Some questions for Tanya

[Mandamoo]

Ok so this diet stuff can get really confusing when it comes to cancer. I understand the mainstream recommendations but there is so much "stuff" out there in relation to prevention of disease recurrence, healing with food etc...
Can I pose some of the regular ones and see what you think>?

Dairy - good or bad or indifferent?
Animal protein - Is this a no go? Is it an issue with acid formation, saturated fat content? Are there ay benefits to including animal protein in diet when dealing with Stage 4 disease?
Is there any truth whatsoever in the Alkaline diet helping to control cancer/ prevent disease progression?
What about the paleo diet - elimination of grains, dairy but higher intake of animal protein and saturated fats.
Ketogenic diet - there seems to be some evidence that this can have an influence on disease progression when calorie controlled - can this be maintained long term though?

I have followed a mostly plant based diet without dairy for nearly 2 years - I have eaten fish, green juiced etc... Mostly i have felt very well, my disease has continued to progress. I have recently decided to change to including more animal protein back into my diet and I have eliminated grains.

Recently I started perjeta and I have some issues with diarrhoea so far which I am trying to manage also in addition to a reduced appetite.

I truly believe that what we eat influences our health. I am not interested in artificial nutrition and would like to gain nutrients from real food not supplements. I still want to enjoy life and food (I was quite happily doing this) - But I want to optimise my health and I am confused!

I am not overweight - 172cm tall and 65kg - my weight has fluctuated between 58kg and 68kg over the past two years.

I find the standard advice very mainstream and all aimed at weight maintenance as opposed to health optimisation and preventing disease progression.

Any thoughts?
Amanda

[TanyaRD]

Hi Amanda,
Sorry for the delay. Yes, nutrition and cancer is very confusing!

Dairy: I am not convinced that there is a need to avoid dairy with breast cancer. I recommend low fat dairy in order to avoid the saturated fats associated with increased risk in breast cancer. Dairy often offers an excellent protein source, calcium and vit D-much needed by breast cancer survivors, along with conjugated linoleic acids which may increase cancer cell death.

I don't know of any direct benefit from animal protein but I will say if you are stuggling with a poor appetite I would liberize diet as much as possible to be sure intake is adequate. In other words, if animal protein sounds good but you are afraid it will cause harm I would not recommend restricting it. It is more important to get enough calories and protein than it is the source/possible increase in saturated fat.
Paleo-I love crossfit (big proponents of Paleo) but not crazy about Paleo diet--especially for breast cancer survivors--too much saturated fat.
Ketogenic-I don't think this is sustainable plus I think there should be some enjoyment associated with food/meals.
Plant based diet-There is a great deal of support for following a low saturated fat diet (with moderate amounts of animal protein or without). I think this is most realistic and can be maintained over the long term.
If you are having trouble with diarrhea you may talk to your team about adding more soluble fiber (grains-like oatmeal are a great source) and keeping up with fluids.

I hope this helps.