What is Our Goal for Food?

If I was interviewing Superman, one of the questions I would ask is, “what did you eat for breakfast this morning?”. And if I was to guess, it would be a combination of 18 farm fresh organic eggs, 12 avocados, a bowl of muesli, one bushel of blueberries, blended with, matcha green tea, pomegranate juice, coconut milk and 4 cups of non-GMO whey protein with a spirulina boost. I am fascinated at the daily practices of extraordinary performers in life, and they set a good bar for how to create positive routines in my own.

Chances are though, we are not as efficient hypermetabolizers as Clark Kent. So to make things applicable I think the big question to ask is what is our goal for food? Breast Cancer, or all forms of cancer, can thrive off the milieu of our body’s own internal soup. To keep things like cancer in check, it is imperative to build an environment that is not only inhospitable to unwanted diseases but supportive of our own body’s defense system.

But how do we do this? Medications, supplements, herbs, and other single bullet agents can be highly effective and helpful, however the best way to nurture a tree is to nutrify the soil; nutrition offers a prime way to adjust and create this supportive internal cosmos for health in our bodies. In this week’s blog I would enjoy providing, not a large scale tactical plan on how to combat breast cancer with a nutritional protocol, but present a fun recipe that may help spark creativity and excitement about how to enjoy breakfast. In my experience, if you win the morning, you win the day.

Goals

For our anti-breast cancer meal, we’ll have three main goals in mind, to prevent the development of breast cancer, improve quality of life, and reduce any adverse effects of treatment (if you are on a conventional therapy). Furthermore, Specifically this recipe is intended to reduce toxicity of carcinogenic exposure we get from our environment, reduce inflammation, reduce the negative effects of excessive estrogen, improve the protective effects of the different forms of estrogen, and improve immune responsiveness.

Dietary Considerations

Fiber

Studies done since the 1980’s and up to 2015 suggest that there is an associated risk of breast cancer, and other hormone dependent cancers with a diet low in dietary fiber (1). An experiment conducted in 2014 (2) showed that fiber promotes healthy gut bacteria which is likely to improve immune function and thus reduce the development of breast cancer.

Fats

Healthy fats is an essential part of our fight against cancer. Multiple points of evidence show that a high intake ratio of Omega 3 fatty acids, eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA) relative to omega 6 fatty acids like arachadonic acid reduce breast cancer risk (3). This is likely due to the reduction of inflammation that occurs when we ingest these agents.

Temperature

Frying foods in very high heat has been shown to increase carcinogens in the things cook, as well as destroy a lot of the proteins and good oils that we use to help prevent the development of disease.

Food Quality

A healthy environment promotes the health of the organisms in it. Supporting sustainable practices not only reduces the amount of carcinogens in our food, but also limits our exposure to toxic chemicals that may be plaguing the areas we live in. Healthy Earth, healthy babies.

Scrambled Avocado Frittata Bowl Recipe for Two

Ingredients

• Two large avocados
• Flax seeds
• Two cloves of garlic
• Spinach
• Turmeric
• Chives
• Two shiitake mushrooms
• Salt and pepper

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees
• Break two eggs into a bowl and scramble
• Dice the two cloves of garlic, spinach, and two mushrooms and mix in with the scramble
• Slice open the avocados, remove the seed, and scoop out enough of the avocado to hold the scrambled egg. I like to scoop about a table spoon from each half, that normally yields enough space to hold all of the egg scramble.
• Pour the scrambled egg into each avocado, lightly salt and pepper. Sprinkle flax seeds on top
• Place each avocado half that has been filled on a baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes.
• Remove the avocados from the sheet, chop the chives and garnish it.
• Your meal is ready.

I like to top breakfast off with a cup of matcha green tea. Green tea has components in it that act as powerful anti-oxidants which also help reducing cancer risk. Preparing meals goes far beyond the simple nutrition for your body, but also feeds your vital force. The mindfulness that you put into a small meal will enrich the ritual of eating. At the end of the day, in the most literal sense, we are what we eat.

References

1. Kassayová M, Bobrov N, Strojný L, et al. Preventive effects of probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus plantarum and dietary fiber in chemically-induced mammary carcinogenesis. Anticancer Res. 2014;34(9):4969-4975. https://www.scopus.com/record/display.url?src=s&origin=cto&ctoId=CTODS_554912274&stateKey=CTOF_554912271&eid=2-s2.0-84908691382https://www.scopus.com/record/display.url?src=s&origin=cto&ctoId=CTODS_563982603&stateKey=CTOF_563982604&eid=2-s2.0-84908691382.
2. Fabian CJ, Kimler BF, Hursting SD. Omega-3 fatty acids for breast cancer prevention and survivorship. Breast Cancer Res. 2015;17(62):1-11. doi:10.1186/s13058-015-0571-6.
3. Deschasaux M, Zelek L, Pouchieu C, et al. Prospective association between dietary fiber intake and breast cancer risk. PLoS One. 2013;8(11):1-6. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0079718.