Eating Healthy on a Low Residue Diet?

[Maelleous]

So I am on a low residue diet (just had rectal surgery and have a temp bag) for the next couple of months. Almost everything that is healthy you can't eat. I went EXTREME healthy once I was diagnosed for the little over a month it was between finding out and having the surgery but haven't been eating great (white pasta, white bread, chicken noodle soup etc) and now that I am starting to feel good enough to prepare my own food want to get back to healthier, esp if I still have cancer floating around in there (should know if they got it all in the next 24 hours)

I got a lot of my diet info from ChrisBeatCancer.com and various sites. Wanted to know other(s) opinions. Thanks.

[Nik Colon]

PLEASE don't go by info from sites such as ChrisBeatCancer, etc. Diet and exercise are good but will not cure cancer. There are many people here who can offer advice on foods, and supplements that may help, but again, these won't cure you. Any site or person who claims they can or have been cured by these things alone are false. If you read them, you will see that they claim to have been cured AFTER surgery etc, which is what actually "cured" them (or at least removed what cancer was there or at least what could be detected), not their diet! (Which also can not guarantee they will never get cancer again) A healthy lifestyle can help, but it cannot cure cancer.

[Utwo]

Almost everything that is healthy you can't eat. I went EXTREME healthy once I was diagnosed for the little over a month it was between finding out and having the surgery but haven't been eating great (white pasta, white bread, chicken noodle soup etc) and now that I am starting to feel good enough to prepare my own food want to get back to healthier, esp if I still have cancer floating around in there (should know if they got it all in the next 24 hours)

What do you mean by "healthy"?
Is this about generic "healthy" diet for a generic average person?
Even people without cancer have different genes and different digestive systems.
What is healthy for one person may not be healthy for another person.

In case of a cancer person, definition of "healthy" may be totally different.
For example, I believe that BRAT diet is super healthy for me. On the other hand a diet with more beans, cabbage etc. is rather unhealthy.

[ChiMama]

Hi Maelleous!

I also had concerns about the lack of "healthy" options in the low-fiber/low-residue diet. I was on it for a month after my surgery. The first week after I got home from the hospital, everything tasted awful anyway - the only thing that tasted good were those parchment crackers from Trader Joes.

I looked at it as a temporary situation. It was more important to allow my surgery to heal than to try to eat superfood veggies etc. I ate very healthy before so it was a big change - but again, a temporary one. Once I was diagnosed, I did upgrade my nutrition from all natural & 50-60% organic to all natural & 95% organic. (The main exception is when I go out to eat which is maybe twice a month.)

I tried to find as much variety as I could within the limitations, and eat small portions throughout the day. So I did all organic (except for the TJs crackers): sweet potatoes, carrots (overcooked!), mashed potatoes, white crackers, broth, pasta, melon, peeled apples & applesauce, bananas, peeled nectarines, cream of buckwheat, non-dairy greek yogurt, organic turkey or chicken a couple times a week.

I also took cimetidine which I learned about on the forum here and started taking the week before surgery. Not diet-related, but random floating cancer cells related.

[AbbyDoo]

Nik Colon has given you the best advice. "PLEASE don't go by info from sites such as ChrisBeatCancer, etc. Diet and exercise are good but will not cure cancer."
When I was first diagnosed I did the health kick to. My advise now would be eat anything and everything with moderation.
Sound like you going to start chemo in four weeks so you might as well enjoy the foods you like now. I would not worry about diet until next year when your all put back together.

[angie1975]

I would just like to add that yes Chris Wark did have surgery which is probably what cured him, but I agree he has some great food advice and you may also want to check out Kris Carr. She has an incurable slow growing cancer and sustains her immune system through juicing and a plant based diet. I used her juicing recipes and still do several times a day when I was going through my 12 rounds of chemo and it definetly helpedal keep my body stronger. I think the best thing I can offer is to focus on boosting your immune system . Now that treatment is over I am being seen by a wonderful holistic doctor who runs my blood work to check on where I may be low in nutrients aND has helped he change my diet and repair the damage done from chemo through food ,supplements emotional healing. There are so many aspects to healing and he helped me realize the is a difference in being "healthy" and being whole.

[LaciK]

I have been struggling with this myself. Although I am eating healthier than before I was diagnosed (avoiding fatty/fried and fast foods), it seems counter intuitive to eat white flour and other low fiber foods. The best advice I have heard recently is to listen to my body. It doesn't do me any good to eat things that cause intestinal distress. I don't have much quality of life when my stomach is cramping and I am running to the bathroom (or avoiding going out for fear of an accident).

I am working with an oncology dietician. She works at a Cancer Wellness Center near me and the services there are free. She also works at a local hospital. I have been journaling my food and bathroom activities. I meet with her tomorrow to review the information. I can't see any patterns/triggers, but I am hoping she will be able to.

One suggestion she had was to use juicing as a way to get some of the vegetables which provide nutritional benefits (the juicing removes the fiber). I haven't tried it yet, but I will.

I switched to a new gastroenterologist and he told me that he has successfully treated patients post-bowel surgery with Bupropion (Wellbutrin). He said that my stomach is hyper reacting to stimuli and the Bupropion calms the nerves of the stomach so it stops over-reacting to stimuli. He said it can take a year for my post-surgical GI issues to resolve themselves and the Bupropion can be used short-term to help manage my current symptoms (urgency, fecal incontinence, cramping, diarrhea, feeling like I have to go but can't, multiple trips to the bathroom).

I feel like I have a giant puzzle to solve and different people have the matching pieces so I am forced to seek out the people who can help me. It is extremely frustrating. The cancer treatments are only half the story, but I am finding it difficult to solve the intestinal issues.

Good luck with your research.

[Green Tea]

One suggestion she had was to use juicing as a way to get some of the vegetables which provide nutritional benefits (the juicing removes the fiber). I haven't tried it yet, but I will...

For your information, there have been a number of discussion threads here in the past on the topic of "Juicing". You can check them out to see if they have anything of interest that might apply to your situation.

Talk to me about juicing
http://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=43540


What exactly is juicing and ... does it work?
http://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=35144


Juicer recipes
http://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=35571


Any Juicers?
http://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5511


To juice or not to juice
http://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=457


Best veggies to juice?
http://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=20993


Green Juicer - Raw Foods, etc
http://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=35135

[chemo sabe]

My surgery for rectal cancer was a few years ago. My colon was resectioned on both ends - an area of flat polys at the top and cancer at the bottom. So my colon was shortened. I had an ileostomy for more than 6 months and after my surgeon re-connected me, he told me to avoid things like fresh salads. So some of my favorite things went out the window. If I eat them, I will be in the bathroom, and back to the bathroom, and back to the bathroom etc. There are other things that will trigger the same thing. I have been had by blueberry pie, not just healthy stuff. so my diet is driven by what I know, not by what is called "healthy". I compensate with a daily multivitamin and serious exercise to fight the calories and cancer recurrence. I guess I am saying that I really do not worry about "healthy eating" cause there is a bunch of it I cannot have. I am blessed to be alive and must add that exercise has done far more this old body than healthy eating ever did.

[CRguy]

Wanted to know other(s) opinions. Thanks.

JMO
I just posted a link to some science around CRC prevention HERE

as to your diet preferences etc. I was the poster child for somebody who should NOT even get CRC, let alone end up Stage IVa ....
OTHER than being male over 50 years old at Dx.

I had already declared war on fats, trans-fats, simple sugars, junk food, over processed "white" flours and sugars, sugar drinks
.... ate Mediterranean diet, seafoods, olive oil, home cooked, processed or fast foods / meats very rarely .... yada yada yada
aged red wine at or under the limit
no smoking, not working with toxic chemicals, doing meditations, Taiji and Qigong in addition to karate

Exercise : three 2 hour sessions weekly, minimum, as martial arts instructor and participating student
optimal body weight / BMI / heart health / blood glucose and cholesterol levels

I STILL ended up winning the "backdoor" lottery

My take is : be sensible / reasonable with diet / exercise.
Listen to the actual "science" not just all the faddists.
Get a plan which works for YOU and stick to it.
Enjoy life along the way and hope you have good genetics ......
'COS that is really the bottom line ....
just IMO of course

Cheers
CR