PLANT BASED DIET

Hi 

I'm no expert but I would assume most plant based diets are ok as long as it is varied enough to provide all the required vits & mins.

One thing I would recommend is you check out plant items / herbs etc here using the Sloan Kettering Plant Index. For example SOY.

Especially if you are ER+ / Oestrogen Positive as quite a few plants contain phytoestrogens that can mimic Oestrogen.

Maybe you could also ask your plant based diet question in the Ask an Expert (Dietician) area here.

Hope this is of some help, G n' J

I haven't gone plant based but I have eliminated dairy, buy more foods which are fresh and therefore not packed in films and try to make my own sauces as I need them rather than buy ones full of preservatives. We also eat more lentils and beans than we did. I have also swapped all my toiletries to paraben and alcohol free. ( The later has been simple as due to the demand for reduced plastics and veganism, all the main manufacturers have produced them.)

I am about to have my 4th year mammogram on Dec 2nd. At my last check in July, I had no cancer.

I don't think I would have been a good candidate for being totally meat free as I am still having problems with vitamin deficiencies and I have a feeling that I wouldn't have had the energy to make sure everything that is provided in meat proteins was replaced by plant based recipes. I don't live in the UK so all the alternative products UK produce for vegans, are not readily available here.

It will be  interesting to see if you get other replies. I certainly don't regret the things I have changed......it may be meaningless but if I hadn't done it and the cancer comes back, there would always be that ' what if I had......' thoughts.

If you are interested in this it might be worth reading Jane McLellands book 'How to Starve Cancer'. She was given less than a year to live as her cancer spread into her lungs 19 years ago,  so looked at alternatives.  She also developed the first parabens free cosmetics in the UK.It's a strict approach,  but aspects of it are easy to adopt, and the is a lot of information in the book!! X

I'm not vegan though was vegetarian for a few years (oldest daughter recently became vegan, and younger one is dairy intolerant) and the food combining and elimination of refined carbohydrates are important to understand. Also if your cancer was ER+ then check the list of foods to avoid.  X

My daughter is vegan for over 5 years. It can be as unhealthy as a meat eating diet as a lot of junk food can be vegan!  
When she’s asked about protein or lack of fruit m not eating meat she respond with where do you thin animas get their protein from.  She calls them middlemen with added hormones to fatten them up so cut out middlemen!

I have been vegetarian since 1981 but in those days there was no chance of vegetarian food!  If I went out for a meal then I was always offered a cheese omelette and chips... so over the years, I just got used to eating veggie pizzas, chips, pot noodles etc and eating fruit.  I barely had any vegetables but had plenty of fruit (which is quite ironic isn't it?).

Before I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I had a cut on my leg which wouldn't heal so I was sent to see a nutricianalist at the hospital.  I received an eat well guide and was told that I needed to add protein in the morning.  I never ate breakfast and had fruit for lunch and then 'junk food' for tea. I enjoy wine and was a smoker since the same age.   It's hardly surprising that I developed ER+ breast cancer with the amount of processed food I ate and always had a glass of wine in the evening!

I now have a protein bar or a handful of nuts for breakfast, the same as originally (fruit) for lunch and in the evening I have lots of veggies with an egg or a veggie burger or similar.  I only drink at weekends and have cut down on smoking - (2 years clear).  

The one other thing I have done is cut out dairy.  I have oat milk now and supermarkets do dairy free cheese (which I might have once a month) as it occurred to me that cows are fed oestrogen, so seems a bit daft to be ingesting their oestrogen too!  Could be nothing, but I figured I might as well try it 

Best wishes,

Hi Dreamthief,

Thanks I will have a look at the Sloan Index and that is a great suggestion to ask an expert.

Take care

T x

Hi,

Thanks for your response. Great to hear you are 4 years in! I had my first mammogram two weeks ago and it came back all clear.

I have actually switched to as far as possible organic food (with the exception of meat that is so expensive) and I live in Spain and fresh food is a real thing here and there is a real culture from cooking from scratch. I have also switched all my toiletries like you as well as cleaning products.

Yep the dairy they say is a big factor, I just want to be as healthy as possible and as you say, I dont want to have any what if I had thoughts.

Take care and hope the mammogram goes well.

Thanks, that is a great recommendation, stories like hers are incredible.

My cancer was triple positive so yes I definitely need to check what to avoid. How is your oldest daughter doing being a vegan?

Thanks Groog and yes I am sure it can be unhealthy as I have been looking at what you can eat and there are unhealthy options.

Hi Lesley,

Thanks for your response. I will look at the eat well guide. One of my concerns is that I get enough protein and I dont want to make myself ill. Glad to hear you have reduced your drinking and smoking, neither are good for you and I also only drink at weekends. I was detoxing a couple of weeks ago and have just started trying almond and soy milk, I will also try the oat milk. I think at the end of the day it all helps.

T x