In My Inbox

I get so many emails every day from some of the many websites where I am registered. Most of them are health related (becuase I am still waiting for that cure). Usually I can hit delete on many of them because they don't appeal to me for some reason or another. Then I move on to the rest of my day (after the USA today crossword puzzle, checking Facebook, and my blog).

In my inbox this morning was a startling, shocking, upsetting email. Its title was: "Is having bacon good for fibromyalgia?". First of all let me say that I really hate emails that start off with a question. They are just click bait. And I hate that.

Next, bacon is a favorite food. I know its not healthy but if I can have bacon I will. I don't like other breakfast meats much so its bacon or nothing. And if bacon can be incorporated into dinner, that is just fine with me. (A favorite is cook a couple of pieces of bacon - one per person - in a fry pan. As the bacon is almost done place scallops on top. When the bacon is done, the scallops should be too. Serve scallops with bacon crumbled on top.) I have bacon maybe every few weeks at the very most.

Don't tempt with bacon in click bait. Its just wrong. But I read the email and found out that bacon isn't that good for fibromyalgia.

"Bacon is highly acidic and the fatty acids it contains can easily aggravate your pain symptoms. Having a lot of pork can result in massive inflammation of your joints. Just imagine eating bacon for breakfast and having to spend the rest of the week in pain, it can really affect your lifestyle."

That is just wrong. Bacon is good for everything as far as I am concerned.

"It is a big NO to take bacon although some suggest that having bacon in moderation is fine. If you suffer from any muscle and joint pain from fibromyalgia, it is recommended that you stop the bacon intake. If it is a tough task for you to cut your bacon completely, a big tip from us is to replace your bacon with turkey bacon which has just half the calories of pork bacon. There are some brands that have no saturated fats. Pick those."

No. Way. Some days breathing causes pain so I can't see that bacon can cause any worse pain. And turkey bacon is full of sodium, more than pork bacon so its really not better for you anyway.

But I didn't know pork could cause inflammation and will check into that part. And I will figure out how to incorporate bacon into our menu this weekend.

Stress is Bad for My Waistline

This isn't a good week. (I swear I do have good weeks, just not right now.) The reasons why it isn't a good week is that I had an MRI Monday night so I was up way too late - meaning after midnight. Today I have a deep cleaning at the periodontist. This means they will inject Novocaine and then scrape way under my gums. I expect I will have soup or scrambled eggs for dinner. Then tomorrow night I have the sleep lab so I don't expect to get a good night's sleep again. I know I whined blogged about this earlier this week but I want to whine some more.

Yesterday I needed a two hour nap to recover from Monday night. I also needed too many snacks. Today I think I will probably be grumpy. I plan on eating lunch before my appointment which probably means some kind of fast food which is bad. But I think if I have some food in my stomach I will probably handle the teeth scraping better. (My dentist has told me this several times - eat a good meal before dental work. Having food in your system makes a big difference.) Also I probably won't be able to eat for a few hours after between sore gums and numbness.

When I am stressed I find myself stress eating. I know I am doing it and have tried to turn myself towards fruit instead of fattening food. But its just too many categories. When I am extremely stressed (think cancer diagnosis level of stress) I stop eating and actually lose weight. I need to lose weight but I am happy I am not that stressed and am at the whining stage.

I just need to watch what I eat and get through this week. Then I'll stop whining.

Disappointment

When I stopped working where they brought cookies, bagels, and pastries in several times a week, when for runs to the bakery next door for snacks, and shared pizza, Chinese, or Thai lunches, I thought I would lose weight. I did lose some weight, maybe 10 lbs. Then I gained some of it back.

Some how over the past ten years, besides getting older and developing a million health ailments, I have managed to put on more pounds than I can believe. I am thirty pounds over what I consider my fattest ever weight. I am not sure how that happened. And now, even though I go to the gym three times a week, I can't seem to lose any more.

I know you are what you eat but that doesn't seem to help me. Today was a big breakfast (we are on vacation) of a banana, two eggs, three pieces of bacon and a piece of toast (homemade bread) with butter. That was more than I normally have and I wasn't hungry for lunch until 2 pm when I had a peach and a plum. That will tide me over for dinner.

Tonight for dinner I am making an awesome looking seafood stew.  The original recipe calls for 4.5 cups whipping cream and 2 cups of half and half. I'll be using 1% milk instead. I can't imagine all that fat. Chowder isn't the most healthy thing to eat but a rainy day in New England on the ocean calls for chowder. But we will also have a salad and home made bread with it. What we don't eat tonight will be eaten for lunch and other meals for the next few days. Portion control is a big part of weight control.

Back to my topic of disappointment. I was very disappointed today when I went to try on clothes and they didn't fit. Very depressing. Even an XL was too small. And its really only the flabbiness around my middle that I can't seem to get rid of. My inner size six is lost behind a wall of flab.

I am disappointed in myself in that I can't seem to lose the weight. I am disappointed in my body which restricts what I am able to do. I physically am unable to do more exercise. I do not just sit around at home. I make sure I do things every day - I go out to the garden. I get together with friends. I try to eat healthy. I don't eat junk food. I don't eat candy or drink soda.

Its not my thyroid so I can't really rev up my metabolism as I don't have a thyroid. My medication level was just tweaked up but that's not a diet solution.

I know as you age it gets harder to lose weight. I realize this. I also know that I made a big lifestyle change by leaving work.  But I also need to make another change that makes me a skinnier person. I wouldn't mind being healthier but that's not going to happen short of a miracle cure.

The Dark Side of Anti-Oxidants

I read this article this morning on the dark side of anti-oxidants and was very surprised. I have heard all the benefits of anti-oxidants and why it is important to eat them as part of a healthy diet. Some medications are made with antioxidants. Many people rush out and get fresh fruit and vegetables specifically for their antioxidants and benefits.

"There is no question that antioxidants, such as those in fruits and vegetables and other foods, neutralize molecules called free radicals that can damage DNA. That has led to assertions that antioxidants can prevent cancer, since DNA damage can turn normal cells into malignant ones. But studies of whether antioxidant supplements (pills, not foods) can prevent cancer have largely disappointed."

So that last sentence tells us something. A hint that maybe anti-oxidants aren't quite as good as previously thought.

"Because free radicals might also attack cancer cells, scientists are studying whether antioxidants might allow tumors to flourish. The new research, in Science Translational Medicine, found that they can. When scientists exposed lab dishes of human cancer cells (liver, breast, colon, ovarian) to the diabetes drugs sitagliptin (sold by Merck as Januvia) and saxagliptin (AstraZeneca’s Onglyza), the cells migrated more. And when nine mice with human tumors were given either of the drugs, the cells metastasized more and invaded far-flung tissue...."

Did you read that right? Yes you did! The previously thought wonderful anti-oxidants appear to help metastasize cancer! So if you have cancer, your cancer will spread faster with help from the anti-oxidants. Nice! They are off my diet for now.

But the writers add that they did not cause cancer, just that they helped it spread. And this is a mouse test which means that it may not be the same for humans. And more research is needed.

So I am not jumping to any conclusions here. I know its only a mouse test but these results do not make me happy. 

We are supposed to be eating better

We means those of us who are post cancer. A new study claims that all of us who get through cancer develop crappy eating habits.

"Cancer survivors are a bit less health conscious in their eating habits, a large U.S. population-based study found.

Compared with the general population, cancer survivors consumed more empty calories in the form of solid fats, alcohol, and added sugars, reported a research team.... 

In addition, cancer survivors' intake of fiber, vitamin D, and other important nutrients was lower on average than recommended levels, Zhang and colleagues reported in the journal."

Um, first of all I must state that I think I am a relatively good eater. I don't eat a lot of prepared food, I like home made food not premade crap out of the freezer or a can. I like fresh fruit and vegetables.

But, why am I eating healthy to prevent future health issues when I already have them so many? On many levels it doesn't make sense. I do try but then sometimes I wonder why I do. I mean why do I worry about things like cholesterol when one of my other ailments is going to lead to many other issues where cholesterol may end up being so far down the list in impact on my health.

Once you get through cancer many other things become less important. The medications you are given cause so many side effects that  healthy eating during chemo is changed to only eating what will stay in your stomach.

A cancer diagnosis changes everything so let's have our cake now and eat it too.

Taking the fun out

"Several studies have linked alcohol consumption to a higher risk of many cancers, including breast, mouth, throat, larynx, esophagus, liver, and colon and rectum. The risk rises with the amount of alcohol consumed."

Alcohol is evil and causes cancer. Great. Thanks. Anything else I need to worry about? Besides walking under ladders, playing in traffic, and walking by yourself in bad neighborhoods.

The latest blog post from Dana Farber's Insight (which is actually a pretty good blog) talks about alcohol consumption and cancer. The American Cancer Society recommends 1 drink a day for women and two for men. An oncologist recommends an occasional drink, if any.

My thought process from being the cancer patient is 'Excuse me I have cancer and my life currently sucks, I might want to drink more often than occasionally.' Whatever happened to the medical advice of hot lemonade and whiskey for a sore throat?

When I was 19 and told I had thyroid cancer, I was told by my doctor that my treatment was done and I should take care of myself, eat healthy, and get plenty of sleep. Thanks. I could have figured that out myself. But I did put a few years of thought into it and decided that I was going to live my life on my terms and not be 'boring'.

I was young and wanted to be a normal person and not 'that girl with cancer' for the rest of my life. So I did things my way. Yes I might drink alcohol. I might have partaken of other substances at different times in my life as well.

I don't want my health issues to rule my life. I want to be normal as much as possible. I want to do the things I want. I may not be able to climb a mountain now or ski down one but I can still go to the beach and out for fried clams. (Eeek! Fried food! Cholesterol alert!) Life requires little indulgences to be fun.

The way I see it, it is my body and my life. If I am not harming anyone else and want to have wine with dinner, I can't see a problem in it. However if you see me on a street corner drinking out of a bottle in a paper bag, feel free to interfere.