Myth #1: I will need to be a vegan, non-soy, keto, alkaline, vitamin sniffing dieter.
After reaching out on Instagram and asking people what they wanted me to write about most, I decided to put together a little Myth busting series. The number one thing that came back was what do I eat/ what do I avoid, so I thought this would be a good starting point! This subject is actually very personal to me. Having a history of Anorexia, stemmed from a restricted diet after being diagnosed with PCOS as 12 years old, when I was inundated with messages from people telling me everything I should not eat as it will feed my cancer I found it very difficult. But to be quite frank, it’s bullshit.
Now first things first, I am not a dietician. Everything I’m about to say comes from working with clinically trained dieticians and nutritionists however I am about to complete my Level 4 RSPH Nutrition qualification and become a member of the Royal Society for Public Health, so I believe I have a slightly more valid opinion then the DM’s you may receive from Dr Spamalot on Instagram telling you to eat their magic mushrooms as it cured their herpes so it’ll cure your cancer…every damn day.
So without further ado, numero one…
Veganism.
The first thing people bounce on telling you is that to cure your cancer you need to be completely vegan/plant based. Meat causes cancer so if you have cancer already its a danger food. Well here’s an interesting fact for you, I turned Vegetarian when I was 8 years old. I loved the cows in my back field so one day I decided I didn’t want to eat cows anymore. My diet consisted of vegetables, beans, lentils and guess what? I still got cancer. These days I don’t label myself as anything but I’m a mixture of pescatarian/ veggie/ doesn’t consume dairy. Now, there is certainly evidence to show that reducing your red and processed meat consumption and increasing your vegetable intake will reduce your risk of cancer and that is something I would recommend to anyone. But there is no evidence to show that eating fish and/or white meat is dangerous. In fact, getting enough protein in your diet is very important when undergoing cancer treatment so ensuring you have a balanced diet that consists of protein is key. By going vegetarian/ vegan people just tend to increase their vegetable and legume consumptions in turn increasing their vitamin, mineral and fibre intake, all important factors in balanced diet. So no you do not need to go vegan, but yes increase your vegetable and plant based protein sources…it’s good for the planet too!
Soya
I once had someone (not nutritional qualified) say to me that it may be my soya intake over the years that gave me cancer because of the increase in Oestrogen levels and my cancer is Oestrogen positive…thank you Negative Nancy. Soya contains Isoflavones, which may act like oestrogen, but they have anti-oestrogen properties too. In some animal studies, they exposed rodents to high levels of soy and found an increased chance of breast cancer… hence soy being the danger train. However, rodents actually process soy differently to humans and their dose of Isoflavones were much higher then a human would be exposed to in a normal diet. In actual fact, Asian countries, where the soy consumption is much higher then westernised countries, have the lowest occurrence of breast cancer. Suggesting it may actually have cancer prevention effects. So let me eat my edamame beans please and thanks.
Keto
I could get ranty in this one but I will try keep it concise. “Sugar feeds cancer”, something you may be inundated with hearing. Cancer cells contain glucose receptors, as do all our cells. So, yes in some way, glucose is ‘feeding’ them but that word I absolute hate. Suggesting it’s feeding your cancer as if I eat this biscuit and my cancer is going to go nom nom, hacks me right off! Your body needs glucose to survive, especially when you are putting it through hell during cancer treatment. So going full keto and starving your cancer of any carbohydrate to keep glucose away, also means you’re starving all your internal organs of glucose too and you will become weak, fatigued and suffer more. Sugar (the refined sugar we see in cakes, biscuits etc) is only linked with increasing your cancer risk due to the additional calories it provides. Eating more cakes and biscuits adds a calorie surplus, increases your chance of obesity which yes is then linked with a higher chance of cancer. Personally, I do not consume large amounts of refined sugar for that exact reason and that I am insulin resistant, however If I fancy a cube a chocolate I will eat my chocolate in peace!
Alkaline
‘Let’s avoid all acidic foods and put our bodies into an Alkaline state because cancer loves acidity and to cure cancer we need to increase the pH of the body therefore making it more alkaline so cancer cells will eventually die off and cure us’…right. Hmm, lets have a look at this. The human blood will only range in a pH between 7.35 and 7.45. If the pH drops under 7.35, you get very sick from acidosis. If the pH of your blood raises above 7.45 and becomes “alkaline”, you also get very sick from alkalosis. In fact if your PH goes up by more then 0.4 points it’s life threatening. So let’s fight cancer by putting our bodies into a life-threatening state….I think not. Don’t panic though the human body is very clever and it regulates this by itself, so just leave it alone! What I find even more hilarious is when you look into the alkaline diet it is essentially a diet that cuts out processed foods and consumes more fruit and vegetables…go figure! So again my friends, a balanced diet that contains, proteins, carbs, fats, fibre and vitamins and minerals seems to be the best type.
Vitamin Supplements
Please please please do not listen to the advice of someone on social media telling you by taking this magic new supplement it’s going to cure your cancer. There are actually in fact a lot of supplements that are completely unsafe for someone to take during chemotherapy and other cancer treatments and some that in high doses will interfere with treatment such as vitamin C. Yes this is an incredible vitamin needed for your immune system however, without diving too deep and boring you with the science, Vitamin C is an antioxidant. It works by joining onto free radicals within your cells to prevent them from becoming damaged and changing the DNA, of which cancer is. This is why the A, C and E vitamins are so important in the human diet. However, if you have cancer and are receiving chemotherapy for it, the chemo drug is also working to join onto the free radicals within the cancer cells to kill it off. If you consume high doses of Vitamin C it’ll block the chemotherapy being able to join onto the cells. So before you start plugging yourself full of additional supplements, get your fruit and vegetable consumption in check to consume natural levels and consult your medical team to be advised on what to take and what not to take.
So there you have it, you do not need to be a vegan, non-soy, keto, alkaline, vitamin sniffing dieter to cure your cancer. For goodness sake, isn’t our lives difficult enough as it is without having to feel like you need to cut out every single food group on the list?! Follow a balanced diet, that contains protein, carbohydrates and good fats to ensure you get your fibre, vitamins and minerals in naturally and enjoy that slice of cake if you fancy it.
