Where is the beef?

[CLTann]

I read so many articles on diet advising that red meat is a no-n0 for cancer patients. I can understand that the ratio of omega 3 and omega 6 is an important factor. However, if one takes fish oil or/and flaxseed to balance the ratio, whats wrong with red meat? Beef is a very important source of protein and a major daily food for all Americans. In classifying red meat as a food to avoid, the advisors never explain why this type of food should be avoided. How can one live on with dark colored veggies only? Meanwhile, how does one have balanced diet with adequate nutrition and sanity? I also watch sugar and carbohydrates for diabetic control; this certainly adds to a more complex diet control.

Ann

[Becky]

I eat red meat. I like it. There's nothing like a nice steak. However, too much is not good for you (cancer or not). Its the saturated fat that's the culprit and that if the meat isn't organic, there are hormones and antibiotics added. Eat what you like but in moderation. I try to have it just once a week with vegetarian meals, chicken or fish the other days. I work hard to have fish 2-3 times a week. It wasn't natural for me before so it takes more planning. Vegetarian meals were easier since my oldest daughter is a full fledged vegetarian.


I don't think red meat is bad for you but it is if it is every day and that has nothing to do with just cancer but for general health.

Kind regards

Becky

[saleboat]

I've been a vegetarian (the clean-living exercising kind) for the past 20 years and I still got a nasty nasty cancer (with no family history). Maybe if I'd eaten red meat, it would have been worse? Who knows.

Everything in moderation seems like a prudent course of action.

Jen

[RhondaH]

I follow Becky's theory. I am allergic to fowl (an until prior to dx fish also) so my diet PRIOR to dx was ONLY beef and pork (not to mention the handfuls of candy). SINCE dx, I eat fish 2 times per week (Allrecipe and Chicken of the Sea have AWESOME recipes), vegetarian 2 times per week and beef/pork 2 times per week (I have my phytochemical smoothie in the morning and my salad is my lunch that's why it's EASY for me to get 11-14 servings of fruit/veg per day...it took practice in the beginning, but now it is second nature). Take care and God bless.

Rhonda

[tousled1]

I never ate much red meat but every so often I would and still do get a terrible craving for a good steak. I too believe that in moderation anything is a go.

[R.B.]

There are previous posts looking at the impact of injected hormones in farm animals, and grass grazed with corn fed.

Also in comparative terms animals are higher in fat including intra muscular than they used to be when they had more exercise.

Nothing is ever simple when you start looking at the detail, but moderation, and as natural as you can afford and maybe? choosing grass fed eg lamb which is more likely to be grass reared.

RB

[SusanV]

I believe that a well balanced diet with the addition of exercise will assist in leading a healthy lifestyle that will help keep our minds, bodies and souls in the right place in this journey.

I believe in my heart of hearts, that if these horrible cancers that we are facing were diet driven, our oncologists would spend a significant amount of time adding this information to our treatment plans. I am a modern medicine, proven science kind of girl. I also ate healthy prior to this DX, never smoked, and drank only on special occasions...Just like my oncologist said, it is sometimes amazing what living a healthy lifestyle gets you !

LOVE TO ALL

[StephN]

We have been having a lot of discussion on this board lately about what MOST LIKELY is causing our cancers when so few of us have more than 2 risk factors and NO family history.

As R B just alluded to, let's look closely at the CORPORATE foods that we eat. Look at the labels and see if you understand more than 3 or 4 of the ingredients. Looks like Greek to me! Or a chemistry class.

I guess I had not heard that cancer patients should avoid beef altogether. I eat it once or twice a week. My grandmother ate all the steaks she wanted (good local Florida beef) and lived to be 98, taking NO pills for anything.

On my way to the local Thursday Farmer's Market. Here I can get fresh, organic, First Person Foods (bought from the person who grew it). Looking forward to the last of the peaches - yum!

[R.B.]

Susan food does alter gene expression.

Please see Greek diet post with particular emphasis on balancing the omega threes and sixes.

With the messages on polyunsaturates lots of people me included were happily imbibing high levels of omega six veg oil and relatively low levels of omega three, getting IBS type symptoms etc and thinking that their fat balance was a healthy one.

There is no question that food can figure as a risk reduction strategy, but there is little money in diet compared with drugs so it has not had the same level of funding for trials etc as drugs, and will not until Governements look at the upcoming health bill and social implications of increasing rates of western conditions from a preventative rather than treatment perspective, and fund the necessary rigourous trials (eg based on gene expression, measurements of fats in the body etc) on fats for example. The what did you eat are simply not sensitive or accurate enough so large meta trial results are often mixed and inconclusive.

There is also no question that some are simply more prone than others.

If you have already done the omega three six thing - apologies.

RB

[karenann]

Rhonda,

Just out of curiosity, what does your phytochemical smoothie consist of?


Oh, and I agree with the, everything in moderation diet.


Thanks,

Karen

[deb-steph]

i just read your note. i am now down to only herceptin every 3 weeks thru april 2007. stage IIb 4 rounds a/c, 9 of 12 round of taxol/herceptin (stopped because of neuropathy in my feet), 33 rounds of radiation. i have been wondering about seeing the dietician now that i am done with the bulk of treatment. my oncologist has only suggested upping my protein intake since beginning but i don't know if i still need to or cut back to more vegetarian. we live in texas and this a big beef community so if would take quite a bit of adjustment to cut it all out. thanks for your input. this makes my decision much easier.

[heblaj01]

To all the reasons for heart & cancer patients to be carefull with force fed, antibiotic -estrogen-omega-6 laden beef here is a new worry with the approval in the US of virus spraying of meat for protection against bacteria:

http://mercola.com/2006/sep/7/fda_ap...meats_safe.htm
FDA Approves a Spray-on Virus to Keep Processed Meats ''Safe''

And those beef eaters relying on the better quality meat from free ranging grass
fed cattle may loose that advantage if proposed regulation by the US department of agriculture are adopted relaxing current rules:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...&sn=003&sc=737
Ranchers Decry Grass-Fed Beef Rule Plan

[Mgarr]

Karen,


I drink the shake as well. Also, search the "breast cancer diet" - The soy shake was developed by a dietician 3 time cancer survivor (twice breast). She wrote a book A Dieticians Cancer Story. The following is the link with the shake recipe.

http://cancerrd.com/Recipes/supersoy1.htm

Mary

[R.B.]

There is quite a lot of discussion on soy, the form of intake. the upsides and downsides etc.

Please use the search facility above to acquaint yourself with the various viewpoints.

RB