Before I can talk about the lymphedema diet, or as it’s spelled in the U.K. lymphoedema diet…I want to begin with a quick background. What is lymphedema? Lymphedema is a troubling condition of chronic swelling that can either be primary or secondary. In the case of primary lymphedema it can affect babies, children and adults....
Why talk about 10 tips for a healthy lifestyle? Several times a year, we are inclined to push the reset button and begin anew. It might be a new year, your birthday, the anniversary of a significant date (like the date or your diagnosis or the day you finished your treatment), or the start of a new school year. I love the feeling of reflecting on the past year – with a focus on my accomplishments and looking ahead to the next year with a renewed sense of purpose and taking some time to set goals for a healthy lifestyle for myself.
This blog is part 2 in my Nutrients for Immune Function Series on nutrition and its impact on immune function. If you missed reading the previous Cancer Bites blog "What Foods Boost My Immune System?" you can read it now.
I enjoy working with my clients, most of whom are cancer patients and survivors and they ask great questions! I was asked by one of my clients if she should be drinking chaga tea. I’ll admit, I don’t know everything about everything, but I was happy to research this for her, and I figured that...
The World Cancer Research Fund along with its partners the American Institute for Cancer Research have published their updated guidelines regarding the links between food, nutrition, physical activity and cancer. This latest publication, published in 2018 is the 3rd comprehensive report. The last one was published in 2007.
When I finished my cancer treatment, I was full of anxiety. I thought that every time I got a headache or a twinge or uneasy feeling that my cancer had come back. I was jumpy and on edge. When I asked my doctor what I could do he said ‘just eat a healthy diet’ but that didn’t seem like enough. When I heard this, I pictured Canada’s Food Guide (nothing wrong with Canada’s Food Guide) but being a cancer survivor, I felt I needed something more specific to my needs.
I have written several blogs in the past about the connections to and recommendations for sugar and cancer. If you didn’t have a chance to read them, this is a link to my 4-part series. Does Sugar Feed Cancer? To continue on this theme, I want to explore a follow-up question, which is: Is there...
I was recently asked by Wellspring Cancer Support Centres in Toronto to research and update a fabulous presentation that they deliver called Nutrition Myths and Controversies. In this presentation, I address the most popular questions that cancer patents and survivors have about nutrition. Cancer patients and survivors are full of questions about how they can help themselves....
Can I Starve My Cancer? This is an important question that many people ask when faced with a cancer diagnosis. I first heard this over 20 years ago, when I was doing my clinical dietetic internship. The standard answer at the time was “no, you can’t starve your cancer without starving yourself.” But at that...
I believe what you eat makes a difference in your cancer risk. I believe food and lifestyle changes have the ability to affect your immune system, to reduce chronic inflammation and to act on cancer cells directly. I focus my work on empowering cancer survivors to become cancer thrivers by giving them the evidence-based tools...
