Whole-Food Guide for Breast Cancer Survivors

“As the general public becomes more interested in the benefits of healthy eating, these authors are shining a light on the association between nutrition and malignant disease. The book is an evidence-based treatise on the role of nutrition in wellness, treatment, and follow-up care as a vital part of dealing with cancer. It also happens to be the part that the patient has the most control over. The book is a treasure chest of cutting-edge information. It includes a meal plan, pantry set-up, and starter recipes.”
—Anna Jedrziewski,
New Age Retailer
“The heart and soul of
The Whole-Food Guide for Breast Cancer Survivors
is empowerment! The book is chock full of wonderful morsels of information and shows us that food is one of our most powerful tools for healing and nourishment.”
—Rebecca Katz, MS, author of
The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen
“With one in seven women suffering from breast cancer,
The Whole-Food Guide for Breast Cancer Survivors
is a much-needed book. It provides useful information for women who are looking for a holistic approach and a good road map to guide breast cancer survivors into a healthier lifestyle.”
—David Brownstein, MD, author of ten books and the
Dr. Brownstein’s Natural Way to Health
monthly newsletter

The Whole-Food Guide for Breast Cancer Survivors
is a common-sense compendium of what you need to know to live longer and better if you have or had breast cancer, or want to prevent it. Authors Edward Bauman and Helayne Waldman wisely blend lifestyle and natural strategies that strengthen our bodies’ defenses against cancer and promote wellness. A must-read for anyone who wants to take control of the destiny of their own health. “
—Len Saputo, MD, founder of the Health Medicine Forum, Health Medicine Center, and author of
A Return to Healing
“I am delighted to see this book in print. It contains lots of valuable information that will help women and men make the most informed decisions on dealing with breast cancer. The book is very readable, and is filled with instructions on what we can do now to help ourselves.”
—Ann Fonfa, founder of The Annie Appleseed Project and diagnosed with breast cancer in January 1993

The Whole-Foods Guide for Breast Cancer Survivors
offers readers a robust synthesis of how nutrition can dramatically reduce your risk of breast cancer or recurrence. This book provides not the watered-down and jaded suggestions offered previously, but exciting, new tips that most oncologists don’t know. Highly empowering and life-altering for women.”
—Sara Gottfried, MD, integrative physician at The Gottfried Center for Integrative Medicine in Berkeley, CA, and author of
The Hormone Cure
“Bauman and Waldman have written an easy-to-follow guide for whole-body healing filled with inspiring anecdotes and helpful chapter-by-chapter to-do lists. It is an excellent resource that may be used to equip recovering breast cancer survivors as well as their families with solid nutritional information and delicious recipes containing healing foods that will ensure health, well-being, and longevity.”
—Margo Jordan Parker, OMD, CEO of Herbal Fortress

Publisher’s Note

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering psychological, financial, legal, or other professional services. If expert assistance or counseling is needed, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

Eating for Health and Vital Scoop are trademarks of Bauman College: Holistic Nutrition and Culinary Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational institution

Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books

Copyright © 2012 by Edward M. Bauman and Helayne L. Waldman

New Harbinger Publications, Inc.

5674 Shattuck Avenue

Oakland, CA 94609

www.newharbinger.com

Cover design by Amy Shoup

Acquired by Wendy Millstine

Edited by Nelda Street

All Rights Reserved

___________

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bauman, Edward M.

The whole-food guide for breast cancer survivors : a nutritional approach to preventing recurrence / Edward M. Bauman and Helayne L. Waldman ; foreword by Donald Abrams.

p. cm.

Summary: “The Whole-Food Guide for Breast Cancer Survivors presents an integrative whole-foods nutrition and lifestyle plan for enhancing immunity and preventing cancer reoccurrence. The program highlights the foods, supplements, and natural remedies that can help people keep cancer from coming back”-- Provided by publisher.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-60882-718-3 (epub e-book)-- ISBN 978-1-57224-958-5 (pbk.) -- ISBN 978-1-57224-959-2 (pdf e-book)

1. Breast--Cancer--Nutritional aspects. 2. Breast--Cancer--Prevention. 3. Diet therapy. 4. Self-care, Health. I. Waldman, Helayne L. II. Title.

RC280.B8B382 2012

616.99’449--dc23

2011044071

Dedications

This book is dedicated to my beloved mother, Jane Mann Bauman; to women grappling with breast cancer; and to oncologists. May the latter embrace whole-food nutrition to enhance treatment outcomes and create vibrant postcancer lives for their patients.

—Ed Bauman

This book is dedicated to my loving and inspiring father, Robert Waldman; my extraordinary Tanta Yetta; and my dear friend Kathleen Hogan—all taken by cancer too young. I know that writing this book is exactly what you would want me to do.

—Helayne Waldman

Contents

FOREWORD

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION

1. REVIEWING TRADITIONAL RISK FACTORS

2. EMERGING RISK FACTORS

3. EATING FOR HEALTH FOUNDATIONAL PLAN

4. AVOIDABLE EXPOSURES

5. NUTRIENT SUFFICIENCIES AND EFFICIENCIES

6. GLUCOSE, WEIGHT, AND INSULIN CONTROL

7. NOURISHING IMMUNITY

8. INFLAMMATION

9. THE KEYS TO LOWERING YOUR TOXIC BURDEN

10. HORMONE HARMONY

AFTERWORD

APPENDIX A: HOW TO ENJOY EIGHT-PLUS SERVINGS OF VEGETABLES AND FRUITS EVERY DAY

APPENDIX B: YOUR EATING FOR HEALTH PANTRY AND RECIPES

Recipes

Resources

References

Foreword

Whereas most of us appreciate how tobacco use contributes to the development of avoidable malignancies, only 50 percent of us recognize that what we eat and avoid eating are equally important. Actually, the proportion of avoidable cancer deaths caused by diet is very close to that of those related to tobacco. Increasing awareness of this association between nutrition and malignant disease will likely be the main thrust of future health care reform, which will put more of an emphasis on prevention and wellness than our current disease management system does.

Diet is important not just for reducing risk, but also for helping patients live with, and beyond, cancer. The relationship between nutrition and cancer is an area of great concern to the integrative oncologist, whose main focus is not on the cancer per se but on the person living with the disease. In this context, we can say that cancer is like a weed. The surgeon, radiation oncologist, and medical oncologist are adept at dealing with this weed. The integrative oncologist then works with the entire garden, making the soil as inhospitable as possible to the growth and spread of this weed. And what better way to do so than to closely examine how people fertilize their gardens, by carefully reviewing what they eat?

In my integrative oncology practice, I spend most of my consultation hour discussing how best to fertilize the garden. I encourage patients to consume an organic, plant-based, antioxidant-rich, anti-inflammatory whole-food diet. What a joy to have
The Whole-Food Guide for Breast Cancer Survivors
to add to my list of recommended reading! Ed Bauman and Helayne Waldman have provided us with a practical and palatable recipe for adding both quality and quantity to the lives of the women and their families who access this vital information. Each chapter offers goals, steps to take, a to-do list, and a “Last Word” from a survivor, making the information easy to digest and assimilate. Excellent tables, including super recommendations on how to jazz up a salad, and an assortment of delicious, healthy recipes ensure that many readers will file this book in the kitchen for future reference. The thoughtful sample meal plan is just what people are always asking for to help apply the broad recommendations made by their nutrition-savvy care providers.

Although this whole-food guide targets the breast cancer survivor, its appeal is really universal. The information contained herein is just as valuable to men with prostate cancer, people with colorectal cancer, or anyone with any malignant diagnosis. Other than perhaps the specific references to hormone manipulation through diet and supplements, the advice to address deficiencies and excesses, to manage weight, to manage glucose and insulin levels, to enhance immunity, and to decrease inflammation are applicable to all patients, regardless of their cancer diagnosis. In fact, these recommendations are just as relevant for those aiming to reduce their risk of malignant disease (as well as heart disease and other degenerative diseases of aging) as they are for those seeking to thrive after treatment.

Two-thirds of Americans are now obese or overweight—a setup for increased disease burden and premature mortality. Clearly we have lost our sense of how to interact with food. This is not really the fault of the individual, as our political-industrial complex has done much to promote unhealthy eating habits. A cancer diagnosis is often a great motivator for behavior change. Breast cancer survivors who may not have been as conscious of healthful nutrition prior to diagnosis will find
The Whole-Food Guide for Breast Cancer Survivors
to be an invaluable resource in the ensuing chapters of their lives. Hopefully they will share the information with their families and friends—both with and without cancer—to promote health and well-being for all.

—Donald I. Abrams, MD Integrative Oncology, UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine Chief of Hematology-Oncology, San Francisco General Hospital Professor of Clinical Medicine, University of California, San Francisco Past President, Society for Integrative Oncology

Acknowledgments

The idea for this book first started rumbling when Helayne attended the Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Cancer Therapies Conference, a breathtaking source of information and advocacy produced annually by Ann Fonfa of the Annie Appleseed Project. We would like to thank Ann for her vision and inspiration, and for empowering thousands of individuals to take charge of their health by understanding how to reduce the risk of cancer recurrence.

Of course, it takes a lot more to bring an idea to fruition, and for that, there are many others to thank. First, heartfelt thanks to our colleagues and other professionals who took the time to talk or consult with us and to review our ideas and material to ensure that the medical concepts were clear and correct. These generous souls include Donald Abrams, MD; Jeffrey Dach, MD; Connie Hernandez, ND; Robert Kane, DC; Bruce Ames, PhD; Joyce McCann, PhD; Chris Melitis, ND, NMD; David Brownstein, MD; Jonathan Wright, MD; Mary Ellen Chalmers, DMD; Sara Gottfried, MD; and Helayne’s good and incredibly helpful friend, Michael Rosenbaum, MD. Additional thanks are due Cristiana Paul, MS, Nutrition Science; Carolyn Bernstein, NP; Jodi Friedlander, NC; Jason Miller, LAc; Judy Lane, NP; Rebecca Murray, NP; Mindy Toomay; Molly Colin; Lindsey Berkson, MS; Jeanne Wallace, PhD; Beth Gillespie, MS; Linda Lizotte, RD; chef extraordinaire Rebecca Katz, MS; and chef
fabuloso
Lizette Marx.

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