i think i eat too many calories at breakfast but it's really important for me not to get too hungry in the morning because i need brain function and have no time to eat a snack before lunch. i am good at bringing lunch. tza i have some glass food containers that seal very well and would allow you to put salad in a backpack. i got a few of them at target, they are anchor brand with a lid that you can push down on to create a vacuum that holds the lid on tight. but maybe you are talking about some other reason you can't put salad in a backpack.
― kim tim jim investor (harbl), Saturday, 10 March 2012 16:49 (1 year ago) Permalink
Mostly bc not enough room but also fear of spillage
― tehresa, Saturday, 10 March 2012 17:09 (1 year ago) Permalink
they should make a special pannier with a lining so you can just make the salad inside the pannier. i'm literally lolling at this idea.
― kim tim jim investor (harbl), Saturday, 10 March 2012 17:11 (1 year ago) Permalink
the other pannier could be a salad spinner powered by your rear wheel so that you can wash the salad before work and have it dry by the time you get to work
― flagp∞st (dayo), Saturday, 10 March 2012 17:12 (1 year ago) Permalink
this could be like a new cinco product on tim&eric
― kim tim jim investor (harbl), Saturday, 10 March 2012 17:14 (1 year ago) Permalink
T, I put the raw veg, chopped up but undressed, in a tupperware or take-out container, and put the dressing (home-made whatever) in those little condiment cups you get with commercial salads or DUMPLINGS! or w/e. Dress @ work. Solved!
― drawn to them like a moth toward a spanakopita (Laurel), Saturday, 10 March 2012 17:26 (1 year ago) Permalink
is that candy?
― tehresa, Saturday, March 10, 2012 11:32 AM (54 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Instead of Easter baskets in England they do these giant chocolate easter eggs that and then usually filled with lots of little smaller chocs so basically what Thomp is saying is that he's eaten a shitload of chocolate today.
― wolf kabob (ENBB), Saturday, 10 March 2012 17:29 (1 year ago) Permalink
Sometimes when I'm lazy/late in the morning, I just throw whole veg into a grocery bag and do the washing and slicing and dicing in the office kitchen.
― drawn to them like a moth toward a spanakopita (Laurel), Saturday, 10 March 2012 17:30 (1 year ago) Permalink
I have done that too, Laurel. It really saves time in the am.
I am sick and subsequently eating like crap and just laying on the couch. It's not good. :/
― wolf kabob (ENBB), Saturday, 10 March 2012 17:30 (1 year ago) Permalink
Yes tupperware is great and I'd never pre-dress. seriously I just have a backpack that barely fits my work clothes and shoes and spare tube etc. panniers would help!
This post written on elliptical machine lol!
― tehresa, Saturday, 10 March 2012 17:59 (1 year ago) Permalink
made split peas soup Wednesday and ate it for three nights. except for one lunch of chicken been sticking to vegetarian this week. that will end in ribs 2nite. asparagus is 1.99 a lb, bought two pounds
― brownie, Saturday, 10 March 2012 18:02 (1 year ago) Permalink
ah man the asparagus I bought a week ago had started drying out, that's what I'm worried about, I will be having asparagus tonight as well
― flagp∞st (dayo), Saturday, 10 March 2012 18:03 (1 year ago) Permalink
also like half of my onions sprouted :(
it just made me sad because I keep my onions in the dark so the sprouts were sickly yellow, I would feel better if they were a healthy robust green, grow strong you little warriors
― flagp∞st (dayo), Saturday, 10 March 2012 18:04 (1 year ago) Permalink
haha, leaving things like onions and potatoes alone in a cupboard, forgotten, can get scary
― brownie, Saturday, 10 March 2012 18:05 (1 year ago) Permalink
an alternate salad-transport idea:
http://wellvegan.com/salad/salad-in-a-jar
(haven't tried it tho)
― JuliaA, Saturday, 10 March 2012 18:06 (1 year ago) Permalink
If you store them like flowers, upright in a dish of water, w/a plastic bag over it, it lasts much longer!
― Abarham Lincoln posing (Abbbottt), Saturday, 10 March 2012 18:10 (1 year ago) Permalink
i had an onion that sprouted and i've just been leaving it on the shelf to see how much it will grow. it's like 14 inches now. i'm gross.
― kim tim jim investor (harbl), Saturday, 10 March 2012 18:11 (1 year ago) Permalink
I am going to put the onions out by where it can feel some sun
if I am feeling mischievous I will even put them in my neighbor's yard!
― flagp∞st (dayo), Saturday, 10 March 2012 18:13 (1 year ago) Permalink
that is a pro tip, abbbottt!
Do you want another pro tip about making onions sprout on purpose? If you cut up green onions/scallions, save the little rooty bulbs. If you put them in a glass of water they will resurrect (takes over a week) and you have a second round of green onions FOR FREE.
― Abarham Lincoln posing (Abbbottt), Saturday, 10 March 2012 18:15 (1 year ago) Permalink
― Abarham Lincoln posing (Abbbottt), Saturday, 10 March 2012 18:16 (1 year ago) Permalink
oh man I bought an overabundance of green onions last week. I first bought a bunch from the normal supermarket for .50 because they looked good. then when I went to the chinese market they were selling them 3 for a dollar.
I was pleased to see that my last bunch of green onions, they would grow in the fridge after I had chopped them. it was, indeed, like you said, two for the price of one!
I don't know what to do with all my green onions though. I added some to the guac I made today.
― flagp∞st (dayo), Saturday, 10 March 2012 18:22 (1 year ago) Permalink
whoa do Americans not have easter eggs? this is blowing my mind
yes, an Easter egg is a hollow chocolate egg I guess 5"-7" tall and usually containing/bundled with bags of smaller chocolates, chocolate bars, etc
will def be trying the spring onion trick, I always get grumpy buying them because the shop sells them in bundles of like 10 and I only want maybe 2 or 3 (and even that will involve putting a great excess of onion into something and having horrible oniony sweat for the next 2 days </tmi>) and then they'll go off, and then I'll buy another 10 in two weeks
― instant coffee happening between us (a passing spacecadet), Saturday, 10 March 2012 18:31 (1 year ago) Permalink
Yeah I don't use green onions all that often; regrow time is abut the time I want to use them again.
― Abarham Lincoln posing (Abbbottt), Saturday, 10 March 2012 18:32 (1 year ago) Permalink
do you completely submerge the bulbs or leave the top in the air or does it not matter? do you need to change the water ever?
(sorry if i am being overthinking cat)
― instant coffee happening between us (a passing spacecadet), Saturday, 10 March 2012 18:34 (1 year ago) Permalink
Nope, not in the way that you guys do. We get baskets filled with jelly beans and small chocolate Easter eggs and bunnies and stuff but we don't get the big eggs in a box like you do. TBH I think our baskets are better than your eggs cause we usually get more stuff but we don't get Good Friday or Easter Monday off so you guys probably win Easter in the end. ;) One time I wanted to make Spiralli and Easter basket so went all over looking for one and couldn't find anything even close so I bought a bucket and was going to make him and Easter bucket but then I left it all on the tube. :(
Also, I would like a big Crunchie egg now.
― wolf kabob (ENBB), Saturday, 10 March 2012 18:41 (1 year ago) Permalink
w/the onions I let their little decapitated necks stick out of the water, and I add more water as it evaps/gets used, works for meI have them in a stemless wine glass
― Abarham Lincoln posing (Abbbottt), Saturday, 10 March 2012 18:43 (1 year ago) Permalink
This is the sort of thing we get as kids. Mostly chocolates and treats but sometimes they have small toys and stuff in them too.
― wolf kabob (ENBB), Saturday, 10 March 2012 18:45 (1 year ago) Permalink
Abbott otm re asaparagus storage. It should be stored like that in the supermarket too tbh and if it isn't and the bottoms are all dried out that's a bad thing.
― wolf kabob (ENBB), Saturday, 10 March 2012 18:47 (1 year ago) Permalink
asparagus, rather
I always get grumpy buying them because the shop sells them in bundles of like 10 and I only want maybe 2 or 3
SO TRUE
― wolf kabob (ENBB), Saturday, 10 March 2012 18:48 (1 year ago) Permalink
It's kind of like Christmas on a smaller scale and with more chocolate.
― drawn to them like a moth toward a spanakopita (Laurel), Saturday, 10 March 2012 18:50 (1 year ago) Permalink
Easter, that is.
― drawn to them like a moth toward a spanakopita (Laurel), Saturday, 10 March 2012 18:51 (1 year ago) Permalink
Pretty much, yeah.
Oh and the baskets are hidden by the bunny so you to go looking for them when you get up. That was always my favorite part.
― wolf kabob (ENBB), Saturday, 10 March 2012 18:54 (1 year ago) Permalink
Humpty Dumpty chocolate egg filled with smarties = Easter
I can't really get down with the baskets and weird colored eggs. Also hunting for eggs that aren't chocolate seems somehow wrong, lol.
Anyhow NNs I have been struggling with snacks. I have Lara bars, raw trail mix of raisins/almonds/seeds/etc, whatever fruit is in season but my problem is I get BORED eating the same things! Suggestions? Meals I'm okay with. It's the between times where I get a little crazy.
― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 10 March 2012 19:15 (1 year ago) Permalink
guys i feel like hitler but don't post about easter candy on this thread or i will have you transported to a camp
― kim tim jim investor (harbl), Saturday, 10 March 2012 19:37 (1 year ago) Permalink
i like larabars, i also like to eat an orange and a square of dark chocolate for snax or a nonfat yogurt
― kim tim jim investor (harbl), Saturday, 10 March 2012 19:38 (1 year ago) Permalink
does anyone know if 100% buckwheat soba noodles exist? i was at the chinese store looking at 5 different brands of soba noodles and all of them have the first ingredient "wheat." i don't care too much though.
― kim tim jim investor (harbl), Saturday, 10 March 2012 19:42 (1 year ago) Permalink
they do but it's usually a japanese product
I used to be able to recognize the kanji for them but alas I have forgotten
― flagp∞st (dayo), Saturday, 10 March 2012 19:47 (1 year ago) Permalink
oh yeaaaaah wikipedia
The most famous Japanese soba noodles come from Nagano. Soba from Nagano is called Shinano Soba or Shinshu soba. Ni-hachi (二八, two-eight) soba, consists of two parts of wheat and eight of buckwheat; Juuwari (十割, 100%) soba, the finest (and usually most expensive) variety, consists entirely of buckwheat.
― flagp∞st (dayo), Saturday, 10 March 2012 19:48 (1 year ago) Permalink
i got a package of them but i'll check h-mart after i use them up. i think soba noodle salad with dry-fried tofu and peanut sauce and vegetables would be a good cold work lunch.
― kim tim jim investor (harbl), Saturday, 10 March 2012 19:49 (1 year ago) Permalink
I bought some packages of weird noodles at the asian market - oat, buckwheat, some other kinds. they always end up really clammy. I think I am forgetting to wash them like it says here
http://www.justhungry.com/basics-cold-soba-noodles-dipping-sauce
― flagp∞st (dayo), Saturday, 10 March 2012 19:50 (1 year ago) Permalink
they had mung bean noodles at the store but a primary ingredient was corn starch
― kim tim jim investor (harbl), Saturday, 10 March 2012 19:53 (1 year ago) Permalink
mung beans are a great bean I love mung bean soup
― flagp∞st (dayo), Saturday, 10 March 2012 19:54 (1 year ago) Permalink
i love those mung bean popsicle things and i have a cookbook called "silk road cooking" that has a mung bean salad in it that is good
― kim tim jim investor (harbl), Saturday, 10 March 2012 19:56 (1 year ago) Permalink
i have Roland 100% Oraganic Buckwheat soba noodles sitting around (first ingredient listed is wheat flo_ur)
drinking wine right now so I won't be soba for long
― brownie, Saturday, 10 March 2012 20:40 (1 year ago) Permalink
budum tish
― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 10 March 2012 21:19 (1 year ago) Permalink
So far I have a lot of fruit and veg today, albeit dressed veg. Jesus H that WF raw kale with garlicky dressing is GARLICKY. Good, but whoa not gonna eat that on a work day.
Tonight I will eat tacos with some grilled skirt steak and veg while spouse eats a 64 ounce ribeye. I have seen him eat upwards of 70 oz, he is like a caveman with a fresh kill.
― quincie, Saturday, 10 March 2012 21:37 (1 year ago) Permalink
Snax ideas:
Hummus or other bean dip with vegGazpachoAnts on log! Or banana with peanut butterSome people would say string cheese but fuck that, if I'm gonna eat cheese it is going to be awesome cheeseEdamameGoddamn yogurt
― quincie, Saturday, 10 March 2012 21:40 (1 year ago) Permalink
just had a gigantic tomato/rocket/lettuce/red pepper salad from marks and spencers and two tins of sardines for lunch. probably a placebo effect but i it's like i can palpably sense the goodness after eating it.
― Heterocyclic ring ring (LocalGarda), Friday, 26 October 2012 12:36 (6 months ago) Permalink
two tins
^ otm
― caek, Friday, 26 October 2012 12:36 (6 months ago) Permalink
i was having smaller salads and one tin before, only occurring to me how much more volume of healthy stuff you can eat.
― Heterocyclic ring ring (LocalGarda), Friday, 26 October 2012 12:38 (6 months ago) Permalink
The New York times did a nice takedown of the Meditterranean diet last year Does the Mediterranean Diet Even Exist?. The healthy communities were the impoverished ones, that could only afford to eat lentils, fruits, and vegggies, so they got healthy. It's not the olive oil:
― ‽ Interrobang You're Dead ‽ (Sanpaku), Friday, 26 October 2012 15:37 (6 months ago) Permalink
I want to eat sardines but I'm still kind of afraid? I bought a nice tin of King Oscar. I just, I'm afraid I'll hate them? Or that the heads will skeev me out and I'll throw up, lol.
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Friday, 26 October 2012 17:03 (6 months ago) Permalink
there are no heads
― 乒乓, Friday, 26 October 2012 17:04 (6 months ago) Permalink
no way
really?
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Friday, 26 October 2012 17:05 (6 months ago) Permalink
okay well that's a start
are they a weird thing for you? i used to have them as a kid on sunday evenings, sardines on toast.
do any of you guys buy them fresh much? i
― Heterocyclic ring ring (LocalGarda), Friday, 26 October 2012 17:09 (6 months ago) Permalink
I've never eaten them before, ever
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Friday, 26 October 2012 17:10 (6 months ago) Permalink
vg: try the avacodo + sardine thing upthread. i mean it's still going to taste fishy, but the creaminess of the avacado + the vinegar takes the edge off it a lot.
― caek, Friday, 26 October 2012 17:10 (6 months ago) Permalink
i get them fresh literally every time i see them on the menu at a restaurant, but i don't have them fresh at home
i have bought them fresh quite a bit, really nice and you can do a bit more with them, they're great with chilli and lemon.
― Heterocyclic ring ring (LocalGarda), Friday, 26 October 2012 17:11 (6 months ago) Permalink
in anything, on anything, around anything. have lived a sardine free life.
but I'm down with fish in general, and fishyness so there's no real reason why I shouldn't try them. I just need a way to eat them.
xpost yeah I think the avocado method sounds like the best delivery vehicle for me
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Friday, 26 October 2012 17:11 (6 months ago) Permalink
how do you all fit seeds into things? just putting through quinoa or brown rice dishes sounds a good way, or maybe in morning porridge?
any other tips or suggested seeds beyond the obvious?
― Heterocyclic ring ring (LocalGarda), Tuesday, 6 November 2012 15:21 (6 months ago) Permalink
Ground flax seeds and chia seeds mixed in smoothies. Sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds on salad. Sorry, nothing too exciting here.
― xanthanguar (cwkiii), Tuesday, 6 November 2012 15:26 (6 months ago) Permalink
You can get boneless and skinless sardines
― homosexual II, Tuesday, 6 November 2012 15:36 (6 months ago) Permalink
1) Flax (despite being cheaper) is better than chia.2) Both pretty much pass right through unless ground. But whole seeds have a much higher shelf-life.3) As mentioned by cwkiii, ground flax & chia are great for thickening up smoothies. You can use 1 tbsp flax + 3 tbsp water (in blender) as an egg replacer in all sorts of recipes. Flax also works in salad dressings:
This is my salad dressing de jure, from Susan V.'s excellent recipe blog
Low-Fat Tahini-Chickpea Dressing1 tablespoon flax or chia Grind to a powder in blender, dry, then add1/4 cup chickpeas, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1/2 cup water, 1 tbsp tahini, 1/2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce, 1 tbsp nutritional yeast, 2 cloves garlic, 2 tsp minced ginger Puree. Black pepper to taste
― in the Land of the Yik Yak (Sanpaku), Tuesday, 6 November 2012 17:01 (6 months ago) Permalink
what about say, hemp? do they need grinding? i've also been putting sunflower seeds into things.
― Heterocyclic ring ring (LocalGarda), Tuesday, 6 November 2012 17:12 (6 months ago) Permalink
Next to nothing is known about hempseed:
I was surprised to find so few articles published in the human medical literature on hempseeds, but maybe I shouldn’t be given the lack of much of an industry lobby and the stigma attached to the plant. Only 4 popped up in a pubmed search (excluding articles written by a “Dr. Ian D. Hempseed.”). The latest (available full-text) was a double-blind placebo-controlled comparison of fish, flax and hempseed oil supplementation that lasted 3 months and found no significant effects of any of them on lipid profile, LDL oxidation or measures of inflammation. This result is similar to what was found in my video Is Distilled Fish Oil Toxin-Free? Before that a study comparing daily tablespoons of flaxseed to hempseed oil similarly didn’t find much effect. The third was the study you cited, which found that 2 daily tablespoons of hempseed oil improved atopic dermatitis (an itchy skin rash) better than the same amount of olive oil. The researchers suggest it may be because of the gamma linoleic acid content of hempseeds, an omega 6 fatty acid that paradoxically appears to have an overall anti-inflammatory effect. Instead of downing the oil, as always I’d suggest eating the whole food–hempseeds–directly (same with flaxseeds, see my video Just the Flax Ma’am). And the final study, “Anaphylaxis to ingestion of hempseed” soundly debunks the wikipedia claim that “In fact, there are no known allergies to hemp foods.”
― in the Land of the Yik Yak (Sanpaku), Tuesday, 6 November 2012 17:15 (6 months ago) Permalink
right. i've never bought them but kept reading (obviously bullshit) articles claiming them to be healthy.
― Heterocyclic ring ring (LocalGarda), Tuesday, 6 November 2012 17:17 (6 months ago) Permalink
BTW, that's from a reader Q&A page at Dr. Greger's site. He has 28 HSUSA interns to ferret out info, I'm sadly solo.
― in the Land of the Yik Yak (Sanpaku), Tuesday, 6 November 2012 17:18 (6 months ago) Permalink
I bought some hempseed oil because I found flax oil pretty intolerable in salad dressings. Its better, a bit more nut like (rather than unripe/green) tasting.
Flax definitely has the better essential fatty acid profile assuming you're eating other fats in your diet (58%:14% ω−3:ω−6, vs 16%:57% in hemp). The western diet is overwhelmingly heavy in the ω−6 linoleic (LA), which is metabolized to pro-inflamatory eicosanoids like the prostaglandins. The main ω−3 fatty acid in plants, α-Linolenic acid (ALA), competes for the same enzymatic pathways to produce less effective or ineffective eicosanoid hormones, and so seems to reduce inflamation (and hence cancer, vascular disease, arthritis etc). A 1:3 ratio like in hemp is considered ideal, but since you're probably getting so much ω−6 fat from other sources (pretty much every other vegetable oil except canola, which is 1:2), the flax presumably would help to redress the imbalance.
― in the Land of the Yik Yak (Sanpaku), Tuesday, 6 November 2012 17:39 (6 months ago) Permalink
I will note, that even though flax oil is a bit of an acquired taste that I didn't acquire, its the absolute best oil for seasoning your cast iron skillet.
― in the Land of the Yik Yak (Sanpaku), Tuesday, 6 November 2012 17:42 (6 months ago) Permalink
This is probably the wrong thread, and please redirect me if there's a better one, but... I have a friend with breast cancer that is also in her lymphatic system. She's Taiwanese, and her European husband studies Chinese medicine. She says she's not going through surgery and chemo, but going to rely on acupuncture, exercise, diet and meditation. She directed me to a youtube that promotes a vegan diet called the R@ve Diet and attacks chemo and surgery as an 'industry'.
She's had a difficult life and she seems to feel that she's 'gone wrong' by not looking after herself properly, and that when she starts to do that, she will have a good chance of getting better. I am so worried for her, and she has a toddler son. I don't want to attack her decision directly and it would do no good to do so. She will look at research, however. Sanpaku, does anything spring to mind?
― ljubljana, Friday, 17 May 2013 03:36 (2 days ago) Permalink
This youtube claims breast cancer prognoses haven't improved since the 30s. Doctors and doctors-in-training: that's not right, is it? Even cursory Googling suggests that it isn't.
― ljubljana, Friday, 17 May 2013 03:38 (2 days ago) Permalink
http://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2011/10/24/steve-jobs-cancer-treatment-regrets/
― markers, Friday, 17 May 2013 03:40 (2 days ago) Permalink
But however well his intuition and “magical thinking” may have worked for him at work, Jobs’ postponement of surgery in favor of alternative means was a bizarre executive decision. “We talked about this a lot.” says the biographer. “He wanted to talk about it, how he regretted it. … I think he felt he should have been operated on sooner.”By the time Jobs finally opted for surgery, the cancer had spread. He had an under-the-radar liver transplant and began putting a lot of energy into researching the most sophisticated experimental methods, making a complete about-face from how he began his treatment years before.
By the time Jobs finally opted for surgery, the cancer had spread. He had an under-the-radar liver transplant and began putting a lot of energy into researching the most sophisticated experimental methods, making a complete about-face from how he began his treatment years before.
― markers, Friday, 17 May 2013 03:41 (2 days ago) Permalink
my cliched view on non-western medicine is that it's a good bet for preventive healthcare, but once you are actually diagnosed with a serious disease you should turn to conventional treatment.
― Treeship, Friday, 17 May 2013 03:43 (2 days ago) Permalink
but yeah, the jobs article might be a good thing to show her. i don't know if you can go about this without offending her... that might be unavoidable... but you should make sure she hears what you think she needs to hear.
― Treeship, Friday, 17 May 2013 03:46 (2 days ago) Permalink
The trouble with Jobs is that if you've decided your cancer was largely caused by stress, you'll see Jobs as someone who didn't knock his stress on the head and therefore wasn't doing the alternative treatments right.
― ljubljana, Friday, 17 May 2013 03:51 (2 days ago) Permalink
ljub, my mother in law was diagnosed with stage 3 pancreatic cancer last april. she did not want chemo and doctors felt that it was not as effective on that type of cancer, and risky since she is an advanced age. she opted to undertake the Ger$on therapy, which is basically juicing, coffee enemas, and some approved foods.
I thought it was the biggest load of horseshit I'd ever heard of, and I spent a few months actively fearing her imminent death. I felt like it was a really bad idea, that this stuff was quackery and she was risking her health.
She has not done anything aside from the therapy, no exercise or meditation or anything at all, she's only half-done the therapy and isn't even doing the enemas as often as she 'should'. (I can't blame her). But somehow, for whatever reason, her cancer has not grown. She has not gotten sicker. She has no pain. She is in good health. And her doctor says at each 3 monthly checkup, keep doing whatever it is you're doing because it's working.
the lesson for me wasn't that quackery isn't quackery. The lesson is that what your friend wants is in a lot of ways much more important than what you want FOR them. Whatever they choose, whatever treatment they want for themselves, that is the path you go down with them. Because their mindset is a big part of this.
I'm no more of an advocate for this quacked-out therapy than I was when I found out my MIL had cancer. It is working for HER, and that is the only truth I can really embrace. And while she's around for me to be with and enjoy and in no pain, I have no reason to tell her otherwise. I don't think I would choose that option myself. But I also know that chemo is painful and debilitating and even before any of that, it's fucking scary. What we want for our loved ones isn't always going to give you the best VERSION of them. I think there's some weight to thinking about which version of your friend you want.
But also just generally, be careful with how you counsel your friend, because ultimately this is a really personal choice and one that requires support from friends like you, no matter what she chooses.
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Friday, 17 May 2013 04:37 (2 days ago) Permalink
I'm no doctor. I'm contemplating that path but can't claim a comprehensive background or credentials in adjunct therapies. Its just become a hobby - some people watch TV, I google for phytochemicals that activate Keap1/Nrf2 pathways.
Once cancer has metastasized, there are some very prominent medical professionals that believe chemo rounds are unjustified cruelty - a lot of suffering for little likelihood of remission. So I respect ljubljana's friend's decision.
I will say that some dietary interventions seem to make a world of difference in cancer progression. Of primary importance is getting insulin like growth factor (IGF-I) as low as possible: this generally means a low protein, animal-product free diet. Dietary methionine restriction has been used as an adjunct to cancer therapy. A vegan diet, especially one moderate in soy, achieves this pretty easily.
A number of phytochemicals suppress the processes of inflammation central to cancer metastasis. The anthocyanins in berries appear particularly potent here.
The diet for longevity with cancer appears to be the same for cancer prevention: a whole foods plant based diet, with starch as the major calorie source, emphasizing plants with known antiproliferative effects: cruciferous vegetables, alium vegetables, many fruits but especially berries. Dark chocolate is cool. The beverage of choice is green tea.
For hope, I'd point her to the story of Ruth Heidrich, who had a similar diagnosis of infiltrating ductal carcinoma at age 47, and still competing in marathons and Ironman triathalons 31 years later.
For easy knowledge, I'd point her to the hundreds of videos on cancer and on dietary interventions at NutritionFacts.
There's this guy Mark McCarty who is a bit like me, but he's been scouring the research literature broadly for 30 years and is now affiliated with a Tijuana cancer treatment center (yes, I know how that sounds). I think his book on integrative cancer treatment, especially the sections on nutraceuticals, is worth the read.
I have been collecting a bunch of research papers for my own reading for a while. I would recommend the sections on breast cancer, IGF-I and cancer, methionine restriction, and maybe the diabetic drug Metformin for starters. Drill down in plant studies and there's a metric shit ton of articles on antiproliferative effects of particular veggies.
― Me So Hormetic (Sanpaku), Friday, 17 May 2013 04:59 (2 days ago) Permalink
Seriously, Ruth Heidrich is some kind of hero, got a PhD in nutrition after her diagnosis, and her daily diet is austere, spartan, but every element makes sense.
― Me So Hormetic (Sanpaku), Friday, 17 May 2013 05:13 (2 days ago) Permalink
There are evidence-based alternative cancer therapies, and then there's Ger$on. Can't say I predisposed to embrace a protocol including injections of raw calf liver.
Two videos that may please those in favor of evidence-based integrative medicine, or with an aversion to mother-in-laws.G Therapy for CancerG Therapy vs. Chemotherapy
― Me So Hormetic (Sanpaku), Friday, 17 May 2013 05:41 (2 days ago) Permalink
the raw liver injections aren't used anymore.
and dude: I like you, I like your research, you bring good depth to any discussion...but the mother in law crack was crass & in poor taste. and that's me being polite & restrained.
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Friday, 17 May 2013 05:46 (2 days ago) Permalink
My apologies. It's late here, the bottle is empty, and MILs are common comedy fodder. It was inconsiderate, and I probably shouldn't attempt comedy in my state.
― Me So Hormetic (Sanpaku), Friday, 17 May 2013 06:05 (2 days ago) Permalink
thank you
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Friday, 17 May 2013 06:09 (2 days ago) Permalink
There is a very interesting question of how one can bring any levity to discussions of physiology. At root, we learn that we are awesomely complicated machines, which is in itself potentially a rather depressing thought. I wonder if La Mettrie was welcome in the parlors of Paris, Leiden or Berlin. Probably not the conversation for this thread or time.
― Me So Hormetic (Sanpaku), Friday, 17 May 2013 06:24 (2 days ago) Permalink
Sanpaku, thank you very much for gathering all of this together. I really appreciate it a lot, especially that link to the papers. I'll be watching it and learning before deciding how to respond properly to my friend. What I'll be looking out for is what the evidence says about cancers that don't seem to be highly aggressive. I just got a second email from her that says hers is 'slow', and partly benign/calcified, but I don't know to what extent has actually metastasized in the lymphatic system - it's in there, but there is a specific test that seems to be able to tell you something about the chances of the lymph system allowing the establishment of the cancer elsewhere. I don't know what the results of that were.
VG, that's a very interesting and positive story - long may things continue as they are for your MIL! I sent my friend a holding reply that said: this scares me a lot, and yet I see what you are saying and I know there are no guarantees with chemo and surgery, and I will do some research myself. (I am cheating with Sanpaku's help). That's the most honest thing I can say. When I've read more I'll say more about the most positive evidence I can find. If I find things that cause me to ask myself whether this approach really fits her specific situation, maybe I'll say something about that too. It depends how strongly I think it would contribute to the research picture she herself is trying to build.
― ljubljana, Friday, 17 May 2013 11:56 (2 days ago) Permalink
ljubjana, I'd also like to point you to Mark McCarty's magnum opus so far: Low-Fat, Low-Salt, Whole-Food Vegan: Staying Lean and Healthy into Ripe Old Age, where he puts everything together in 218 pages and 1100 references - one of the best guides to a health promoting lifestyle you'll find anywhere, and its free. The 35 page section on cancer prevention neatly summarizes the IGF-I/cancer story better than I've seen anywhere else.
My other nutritional guru of late is Vincent Giuliano, who may yet convince me to supplement more extensively. Search his Anti-Aging Firewalls blog for "cancer" and you'll find some very up-to date summations of current research on foods and supplements with antiproliferative effects.
― Me So Hormetic (Sanpaku), Saturday, 18 May 2013 03:40 (Yesterday) Permalink
Thanks Sanpaku.
― ljubljana, Saturday, 18 May 2013 13:05 (Yesterday) Permalink