When you hear those words, ‘You have cancer’, you’re immediately filled with fear.
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I’ll never forget that moment, when everything stopped and I had to face my mortality. I did not want to die, and worse, I did not want my children to be motherless.
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A mastectomy and nearly 6 years later I am very positive about the future, but you don’t ‘unforget’ cancer. It stays with you…forever.
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I didn’t however, go back to living the way I used to.
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My wake-up came in the form of leaving alcohol and a 20-year marriage behind.
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Today I am positive because the research is definitely in favour of the survivor. As I mention often, genetics plays a small part in most health issues, which is good news.
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Diet and lifestyle habits, especially what goes on the end of your fork, is key to most health outcomes.
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So how do you wade through all the confusing and often conflicting diet recommendations and stay positive that your diet can make a difference in your long term health outcome?
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You start with what we absolutely know.
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Vegetables and fruit are full of health-promoting and cancer-kicking nutrients.
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This is especially true of the cruciferous vegetables, from the Brassicaceae family, that have specific cancer-fighting compounds like indole-3-carbinol and sulforaphane.
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You can’t go wrong by including more broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, kale, bok choy into your diet (you can find a complete list here).
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This is the first place I start with my clients. I focus on easy ways to help them include these vegetables in their existing meals. Plus including more vegetables in general, as they are the most nutrient-dense, fibre packed carbohydrate on the planet.
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Secondly we look at reducing dairy, by experimenting with all the fantastic alternatives on the market, like almond milk, coconut yogurt and nutritional yeast.
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The relationship between dairy and cancer is discussed in this blog.
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Or you can read this comprehensive review of The China Study if you are wondering why everyone would benefit by avoiding dairy.
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The third step is to take a look at how much animal protein you are eating. As Dr Campbell states, a diet with as low animal protein intake as possible will greatly reduce your risk for all kinds of cancer, heart disease, auto-immune disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, obesity, and many other “diseases of affluence”.
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I begin a journey with my clients of reducing animal protein to once a day, then experimenting with further reductions.
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There are many fabulous sources of plant-based protein that provide not only protein but fibre.
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Our western diets are largely void of fibre, which is only found in plant foods. Fibre is crucial for optimal health, and legumes, aka beans & lentils, are a combination of protein and complex carbohydrates which includes fibre.
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Would you like some help moving towards a whole-foods plant-based lifestyle?
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Book an Introductory session and we will look at what you are currently eating, create a menu-plan that adds more plant-based, cancer-kicking foods and reduces the foods that do not optimise your health.
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This offer also includes an e-book that describes the guiding principles of how to optimise your health using plant foods and includes 40 recipes to help you get started.
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Click here for more information:
Empowered Eating Plan
You're ready to take the first step and create a menu-plan that adds more plant-based cancer-kicking foods to your diet.
Click the link below and let's get you started!