At 77 yrs, I'm only just beginning to appreciate what a healthy diet is.
Our media is full of advice on what to eat to improve health outcomes.
But I have concluded that a healthy diet is not about what we should eat, as this is highly disguised as promoting commercial interests, not your health.
No, a healthy diet describes, from all foods that are available to us, those which should NOT be eaten (or drinken).
I consider myself fortunate indeed to have consumed so much unhealthy food in my lifetime, and be still standing to tell my tale.
But a low carb diet at my age has given me new hope and new lease of life to pursue my self employed career.
Why then is the Mediterranean diet, with home made pastas and breads, considered one of the healthiest diets in the world and people eating traditional recipes live in good health to old ages? Genuine question because I don’t see how “no grains” can be the answer when they have been eaten as flatbreads, noodles or dumplings etc by so many cultures for so many thousands of years …
I agree. I can see limiting grains but I have always been told that brown rice my and barley are nutritious. I also make my own sourdough bread and I believe it is nutritious.
"Diet" is like a thought-terminating expression because it presupposes that its all about what you put in your mouth. Over the years I've gotten better at fasting and think that what/when you DONT eat is equally as important
My husband was recently diagnosed with P16+ Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma. We all ready eat a very clean diet so change was a bit easier, but have removed all carbs and sugar day 1 of his diagnosis.
We have a small dairy goat herd and raw milk products are a large part of our diet/protein consumption. Specifically chèvre, kefir and (unheated) raw yogurt. They eat GMO free grain (for milkers) and clean alfalfa and wild browse daily.
I am finding a lot of conflicting reports about “dairy” and whether to omit it or not, because of its ability to “turn on” cancer. Would you omit these milk items from his diet for this reason, or is goat milk + fermentation a different thing?
Seems like the befits are huge, but maybe so are the risks?
Thank you for any insight or pointed material on this you can share.🙏
Hi there, Thank you for your support and feedback, I really appreciate it. I cannot give personalised advice to individuals that I am not personally working with but for dairy consumption, I would track certain blood markers to make a decision about whether that individual is OK to continue eating dairy (and red meat). It can fluctuate too, It depends, you might want to stop it for a while and bring it back in when the blood marker levels stabilise. The milk sounds amazing, I would love to live near you and order these incredible products!
I wish you lived near by too, so I could just gift you these all the time!
Thank you for this insight. I understand and respect that you cannot give specific advice for him, but the blood marker thought is something we will look into, and learn more about how to monitor. We are just getting started with all this, and there is so much to still understand and apply to optimize his healing.
Sure hoping we can keep the goatie goodness on board!
I’m just learning how to make sourdough. After learning about chronic inflammation, I went sugar-free at 61 six months ago, gluten-free four months ago, and I have read the sourdough is OK on anti-inflammatory diets. I’m going to have to rethink this now and I would love your thoughts.
Also just to clarify, you mentioned wheat, barley, rye, and couscous. What about other grains like quinoa, rice, oats, millet, etc.?
Thanks so much, you are exactly the person I’ve been looking for!
Hi Lesley, great feedback thank you so much. I recommend avoiding all grains personally. Sourdough is delicious but if you want an anti-inflammatory diet, sadly it doesn't have a place there. You can always have an occasional treat of course. Great to have you here.
I do not know if you have heard of Prof Tim Noakes(South African) who I have a lot of respect for ( fellow South African , runner and colleague so no biases in what is to follow).
The medical fraternity in South Africa turned on him because of his views on a low carb high fat diet plus cholesterol.
You might be happy to know my views on cholesterol are changing- not completely though.😇
Tim Noakes, advises against consuming grains. He believes that grains are high in carbohydrates, which can worsen insulin resistance and related metabolic issues. Additionally, he highlights that components like gliadin in wheat can increase gut permeability by triggering zonulin release, potentially leading to autoimmune conditions. Noakes suggests that grains are not essential for nutrition and recommends eliminating them in favour of nutrient-dense, low-carb foods.
Noakes notes that the introduction of grains into the human diet coincided with a decline in health markers such as stature and bone density, suggesting a negative impact on human health over time as you have said.
Studies of mummified remains have revealed that many Egyptian elites, including pharaohs, suffered from health issues such as obesity, dental problems, and possibly type 2 diabetes. These conditions are believed to be linked to their high-carbohydrate, grain-rich diets, along with the consumption of sugar-rich foods like honey .
I’m confused because grains include wheat, rice, oats, barley, corn, quinoa, and rye, but in your article, you only mention wheat, rye, and barley. Is it okay to consume the other types of grains?
When working with patients how do you inspire change? Many of my patients have the most difficulty with adopting the diet and maintaining the diet (myself included!)
I find my patients gravitate towards comfort foods when stress starts taking its toll. Refined carbs are hard to eliminate or reduce. We have a lot of very poor diets in Kentucky so I try to meet people where they are at. Start with ditching the Mountain Dew and slowly move towards better decisions. It’s a process but I enjoy the discussion and challenge of it. I love to show patients their progress with improving A1c etc
Think about inducing the hormone Leptin - make sure that their blood sugar is balanced and not spiking daily by giving them a lot of fat and ut the sugar and aritifical sweeteners right out. Many people I work with don't have the luxury of cutting down any more, it's got to go! Then they don't experience the cravings or, they are psychological mostly in which case get them eating fat bombs and really really tasty food that is nourishing. If mountain dew is hard to give up in the face of cancer then there is no alternative. Fizzy water is your new best friend, why bother with a replacement for junk when there is so much beautiful food on offer! HbA1c is a a good indicator of blood sugar over the longer term, 3 months but if they have had chemo their haemoglobin will be potentiall depleted and the results could be skewed. There is a lot to think about. Look at fasting glucose and fasted insulin for a clearer picture.
That’s good advice. It’s really interesting with the immunotherapy piece now (most of my patients aren’t on chemotherapy) and the link with gut microbiome. I worry about too much fats from animal products and how that interacts with microbiome. The most dramatic results I have seen with immunotherapy are those on plant based diets. Sounds like you and I should have a conversation!
Hi there Daniel, I stay in touch. The tricky thing is that everyone is different, we all have different likes, possibilities, different levels of support. I help people with less time understand about how to batch cook and those who have a sweet tooth understand how to make the right things to hit the spot and not deviate from the path. We are all a little different. Plus someone with GBM has potentially more need for protein than someone with SCC who may also benefit from less fibre.
4500 new followers this week and going strong... Next article on how to balance protein in your diet, for cancer, coming up shortly.
Great article, Amanda.
At 77 yrs, I'm only just beginning to appreciate what a healthy diet is.
Our media is full of advice on what to eat to improve health outcomes.
But I have concluded that a healthy diet is not about what we should eat, as this is highly disguised as promoting commercial interests, not your health.
No, a healthy diet describes, from all foods that are available to us, those which should NOT be eaten (or drinken).
I consider myself fortunate indeed to have consumed so much unhealthy food in my lifetime, and be still standing to tell my tale.
But a low carb diet at my age has given me new hope and new lease of life to pursue my self employed career.
And there's still room for improvement!
I love it! Thanks for sharing Robert.
Why then is the Mediterranean diet, with home made pastas and breads, considered one of the healthiest diets in the world and people eating traditional recipes live in good health to old ages? Genuine question because I don’t see how “no grains” can be the answer when they have been eaten as flatbreads, noodles or dumplings etc by so many cultures for so many thousands of years …
It’s the poly phenols and especially the olive oil. Olive oil is medicine!
I agree. I can see limiting grains but I have always been told that brown rice my and barley are nutritious. I also make my own sourdough bread and I believe it is nutritious.
"Diet" is like a thought-terminating expression because it presupposes that its all about what you put in your mouth. Over the years I've gotten better at fasting and think that what/when you DONT eat is equally as important
Don't eat substances that harm you! Exactly!
Looking forward to reading and learning more!
Great, thanks for being here.
Hi Amanda,
I really appreciate your work!
My husband was recently diagnosed with P16+ Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma. We all ready eat a very clean diet so change was a bit easier, but have removed all carbs and sugar day 1 of his diagnosis.
We have a small dairy goat herd and raw milk products are a large part of our diet/protein consumption. Specifically chèvre, kefir and (unheated) raw yogurt. They eat GMO free grain (for milkers) and clean alfalfa and wild browse daily.
I am finding a lot of conflicting reports about “dairy” and whether to omit it or not, because of its ability to “turn on” cancer. Would you omit these milk items from his diet for this reason, or is goat milk + fermentation a different thing?
Seems like the befits are huge, but maybe so are the risks?
Thank you for any insight or pointed material on this you can share.🙏
He is a paid subscriber here:)
Hi there, Thank you for your support and feedback, I really appreciate it. I cannot give personalised advice to individuals that I am not personally working with but for dairy consumption, I would track certain blood markers to make a decision about whether that individual is OK to continue eating dairy (and red meat). It can fluctuate too, It depends, you might want to stop it for a while and bring it back in when the blood marker levels stabilise. The milk sounds amazing, I would love to live near you and order these incredible products!
Hi Amanda,
I wish you lived near by too, so I could just gift you these all the time!
Thank you for this insight. I understand and respect that you cannot give specific advice for him, but the blood marker thought is something we will look into, and learn more about how to monitor. We are just getting started with all this, and there is so much to still understand and apply to optimize his healing.
Sure hoping we can keep the goatie goodness on board!
I’m just learning how to make sourdough. After learning about chronic inflammation, I went sugar-free at 61 six months ago, gluten-free four months ago, and I have read the sourdough is OK on anti-inflammatory diets. I’m going to have to rethink this now and I would love your thoughts.
Also just to clarify, you mentioned wheat, barley, rye, and couscous. What about other grains like quinoa, rice, oats, millet, etc.?
Thanks so much, you are exactly the person I’ve been looking for!
Hi Lesley, great feedback thank you so much. I recommend avoiding all grains personally. Sourdough is delicious but if you want an anti-inflammatory diet, sadly it doesn't have a place there. You can always have an occasional treat of course. Great to have you here.
I do not know if you have heard of Prof Tim Noakes(South African) who I have a lot of respect for ( fellow South African , runner and colleague so no biases in what is to follow).
The medical fraternity in South Africa turned on him because of his views on a low carb high fat diet plus cholesterol.
You might be happy to know my views on cholesterol are changing- not completely though.😇
Tim Noakes, advises against consuming grains. He believes that grains are high in carbohydrates, which can worsen insulin resistance and related metabolic issues. Additionally, he highlights that components like gliadin in wheat can increase gut permeability by triggering zonulin release, potentially leading to autoimmune conditions. Noakes suggests that grains are not essential for nutrition and recommends eliminating them in favour of nutrient-dense, low-carb foods.
Noakes notes that the introduction of grains into the human diet coincided with a decline in health markers such as stature and bone density, suggesting a negative impact on human health over time as you have said.
Studies of mummified remains have revealed that many Egyptian elites, including pharaohs, suffered from health issues such as obesity, dental problems, and possibly type 2 diabetes. These conditions are believed to be linked to their high-carbohydrate, grain-rich diets, along with the consumption of sugar-rich foods like honey .
I’m confused because grains include wheat, rice, oats, barley, corn, quinoa, and rye, but in your article, you only mention wheat, rye, and barley. Is it okay to consume the other types of grains?
Quinoa is quite useful for methylation as a source of betaine (trimethylglycine) but it would be healthiest to get TMG from beetroots and spinach.
Thanks for your question… I mean all grains. Quinoa is a seed. Corn is pretty much all GMO now due to cross pollination and best avoided.
When working with patients how do you inspire change? Many of my patients have the most difficulty with adopting the diet and maintaining the diet (myself included!)
Where do you find the diet the hardest to maintain?
I find my patients gravitate towards comfort foods when stress starts taking its toll. Refined carbs are hard to eliminate or reduce. We have a lot of very poor diets in Kentucky so I try to meet people where they are at. Start with ditching the Mountain Dew and slowly move towards better decisions. It’s a process but I enjoy the discussion and challenge of it. I love to show patients their progress with improving A1c etc
Think about inducing the hormone Leptin - make sure that their blood sugar is balanced and not spiking daily by giving them a lot of fat and ut the sugar and aritifical sweeteners right out. Many people I work with don't have the luxury of cutting down any more, it's got to go! Then they don't experience the cravings or, they are psychological mostly in which case get them eating fat bombs and really really tasty food that is nourishing. If mountain dew is hard to give up in the face of cancer then there is no alternative. Fizzy water is your new best friend, why bother with a replacement for junk when there is so much beautiful food on offer! HbA1c is a a good indicator of blood sugar over the longer term, 3 months but if they have had chemo their haemoglobin will be potentiall depleted and the results could be skewed. There is a lot to think about. Look at fasting glucose and fasted insulin for a clearer picture.
That’s good advice. It’s really interesting with the immunotherapy piece now (most of my patients aren’t on chemotherapy) and the link with gut microbiome. I worry about too much fats from animal products and how that interacts with microbiome. The most dramatic results I have seen with immunotherapy are those on plant based diets. Sounds like you and I should have a conversation!
Hi there Daniel, I stay in touch. The tricky thing is that everyone is different, we all have different likes, possibilities, different levels of support. I help people with less time understand about how to batch cook and those who have a sweet tooth understand how to make the right things to hit the spot and not deviate from the path. We are all a little different. Plus someone with GBM has potentially more need for protein than someone with SCC who may also benefit from less fibre.