Daily Nutrition

I am forever grateful that growing up, our parents cooked from first principles. They truly cared about where our food came from and in hindsight, our experience is a little unique. Our freezer was always full of grass fed beef from local farmers, and game meat (moose & deer). Saurkraut was often fermenting in the corner of the kitchen, and we picked wild mushrooms that we dehydrated on screens in the sunshine. Dad always had a pot of soup or stew for us to dig into when we got home from school. Truly, I could make an extensive list about our healthy beginnings, but it is suffice to say that the tradition of healthy eating has stayed with us all.

Mom and my youngest at the soccer field,

 glad to be living a glutenfree lifestyle

When my boys, myself and my sister developed celiac, it didn't take mom a whole lot of time to make changes to her own diet. Lucky for her, she doesn't have the same incapacitating symtoms that we do and she can "cheat" on her gluten-free diet. She does claim that she feels so much better for adjusting her eating habits. And she has always been good to eat vegetables, but there are a few changes that she made in the last few months that she would like me to share. This is her story, afterall, and she writes...

Before I continue with facts involving my attempts to heal my body with foods, I'd like to write a little about a gluten free diet. Yes, with my daughters encouragement I did go gluten free. I had been very tired for years and assumed it was the effects of CLL, afterall that is one of the symptoms. However, with the elimination of wheat and all other gluten containing grains, I not only was less tired, but I no longer required the antacids I had taken most of my life in order to digest my food without heartburn. I had been poisoning myself with a large bowl of AllBran cereal each and every morning. But I hadn't learned my lesson yet. After a year of being gluten free I again consumed a bowl of AllBran cereal. I immediately learned what it must feel like to be afflicted with narcolepsy. I was so tired that I was unable to drive and went to bed for the remainder of the day. I think everyone should read the book WHEAT BELLY authored by Cardiologist, William Davis, MD (see his blog here) .    

Having received an unexpected 52 point hike in the WBC count in the fall, along with a lowered hemoglobin count while adhering to what I considered a nutritious diet, panic set in. My weight was also dropping fast and I didn't have any extra lbs to lose, especially with the thought of chemo approaching. So off to the grocery store and local organic market I went, armed with a list of iron rich foods.  

Breakfast became BOB'S RED MILL brown rice farina creamy rice cooked with a handful of dates or raisins as well as 3 tbspns of coconut oil. Before consuming, I sprinkle it with cinnamon and add almond milk. This "cereal" provides 3 grams of protein & 2 grams of fibre. A glass of orange jc helps to absorb the iron. Between meals, snacks became sunflower seeds, almonds, dried apricots, dates, raisins & raw broccoli. Twice per day I consume one cup of prepared pumpkin pudding, made with almond milk & sweetened with maple syrup (a natural sugar). The pumpkin is from a local organic farm (not canned) , high in Vit A, beta carotene, fibre and iron. 

Lunch consists of a large green salad, usually red lettuce, swiss chard or spinach sprinkled with hemp hearts. I eat swiss chard and spinach every way imaginable. I added a daily consumption of red cabbage and baby bok choy (Chinese cabbage). The red cabbage is prepared as a soup adding onion & an assortment of other veggies as well as fried ground beef. Cabbage is rich in cancer fighting compounds & the red cabb is higher in vit C than others. Among the many benefits of cabbage is the "indol 3-carbinol" which in animal studies reduced the risk of cancer. The baby bok choy is prepared by stir-frying & adding a variety of veggies. An onion per day, either raw or cooked, has always been a part of my diet.

As for beverages consumed, my two coffees became one, followed by green tea and carbonated spring water. Plain water is so boring.

I have to admit that when I read this, I panicked a little when I read the part at the end, where Mom wrote about carbonated spring water. You see, I thought I'd read somewhere that carbonated drinks had a negative impact on bone density. But, after a little reading on the topic, it turns out that according to the research, carbonated water is not one of the culprits (it was soft drinks), and the Mayo Clinic explains about the research that has been done.

Mom eats her bok choy 5 nights out of the week, and she just picked up some Spirulina (more on her other nutritional supplements in another post) so I suspect that she might be looking a little green when I visit her next :) I'm going to venture to say that growing up on a farm, where Grandpa and Gramma raised their own animals and grew their own vegetables likely had an impact on the food and lifestyle choices that mom has made thoughout her life. However, I know that with her diagnosis and the rise in her WBC this fall. everytime she picks up her fork, she thinks more about food being her medicine, as opposed to it being something to fill the void in her stomach.

Mom, with her mom (Great Gramma) and (great) grandsons

6 months prior to her WBC falling 122 points

Posted by: Deb & Mom (June)