While going through medical treatment, doctors didn’t recommend changing my dietary habits. It surprised me. No specific recommendation during the treatment but also post-treatment. It was as if it didn’t have anything to do, no correlation whatsoever.
I understand that it’s difficult to have clinical studies pinpoint exactly the impact of what you eat on a specific medical condition. There are so many different factors coming into play. Yet, we know that hereditary cancers are less than 5% of total cancers. It means 95% are related to stress, environmental factors and of course diet. Changing our diets would sound like a good idea to maximize the odds of healing and minimize the risk of recurrence.
Once diagnosed, I implemented a radical change in my diet. I was vegan for 6 months, and cut out any form of sugar, flour, wheat and alcohol. After 6 months, I started eating again some animal proteins, adding once in a while white fish and lean meat (turkey, chicken). No red meats, no curated foods, and still no sugar, flour or alcohol. Once I was cancer-free, I allowed myself to drink a glass of wine at Christmas and ate some dessert. It was interesting to see how both alcohol and sugar put me off. I was not feeling well after that.
Changing diets while going through cancer wasn’t so difficult. I had a compelling why. For me, it was a matter of life or death and I was going to put all odds on my side to win this battle. My discipline kept me from feeling any urges to do otherwise.
It became harder once I knew I was cancer-free. Urges to drink wine or eat sugar were arising regularly. These urges came from thoughts like “you deserve a glass of wine after all you went through” or “a bit of sugar isn’t going to do any harm”.
This time I got through it by allowing my urges and my emotions while not reacting to them. I observe myself; I look at my thoughts, I allow my feelings, and I let go. In the moment, it’s uncomfortable but it always fades away. And I remind myself why I’m doing this.
As time goes by, my urges are less intense and less frequent. It doesn’t mean I don’t have urges anymore. They arise occasionally. But I know how to manage them. And my future self who enjoys perfect health is grateful that I have developed such a skill.
With love,
Laurent