Guest Contributor – Cancer and Vegetarianism

Hello gorgeous! Here’s a blog post by a guest contributor named Jillian McKee. She sent me an email asking if I could post this article on my blog. Since its about a really serious and important topic, I thought it would be beneficial to my community. I believe that each and every person is bio-individual and what’s right for one’s health and wellness does not necessarily apply to the next person. One thing I know for sure is that everyone needs to add more whole foods into their diet and be pro-active about their health and wellness. If you are considering a transition to Vegetarianism or are already a Vegetarian, I highly recommend my friend Erik Horton as a Health Coach. He is a practicing Vegetarian and knows how to live a meat-free lifestyle in a healthy way. Its not as simple as eating lots of  fruits and vegetables. Click here to go to his beautiful website (really love the home page photo!).

Read the article below and let me know your thoughts in the comment box below.

Winks & Shimmies,

Vegetarianism is when an individual follows a diet based on plants instead of animal meat. There are benefits to maintaining a vegetarian diet for someone suffering from cancer, such as mesothelioma cancer. Of course some cancer patients may have special dietary needs for protein or calories. Either way, it is necessary to speak with the nutritionist to determine the best way to consume a healthier diet.

Vegan
A more extreme form of vegetarianism, strict vegans not only eliminate meat, poultry and fish from their diets, but also all by-products of animal like cheese, milk and eggs. Often this develops from religious, political or ecological views. A strict vegan generally refuses to wear wool, fur, silk, leather, cosmetics or to use soap that have any animal by-products or have been tested on animals. Although sounding difficult, maintaining a vegan diet shows a lower risk for heart disease and diabetes.

Vegetarianism
Maintaining a vegetarian diet means including plant-based foods. According to the Vegetarian Society, cancers of the prostate, breast and colon are definitely diet dependent. Continued research shows that vegetarians do not develop cancer as often and are nearly 50 percent more likely to survive cancer-related illnesses.

Lacto-Octo Vegetarian
This branch of vegetarianism indicates a primarily plant-based diet, but it also permits both dairy and egg products. The American Cancer Society posits that there are serious risks of vitamin B12, calcium, zinc, iron and vitamin D deficiencies on a strict vegan diet and including dairy and eggs can eliminate this issue. However, fat levels of these dairy products affect cholesterol and other health issues.

Possible Problems
As previously stated, strict vegans who eat absolutely no form of animal products must be careful to get enough protein, including supplements if necessary. Also at risk for deficiencies are iron, zinc, calcium and vitamins B12 and D.

Vegan women breastfeeding infants may especially want to take supplements in order to obtain a healthy amount of vitamin B12. Breast-fed infants of vegan mothers experiencing severe B12 deficiencies often have serious problems like poor brain development and a failure to thrive.

Relying strictly on a vegetarian diet and failing to obtain standard medical care for cancer will have serious health consequences; a vegetarian diet is not a cure for cancer by any means, but will definitely help.

Jillian McKee
Complementary Medicine Advocate

Bringing a wealth of personal and professional experience to the organization, Jillian McKee has worked as the Complementary Medicine Advocate at the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance since June of 2009. Jillian spends most her time on outreach efforts and spreading information about the integration of complementary and alternative medicine when used in conjunction with traditional cancer treatment.

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