At any given time, everyone has hundreds if not thousands of cancer cells in their body -- sun damaged skin cells, a kidney cell mutated by aspartame as it decomposes into methanol and formaldehyde in your digestive system. The list is endless. Normally, the body's immune system recognizes and kills the mutant cells before they can establish themselves. But cancer thrives on sugar, and a diet low in essential nutrients and high in glucose and added sugar gives the normally hapless enemy every advantage to grow its army and attack the body while leaving your immune system too weak to properly defend itself. That's basically what happened to me as I worked late hours at the office subsisting on M&M's and Mountain Dew. Coming home too tired to make a real meal, I'd turn to a frozen pizza loaded with nitrates, followed by scoops of sugar and fat-laden vanilla ice cream.
I'm not saying don't enjoy the good things in life, but I am saying don't abuse them or your body for the sake of convenience. My perception of what the good things really are certainly has evolved in a short time. We all know that good nutrition is fundamental to preventing cancer, but often assume that as long as the ingredients have some form of natural origin we'll be okay. Unfortunately, avoiding Twinkies, soda pop and food that doesn't decompose or grow mold is not good enough. Even when relying on all-natural ingredients, the nutrient/sugar ratio of our diets plays a fundamental role in determining whether we'll get cancer and whether we'll beat it if we get it.
Regarding sugar: I'm trying to minimize it, not replace it. I was surprised to see that since Aspartame's (aka Equal/Nutrasweet) introduction in 1980, there has been a 280% increase in the rate of occurence of brain tumors. Given the plethora of cultural changes that have impacted our lifestyles and environment over the past 3 decades, Aspartame can't be given the full blame for the increase, but it is interesting to note that during the FDA approval process, several scientists protested approval because of the high rate of occurence of brain tumors in lab rats consuming Aspartame (wiki Aspartame ). Based on current research, Splenda appears to be the safest alternative artificial sweetener and Stevia appears to be a safe natural alternative. Still, I prefer to just reduce sugar and avoid alternatives altogether.
Now that I have cancer, a fundamental nutrional lifestyle change has occurred. No more ice cream (at least until I go into remission -- and then it will be a rare occasion), no more soda, no more candy, and I minimize processed foods and foods with a high glycemic index (like white potatoes and processed rice and potato flour). Among the foods I've added to my arsenal are quinoa, the most nutritious of the whole grains
One last note: hairy cell leukemia also consumes cholesterol. Several studies have shown that hairy cells contain more cholesterol than their normal B-cell counterparts. Likewise, patients with hairy cell leukemia typically have low levels of both LDL (bad) and HDL (good) cholesterol. My HDL had been lower than normal for several years prior to my diagnosis. Even with lack of exercise, it was considered low. I took fish oil pills for two years with little improvement. My LDL level dropped suddenly as the disease progressed and symptoms increased. I'm going to ask my hematologist to run a cholesterol test this Thursday to see if the level has continued to drop. Typically, an abnormally low level of bad cholesterol is not dangerous although it is a marker that a causitive disease, such as HCL, is present. It's also associated with a higher than normal incidence of stomach cancer.
At any given time, everyone has hundreds if not thousands of cancer cells in their body -- sun damaged skin cells, a kidney cell mutated by aspartame as it decomposes into methanol and formaldehyde in your digestive system. The list is endless. Normally, the body's immune system recognizes and kills the mutant cells before they can establish themselves. But cancer thrives on sugar, and a diet low in essential nutrients and high in glucose and added sugar gives the normally hapless enemy every advantage to grow its army and attack the body while leaving your immune system too weak to properly defend itself. That's basically what happened to me as I worked late hours at the office subsisting on M&M's and Mountain Dew. Coming home too tired to make a real meal, I'd turn to a frozen pizza loaded with nitrates, followed by scoops of sugar and fat-laden vanilla ice cream.
I'm not saying don't enjoy the good things in life, but I am saying don't abuse them or your body for the sake of convenience. My perception of what the good things really are certainly has evolved in a short time. We all know that good nutrition is fundamental to preventing cancer, but often assume that as long as the ingredients have some form of natural origin we'll be okay. Unfortunately, avoiding Twinkies, soda pop and food that doesn't decompose or grow mold is not good enough. Even when relying on all-natural ingredients, the nutrient/sugar ratio of our diets plays a fundamental role in determining whether we'll get cancer and whether we'll beat it if we get it.
Regarding sugar: I'm trying to minimize it, not replace it. I was surprised to see that since Aspartame's (aka Equal/Nutrasweet) introduction in 1980, there has been a 280% increase in the rate of occurence of brain tumors. Given the plethora of cultural changes that have impacted our lifestyles and environment over the past 3 decades, Aspartame can't be given the full blame for the increase, but it is interesting to note that during the FDA approval process, several scientists protested approval because of the high rate of occurence of brain tumors in lab rats consuming Aspartame (wiki Aspartame ). Based on current research, Splenda appears to be the safest alternative artificial sweetener and Stevia appears to be a safe natural alternative. Still, I prefer to just reduce sugar and avoid alternatives altogether.
Now that I have cancer, a fundamental nutrional lifestyle change has occurred. No more ice cream (at least until I go into remission -- and then it will be a rare occasion), no more soda, no more candy, and I minimize processed foods and foods with a high glycemic index (like white potatoes and processed rice and potato flour). Among the foods I've added to my arsenal are quinoa, the most nutritious of the whole grains
One last note: hairy cell leukemia also consumes cholesterol. Several studies have shown that hairy cells contain more cholesterol than their normal B-cell counterparts. Likewise, patients with hairy cell leukemia typically have low levels of both LDL (bad) and HDL (good) cholesterol. My HDL had been lower than normal for several years prior to my diagnosis. Even with lack of exercise, it was considered low. I took fish oil pills for two years with little improvement. My LDL level dropped suddenly as the disease progressed and symptoms increased. I'm going to ask my hematologist to run a cholesterol test this Thursday to see if the level has continued to drop. Typically, an abnormally low level of bad cholesterol is not dangerous although it is a marker that a causitive disease, such as HCL, is present. It's also associated with a higher than normal incidence of stomach cancer.