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Yes, it’s THAT month. Man Exam month. Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. A reminder to all to remind your dudes in your life to get their Man Exam. Stay on top of it. Know your numbers. And, yes, there is evidence you can fight cancer with your diet.
We were guilty as charged – our freezer was a place for meat. All kinds of meat. All cuts of beef, chicken, and pork. I was a lamb snob and would only buy fresh lamb. And did I mention frozen tilapia? Fresh milk delivered to our doorstep that transformed into homemade cheese, yogurt, and sometimes ice cream?
What Changed Us?
For me, it was a strong family history of pancreatic cancer and a husband who was diagnosed with Stage IV prostate cancer. Mike, my husband, is doing great post prostate surgery, radiation, and hormone reduction therapy. He is now a full-on plant-based guy. I am 95% as I flex off now and then for a local egg or a small taste of well-prepared beef, lamb, or salmon.
Prostate cancer is the third most common cancer in the United States, with more than 191,000 new cases diagnosed each year. It is also one of the most treatable cancers, with a five-year survival rate of nearly 98%. Early detection, monitoring, and lifestyle adjustments are three common features of improved survival rates.
Learning that the cancer is in the lymph nodes and is ripe for metastasizing to the bone is a game-changer, not to mention the side effects of treatment. There is so much that an individual can do to treat and prevent cancer. Understandably, lifestyle changes can be the hardest, as nutrition, particularly eating patterns, are embedded in us through routine, social habits, and tastes.
How Did We Do It?
Slow at first and then super-fast. We started eating loads of cruciferous veg after my mother passed away from pancreatic cancer. Her brother had passed away several years early from pancreatic cancer as well. The day we received the results of Mike’s prostate cancer biopsy (Stage IV), Mike performed a 180 degree move and stopped all meat and dairy. For me, it took about six months, partly because I am the primary cook, and 2) I had a lot of meat in the freezer. My thrifty nature struggled as well as, how in the world do you cook and enjoy a meal without meat and dairy? Well, you can!
What’s in Our Freezer Now? 
1) Five kinds of grain – millet, farro, bulghur, brown rice, quinoa, and barley.
2) Pureed pumpkin
3) Roasted butternut squash chunks
4) Cashew cream
5) Almonds, cashews, pistachios, and pine nuts
6) Protein blends from Bird’s Eye (or similar)
7) Saffron pasta water (there is a story there for another time)
8) Crushed tomatoes
9) At least 8 kinds of beans and lentils– fava, black, Peruvian, cannellini, soybean, French Puy lentils, Anasazi, green peas, and more. I thank Rancho Gordo and Colorado growers for those varieties)
10) Mashed beets to make red velvet and chocolate cakes with
11) Better quality, low fat, low carb, high protein, “chicken” meat substitutes. I prefer Gardein, Sweet Earth, Daring, and
12) Gardein “fish” cakes – they are amazing.
13) Smoked green Hatch chilies
14) Roasted or smoked mushrooms
15) Porcini (bolete) mushrooms I harvested this year.
16) Frozen berries
17) Frozen Palisade peaches
18) Sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and more
19) Curry sauces ready to go
20) A bag of leftover veg to make soups plus cubes of homemade veg broth
21) Cubes of homemade mushroom broth
I’m sure there is more but you get the picture. Where there was meat, there is now a huge variety of fruit, veg, grain, nuts, and seeds.
Are You Wanting to Eat More Veg and Less Meat/Dairy?
There are so many options. The Prostate Cancer Foundation has a 30-Day Challenge to try the 30 foods that help fight cancer by eating anti-cancer foods. This is a great list to jumpstart adding different types of foods to your meals. Do give yourself a chance to explore, allow your tastebuds and your brain to register the new food. At some point, one food may not be your thing, (like me and collards), but remember the freshest produce can not only be eaten raw but also, cooked, pureed, mashed, roasted, steamed, or any number of other techniques that still keep the nutrition.
Do You Need to Stop Eating Meat Altogether?
It’s up to you. Everyone’s tastes and needs are different and there are always more studies coming down the pipeline regarding lifestyle and nutrition, particularly phytonutrients of plants versus meat. It’s difficult to measure specifically but most research does indicate more veg, fruit, and grain and less meat results in better health and fewer co-morbid conditions such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and cancer. Look for large cohort studies and meta-analyses of multiple studies that present a preponderance of evidence, rather than anecdotal stories, i.e. blueberries cured my cancer.
One of my favorite scholars to follow is Gil Carvalho, M.D., Ph.D, who parses out the nutritional studies and simplifies the data into meaningful, lay-person terminology in his video series, Nutrition Made Simple. The overall winner seems to be the Mediterranean diet – a plant-based with limited processed food, meat, and dairy.
Want more cooking ideas for eating less meat? Want to eat more plants? Let’s do it!
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