Nutrition, lifestyle

[Andrea1976]

Hi,
I have decided to change my nutrition. What do you think is the most important? I am excluding all meats, would like to eat only fish. What about wine? I love wine. Do you continue to drink wine?

Any other suggestions with supplements etc to get stronger against cancer?

I drink daily green tea, exercise etc.

All recommendations please:-)

[KElizabeth]

I think including mushrooms like shitake and maitake or really any edible mushroom is a good choice for improving your immune system. Berries and nuts are as also important for you overall health. They are also scrumptious! Balance and variety are my goals. I steer clear of trendy or fad diets and focus on getting appropriate nutrition daily without extreme measures.

Try to limit the stress and unnecessary worry.
Hang in there.
~E

[Jachut]

I have read so many various things over the years!

I believe coffee has been said to be protective against rectal cancer - well I practically live on the stuff and I got rectal cancer.

I believe processed meats like ham and salami are bad news if eating with any regularity. Well I never ate (nor eat) these foods and I got rectal cancer.

I believe full fat dairy is somewhat protective, lots of fruit and vegetables and minimal alcohol. Wholegrains are good yet you will find so much info out there stating grains are inflammatory and cause systemic inflammation and thus lead eventually to diseases like cancer. Yada yada yada.

I think if you go low red meat, high fruit and veg, moderate coffee, moderate full fat dairy, you're probably doing well But watch if you replace meat with fish - good luck with all the mercury! I'm kinda joking but there is NO perfect diet. There just isn't. The keto people claim that prevents cancer, yet its meat meat and more meat and high fat. The low carb vegans claim their diet prevents cancer yet its high carb - meaning lots of insulin and cancer feeds of sugar, right?. And we all know carbs are sugar, sweet or not. I personally think you'll go mad trying to figure it out and I'd personally try to eat moderately from all the food groups, eating foods I liked.

[NZJay]

Regular exercise and fish 2 or 3 times per week are shown in a study I read to have a reducing effect on CRC recurrence.

I have always lifted weights, so I continue to do that. And I hike with my dog. I eat a lot of fish, lowish carbs, and drink as much as I want.

[elise]

I would get your intolerance testing done. I have found a huge difference since doing so. PM me if you want more details

Elise

[Andrea1976]

Thank you! That's how I feel - live healthy and try to include some more of healthy food but don't go obsessive.

[JDMNYC]

I have always lifted weights, so I continue to do that. And I hike with my dog. I eat a lot of fish, lowish carbs, and drink as much as I want.

W/r/t lifting, be curious to know what movements, weights, etc, and how soon you started after surgery(ies). I had an LAR the old fashioned way in September, and an ileostomy reversal in December. Would like to start lifting again, but concerned about hernia or other ill-effects. Any advice would be great. Thanks.

Jim

[NZJay]

I have always lifted weights, so I continue to do that. And I hike with my dog. I eat a lot of fish, lowish carbs, and drink as much as I want.

W/r/t lifting, be curious to know what movements, weights, etc, and how soon you started after surgery(ies). I had an LAR the old fashioned way in September, and an ileostomy reversal in December. Would like to start lifting again, but concerned about hernia or other ill-effects. Any advice would be great. Thanks.

Jim

Hey bud, well I can tell you my background.

Pre-cancer was a casual-competitive powerlifter, with lifts in the 300lb bench/450lb squat/600lb deadlift kinda region. So fairly strong for an amateur lifter.

My sickness stripped most of my muscle; 225lb to 165lb approximate bodyweight.

I had open surgery (groin to sternum) and was told to wait 3 months before any lifting over 5kg. As soon as 3 months ticked over, I started doing dumbbell squats, incline bench press and rows. Very light; can't remember how heavy but my rule was if it strained my abdomen I'd stop. And I stuck to high reps.

I ended up with a large hernia, not as a result of motion but as a result of infection.

I kept lifting regardless, and within a year of surgery was lifting about 60% of what I was lifting prior to sickness. I know this sounds unimpressive, but I had a hernia and therefore no mid-section strength at all.

Approximately 18 months post-surgery, I had my hernia repair. Open surgery again, with mesh insert. The surgeon specifically told me not to keep lifting and that I should take up jogging instead, but honestly I go crazy without lifting so I have ignored his advice.

I've compromised somewhat, in that I realise it's impossible / stupid to try and get back to competitive level, or even near it. So I've now switched my focus to maintaining a body I'm relatively happy with and not worrying about strength.

Currently bodyweight is around 200lb and I do barbell deadlifts, squats, bench press, incline bench press, overhead press, chinups, pullups, curls. I don't worry about the amount of weight; I just work up with sets of 5-8 reps until I feel like I've worked hard, then I call it quits.

No sign of hernia recurrence yet... touch wood.

So in short... I have done fine but I don't necessarily advise you to follow my lead!

[Andrea1976]

NZ,
Are you from New Zealand? I lived in Australia in the past. So you are drinking - I don't want to give up wine either!!! I usually drink wine like 3x a week. Don't drink much more and don't drink anything else. But just love wine and wine tasting...

[JDMNYC]

So in short... I have done fine but I don't necessarily advise you to follow my lead!

Thanks very much NZJay - you were in much better shape than I pre-cancer, so I think I will start very very slowly, with light weight/high reps, and see how it goes. Feeling very weak from this year of treatment/surgery, so like to get moving again. Thanks for the insights.

Jim

[Lydia666]

I have read so many various things over the years!

I believe coffee has been said to be protective against rectal cancer - well I practically live on the stuff and I got rectal cancer.

I believe processed meats like ham and salami are bad news if eating with any regularity. Well I never ate (nor eat) these foods and I got rectal cancer.

I believe full fat dairy is somewhat protective, lots of fruit and vegetables and minimal alcohol. Wholegrains are good yet you will find so much info out there stating grains are inflammatory and cause systemic inflammation and thus lead eventually to diseases like cancer. Yada yada yada.

I think if you go low red meat, high fruit and veg, moderate coffee, moderate full fat dairy, you're probably doing well But watch if you replace meat with fish - good luck with all the mercury! I'm kinda joking but there is NO perfect diet. There just isn't. The keto people claim that prevents cancer, yet its meat meat and more meat and high fat. The low carb vegans claim their diet prevents cancer yet its high carb - meaning lots of insulin and cancer feeds of sugar, right?. And we all know carbs are sugar, sweet or not. I personally think you'll go mad trying to figure it out and I'd personally try to eat moderately from all the food groups, eating foods I liked.

Very good synopsis of this subject! I even read that berries while good if you don't have cancer actually stimulate the cancer cells if you have any, so I don't know...

[NZJay]

NZ,
Are you from New Zealand? I lived in Australia in the past. So you are drinking - I don't want to give up wine either!!! I usually drink wine like 3x a week. Don't drink much more and don't drink anything else. But just love wine and wine tasting...

I sure am! Australia is cool, bet you had fun living there. I read a study which examined a bunch of lifestyle factors and concluded only exercise and oily fish have any bearing on stage 3 cc recurrence, specifically noting alcohol made no difference.
Alcohol is great for my sanity, so yeah I still have a casual drink a couple of times per week and get loaded on occasion :-p

[horizon]

Approximately 18 months post-surgery, I had my hernia repair. Open surgery again, with mesh insert. The surgeon specifically told me not to keep lifting and that I should take up jogging instead, but honestly I go crazy without lifting so I have ignored his advice.

I'm surprised he said that. I can maybe see stopping powerlifting with heavy weights, but to stop lifting entirely?

[NZJay]

Approximately 18 months post-surgery, I had my hernia repair. Open surgery again, with mesh insert. The surgeon specifically told me not to keep lifting and that I should take up jogging instead, but honestly I go crazy without lifting so I have ignored his advice.

I'm surprised he said that. I can maybe see stopping powerlifting with heavy weights, but to stop lifting entirely?

I was asking for specific advice on how much I was allowed to lift, and he couldn't give me a set number. He explained he didn't trust me to self-regulate, so he said a blanket "no" was his only advice. Basically if I fk up the repair, he doesn't want to be to blame haha.

[horizon]

I was asking for specific advice on how much I was allowed to lift, and he couldn't give me a set number. He explained he didn't trust me to self-regulate, so he said a blanket "no" was his only advice. Basically if I fk up the repair, he doesn't want to be to blame haha.

Ah, that makes sense. My surgeon told me my surgery puts me more at risk for a hernia. He told me to wear a belt and lift sensibly.