ZC vs The Big C

So, I got some news this week that nobody on earth wants to hear:

"Your cancer is back".

It's been a couple months since my last entry (I know....bad bad blogger) so I'll bring this up to date now.

Two years ago I was found to have a rare and rather aggressive form of colorectal cancer.  But after a couple of biopsies, they seemed to have gotten it all and one year ago this month, I was declared NED at the James Cancer Hospital at OSU.  

Uh....errrr....well.....perhaps they missed something.  Or not.  Who really knows?  I'm not wasting energy on that now.  

So, anyhoo, here I am again.  This time I had symptoms and wasted no time getting my hiney (literally, lol) to the doctor for testing.   It's a tumor, a small but messy one.  I'll be headed in for more testing (to determine staging and lymph node involvement etc) and then picking an oncologist.  

I'm upset, sure, but surprisingly at peace.  I had a "dry run" two years ago, and I've learned so much about this particular cancer.  It's true:  knowledge is empowerment.  

Since this is a diet blog first and foremost, I'm going to mention that for about 5 weeks now I've been eating as few carbs as possible.  This WOE is called VLC or ZC for Very Low Carb and Zero Carb.  

You might ask why?

I was amazed to find a few months ago, the discovery by Dr. Otto Warburg that cancer feeds on sugar.

If you are a total brainiac, here's a link for you

If you prefer a shorter, easier to read and understand synopsis, try this one.

Considering my Metabolic Syndrome and concurrent hyperinsulinemia (insulin resistance) and knowing that my body already has a blood sugar malfunction, it only makes sense that continuing to consume as few carbs as possible makes the most sense for me now.  ALL carbs convert to glucose and then triglycerides.   The last thing I need is to give this cancer what it really wants:  glucose!  

What my daily diet looks like now:

B:  usually 2 eggs and bacon.  Sometimes leftover roast beef or steak.

L:  More steak usually.  Yes, I eat the fat. 

D:  Roast beef, steak or turkey.  Chicken in any form has totally lost it's luster for me lately.

I have discovered pemmican, too.  I like it a lot!  

Before you say "Egad, woman!!  Don't you know red meat causes cancer??" please do some research.  Make it unbiased research, please.  Read Gary Taubes "Good Calories Bad Calories", Dr. Barry Groves "Trick and Treat" and some of the information on these blogs before you declare I've lost my mind:

http://www.biblelife.org/stefansson1.htm 

http://livinlavidalocarb.blogspot.com/2006/05/how-about-zero-carb-carniverous-diet.html

http://drbass.com/stefansson1.html

In addition, I started 2 weeks ago on a course of Essiac, and take two glasses daily of KyoGreen Harvest Blend drink.  I also drink 2 ounces daily of a special Acai drink, and have added turmeric to the many other supplements I take daily.  Just covering all bases if I can.

Will I do this exclusively forever?  Not likely.  In fact who knows what I'll feel like eating while on chemo!!  But for now, this is the path I've chosen.  I hope it helps.

Back to ME :-)

Well, it's been a really busy month for me, so it's been a while since I last posted.

I have to tell you about this fabulous, stupendous book I just finished reading!! Honestly, in my opinion Gary Taubes deserves the Pulitzer Prize for this amazing expose on diet, nutrition and the medical/scientific juggernaut that for about a hundred years has been promoting the WRONG nutrients - namely carbohydrates - as the mainstay of our diets.

This book angered me.

I admit it. I have a high level of personal justice. I guess I got that from my dad, the attorney and judge. But seriously, in every chapter I became outraged afresh at the way good science has repeatedly been subjugated to foregone conclusions/agendas by scientists and doctors who should have known better!

If you happen to be new to my blog, and if you happen to be unfamiliar with low carb eating, let me put it into a nutshell for you. Sugar, starch and refined carbohydrate, processed foods are literally killing us. I believe that with all my heart.

I sit here today as proof of what a healthy, standard American diet can do to wreak havoc on your waistline and your overall health. I've been quite a health nut for years. I know I've been eating better than most of the people I know. I have always loved whole grains and vegetables. I baked my own whole grain breads. I bought whole-grain cereals. We always ate vegetables and have had a veggie garden since 2000. I didn't eat a LOT of fruit but that's just because it filled me up and I would hate wasting it. I dearly love bananas and citrus fruit, though. My favorite Christmas gift each year is the big box of Albritton's Fresh Citrus fruit sent to us by the in-laws.

In addition to a well-rounded diet with as much organic and unprocessed foods as I have been able to manage in the past few years, I also take quite a few nutritional supplements such as Kyo-Green Harvest Blend and even eat ---- ack!!! ---- tofu! I love sushi. I love raw foods. I could live on salads.

Wouldn't you expect me to be normal or near-normal weight and in the peak of health? Sure you would expect that. But guess what. As Gary Taubes so eloquently said it in his NYTimes article (cited and linked down below a few blogs ago), It's All Been a Big Fat Lie!

I'm at least 40 lbs overweight. I had cancer last year. My fasting blood sugar last time tested was pre-diabetic range. My thyroid is shot. I'm anemic. I have GERD with Barrett's Esophagus, which is precancerous changes of the esophagus. I have Fatty Liver Disease. I've had high cholesterol for at least 10 years and high triglycerides to boot.

Granted, some of this metabolic damage is no doubt due to my fairly frequent attempts over the past 25 years to lose weight. I've almost never done a sensible, slow diet. I always jump on the fastest weightloss promise/fad out there. I acknowledge that I've undoubtedly done a lot of damage with fad dieting. However. What has led to my constant upward spiral of weight gain?

A "healthy diet" laden with carbs.

In June, I told my doctor "no more statins". I was miserable. Every part of my body ached constantly. My feet and ankles HURT in the morning when I got out of bed and put weight on them. Exercising became torturous. I felt fatigued and sick all the time.

Kicking statin drugs to the curb was the first thing I did in taking back control of my health. The second thing I did turned out to not be such a good thing in the short term but I have to say that starting on the Kimkins diet and becoming familiar with Low Carb eating has completely changed not only my outlook on food and nutrition, but my health as well.

In late Sept., having been off the statins for the first time in 2 years, my numbers were slightly improved! One of these days I'll get the previous years' figures and post them here. But I'm happy to report my LDL is up and my triglycerides are down! Just by eating low carb--YAY!

The aches and pains are gone. Now as for my weight, I've only lost 10 lbs and have been stalling for about 3 months. But I now know it's due to my thyroid. I've been taking Synthroid for 25 yrs. Always took the doctor's word for it when they said, "your thyroid's fine" or "we need to make a small adjustment". Well, another thing I've done recently is learn all about hypothyroidism. Two excellent online resources for thyroid disease are here and here.

I insisted on switching to Armour Thyroid. What a difference! I felt better and more energetic within 3 days. Now, 4 weeks later I can feel my body adjusting to the current dosage so I know I'll need to up it soon. But wow, I honestly know why I read testimonials about Armour with people saying "Armour thyroid gave me my life back".

I think each of us deserves the best health information and care we can get. I believe that in this day and age of managed medicine, it behooves each person to learn as much as we can about our health. After all, my doctor has perhaps hundreds of patients to be concerned with. I only have one patient, ME. If I can learn for myself what is best for my body and my health, I will be the best partner to my doctor in creating a healthy lifestyle for myself.

Right now that lifestyle looks like lots of organic meat, brown eggs, cheeses and butter, with loads of fresh green leafy veggies. I wouldn't go back for anything--not even tempted!

Til next time...take care of yourself! Have a great, cool, Fall weekend and don't forget to set your clocks back tonight :-)