To get a basic understanding of the role diet can play in cancer, watch this Ted Talk, Can we eat to starve cancer? by Dr William Li, and then What the Health on Netflix. Or Plant Pure Nation on Youtube.
I’d describe myself now as 95% vegan. I’m plant-based and dairy free, and I have a low-glycemic (GI) diet. I cook everything from scratch.
This has been a gradual process since September 2018, where I decided to move towards a Mediterranean way of eating. Over the last two years, I have learnt a lot and narrowed my diet down to what I believe to be optimal for starving cancer. This is what my daily diet looks like:
12-1pm – Breakfast or Lunch
- Whole porridge oats with chia and flax seeds. I use almond or oat milk, and have berries on top.
- Home-made houmus and guacamole with a large green salad, including broccoli and good fats like avocado. I might also have some sourdough bread with this and home-made soup, or vegan cheese (I like the Tesco Jalapeño one!)
Because I fast in the morning, I have either one of these around lunchtime. This helps to rest my liver as I have tumours there. It’s also important for starving cancer. I have a large portion and if I’m still hungry after my porridge, I might also have the salad if I need it.
6pm – Evening Meal
Examples of what I might have are:
- Aubergine Chilli
- Malaysian-style curry
- Risotto
- Wholegrain pasta dishes
- Vegan spaghetti Bolognese
- Bosh vegan Korma
- Lentil-based dishes
- Mushroom stroganoff
Dinners are always cooked from scratch, I often listen to a podcast related to cancer while I cook. A great resource for recipes is the Forks over Knives website.
Desserts/Snacks
- Apple and peanut butter
- Dark chocolate covered rice cakes
- Dark chocolate (make sure its vegan)
- Home-bread banana bread
- Oat pancakes with coconut yoghurt and fresh berries
Smoothies – a great way to add fibre and nutrients and also dealing with any urge to snack. I’m not hugely keen on them but I know they have a lot of value. Typical smoothies could be avocado-based, carrot, apple and ginger, but I also do one with sprouting broccoli which I grow myself because it is very potent with sulforaphane. The recipe is:
- Sprouting broccoli
- Almond milk
- Black seed oil
- Green matcha powder
- Black pepper
It’s not delicious but is hugely beneficial for health.
What not to Eat
I avoid all meat, dairy, alcohol and processed foods because I believe they feed my cancer cells. This is a list to simplify:
- No sugar (inc. white potatoes, white wine, simple carbs like white bread)
- No dairy (occasionally I might have a sprinkle of parmesan cheese but that is the only deviation)
- No alcohol (on holiday I might have one glass of red wine)
- No meat (inc. bacon, sausages or processed meats as there is evidence to show they are carcinogenic i.e. they act like cigarettes in your body)
- No artificial sweeteners
- No processed foods or ready meals (occasionally I might have some shop-bought veggie sausages)
It’s definitely an adjustment from meat and dairy based cooking. It’s not something I had done before. Or would have approved of. The best plan is to get some vegan recipe books, or just google them, and gradually start adding in some new meals. Don’t expect to do it overnight, because that will be too much.
There are times when I cheat, and don’t blame yourself for doing it. But 99% of the time this is what I stick to. And it’s paying off.
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