Just one of those "I'm curious" surveys!!!!

Mary Jo · 03-19-2007, 05:27 PM

Hello everyone - This oughta get the juices flowing in the old fingers as far as posts go!! Hehe!

I am curious about something. How many of you were heavy duty sugar eaters BEFORE cancer. When I say sugar I mean eating things like lots of chocolate, pastries, candy, cookies, cake etc. I ate lots - way more than I should have. I was always an avid exerciser and did keep my weight down. I also made sure I ate all the right things BUT I did eat wayyyyyyyyyyyyy too many of those chocolately things - bakery items. I still struggle with it and TRY TRY TRY to not overindulge in those things. Sometimes I'm successful and sometimes I am not.

We always here about the correlation between "sugar" and cancer. Sometimes I stress over that and as I'm OVERINDULGING in the chocolate I feel so guilty. I picture cancer cells growing while I'm eating it. I know I'm torturing myself with that kind of thinking but I can't lie and say I don't think about that. For the most part I do much better than I did before cancer but as I said earlier, sometimes I don't and of course the more I stress over me "killing" myself the harder I make it for myself.

Ok - now I'll wait for you to share with me. Hugs to everyone and a kiss I send - A CHOCOLATELY ONE! Hehehehehehehehe!

Mary Jo

KellyA · 03-19-2007, 05:38 PM

Hi Mary Jo,

Well, I wasn't necessarily a big "sugar eater"- not straight sugar anyways, but I would say that I was a HUGE carbohydrate eater. Breads, pretzels, cereals, etc. I have also heard/read the correlations between sugar and cancer, but if I really looked at my diet, there were probably any number of possible problems. I had an extremely acidic diet, and have drunk 10 or so diet sodas daily since I was about 15. So, whether its sugar, acidity, or aspartame :-), who knows. Could have been the fertilizer we used or some bug spray I breathed in when I was eight also. Wouldn't it be wonderful though (in a perfect world) if sugar KILLED cancer?! WHOO HOO!!!!

Love,
Kelly

Mary Jo · 03-19-2007, 05:47 PM

Oh Kelly - sugar killing cancer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now that truly would be the perfect world, wouldn't it? And boy would I be successful on that diet! Haha!

You are right though. It surely could have been a number of things and really who the heck knows. If only we didn't always try to figure it out. In a realistic state of mind, I know that wracking our brains over it won't solve a thing BUT sometimes it's so easy to say "if only I wouldn't have done this or that." Ya know? But of course, I know that isn't true either. However, I was curious as to who ate a lot of sugary junk before cancer and who didn't. And of course, I am always striving to do healthy things for my body. That's the best we can do, I guess.

Hugs to Kelly and a sweet chocolately kiss. :-)

Mary Jo

Becky · 03-19-2007, 05:50 PM

I didn't eat very much sugar and ate a relatively good diet - just way too much of everything (especially too much meat which I have changed). I also drank alot of diet soda too. I think my biggest mistake was that I did not exercise much so I was about 40 lbs overweight (no longer though).

I changed the diet soda and haven't had one soda of any kind since I was diagnosed (keep repeating - the body is made of 70% water not 70% of diet soda). I also don't eat processed meat (except ham at Christmas and Easter - I love a nice baked ham) so no hot dogs.

I also used to put sugar in my tea which I stopped.

hutchibk · 03-19-2007, 06:02 PM

I never was a sugar eater. Not very drawn to sweets. I never liked candy or desserts. I rarely drank colas, and ate bad carbs very sparingly. I have always tried to be a smart eater most of my life. On average, I probably consumed less than 1/4 cup of sugar a week as I usually used alternate sweeteners such as honey, maple or stevia....

Now, I have to say that since being in and out of chemo for the last 3 years, I have suffered from cravings for sweets like never before in my life. And I have less will power than ever before... when it comes to cookies and chocolates. At least I make a conscious effort to eat only dark chocolate.

Anyone else had cancer treatment CAUSE them to have sugar cravings??

Becky · 03-19-2007, 06:30 PM

I will say that it was not the chemo but the Herceptin that gave me great cravings - especially for brownies - anything with chocolately goodness. I was grateful when I switched from weekly Herceptin to the every three week treatment. My kids would make some brownies on that Friday - or peanut M&Ms . I HAD to do it!!! And it was that as I don't need that anymore.

RhondaH · 03-19-2007, 06:32 PM

I inherited my fathers sweet tooth and ate SOOOO much sugar not to mention up until 6 mo before dx I was allergic to fish and fowl (can now eat fish) since I was 4yo so the red meat and pork were my only diet (besides sugar). I PERSONALLY think that my cancer was caused by poor diet ( I always thought I was destined to be diabetic/heart attack) as NO one in my family had cancer and what "turned the switch on" was the MAJOR stress I encountered when my father became terminally ill and I was trying to care for him from 100 miles away, work full time, take care of my mother who broke her back while I was caring for my dad AND take care of my 3yo son...I was having MAJOR panic attacks. So much of what I read shows "relations of HER2" to different aspects of diet and insulin. I have SINCE had hardly ANY sugar (only when I bake and a candy bar every week or 2, but honestly they taste SO plastic, I've backed off from them). I eat fish twice a week, vegetarian twice a week and either beef or pork (organic) twice a week (we take turns as to what beef or pork each of us have a taste for then we don't get in a rut) and of COURSE my 9+ fruit and veg a day (I also think that JUST fruit and veg is not the answer, but a VARIETY of nutrient dense fruit and veg...when I unpacked I found a book I had from Readers Digest called Foods that Harm, Foods that Heal...had it for many years and when reading it so much of the fruits and veg I used to eat...corn, pears, etc...have little to NO nutritional value whereas what I eat now are a lot of the cruciferous veg...and I eat them ALL, bitter as they are...but I think these especially will help me stay healthy). I don't think there is one MIRACLE food, but you need to mix them all up. Last week due to my mom being slightly anemic, I made liver and onions (learnt this trick when my red counts during chemo were 8.1 and they wanted to give me procrit and I refused...now in reading I think I made a good choice...my mom would make liver and onions and the iron REALLY helped my reds take off...try it) and my 6 yo son LOVED it. Take care and Good bless.

Rhonda

Mary Jo · 03-19-2007, 06:42 PM

Wow Rhonda - Kudo's to you! You really eat super duper! I thought I was eating pretty darn good - hmmmmmmmmmmmm...................................is thinkin' not so much now! Haha!

Seriously, I do alright. Really concentrate on fruits and veggies - fiber - whole grains. I take 1 tsp. of Arctic Cod Liver Oil with an orange taste, every night. The 1 tsp. fills my Omega 3 requirements as I don't eat fish. I also take calcium with magnesium and minerals. I exercise faithfully, but always did do that. I powerwalk/jog (mainly powerwalk) 4 miles a day - sometimes 6. I break it up into 2 - two mile walks per day - sometimes 3. BUT man, am I impressed with what you do Rhonda!

High fives Rhonda!

Mary Jo