Day 196, Year 11: Striking a Balance
Date: Thursday, May 5, 2016
Weather: Overcast with Drizzle, High 51 degrees F
Location: At Home in Evergreen Preserve, Lowell, MA
Striking a balance in life is not always easy. Right now Mark and I are working to find the balance for him between chemotherapy, prescription drugs to help him deal with side effects, and alternative or more natural ways that might be just as effective, and sometimes even more effective, than the prescription drugs. Every day is like a science experiment. I think we are making progress, so we will continue our quest. Four years ago when Mark started his first round of chemotherapy he got mouth sores as a side effect. We used the Listerine without alcohol recommended by the doctors, but that did no good. We used the very expensive prescription mouthwash and that did no good. I then remembered that my mother always used a water and salt solution if anyone in the family had a sore throat or mouth sore. I called my sister to verify my memory and she agreed that my memory was correct with one exception. She said my mom always added apple cider vinegar to that solution. We came up with a ‘recipe’ and Mark started using it morning and night. Two days later, the mouth sores were gone and we have been able to keep them at bay through the years of chemo. He is once again having the threat of mouth sores, so he once again is using my mom’s mouthwash recipe every morning. But this round he is trying Bicarbonate of Soda and water at night and that seems to be effective as well. I have written all along that Mark has nausea for the first time in his chemotherapy history. We faithfully keep the diffuser with peppermint essential oil going all day long and that definitely seems to help. But he still tends to get nauseous once during a 24 hour period—never at the same time and never in response to the same stimuli—and we just can’t quite get this one under control. At first we tried the prescription drugs for nausea, but often they make him sicker than taking nothing. So he stopped taking any anti-nausea drugs and then added back one pill per day, but only when he felt nauseous. Yesterday a new drug was prescribed, to be taken at night. It is a powerful drug and lasts 24 hours. Mark was definitely knocked out by it as it was hard to get him up this morning. He was also weak and had some balance issues during the day, but he wasn’t nauseous. We’ll try this for another day or so, but if the weakness and balance issues continue, we’ll stop this experiment and go to the next. Always a challenge.
Striking a balance in our diet is another challenge. Even if you take cancer out of the equation, what is the best diet? There is so much controversy over this right now and so many Americans are so confused that they really don’t know what is healthy and what is not. I mentioned in an earlier log that I have been listening to daily interviews on the internet as part of the Food Revolution Summit. In my opinion, the interviews have been excellent. Some of the foremost experts in the field have been interviewed and the really positive thing is that they are all saying basically the same thing. In a book published in 2008, Michael Pollan said that there are seven words you need to remember to guide your diet, “Eat (real) food, not too much, mostly plants.” And this week I have heard that same thing over and over. But the one thing that is now emphasized is that ‘mostly plants’ means eliminating dairy. I’ve listened and read the evidence and have decided that I am going to try to do that. No milk, no butter, no yogurt. The scientific evidence is so convincing, so we’ll give it a go. Coffee with almond milk is just not the same as coffee with whole milk or half ‘n half, but I’ll be healthier for it. Today we tried a breakfast smoothie recommended by Dr. Mark Hyman. He is an American physician and a New York Times best-selling author. He is the Director of the Cleveland Clinical Center for Functional Medicine. In one of his books, “Eat Fat, Get Thin” he recommends a high-protein smoothie as a complete breakfast. We tried it this morning and both of us really liked it. He says he alternates mornings having eggs one morning and the high-protein smoothie on the other. Here’s the recipe.
Mark Hyman’s High Protein Shake (makes enough for 2 people)
In a blender, combine the following:
2 tablespoons hemp seeds
2 tablespoons chia seeds (from the bag or soak overnight to let them become gelatinous)
2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds (raw, unsalted)
4 walnuts
3 Brazil nuts
1 heaping tablespoon coconut fat
2 tablespoons organic almond butter
1 banana
1 cup wild blueberries
1 cup water
½ cup unsweetened, organic almond milk
Enjoy!
Notes: Organic chia seeds can be purchased at Costco at half the price of other places. You can also buy raw pumpkin seeds at some Costco stores, but not all. I purchase Nutiva organic hemp seeds on Amazon or at Whole Foods. Same for coconut fat. Frozen Wyman wild blueberries work great. You can get them at any supermarket. And make sure the almond milk you buy is unsweetened.
