Diet, Nutrtion and Health

Why Am I Concerned with Diet, Health and Nutrition?
I was never a “diet” person in the past, because I never had to be. When I was young I had to worry more about putting meat on my bones than anything else. When I married at age 17 I weighed 93 lbs., not much for my 5’6” height, and then I lost five pounds the next year when my brother-in-law was killed in a car accident at age 19, just after having my first child. It took years to gain those pounds back!

As I aged, however, I gradually gained weight as my health improved (through the addition of good vitamins) and I gained about five pounds over each five year period, so that I now have added more than 40 lbs. to that weight.

In addition to having cancer I have high cholesterol, no doubt like many of you also have; I had elevated blood pressure for some time, and that is gone now, but because my father died at an early age (59 years old) of a heart attack, they became very concerned about my chances for the same thing. Since my doctors were so concerned about that and because of the cancer I now have, I began looking into diet and nutrition.

At various times since I was diagnosed with cancer the doctor has recommended that I needed more protein than most people to fight infection and allergic reactions to certain types of treatment, and my immune system has been seriously compromised by the disease and treatment. I take a regimen of vitamins to help counteract these things, and have also had to change my diet at times to overcome side effects of the cancer or treatment, and the loss of appetite associated with cancer and treatment, as well as inability to eat certain things, or types of food at times due to side effects of treatment.

I am a research-type person, so it was natural to see what I could find online to help my condition through diet and nutrition, and I want to share some of these things with you all, to perhaps give help to someone who is not adept at searching for themselves, as well as to keep them handy for my use on this website when needed.

In addition, I've added some organizational features I use to help with meal planning, shopping, etc. We live in what's becoming a unique area, and are so rural that we are bordering on remote (some would say we're IN remote), so our main shopping is done only every 3-4 weeks. We have a small store half an hour away where we can "usually" get things like onions and very common vegetables, bread, milk, etc., and have a tiny store just two doors away, but these are not sure bets for finding anything, so we need to keep a well-stocked pantry and options for when they're needed. In addition, I haven't been able to do our shopping, even for groceries, for quite some time, due to my compromised immune system (I have to avoid crowds), so my wonderful husband has taken on that chore to help protect me. I, in turn, have put together a plan to make it as simple, as efficient, and pleasant for him as I can.

Regardless of our situation, these same organizational features will work just as well for a busy family right in a large city, where time is at a minimum in busy lives, to provide help in seeing that your family has healthy, nutritious meals that are quick, simple to prepare, and require the least time away from other pursuits, as well as fostering a closer family relationship and give you the satisfaction of knowing that you are nurturing your family and setting a worthy example for your children.

Note: There is a great deal of information available on the internet these days in this area, and special diets for special situations can be readily found. Please don’t think that what is here is all that there is, by any means. This information is also not endorsed as anything but information for you to use at will, and I cannot take responsibility for the creation of any of it, or its reliability. I try to use things that seem reliable, but that’s as far as it goes. You are in charge of your own health and it is up to you to further check into anything that seems questionable to you. Please let me know (by email) anything adverse about information you find on this site.

Here are links to the pages discussed above, and more:

For more information about my cancer, visit my Journal pages here: Marcie’s Journal

For meal planning, shopping, and organizing helps with your family meals: Sample Menu List and Sample Shopping List

For information about a low cholesterol diet, I like this site done by the NIH (National Institute of Health). You can put your height, weight and sex info into a window on the Intro page and it will tell you how many calories you should be eating, and in their dietary information they clearly define just how to do that. You can find it here:

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/cgi-bin/chd/step2intro.cgi

I have added a page for that diet on this site that you can find at Therapeutic Lifestyle Diet

Here's a list of ways in which to Add More Legumes To Your Diet

Here's a list of ways to Use More Vegetables In Your Diet

Here's a list of tips and dietary information for people who have had unwanted weight loss or who are in danger of it, or who have loss of appetite. It's called the Oncology Treatment Diet and Oncology Treatment Diet 2 with Recipes

More information and the list of nutritional supplements, vitamins and minerals I take, and why: Supplements

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