Kelley Turner found that the majority of the people she studied all tend to make the same four dietary changes:

o Greatly reducing or eliminating sugar, meat, dairy and refined foods
o Greatly increasing vegetable and fruit intake
o Eating organic foods
o Drinking filtered water

The case against sugar, meat and dairy has not yet been confirmed by double-bind studies but there is a lot of suggestive evidence that the typical American diet does nothing to help the immune system fight cancer cells. The case against refined foods, however, is pretty clear. Turner’s Radical Remission survivors drastically reduce refined foods and instead try to eat carbohydrates in their whole grain forms.

There have been many studies showing that specific fruits and vegetables are potent cancer-fighters. Turner suggests eating all the colors of the rainbow with your fruits and vegetables to avail yourself of different cancer-fighting nutrients.

I was not much of an organic vegetable consumer before this diagnosis but now I am. Just sticking with buying the “dirty dozen” vegetables as organic can make a difference in terms of the toxic load that your immune system has to handle.

We have had filtered water for consumption at our house for some years now so I will just continue to drink it.

I’ve been on something of a low carb diet for several years to keep my overall glucose level lower. With this diagnosis I expect to eat more whole grain carbohydrates with a lower glycemic index as well as more fruits and vegetables. I continue to educate myself on the “anti-cancer diet” and find new recipes to try out. Doug Johnson has been an inspiration to me as he shares dishes he has made that make use of many nutrients that have anti-cancer properties. I am not yet ready to start a macrobiotic diet or start juicing all the time but I do plan to consume more fruits and veggies by making green soup or other creative ways of adding them to my diet.

I also recognize that I consume more alcohol than is probably optimal. David Servan-Schreiber in his book Anti-Cancer: A New Way of Life recommends one glass of wine at dinner. At this point, that’s a goal as I work on dealing with my internal stress in more direct and effective ways.