Dietitian's Recommendations

I met with two dietitians yesterday, one of whom has just returned from a cancer health spa in Florida. He shared a lot of tips about what to eat and not eat in order to boost one's immune system. Here are some of his recommendations:

• Avoid aspartame, Splenda, pop (too acidic - cancer cells thrive in an acidic enviroment)


• Limit servings of fruit to 2 servings a day because of the sugar content (I will be choosing low GI fruits).


• Take a good multivitamin (said Centrum was not very good). He recommended vitamin D (1000 UI was great.


• Take digestive enzymes and probiotics (such as BioK) to help digest food better and more quickly, giving one's immune system more time and energy to fight the cancer cells.


• Invest in a manual juicer and drink juice from dark green veggies, with some onions and garlic. A manual juicer preserves the integrity of the enzymes.


• Have a green salad with every meal.


• Yellow and red peppers are better than green ones.


• Green tea, green tea, green tea! (Unless you are taking Velcade, since it interferes with the medication)


• Coffee is still ok in moderation, but switch from cream to milk.


• Eat organic almonds, soaked in water overnight. Helps release enzymes for the best health benefit.


• Avoid acidic foods (hence no more pop).


• Exercise is important... cancer cells do not thrive in an oxygenated environment. Walk.


• He recommended avoiding Splenda and to use Stevia (liquid sweetener).


• Eat quinoa instead of potatoes. He said buckwheat was fine to eat too, along with whole grains.


• Avoid juice powders such as Crystal Light, since they may contain aspartame or Splenda. Water is best.

To save time, I bought an electric juicer for veggies and fruit, but ordered a manual Z Star juicer for wheatgrass and a wheatgrass kit. All part of efforts to feel more empowered and helping my immune system fight cancer. Now to find juicing recipes. Cheers!