Food For Thought

At my blog, I have offered articles on a variety of household and family subjects. From tips on fun projects, indoor and outdoor activities, safety and health tips, and more. Today I am going to give you a lot of helpful information on battling a disease that has touched most of our lives in some way. The disease is cancer. All of us have been touched by this disease thru a neighbor, loved one, maybe closer to home. I myself have 3 loved ones fighting the disease. I am so grateful to report that one is in remission. My other loved one is beginning treatment and well on his way to a great win against cancer and my 3rd loved one is struggling with the battle. It is not perfect yet but we continue to win more of the battles against this disease and we will find the cure.

In gathering information, so that I would be more informed, I found so much spread everywhere and I wanted to offer you all this great information in one location to make it easier for everyone. I hope you find this helpful. It will help you in the continued fight and win against cancer. If you would like to share some helpful information you experienced please post your comments at my blog. We can help others with our experiences, findings and knowledge. Pass it forward!

Cancer fighting tips:
Ginger is a popular spice, long used to quell nausea, and is soon to be used to fight cancer too. Working directly on cancer cells, researchers discovered ginger's ability to kill cancer cells in two ways. In apoptosis, the cancer cells essentially commit suicide without harming surrounding cells. In autophagy, the cells are tricked into digesting themselves. Go beyond the obvious choices, like sipping ginger ale and eating gingerbread cookies. Countless soups, sumptuous marinades, and zesty sauces call for ginger.

In a large-scale study, researchers evaluated the effects of folate on more than 27,000 males, taking the daily allowance of folate -- about 400 micrograms – this cut by half, their risk of developing cancer.

Starting with breakfast, a glass of orange juice is high in folate; so are most cereals (check the box to see how much) serve with milk, and a side of eggs(dice up some tomatoes in your eggs). Eggs give you Vit D and drink your coffee. American roasted coffee beans are superior because they contain more cancer-fighting antioxidants and caffeic acid, shown to suppress cancer cells. By drinking just 1 cup of regular coffee per day, you can reduce your risk of all cancers by 3%. To get the full benefit of coffee’s cancer-fighting properties, drink 3 cups a day, unless you find this amount too stimulating.

For lunch, try a hearty salad with either spinach or romaine leaves for folate. Top it with dried beans, cannellini, kidney or navy beans. They are loaded with even more cancer-fighting dietary fiber than healthy red beans. Add peas for an extra boost and add shrimp or Chinook salmon crumbled on top for Vitamin D. Add some tomatoes and broccoli. These two foods together have enormous cancer-fighting potential. Eat broccoli at least once a day but together, tomatoes and broccoli bring out the best in each other and maximize the cancer-fighting effect. Have some Avocado, it’s a powerful antioxidant and a strong source of phytochemicals – beta carotene, vitamin C, folate, vitamin E and unsaturated fats.

Snack on a handful of peanuts or an orange for folate. Also, grapefruits, oranges, papaya and citrus fruits contain vitamin c, betacarotene and folic acid that help to prevent cancer and reduce cholesterol. Remember, do not eat grapefruit if you are on any type of cholesterol treatment. Ask your physician before you eat grapefruit. Another great snack is apples. They have anti-cancer properties and can inhibit and kill cancer cells. Try sipping ginger ale and eating gingerbread cookies for a snack to get some of your ginger intake.

At dinner, choose asparagus or brussels sprouts as your vegetable for folate. Also, eat San Marzano tomatoes they are viewed as superior not only for their intense flavor but also for their cancer-fighting properties. When cooked, these tomatoes release up to 150% of their bioavailable lycopene, the powerhouse antioxidant credited with helping prevent cancers. To fight cancer with San Marzano tomatoes, available in the canned tomato section of most grocery stores, use them when making pasta or on a loaded veggie pizza and make sauce or simply slice these tomatoes and serve as a side dish with a little basil, olive oil and vinegar. Eat them three times a week. Serve these with seafood choices: cod, shrimp, or Chinook salmon for Vitamin D. Garlic (fresh is better) and Onions contain alluvium compounds that improve immune power, and block carcinogens from entering cells and slow cancer development. Use your seasonings.

Hot tea can be warming in the winter; ice tea offers cool refreshment in the summer. So enjoy tea year-round to boost cancer prevention. Like many plant-based foods, tea contains flavonoids, known for their antioxidant effects. One flavonoid in particular, kaempferol, has shown protective effects against cancer. Consuming between 10 milligrams and 12 milligrams daily of kaempferol -- the amount found in four cups of tea offers protection. Green tea also reduces cancer cells.

Get your daily vitamin D. Vitamin D curbs the growth of cancerous cells. It’s often associated with milk, high concentrations also can be found in these seafood choices: cod, shrimp, and Chinook salmon. Eggs are another good source. And don't forget sunshine. In just 10 minutes, you can soak up as much as 5,000 IU of vitamin D if you expose 40% of your body to the sun, without sunscreen. 1,000 IU for both men and women. Higher amounts may eventually prove better.

In lab experiments, substances released during cutting up and chewing cruciferous vegetables produce a cancer-killing effect. Cruciferous vegetables are members of the cabbage family that include kale, turnip greens, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and brussels sprouts and can help you ward off cancer. Chewing up cruciferous vegetables, not swallowing them whole, only cut and chewed get the proper nutrients like curcumin also the antioxidant called sulforaphane, and contain a isothiocyanates and indole-3-carbinol known to cut cancer development. They're great in stir fry, as side dishes, or tossed into salads raw.

Experiment with flavors like lemon or garlic and curry powder. Eat Indian dishes, curcumin is the main ingredient in curry powder. By sprinkling curcumin into your favorite dishes, you could be adding much more than a little zest to your meal and you could add years to your life. Cancer fighting foods like vegetables, especially richly coloured varieties - papaya, sweet potato, avocado, grapefruit, mushrooms, etc. are good for cancer prevention.

Do you have information or stories you would like to share? Post it at my blog. And for more, I highly recommend Mayo Clinic web site for accurate information on diseases and treatments. Below are some delicious recipes to add to your weekly menu. Share your favorite, healthy recipe on my blog. Pass it forward, help another.

Cancer fighting Beans and Greens Recipe
Ingredients Serves 6

1 cup onion, diced

1 clove fresh garlic

2 cans Great Northern beans, rinsed

1 (32-oz) box organic chicken stock

1 bunch of collard greens

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 sprig rosemary

Add salt, cumin and pepper to taste

Instructions: In a medium pan, sauté onion & garlic over a medium flame until the onions are translucent.

Take the collard greens and tear the leaves from the central ribs. Rip the leaves to a manageable size, approximately 2 inches by 2-inches. Gather the leaves and thoroughly rinse. In a Dutch oven, add chicken stock, collard greens, white beans, vinegar, and rosemary.

When the onions are done, add them into the Dutch oven. Bring mixture to a boil, turn down the heat to medium low. Cover the pot with a lid and allow to gently bubble away for 30-40 minutes, until leaves are tender.

Served over a bed of rice, this delicious recipe makes its own meal. The flavor could benefit, too, from a healthy splash or two of hot sauce.

Minestrone
Ingredients Serves 6

4 c. beef stock

1 c. shredded cabbage

½ c. julienne cut green beans

½ c. julienne cut celery

½ c. macaroni, broken into pieces

1 clove garlic, mashed

1 large onion, sliced

4 large tomatoes, diced

1 tbsp. parsley

1/8 tsp. thyme

½ tsp. pepper

Instructions: Boil ingredients, except macaroni, for 45 minutes on low heat. Add macaroni and cook 15 minutes longer. Serve in warm individual soup bowls. Nutritional Information Calories 86; Total Fat 1g; % Fat 7; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 51mg

Seafood Stew (You may use as many vegetables as you wish.)
Ingredients Serves 8

2 lb. fish (turbot, solve or perch)

1 large onion, chopped

¼ tsp. garlic powder

3 c. water

1 (28 oz.) can of tomatoes (unsalted) or 8 fresh tomatoes, peeled

2 carrots, sliced

1/4 head green cabbage

¼ head red cabbage

1 c. fresh or frozen peas (uncooked)

1 c. frozen corn (uncooked)

1 small bell pepper, chopped

1 (29 oz.) can tomato puree (unsalted)

½ c. red or white wine

1 tsp. basil

1 tsp. parsley flakes

1/8 tsp. pepper

3 stalks celery, diced

Instructions: Sauté onions and garlic powder in ¼ cup water until golden brown. Add remaining vegetables with ½ cup water and mix. Simmer 30 minutes. Add tomato puree, 2 cups water, wine, and spices. Mix thoroughly. Simmer for 1 hour. Cut fish into bite-size pieces and add to vegetables. Mix again. Simmer for 1 hour, adding a little water if necessary.

Nutritional Information Calories 247; Total Fat 4g; % Fat 14; Cholesterol 54mg; Sodium 385mg

Chicken Divine
Ingredients Serves 6

2 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen chopped broccoli, cooked and drained

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

2 c. plain low-fat yogurt

1 tsp. lemon juice

¼ tsp. curry

½ c. matzo meal (unsalted)

10 slices pimento

10 mushrooms, sliced

Instructions: Bake chicken, covered, in ¼ cup water for 1 hour in 350 degree oven. Arrange broccoli in 11 ½ x 7 ½ inch Pyrex dish. Cut chicken into cubes and place on top of broccoli. Mix yogurt, lemon juice, and curry; pour over chicken. Sprinkle matzo meal on top and press down with back of spoon. Trim with pimento slices and mushrooms. Bake in 350 degree oven for 25 minutes, uncovered.

Nutritional Information Calories 255; Total Fat 3g; % Fat 12; Cholesterol 71mg; Sodium 156mg

Baked Apples
Ingredients Serves 4

4 medium size apples

8 tbsp. raisins

8 tsp. frozen unsweetened orange juice concentrate

Instructions:Core apples and fill with raisins. Spoon in 1 teaspoon frozen orange juice concentrate. Place apples in Pyrex dish with ½ cup water. Bake, covered, until apples are soft.

To make a fancier apples, peel and core. Fill with mashed dates and a spoon of frozen orange juice concentrate. Sprinkle with cinnamon, ginger. Bake in covered casserole in ½ cup water until soft, but watch carefully. Bake ½ hour in a 400 degree oven. Remove and sprinkle with peanuts and grapenuts cereal.

Serve with ice cream, see recipe below.

Nutritional Information Calories 153; Total Fat 1g; % Fat 3; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 3mg

Pumpkin Ice Cream
Ingredients Serves 6

1 pkg. unflavored, unsweetened gelatin

¼ c. water

1 (1 lb.) can pumpkin

1 c. undiluted, unsweetened frozen orange juice

½ tsp. ginger

½ tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. nutmeg

½ c. nonfat milk

Instructions: Dissolve gelatin in water. Mix all ingredients together and put in shallow refrigerator tray. Stir often.

Nutritional Information Calories 114; Total Fat 1g; % Fat 3; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 18mg

Enjoy! Be healthy. Remember all areas around cancer patient must be sanitized. Little to no visitors due to germs. Visitors should visit with you guys outdoors if possible to eliminate indoor germs and containments. Stay away from public areas, like theatres, restaurants, etc. Wash hands often. Hold down the noise. Vacuum the house when the cancer patient is away or outdoors if possible. Noise can sometimes trigger nausea or anxiety. Be conscious of making unnecessary noise while cleaning and avoid cleaning while the patient is sleeping.

Change bed linens weekly or sooner if they become soiled. Use plastic mattress covers to keep bodily fluids from seeping into the mattress. Use cotton sheets and wash them in hot water and bleach to kill germs. Clean up urine stains, feces and vomit immediately. Wash towels after they have been used a couple of times. Damp towels in a humid bathroom provide a place for germs to breed. Add air purifying plants, English Ivy, Spider Plant (Chlorophytum Comosum) and Dwarf Date Palms are the best plants to add to patient areas.

If you use a kitchen sponge, run it through the dishwasher each night or zap it in the microwave for 30 seconds each day. Replace the sponge once a week. Sponges are the perfect breeding grounds for germs. Place shallow dishes of vinegar in the kitchen to soak up cooking odors.

Avoid using chemical spray fresheners. Open the windows if possible to air out the home. Sprinkle baking soda in trash cans and on carpet to absorb unpleasant smells. Clean floors with water instead of powerful-smelling floor cleaners. Add about a tablespoon of mineral oil to the wash water to make vinyl floors shine or vinegar to the water for tile floors. Treat urine or vomit stains using a product made with enzymes to break down residue on carpets or mattresses. Nature's Miracle is one such product that is safe to use.

If you have any kind, helpful tips you learned from your dealings with cancer please post them at my blog www.medicaldiscounts.wordpress.com so that everyone can come together here and share helpful information. Together we will GET HEALTHY!! Stay Healthy!! And Win against cancer!!

I hope you find this information that I have compiled here helpful. I think all of us have had some dealing with cancer. It could be someone we are caring for, someone close to us, ourselves, a loved one or a neighbor. Take a look at my website to save on medical costs, compare prescription costs, lab costs and more. I am saving people nationwide on the high cost of medical care. I hope I have been of some assistance to you. Take a look at my website and the Mayo Clinic web site to learn more about treatments today. Stay strong.

We are winning the fight against cancer everyday.

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