Nutrition for cancer patients
Nutrition for Autoimmune Disease patients
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Grass-fed meat
I strongly advocate grass-fed meat as opposed to corn-fed meat because mounting research tells us that grass-fed meat has a number of health-enhancing benefits in respect of preventing and aiding the fight against chronic illness, whereas grain-fed meat must be, in my opinion, considered a risk factor for disease and disease progression in chronic illness. Here are a few pointers why.
Grass-fed meat is:
- Higher in anti-inflammatory omega-3s and lower in pro-inflammatory omega-6s, in other words, grass-fed meat has a much healthier ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids. The ratio of animal omega 3 to animal omega 6 has dramatic consequences for our health; whilst animal omega 6 fats increase fat reserves in the human body, promote coagulation (resulting in "thicker, stickier blood"), increase inflammation and cellwall rigidity, omega 3 fats on the other hand make cell membranes more flexible, reduce inflammation and decrease or limit the production of fat stores in the body. In the natural world, animals feed on grass which is an excellent source of Omega-3 fatty acids. Battery-farmed animals are raised on grain (corn, soy, wheat), sadly this now has become the predominant diet for farmed animals. These grains are sources of omega-6 fatty acids, and the meat of the animal will be high in omega-6 fatty acids as a result. The ratio of inflammatory omega-6 to anti-inflammatory omega-3s in grain-fed meat is esteemed as high as 1:15 or in some cases up to 1:40.
- Higher in anti-inflammatory CLA (cis-9 trans-11) and its sole dietary precursor, vaccenic acid. There is increasing evidence that higher levels of vaccenic acid result in overall lower levels of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
- Higher in vitamins (B-vitamins thiamin and riboflavin)
- Higher in antioxidants (betacarotene and vitamin E)
- Higher in minerals (calcium, magnesium, potassium)
- and lower in overall fat.
- So is it worth you buying grass-fed meat? You betcha!! Here are some UK sources for Grass-fed meat, in the order of my personal preference. Note that I will never push a retailer or a "product" for any other reason than that I am convinced that it is the
2) ONLINE SHOPPING for grass fed meat
The websites below however only sell PURELY grassfed meat (lamb and beef).
The best deal in our experience is to buy 1/2 a lamb or 1/2 an entire beef. you'll get lots of mince but also things like liver, kidneys, heart etc. - great to vary the parts of the body eaten.
Do not use pork on website 1) and 2) as it is grain fed, however website 3) says they have 'pasteured pork' ie. non grainfed pork. Please verify at the time of ordering that there has been no grain added to the feed. Quick phone call is all it takes.
Do not use chicken/turkey/pheasant (grain fed) from any of these websites.
Also do not use sausages even those bought at the below websites - as they all contain grain/rusk/carb containing fillers.
1) Fordhall Farm 01630 638 255 - there is an interesting story to this farm as it is community owned www.fordhallfarm.com. We tend to order 1/2 lamb the large packs they offer - you get EVERYTHING in 1/2 a lamb incl. 1 kidney etc etc.
2) Higher Hacknell Organic Farm 01769 560 909 - these supply all of Hugh Fernley Whittingstall (however you spell that :-)) businesses. I have a slight pref. for them as they have a much larger assortment check out their website!
3) A new, 3rd website has just come to my attention, it is called http://www.greenpasturefarms.co.uk/ . - they sell PASTURED PIG (supposedly never grain fed). YOu can buy 1/2 pig for a good price (135£ i think) please take a look, but I recommend you call them first and ask to make sure they were NEVER FED GRAINS (corn etc.).
4) Polls organic grass fed beef. http://www.coolsfarm.co.uk/1.html
They are a bit more expensive but they are Adrian and my preferred source for grassfed meat because they guarantee a longer time for young animals with the mother: calves stay a guaranteed 6 months with the mother (AT LEAST, possibly longer). The other companies do not guarantee that. Secondly, the slaughterhouse they use is only 15 miles away from their farm (less distress for cattle, ethically better, and also less stress hormones in their meat). All their meat is organic and the breed is a rare old english breed whose meat tastes very good. You can compose your meat order in which ever way you wish.
Below is the text from their homepage. To order, please click HERE or look at our website www.boxbeef.com
"Polled cattle are born with no horns. This rare breed is docile and friendly and are outstanding foragers. This means we can feed them on grass in the summer and hay during the winter, not on corn. OurGrass fed beef animals go to a local abattoir at 24 to 30 months old. Their meat is like a fine wine - not the usual supermarket plonk - because the meat is hung for at least three weeks before butchery. Being an old English breed of cattle, it is the 'Beef of old England', well marbled and textured. Join the Mailing List at the bottom of this page if you would like further intormation. In 2102, we won the Red Poll Herd Competition for the South West of England and, nationally, we were second to the Queen, who has a large herd of Red Poll Cattle at Sandringham. Our bull, Woldsman Oberon, after having been with us for 3 years, has now gone to join the Queen's herd and we have a young bull of hers - Appleton Pericles.
We send meat throughout the UK on the 3rd Thursday of each month, to arrive the following day. The cost is £115 for a 10kg box; £65 for a 5kg box. To order, please click HERE or look at our website www.boxbeef.com
http://www.coolsfarm.co.uk/1.html
Functional Medicine
An approach to health that aims to identify and address the underlying causes of disease using a systems-focused, patient-centered approach. It involves listening to and analysing patient histories, interpreting interactions among genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors that can influence long-term health and complex, chronic disease.
- Dr Jeffrey Bland: "We are moving from a medicine for the average to a medicine for the individual. We are starting to recognize that lifestyle, diet and environmental factors influence how our genes are expressed into our health and disease patterns". Author of "The Disease Delusion" - www.jeffreybland.com and on youtube here
- Institute of Functional Medicine: www.functionalmedicine.org
Exercise
Disclaimer: Before beginning any kind of exercise program, even if you only attempt part of it, it is important that you consult your GP or a qualified fitness professional who understands your health and medical background and can provide you with feedback on your choice of routine. I explicitly do not encourage anyone to undertake exercise without consulting your GP or medical team and a fitness professional first.
There are countless approaches to exercise, and I do not pretend to know which one is right for you. It is absolutely essential that you find what works for you, or you will simply stop doing it. And everytime you start a new exercise programme and stop it after a while, you build a barrage of negative feelings around the concept of exercise, that can prevent you from starting exercise again. So the best would really be for you to go to www.youtube.com and type into the search bar any name of exercise that appeals to you. You will find countless whole exercise routines that vary in length between 2 to 60 minutes, and you won't have to pay anything to try them out. You can start and stop anytime, in the privacy of your own home.
Another idea is - and some of my patients have used this to great success - to simply dance to a selection of videos on youtube. Type the name of a song or artist you like into the search field and off you go! Proper dance moves that involve entire sections of the body will increase your energy levels, engage your brain in novel movements and activities, increase your heart rate and blood flow and move your lymph. Not to mention the fun that can be had!
If you would still like some ideas, I will share below links to some routines which my patients have fed back to me as being particularly useful and which have made a difference to people whose lives are impacted and challenged by severe chronic illness including cancer.
- I am a huge fan of yoga for chronic illness patients, especially where muscle mass has been reduced by years of sedentary lifestyle, illness, hospital stays or medical treatments. It is essential that you find a programme that works for you. I have seen patients build muscle in very short periods of time using yoga routines from youtube or from DVDs. In addition to building muscle, yoga also increases body awareness, calm and an awareness of the breath, all of which can be very useful during the healing process: the overall slowing down is increases feel-good and pain-fighting chemicals. Here are my favourites:
- Yoga for Women:
- Beginners: Yoga for flexibility
a gentle easy start if you are new to yoga. In the bar to the right you will find other similar beginner yoga routines. Once you are comfortable doing these you should move up to slightly more advanced routines. - Another beginner's video by the same author here.
- An easier intermediate: Yoga for Detox and a second slightly more advanced video by the same author here. This trainer has a very nice personable style and explains everything in great detail, so may be a good start into intermediate, until you're more familiar with the form for each pose.
- Another easier level intermediate video here. Nice and slow movement sequence, good level of explanation.
- Another intermediate yoga video (says 'beginners' but it's more advanced than that): here and here. Both quite energetic
- Advanced: Yoga with Jillian Michaels. Jillian has quite a number of videos on youtube, if this one is not your cup of tea, why not browse her other ones?
- Yoga for Men:
- Beginners: Yoga with Sean Vigue
Sean Vigue runs an internet exercise 'emporium' which offers pretty much ANY kind of exercise you might be interested in. This is a beginner's set of yoga poses, the least advanced of the ones listed here, and really would suits as a beginning entry to yoga, i.e. the first week or so. After that you should move on to a more advanced routine. - Early days: Power Yoga Foundations Training
Personally i don't like videos that do a lot of talking bettween poses, and this one is a no nonsense yoga one, not much talk, just a good routine. Pro: great instructions. Cons: not very meditative. - Intermediate: Yoga with Tim
Similar to Nr. 1 above, this session does not have too much talk between poses, and offers more 'tuning into your body', so adds more benefits than just physical exercise aspect. - Advanced: Yoga with Mark Gonzalez
A nice long routine, that flows well, with minimal instructions, so you need to be quite familiar with basic yoga before attempting this. - Advanced with a view to losing weight: Power Yoga
This is another good routine, quite advanced, focus is on energetic movements rather than meditative tuning into the body/breath. - Expert: Yoga with Les
The most advanced of the instruction videos here. - And to finish here's a video from the very expert side of the spectrum - in case you want to see just what is possible!!
- These are my favourite links for Yoga, but you'll doubtlessly find your own favourites once you start browsing on youtube.
- Other fab fitness videos from youtube that have worked for my patients:
- Cardio and muscle building - a good balance in this video, with good instructions. Make sure to warm up sufficiently as there are some stretchy moves!
- One of my own personal favourites, this beach workout mixes cardio and resistance using your own body's weight.
- And here is another of my patients' favourites: a californian "blue sky" workout that you can do in parts or in its entirety, with really good results.
- Pilates class - very energetic, great for toning and building muscle
- I recommend you just open youtube and start browsing. You will be surprised by all the different exercise types and levels you will find!
- Doug McGuff's 12 minutes a week slow exercise - at first glance this seems to appeal to body builders, but the principles apply to ANYone who metabolically benefits from a higher muscle to fat ratio - that includes 99.9% of my patients and myself! Read about his ideas in his book "Body by Science" or look him up on youtube. Take a look at the blog on his website www.drmcguff.com or listen to his podcasts on the 'Hear' tab.
- Pilates: my favourite book on pilates is "the Pilates Body" by Brooke Siler from NY's A:B pilates studio. No-nonsense, in depth and with a great number of helpful illustrations.
Anti-inflammatory Paleo-type eating, recipes, lifestyle
My anti-inflammatory ketogenic programme is not a Paleo programme but for many people with an interest in "improving health", a change to a healthy Paleo programme will significantly improve symptoms. sites have a strong focus on eliminating inflammation, a primary promoter of illness and initiator/contributor to cancer at various levels of the disease.
Note to my patients: Paleo is not ketogenic, but usually a few tweeks will convert a Paleo recipe to a ketogenic one.
- Civilised Caveman Cooking - awardwinning paleo recipes by the author of "Caveman Feast" and co-author of "the Paleo Kitchen" - http://civilizedcavemancooking.com/recipe-index/
- Mark Sisson has been the frontrunner of the international Paleo movement for nearly 30 years. On his blog Mark's Daily Apple 100s of Thousands of people exchange their recipes and experiences of following a Paleo approach to nutrition. Note that many are relating their own personal experiences; some are professional nutritionists but in the main, you will get the experiences of people who are following this programme on a day-to-day basis. Very helpful if you are getting started, and to delve deeper, once you are on your way.
- The Bulletproof website is a treasure mine for all-round information - mind, body, nutrition, lifestyle! - on anti-inflammatory living & eating. If you're new to Paleo start here: https://www.bulletproofexec.com/bulletproof-body/ . If you're more familiar with the principles, I really recommend browsing the video and audio archives. There is incredibly diverse information and you will ALWAYS learn something new. It's fascinating! https://www.bulletproofexec.com/category/podcasts/
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