need a update so many things i read to take suppliments or not to take them and do i need carrots every day lol for me veggies ws a big lack and this did not help me as the immune system opend to the scc i had would love any im put on foods or sites for recepies thanks

RD, You should eat a well balanced mix of fruit, lots of vegetables (especially brightly colored vegetables), Protein, and unsaturated fats. Stay away from pre-packaged food. Some suggest low sugar as well. Most doctors do NOT recommend massive doses of vitamins, however a good multivitamin once a day seems like a good idea.

If you are having problems swallowing, you can use a blender to make your meals easy to swallow.

I'm only adding my opinion because I am constantly asking my doctors and dieticians for advice on eating. One of the suggestions from my dietician as far as supplements go has been fish oil capsules. She advised looking for very high DHA (even suggesting that Costco carried a very good brand)Little did I know that I needed to be taking six of the ones I had on hand per day. Outside of the zinc ( for taste) those are the only two supplements that anyone has suggested to me.

I'm a huge fan of vegetables and fruit, except in my quest to gain weight, I've reversed my strategy to really trying to get high calories in. This means, I eat a great deal of foods that I would have avoided prior to becoming ill. I've probably eaten more ice cream in the past two months than I have in a lifetime. Despite the cost, my local Starbucks knows me as I make it a daily duty to get a huge carmel frappacino souped up with a shot of malt and loaded with whole milk and whipped cream.

It seems to be that almost all my food choices these days are determined by the highest calorie possibilities. This includes fast food and sodas. To try to balance it out, I stocked up on V-8 vegetable juice and 100% fruit juice.

Alarmed at how much sugar and fattening stuff I've been consuming (I've even been drinking heavy whipping cream from the local dairy) I had to ask both my chemo oncologist and my dietician if all this sugar and fat was healthy. They both assured me that ANY and all calories at this point was a good thing.

My latest trend is to eat as much as possible prior to bedtime. It felt absolutely sinful to eat a piece of white mocha carmel cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory in bed last night.

Jen

I am trying to go for plenty of antioxidants so that for me is herbal tea and plenty of leafy green and yellow veggies. I have not started taking my vitamins again yet but I see the Onc on Monday so I will ask my diatician while I am there.

I am glad to see this subject. It keeps me on my toes about junk food and all that sugar.

An issue of unknown consequences in the recommendation of fish oil capsules worth mentioning, is the mercury content found in many of them. Perhaps this volume of exposure is not consequential in relationship to the value of omega 3 fatty acids that are heart healthy that we can get from them. I have personally changed to flaxseed oil capsules which have the same omega 3 's without the risk of mercury. In the overall scheme of things will this change something significantly? Unknown, but enough small avoidances and changes may add up to tangible differences. I think this is one that is easy to accommodate.

well does indeed tomotoes and carrots make a real dif of keeping the ca not to return and what are the ok on coffee. i find green tea drys me out real bad any suggestions of how to drink it?

You have to be careful not to read more into the published research than what is there. Are there good indicators that lycopene found in tomatoes for instance is an anti cancer agent... but does eating tomatoes prevent cancer recurrence or the original disease, no. There are hundreds of other like substances. While I am a huge advocate of engaging in as proactive a diet and lifestyle as possible, the area of chemoprevention is very young. Health food store claims do not always reflect that the study was done on animals, or that it is preliminary data etc. So while much of this is interesting and even information that I incorporate into my own lifestyle (nothing to lose by trying the reasonable things that are within my grasp), your own genetic makeup will have much to do with whether or not a particular macro or micro nutrient has any value to you or not. For more information about chemoprevention go to the link at the bottom of the facts page on the main site.

Consumers Union did a study on fish oil capsules and found essentially no contamination of Hg or anything else in brands from reputable manufacturers -- the mercury tends to stay with the fish tissue not the oil.

There is however evidence that flax oil (not flax-seed) enhances the growth of prostate cancer.

There are also several clinical studies which have shown positive impacts (reduction of PSA, reduction in recurrance etc.) for men with prostate cancer who are given lycopene. However this is prostate cancer, an adenocarcinoma, so it is probably pushing the envelope to transfer these results to oral SCCs. You are probably best off eating a Mediterranean-type diet with lots of olive oil, fruits, vegatables, low on red meat and dairy -- which has been linked to reduced risk of cancer, heart disease and other problems.

Gail

Whether its true or not I read that most "Green Tea" is not that beneficial unless you buy it at an Asian or Oriental specialty shop. What we buy on our Kroger@ shelves we would need to drink gallons of it for it to be useful health wise.

Well
I did the healthy eating for 10 years and still got the cancer!!!!
So now I have decided all things in moderation is the best way, OH... please exclued my red wine, that is not always in moderation..
Sunshine... love and hugs
Helen

I take flax SEED oil. There are plenty of government sponsored studies that reflect concern about mercury in fish oil suppliments and in certain oily fish groups out of the NIH, with wording that has caused them to recommend reducing intake of the fish itself ( which includes the oils in the meat) altogether. And who can guess who the "better manufacturers" are? Most are private label brands and the original manufacturer/producer is unknown to the public. For my money I'll take a flax seed oil suppliment where none of this is an issue.

I have found that most processed junk food is just too much trouble to eat with not much of a freakin' tongue! That's a good thing though! I tend to eat healthier foods in general these days and I find I'm guided by taste/flavor & ease of manuevering & swallowing. Just so happens that includes lots of fresh tomatoes with most meals in one form or another, fresh melons of any kind, papaya, etc. I tried to eat an orange the other day & the pulp got hung up on the way down right on the gag reflex spot! Not a good time! Too acidic anyway. I do believe a well balanced diet high in nutrition will do a body good. It just does not seem like it has to be all that complicated.

Jen, Jen, Jen...

I have to warn you, I was on the same quest for high-calorie foods because I was dwindling away. Suddenly the weight started going the other way...and wouldn't stop ! I was around 4,000 calories per day for at least 6 months with no noticable gain. All that has changed, unfortunately or fortunately and I can't stand to eat the good low-fat, low-cal diet I did for many years. Give me a nice prime rib-eye on the grill or some smoked ribs or a nice Starbucks mocha latte with whipped cream and some cheesecake to go!!

I am glad you are doing so well, by the way!

Ed

While I might "eat" these words later, I am cooking lots of things for my husband whose tongue is tied to the floor of his mouth and only has 4 upper front teeth.I cook top quality pot roasts that melt in your mouth, with carrots, potaoes, onions, all kinds of green veggies, lots of mashed potatoes[and sweet potatoes]chicken stews, soups, pastas. He is starting to gain some weight back so we will keep experimenting with food that will cook soft and retain flavor. I'll send recipes to anyone wishing. Amy

sure amy my e is [email protected] have been using my crock pot to make some as we;; rd

Hello RD,

There is a recipe for a smoothie that has 1300 calories in each one. They taste like a milkshake and go down real easy.

2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup half & half
1 pkg. carnation instant breakfast (powder)
1 scoop whey protein powder
3 tablesoons malted milk (powder)
3 tablespoons ovaltien
2 cups ice cream

Mix in blender and serve in a chilled mug.

You can vary the taste from chocolet, vanilla or strawberry. When eating vanilla or strawberry I skip the Ovaltine.

Danny Boy

My husband takes 10 cans of Glucerna a day through his G-tube since he is diabetic - 2,200 calories. Is he getting enough? Should I add flax-seed oil in his tube?