Before my diagnosis I was a dairy fiend. I ate yogurt and granola for breakfast nearly every morning and ate cheese with at least one meal each day...and let's not even talk about ice cream consumption in our house. But let's be honest....dairy is everywhere! Cheese is on pretty much every sandwich out there and now in our salads too. Although I rarely ate red meat, I frequently ate chicken or salmon on my salads. All of this to say, I ate a decent amount of animal products leading up to all of this.
During my first appointment in late August with my surgeon, Dr. Funk, Shaw brought up the correlation between diet and breast cancer. Kristi described her experience while writing the section in her book that focuses on diet. She said that mid-research she got up from her desk, went to her fridge, and took out all of the cheese. After finding out what she found out, she was done with it cold turkey.
From additives like antibiotics, tranquilizers, and growth-promoting hormones like zeranol to nitrates, saturated and trans fats, there is nasty stuff in all animal products. As far as nutrition goes, there is nothing you get from animal products that you can't get from plants.
I did my own research and decided I'd eat 90% vegan, giving myself a meal or two per week to "cheat" and eat some form of animal product. Who was I kidding? Do I ever do anything less than all the way? That 10% business lasted about 10 days before I decided that the only person I was cheating was myself and the only thing I was undermining was my own health. Beyond that, I didn't care for any of it anymore. The taste of thick Greek yogurt or an aged Vermont cheddar simply wasn't worth it to me. If you know something is actively contributing to you potentially getting cancer or cancer growing or recurring, why would you continue? We know the answer if asking a pack-a-day smoker that question: addiction. What does that say about the reason behind what we choose to feed our bodies every day?
I highly recommend this great article that dives into the studies on the vegan diet vs. cancer. The most powerful section to me talks about how quickly diet can alter our internal health. Check this out:
"...people were placed on different diets and their blood was then dripped on human cancer cells growing in a petri dish to see whose diet kicked more cancer butt. Women placed on plant-based diets for just two weeks, for example, were found to suppress the growth of three different types of breast cancer. The same blood coursing through these womens' bodies gained the power to significantly slow down and stop breast cancer cell growth thanks to just two weeks of eating a healthy plant-based diet! (Two weeks! Imagine what's going on in your body after a year!) Similar results were found for men against prostate cancer (as well as against prostate enlargement)."
At this point I've been eating completely vegan for a little over 3 months. I have to say, I feel great. I never feel bloated or crampy after a meal. Cooking is a total joy because I'm experimenting with recipes and new ingredients. I'm getting creative and exploring Shaw's favorite Thai dishes that I never dreamed I could make myself. Shaw is very appreciative of these meals and has almost totally joined me in being vegan. One of my favorite things is to find vegan recipes for dishes that usually have eggs - everything from potato latkes to caesar salad dressing. It can all be made without animal products!!! Keep in mind our kitchen is tiny, so all of this is happening on approximately 4 square feet of counter space!
So, what are you waiting for? Can you commit to eating vegan for an entire day each week? How about an entire week each month? I promise it's not difficult (come on, it's not cancer!) and I bet you'll really enjoy the process of finding recipes that you like and exploring the bevy of cheese and yogurt substitutes made from plants! Being vegan is extremely good for you body, way better for the environment, and will certainly break up the monotony of whatever you're currently eating.
You can do it!
With love, health, and happiness,
Jessie
Here's a few of my favorite products to get you started:
Butter: Miyokos European Style Cultured Vegan Butter (You won't be able to tell the difference between this and cow butter!)
Yogurt: Kite Hill Almond Milk Yogurt (I can still eat yogurt and granola every morning!
Cheese: Lisanti Almond Mozzarella (also comes in cheddar and pepper jack!)
Sausage: Field Roast (I love crumbling the Italian into tofu breakfast tacos and pasta)
