I wouldn’t have to deal with figuring out all the math! Eating in such a specific way took away the creativity and spontaneity for me and slowly I noticed that I became less interested in putting a meal together. My level of mental stress around eating was also weighing heavily on me. I'm still working to find a way that helps me be more easily aware of how much carbs, fat, and protein I'm actually taking in.
There are different stages of ketosis and for cancer diets, the goal is to be in a ‘higher state’ of ketosis. Cancer cells do not have ‘metabolic flexibility’ like the healthy cells do so slowly their ability to keep surviving begins to die out. This is my very simplistic explanation.
a quarter of my daily intake of natural supplements & repurposed drugs
If you want to know more about how the ketogenic diet works as a metabolic therapy for cancer have a listen to this very candid podcast where Dr. Thomas Seyfried is interviewed by 2ketodudes. His interview starts at about 13 minutes in. While I did not have so many of the severe symptoms Seyfried talks about from Western medicine, I do believe the allopathic treatments aided in my healing situation enormously. I also believe that all of the complementary care interventions I was doing made a big difference in lessening any harsh side effects. I now believe strongly in using the best of ALL medicines that are available and I found that to my surprise, drugs and natural medicine can and do complement one another to achieve an even more powerful healing transformation. This is the transformative power of Integrated Medicine!
ENJOY YOUR FOOD!
My doctor said not to worry about the carb count so much. I was already eating all organic whole foods and my carbs were relatively low. The most important thing is to not stress over food and to enjoy it. Intentionally, enjoying food creates a more receptive feeling in the body to receive what's being taken in. Intentionally developing a mindful quality to eating begins to cultivate an appreciation for a time to slow down, relax, and feel grateful for what is in front of you.
There are always many other things a person is doing to work on their treatment and recovery plans and if eating just becomes another stressful task to undertake, then the healing potential that can take place from the food is sacrificed. I've found there is a fine balance between discovering the foods that are right for my body and the illness I'm dealing with.
A favorite meal of wild Salmon and fresh greens with avocado
Listening to your intuitive voice (and stomach) while respecting the scientific and cellular information is the challenge before all of us!
This fine balance, I am still eating my way through! It’s a process and one I’ve had to accept with greater self-compassion for where I'm at.
There is a free Keto Summit coming up from May 7-13, 2018 that will have lots of experts on the Keto way and its potentially transformative effects on your health! I've signed up and hope to learn a lot more and be inspired to dig in deeper!
Keto Resource Page from Heads Up Health