Whole-Food Guide for Breast Cancer Survivors (5 page)

The real crux of the matter, however, is not how much estrogen we have, but how we
metabolize
the estrogens that we produce. An imbalance of estrogens in the body can actually set the stage for cancer development and proliferation, particularly in postmenopausal women. Depending on your diet, your liver’s detoxification abilities, and the quantity and quality of healthy flora in your gut, you can safely metabolize and excrete excess estrogen in the form of the healthful estrogen metabolite known as
2-hydroxyestrone
, or you can recycle a more toxic, rogue estrogen metabolite known as
16-alpha-hydroxyestrone
(Eliassen et al. 2008). We’ll look into these distinctions in chapter 10, where we’ll draw on the wisdom of Dr. Jonathan Wright, a leading expert on female hormones.

CAT Scans and Other Sources of Radiation

Two research studies were recently published that disclosed that CAT scans deliver a great deal more radiation than previously believed (Redberg 2009). One NCI study, in fact, which came to the attention of the public in a 2009
USA Today
article (Szabo), found that patients experiencing such scans may be exposed to up to four times more radiation than previously estimated; in fact, one study concluded that one CAT scan could expose a patient to as much radiation as 74 mammograms or 442 chest X-rays (Smith-Bindman et al. 2009).

It’s also worth noting that, although controversial at this time, some experts believe that yearly mammography screening may give insufficient benefit to certain groups of women to justify the additional radiation exposure. These concerns spurred the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) to recommend sweeping changes in its breast cancer screening guidelines in 2009, in a controversial move that advocated for less-frequent mammograms.

We believe that appropriate screening can be a lifesaving procedure. Which form of diagnostic screening you use is a critically important and highly personal decision that you and your doctor must weigh carefully against all known risks of such procedures. While we don’t actively support one form of screening over another (in fact, they are often most powerful in combination), we do support the importance of educating yourself about the risks and benefits of each procedure you choose to undertake, and of discussing the risk-benefit ratio with your health care practitioner.

Nurturing Your Terrain

As we pointed out at the beginning of this chapter, the internal terrain that you foster within your body is one of the most critical factors that will influence the course of either benign or cancerous breast disease. And now, we’ll turn our attention to the specifics of managing that terrain.

Last Word

Of course cancer doesn’t grow in a vacuum. You can either encourage it or discourage it by what you put in your mouth, in your lungs, and on your body every day. That’s the first thing I learned.

—Stefanie R., breast cancer survivor

3.
Eating for Health Foundational Plan

Would you really rather have broccoli or a sticky bun talk to your genes?

—Robert Rountree, MD,
May 2010, National Association of Nutrition Professionals conference

Chapter Goal: Understand the foundational plan for healthy eating—Eating for Health

Is it nature or nurture that determines our susceptibility to cancer? One of the most exciting concepts in modern nutrition,
nutrigenomics
, teaches us that it isn’t one or the other, but a combination of both. Nutrigenomics looks at how foods can trigger genetic changes for good or ill. Through the efforts of nutrigenomic scientists, there is growing evidence that good dietary choices can help prevent the onset of cancer and may even help cure it.

You might believe that your genetic code is what it is and that it determines many things about your health status over your lifetime. This is partly true, but a variety of influences can alter your DNA at any time, and even in the absence of any genetic tendency, breast cancer can result. If your genes do predispose you to develop breast cancer, take heart: not all people with a predisposition will develop cancer. Whether or not the disease actually occurs depends on a host of complex interactions between your genes and your overall “ecosystem,” your body’s basic “terrain.”

The food you eat; the water you drink; the air you breathe; all the chemicals you encounter in cosmetics, medicines, and cleaning products—everything that your body is subjected to on a day-to-day basis—affect the functioning of your bodily systems, your vital organs, and your very genes, providing stimuli that either can bring a particular genetic trait to full expression or subdue its impact.

In fact, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (2007), only about 5 to 10 percent of all breast cancers are hereditary. The vast majority of breast cancers are attributable to other causes, which are currently under investigation by countless research scientists. At least three theories continue to be heavily researched: that chronic inflammation can lead to cancer, that an excess of oxidation is to blame, and that a compromised immune system can contribute to development of the disease.

Because diet can have a profound effect in all three of these areas, it makes good sense to regularly consume antioxidant-rich, anti-inflammatory, and immune-stimulating foods, while avoiding foods that are more likely to cause disease. That’s what our Eating for Health plan is all about.

Research shows that health and well-being are best served when beneficial fats, complex carbohydrates, and lean proteins are consumed in appropriate proportion day in and day out, along with a wide variety of phytonutrients, health-boosting compounds abundant in fruits, vegetables, and other plant foods that provide protection against cancer and other diseases.

The Eating for Health plan focuses on emphasizing just such foods in your diet, providing a blueprint for avoiding cancer triggers while consuming plenty of cancer preventers. If cancer is discovered in your body, dietary choices can contribute to slower progression of the disease, better tolerance of treatments like chemotherapy and radiation, and longer survival times (Dolecek et al. 2010).

As the pace of modern life increases along with our exposure to toxins in air, food, and water, the need for a wide variety of protective foods and nutrients also increases. Fortunately, the rewards of eating seasonal, chemical-free, nutrient-rich, organic foods include not just disease prevention and healing, but also increased energy, more-balanced moods, and better-managed weight—as well as wonderful flavors, textures, and aromas at the table.

The modern food industry favors an economy of scale, which is less about health and nutrition and more about long shelf life and profit. Fortunately, healthy alternatives are burgeoning, and organic foods, farmers markets, and hormone-free, pasture-fed animal products are now easily accessible in many areas of the country. If they are not available locally, you can even order fresh and frozen organic food delivered to your door from online markets, such as Planet Organics (www.planetorganics.com).

Eating for Health (E4H) offers a nondogmatic, flexible approach to meeting your body’s needs for optimal nutrient quality, quantity, and diversity. Ed first designed the E4H model in 1991 as an alternative to the USDA food pyramid, which reflected the biases of the meat, dairy, cereal, soda, and snack-food industries. In addition to mapping health-promoting food and beverage choices, E4H promotes the idea of ensuring that you have clean air, pure water, and an active lifestyle that includes stress reduction, healthy sleeping patterns, and regular social support.

Eating for Health and Breast Cancer

Eating for Health is the
beginning
of your breast cancer nutritional recovery strategy, not the end. Our aim is that you start with the recommendations in this chapter, then use the ensuing chapters to customize the program based on your own unique needs and biochemistry. That’s how it works best.

Eating for Health Guidelines

Eating for Health is based on science and sustainability. Here are some guidelines to help you embrace this new way of relating to food. You may want to check off the ones you already follow, and star the ones you intend to add to your daily routine:

• ___________ Grow your own salad greens and herbs, and if you have a large yard, cultivate fresh fruit or nut trees, or berry vines.
  
• ___________ Drink plenty of filtered water each day, about one-half cup (4 ounces) every hour.
  
• ___________ Read labels and avoid foods with artificial ingredients.
  
• ___________ Avoid eating refined and artificial sugars, especially in pastries and confections.
  
• ___________ Eat more vegetables; learn to love legumes!
  
• ___________ Consume breakfast before 10:00 a.m. and include a serving of good-quality protein.
  
• ___________ Have protein at three-to-four-hour intervals during the day to curb sugar cravings and stabilize blood sugar and insulin production.
  
• ___________ Minimize caffeine intake to 50 milligrams a day or less for women, and twice that for men.
  
• ___________ Choose monounsaturated fat (from olives, avocados, almonds, macadamia nuts) or virgin coconut oil over fat from commercial meat and dairy or polyunsaturated oils (soy, corn, sunflower).
  
• ___________ Decrease consumption of glutenous grains (wheat, rye, and barley), which may cause digestive disturbance.
  
• ___________ Increase consumption of gluten-free grains (rice, organic corn, millet, quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth).
  
• ___________ Have two or more servings of colorful vegetables per meal for optimal pH (acid-alkaline) balance. Overacidity causes inflammation and depletes the body of calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium (Frassetto et al. 2000).
  
• ___________ Add “booster” foods, such as algae, sea vegetables, nutritional yeast, and culinary spices, to your diet to increase trace minerals, which aid healthy metabolism, detoxification, and antioxidant activity.
  
• ___________ Eat slowly, with blessings and gratitude.
  

Macronutrient Basics

When we talk about macronutrients, we’re referring to complex carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber. We’ll look briefly at each one from an Eating for Health perspective.

PROTEIN

The Eating for Health model advises eating
unadulterated
protein from fresh sources. By unadulterated, we mean that the precious amino acids comprising the protein have not been stripped out, burned, overheated, extruded, overprocessed, or tampered with in any significant way. As you might expect, that leaves out such items as commercial (nonorganic) dairy, grilled meats, and any factory-farmed animal products.

Protein
literally means “of prime importance.” No wonder; protein is essential for building and repairing tissue, for producing enzymes and hormones, and for regulating fluid balance in the body. To ensure maximum assimilation, we suggest having several small portions of protein throughout the day, approximately 12 to 20 grams per serving, depending on your age, activity level, weight, and health status. Excellent choices are wild, fatty fish; organic, free-range animal meats and eggs; fermented, unprocessed soy products (miso, natto, and tempeh); legumes; whole grains; nuts; seeds; and algae.

About Protein and cancer.
While small amounts of grass-fed beef can be very healthy, it is important to avoid overconsuming red meat, because it lowers the body’s pH. Cancer tends to thrive in an acidic environment (pH of 6.8 or lower) and is stymied in an alkaline environment (pH greater than 7) (Gatenby et al. 2007). To track where you are on the acid-alkaline scale, keep a stock of pH strips on hand, available at any drugstore, to check your saliva before eating or drinking anything in the morning. If your salivary pH is lower than 6.8, you can take action by adding more fresh fruits and vegetables and herbal teas to your diet.

Soy protein.
Eating soy can be a good alternative to meat. For example, one cup of tempeh contains about 24 grams of digestible protein, as well as soluble fiber, zinc, B vitamins, iron, calcium, and magnesium. What’s more, unadulterated soy protein shows great promise in the prevention and management of cancer, as shown by several large epidemiological studies, such as the Shanghai Women’s Health Study, in which soy food intake was shown to decrease the risk of premenopausal breast cancer (Shu et al. 2009). Soy products appear to inhibit breast cancer by decreasing levels of circulating estrogens through the action of special chemicals known as
genistein
and
daidzein
.

There are potential problems with soy protein, however. You’ll want to consider the following issues:

• Digestibility:
  Many people find it difficult to digest soy, and are reminded of this in no uncertain terms when they experience gas, bloating, and indigestion. Should these symptoms occur, try cutting back on portion sizes or taking a digestive enzyme at the beginning of your meal. Your digestive system may have an easier time with tempeh, miso, or natto, all fermented soy foods enjoyed regularly in Asian countries, especially Japan. The process of fermentation increases digestibility of all foods,
  including
  soy. Fermenting soy also inhibits the activity of
  goitrogens
  , natural thyroid-blocking agents found in unfermented soy.
  
• Genetic modification:
  Recently, a great deal of concern has been raised about the long-term safety of genetically engineered (GE) soy, which now constitutes approximately 80 percent of all soybeans grown (Center for Food Safety 2011). Developed by Monsanto, GE soy is grown from a special seed that is resistant to Monsanto’s Roundup, a potent and controversial herbicide. This resistance allows much heavier doses of pesticide to be used on the crop, doses many experts believe to be toxic. And many questions remain about the safety of GE crops overall. For this reason, we very strongly recommend eating only organic soy foods. Be aware that
  soy protein isolate
  , a highly processed form of soy protein, often genetically modified, is used as a filler and additive in hundreds of food products. If you become a conscientious label reader, you’ll be able to quickly recognize which products contain GE soy.
  
• Soy controversies.
  Soy is one of those foods that you either love or hate. In recent years, soy has been touted as a wonder food by the likes of physician Andrew Weil, while it has been vilified by others, such as nutritionist Kaayla Daniel (2005). Is soy indeed either healthy or hazardous for breast cancer survivors?