I’m not going to lie – your weight matters and it’s a worthy goal to be a healthy weight.
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Because, after smoking, any extra pounds we are carrying increase our risk of getting cancer again. So yes, I definitely encourage my clients to work towards releasing weight.
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But it’s how you’re releasing that weight that concerns me.
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Sadly I see too many clients who’ve been following popular diets, that include foods that I encourage them to stay away from – foods that are linked to cancer.
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Unknowingly they are eating foods that could be increasing their cancer risk. I’m not going to name and shame but we all know which diet recommends red wine and dark chocolate!
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I am not suggesting that the Mediterranean Diet doesn’t have any redeeming qualities, especially when you focus on whole foods like seasonal vegetables and legumes. But from where I sit, this diet is code for ‘I drink the red stuff a bit more often than occasionally’.
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It may be OK for those who have never had a diagnosis, but if you have then I suggest severely moderating your intake of alcohol or giving it a miss altogether.
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Alcohol increases your estrogen levels, which increases your risk of female cancers, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. You can read more about alcohol in
this blog here.
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Sure – you can keep the dark chocolate – in moderation of course!
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The next food that is commonly allowed is our beloved cow products. The protein in dairy is casein, which has been linked to cancer by a doctor who grew up on a dairy farm!
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Dr Colin T Campbell, Author of The China Study, set out to prove that the more animal protein we ate, the healthier we would be. But by the time he was 50 he was a totally plant-based whole-fooder. Once again this is just the tip of the iceberg and you can read more about that
here.
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Last, but definitely not least is animal protein. The World Health Organisation deemed all processed meats as a Class 1 carcinogen on the same level as smoking and asbestos, and red meat as a Class 2.
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I highly recommend you immediately reduce your intake of meat to one serve or less a day.
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Remember that a serve of animal protein is the size of a deck of cards or the palm of your hand. You can read more about that
here.
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Next week I’m going to talk about my pet hate in the weight loss industry – protein shakes.
