eatrightforyourlife

How To Get More Fruits and Vegetables Into Your Diet

28 Jul 2011 Leave a Comment

by Carol Knizek in Health And Wellness

Are you having difficulty getting the proper amount of fruits and veggies into your diet everyday?  Are you certain the foods that you eat contain the proper nutrients to sustain a healthy lifestyle?

These days we are not even getting close to the recommended servings per day.  It’s also hard to buy and eat all of those servings.  The amount that you would have to buy would be expensive, hard to eat and spoil.  Our society is becoming more and more malnourished because of processed, packaged, canned and chemical, preservative filled foods.  We have to protect our immune systems, to make them strong to fend off diseases and disorders.

I am thankful and grateful that I feel young, healthy and vibrant and so can you!  Please e-mail me at carolscorner@bellsouth.net if you would like to find out how an adult can get 17 fruits and veggies and how a child can get about 9 servings per day.

Maintain a healthy lifestyle to live a longer, more active life!

EAT RIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE,

Carol

How To Live A Cancer Free Life

30 Jun 2011 2 Comments

by Carol Knizek in Health And Wellness

Blog #7

Everyone has cancer cells in their bodies, it’s how you use your body and what you put into it!  It has a lot to do with your emotions too.  When you hold onto anger and resentment, that is a sure way to get some kind of illness, specifically cancer.  It all has to do with how strong your immune system is and if you can maintain a positive attitude.  When you have  a “Doom and Gloom” attitude, your body, mind, and soul believes that you will die from cancer.  Before I found out that I had cancer, I kept my anger and frustration in, it festered until I got chest pains.  It felt like I had no reprieve, I went on like this for years.  Cancer was my “Wake-Up Call”   Like I said in my previous blogs, I had the mindset that I was going to beat cancer and maintain a Healthy, Positive lifestyle, that’s exactly what I did and do everyday until it’s my time to leave this earth.  You can do it too!  It takes time and hard work, but your life is well worth it!  I used conventional Western medicine with alternative medicine, I believe that we can heal our bodies from the inside out.

When you have cancer or are trying to prevent cancer, you must keep your body from becoming inflamed.  Cancer cells need to produce inflammation to sustain their growth.  When inflammation occurs, they infiltrate neighboring tissues, get into the bloodstream, and starts to  grow and spread.  When you feel continusly helpless, your body produces a hormone called noradrenaline (known as the fight or flight hormone) and cortisol, the stress hormone.  These hormones prepare the body for a potential wound by stimulating inflammation to repair tissues. To fight inflammation, most people would grab an anti-inflamatory  medication, it may work to reduce the inflammation, but there are side effects from that certain drug.  The best way to fight inflammation is to:  Adopt aMediterranean diet, eat Indian  and Asian cuisines. The Asian and Indian cuisines contain the spices Turmeric, and Curry in most of their foods.  Use Olive oil, flaxseed oil, eat fatty fish, rich in omega-3, omega-3 eggs, maintain a positive attitude, with joy and peace in your life, walk 3 times per week.

These are things that cause inflammation:  Eating a diet of refined sugars and white  flour, red meat from industrially raised animals, oils rich in omega-6 (corn, sunflower, safflower oils), holding on to anger or despair, less than twenty minutes of physical activity a day, and pollution and pollutants in the home.  All this said:  Here are some very important life saving changes that you can start today!

To Protect Yourself

* Avoid Chemicals as much as you can

*Air out your dry-cleaned clothing – now they have “Green” dry cleaners that don’t use chemicals

*Avoid pesticides and insecticides

*Avoid cleaners with chemicals – you can make your own cleaners out of baking soda, white vinegar, etc.

*Look for shampoos and conditioners with natural ingredients

*Buy natural make-up, have you ever tried to read the ingredients in lipstick?  I can hardly pronounce the words, look for jojoba oils, olive oil, etc.

*Avoid  buying products with chemicals that you put on your body, and in your body

*Avoid Teflon pans, they peel and scratch and the coating goes into your food.  The best thing to use is Stainless steel pans.  I had to get used to cooking with stainless steel without burning my food.

I try to use all natural products everyday, it can be expensive at first, but the supermarkets and drug stores have started selling the natural products.  I am hoping that one day, it will be the norm to have only natural products in the stores.

Protecting Your Diet

*Eat grass-fed organic animal products:

Meat, milk, cheese, yogurt, omega 3 eggs

*Reduce your intake of sugar, white flour, trans fats

*Start eating more fruits and veggies – wash them with a product called “Veggie Wash” if it is not organic

*Drink filtered water, you can use a carbon filter

Increase Your Activity

*Get 20 to 30 minutes of physical activity per day, you can walk, ride a bike, lift weights, etc.  Even house cleaning burns calories.

Practice a method of relaxation such as Yoga, Qigong, tai chi, and whatever relaxes you.  Everyone needs time for themselves.  Even if it is only 5 minutes of quiet that’s great!

Accept Yourself

*Love yourself for who you are, love others for who they are

*Use your emotions, even if it is being happy, sad, or mad, we must get it out.  Holding onto anything is bad, I am still working on this and everyday and improving.

*Find a friend that you can talk your problems out, someone that will listen

*Laugh, laughter is good medicine, it makes you feel good.  (Watch a funny movie with someone that you love and laugh together).

Like I always say, start everything slow, go at your own pace, the more you do, the farther you will get!

EAT RIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE,

Carol

POSITIVITY

08 May 2011 Leave a Comment

by Carol Knizek in Health And Wellness

Blog #6

Human beings have a different thought every 1.2 seconds, that is amazing!  Most people don’t even realize that a lot of those thoughts are negative.  We all have self talk, a great example would be if someone complimented you on your figure and you told them, “Thanks, but I look huge today”  Years ago, I could not take a compliment, they would say something positive to me and I would say something negative back.  I had to retrain myself from automatically thinking or saying a criticizing remark.

That was one of the steps that I took to heal cancer, instead of saying, “Poor me, or Why me”  I said, “I am here to stay in a new way”  I was ready to fight a war that I knew that I was going to win.  I started to visualize myself looking and feeling healthy and full of life.  I smiled everyday, even though I was in pain, I had a deep desire to live and fight!

I re-invented myself, I dusted myself off and woke up!  When something bad happens in your life, you can’t go back and erase it.  You have to keep moving forward and don’t look back.  Stop replaying it over and over again, causing undue emotional stress.  When you keep that visious cycle going, that emotional stress turns into physical stress, then it may turn into a disease or some other illness.  We must keep our minds clear of negative “Mental Clutter”

Keeping a positive attitude is so important for human growth, it’s good for your soul!  Try to smile a couple of times a day, even though you may not want to.  By doing this, it will become a good habit and you will find yourself smiling all of the time.  All of my life my nickname was and still is “smiley”, I have smiled myself through life!  In fact, you will attract happy, positive people into your lives.  ”Like attracts Like”, did you ever notice that when you are in a bad mood, the rest of your day falls apart?  If you are constantly complaining, you bring other people down and attract more negative people into your life.  When you continue to have conflicts with other people, you actually hate something about yourself and you put that hatred and anger on other people.  That’s why it is so important o love who and what you are, when you love yourself, you can love others.  Deep down we are all fragile beings.  Some people may have a hard exterior, but on the inside they are like a delicate flower.

WAYS TO FEEL POSITIVE

*Thank God for your life

*Be Grateful, Thankful, and Gracious

*Start a Gratitude Journal

*Use positive affirmations – you can say “My body is healthy, whole and complete” or “I love life and life loves me”  I say this one almost everyday.  Say whatever makes you feel good, you can write it on a card and put it where you will see it everyday.

*Hang around other positive people, their positive vibes will rub off on you.  It’s the same if you hang around someone that eats right and exercises, in time you will want to do the same

*Do something nice for someone else

*Smile

*Think about people, pets or things that you love

When I was going through my troubles, I knew deep down in my heart that I was going to beat it.  I knew that I was transforming myself.  I remember when I had to endure very painful procedures, I would tell the nurse that, before they started, that I had to go to my “Quiet Place”  They always looked at me as if I were crazy.  I would visualize myself on a sandy white beach, the palm trees swayed in the gentle breeze.  I could almost smell the salty ocean and feel the warm sun on my face.  When I did this, I said to myself, “I feel no pain”  it actually worked!  I either felt no pain or less pain then I was expected to feel.

Our bodies are so strongly connected to our minds!  I know that some of you may think that this may sound  strange, but it worked for me.  I changed the way I thought and it saved my life!  When you have negative thoughts or affirmations, your body becomes stiff and acidic.  Also holding onto anger and self pity is terrible for you.  I used to hold grudges and hold my emotions in, I would end up with chest pains.  It has taken me years to finally realize that holding in my negative emotions was killing me.  Forgiveness will set you free, when you forgive it feels like a brick has been lifted off of your chest.  ”Let love in your life and your life will change”

When you eat a healthy diet, you are more inclined to have a positive attitude, due to the fact that you feel good most of the time.

“When your mind and body feel good, you feel good”

“I wish all of you, Love, Joy, Peace, and a Positive outlook”!

If you would like a great site to use guided Imagery, Glenda Cedarleaf has CD’s designed for people with illnesses like cancer, Lyme disease, and more.  Here are the links:

EAT RIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE,

Carol

SPICE UP YOUR LIFE

04 May 2011 1 Comment

by Carol Knizek in Health And Wellness

Blog #5

People may think that spices are only good for adding to food, but some of them do so much more.  Turmeric is one of the cancer fighters that I use on my food everyday!  It adds flavor while putting a sucker punch on cancer.

Turmeric is a common spice also known as saffron, it is in the Curry family.  It is rich in curcumin, this is what combats cancer.  It has been shown to inhibit tumors of the skin, colon, and breast.  Also, it is a powerful anti-inflammatory, making it an awesome wrinkle fighter.  *Turmeric is safe when used as a spice, but if you are taking it in supplement form, do not use when you are pregnant, have gallstones, (it stimulates the gallbladder), and ulcers.  Also, it should be used in caution by anyone taking anti-coagulant medications, with blood disorders, or for anyone recovering from or contemplating surgery. (Turmeric and garlic can slow clotting time).

I add turmeric and curry in stir fries, beans and soups, it leaves a nice flavor, but too much can leave a bitter taste.

“Never be afraid to try new spices, they can spice up your life”

Eat Right For your Life,

Carol

FOOD COMBINING

21 Apr 2011 4 Comments

by Carol Knizek in Health And Wellness

Blog #4

After you eat a meal, do you feel bloated and uncomfortable?  I used to feel like that all of the time until I found out that I was mis-combining my foods.  What happens is when you eat a protein with a carbohydrate, the carb digests quickly and the protein will digest much slower.  When you eat proteins (meat, poultry, cheese, fish, eggs, milk, nuts) they produce acid juices for their digestion.  When you have carbs like bread, pasta, cereals, flour, biscuits, etc. and starchy vegetables such as potatoes, yams and sweet corn, they digest quickly and require different enzymes to proteins.

When you eat them together, the competing enzymes and digestive juices will fight and neutralize each other.  The result is that food doesn’t get digested properly and rots inside the gut, causing gas, bloating, heartburn, stomach pains, indigestion and drained energy.  When I miscombined, I had all of these symptoms.  Now, I just have to work on the over eating!

Salads, non-starchy vegetables, roots, seeds, herbs, spices, these can be combined with the protein group or with the carb group.  Fruit should be eaten on it’s own, it digests at the fastest rate.

There should be 4 groups:

Group 1 Proteins – Cheese, Eggs, Nuts, Fish, Meat, Milk, Poultry, Shellfish, Soybeans, tofu, and Yogurt.

Group 2 – Carbohydrates – Grains, including oats, pasta, rice, rye, millet, grain products, cookies, bread, cakes, crackers and pastry, honey, maple syrup, potatoes and starchy vegetables, sugar and sweets.

Group 3 – Non-Starchy Vegetables – Salads and fresh herbs, seeds, butter, cream, spreading fats like Olive oil (cold pressed), Herbs, spices and seasonings.

Group 4 – All Fruit

FOOD COMBINING CHART

BAD

Grain with dairy or meat = Gas

Fruit with veggies = Gas

Fruit with meats = Gas

Fruit with grain or dairy = Gas

GOOD

Fruit by itself = Proper digestion

Grain with vegetables = no gas

Pasta with vegetables = no gas

Beans with vegetables = no gas

Fish or meat with vegetables = no gas

Pulses/beans and grains = no gas

*Beans have a mixture of starch and protein which may seem to be a problem, but starch is dominant in most beans with the exception of soy and navy beans.  You can combine most beans with grains as well as salads and veggies.

Fruit must always be eaten on it’s own, especially on an empty stomach.  If not on an empty stomach, then at least 30 minutes away from other food groups.  If you eat fruit after a meal, it just gets stuck behind all of the other food that takes longer to digest, so it will ferment in the gut.  Thats when you can expect the bloating, gas, and indigestion.

*Never mix melons with other fruits, they digest the fastest!

Leave 2 hours after a carbohydrate meal before eating protein.  Leave 3 hours after a protein meal before eating carbs.  Protein takes 4 hours to reach the bowel, and carbs take 2 hours from mouth to bowel.

I have been eating like this for about 5 years and it was difficult.  It takes time and practice, it is easy to slip up.  But when you do, you will feel better!

When food combining is done properly, you will:

*Help your body to burn fat more efficiently

*Ensure the maximum absorption of nutirents, enzymes and proteins

*Prevent burping, bloating, gas and indigestion

*Generally correct or prevent most issues connected with obesity

When you combine everything, you will:

*Make complete digestion impossible

*Upset digestive enzymes

*Prevent nutrient uptake

*Risk a host of ills, including bloating, heartburn, indigestion, malabsorption, constipation, cramps, irritable bowl syndrome, and gas.

When you combine the right foods together, it gives your body a chance to break down the food effectively.  When you miscombine, your body is always working hard digesting.  A great perk that comes along with good food combining is that when the body is not over worked, it allows the body to burn fat efficiently.  When your body holds on to undigested food, it gets turned into fat balls of toxins and celluite.  We all know how hard it is to get rid of  pesky celluite!

I went through it, I always wandered why I had stomach pain, heart burn, and bloating after eating.  After I stopped mis-combining the pain went away.

Some information has been taken from the book “You Are What You Eat” By, Dr. Gillian McKeith

“Life is too short to waste it eating junk, feed it right and your body will treat you right”

EAT RIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE,

Carol

SAVE YOUR LIFE EAT RIGHT!

10 Apr 2011 2 Comments

by Carol Knizek in Health And Wellness

Blog #3

Chemo ravishes your body, it kills your good and bad cells.  It is so vital that you protect your immune system with a very clean diet.  You have to protect yourself from the inside out.  We have an internal healing system in our bodies, it is our immune system.  Your body knows how to heal itself, if you give it what it needs to flourish.  A strong immune system is a force to reckon with!

We all have cancer cells in our bodies, that is why a strong immune system is essential.  I changed my bad emotional and physical habits and evolved into a new healthy person.  Your diet is the first place to start, your diet can help spread cancer, slow it down or even reverse it.  That’s when I made a choice to become a partial vegetarian, to tell you the truth, I was not excited by the idea at first.  I loved all of my beloved junk food, got excited by the thought of ice cream and cake.  I had to start slow to rid myself of the sugar addiction.  Week by week, I gave up processed, sugar infested junk.  My poor family had to deal with the “Rath of Carol” I was moody and yelled at who ever was in my path.  Finally, I weaned myself from the grips of sugar and felt great.  *When you are detoxing your body of sugar, you may get side effects like:  Headaches, dizziness, break out in rashes, and even get pimples.  When your body gets a break from junk, it pumps out the toxins through your skin*.

FOODS THAT CAN PROTECT YOUR BODY FROM CANCER

VEGETABLES – They are rich in antioxidants and anti-cancer nutrients, have a preferred lower glycemic index, and are rich in cleansing fiber.  Best categories of vegetables are:

Look for a rainbow of colors: Beets, spinach, carrots, tomatoes, squash and more.  The deeper the color the more phytochemicals.

The Cruciferous Family - Cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower.  These are the vegetables that will detox and give cancer a run for its money.  Broccoli and cabbage are my favorite of the bunch, but I do try to eat all of them several times per week.

Allium Family – Onions and garlic contain bioflavonoids, like quercetin, that can actually revert a cancer cell back to a healthy cell.  This is so exciting, all it takes is to just cook with these everyday and you will have a strong arsenal of protection.

Cold Water Fish – Salmon, haddock, halibut, bass, cod, mackerel, sardine, and tuna are loaded with anti-cancer fats, which slow down the spreading of cancer, stimulate immune functions, and contain trace minerals from the sea.  Due to mercury content, avoid tilefish, swordfish, king, mackerel, shark, red snapper, and orange roughy.  I eat right for my blood type and some of these fish are not on my diet.  I do eat salmon, cod, tuna and tilapia.

Legumes – Soybeans, garbanzo, kidney beans, pinto beans, and many others.  I love beans, you can use them in so many meals, cold or hot.  They provide you with needed fiber that cleans waste out of your body.

Whole Grains – Oats, rice, millet, amaranth, buckwheat, barley, corn, rye, and wheat all contain components that can help stem the cancer deterioration.  Todays wheat may not have a healthier gluten content.  I have given up wheat and white flour because it is congesting to me and the white flour is not good for you.  When you eat white flour, it turns into a paste inside your stomach.  When I think of it that way, it makes me avoid it!

Sea Vegetables - Like kelp, including dulse, nori, wakame, and other varieties is rich in anti-microbial agents that keep pathogens from invading our guts.  Kelp has a special soluble fiber that carries harmful fats, pro-oxidants, hormone residues, and other toxins out of the gut.  I am not going to lie, it is an acquired taste.  My family and I eat Miso soup which contains different kinds of seaweed and we also enjoy seeweed salad.

Berries – Raspberries, blueberries, boysenberries, strawberries, dark cherries, and blackberries lay a powerful anti-cancer agent, ellagic acid, which causes cancer cells to self destruct.  Now, how Awesome is that?   A couple times per week, I will make a mixed berry smoothie with ground flaxseed.  This is a powerful drink that not only kills cancer cells but will give your body a speedy  delivery of nutrients.

Yogurt – Gives you a dose of healthy bacteria which your body needs, especially when you are taking anti-biotics.  *Do not take an anti-biotic the same time as the yogurt because the yogurt will cancel out the medicine.  Wait 2 to 3 hours.  Yogurt can fortify the body’s defenses against infections and cancer.  *Please check the sugar content and lean towards a healthier yogurt without the artificial colors and additives.

Green and White Tea – Are loaded with antioxidant, they help normalize pre-cancerous cells.

Seasonings – Mustard, curry, hot peppers, salsa, cinnamon, garlic, onions, ginger, sage, rosemary, and thyme.  These seasonings add delicious flavors and therapeutic anti-cancer and immune stimulating ingredients.  I have been cooking with curry, turmeric and sea salt for a couple of years.  I even sprinkle Turmeric and garlic on my dogs food, they are great for inflammation.  My 11 year old lab Peanut still jumps and runs like he is a young puppy!  *One thing that I have learned is, do not use too much Turmeric, it will leave a bitter after taste.

Clean Water – It is so important to drink water to cleanse your body and help push out waste!  Too many people these days are deficient in water, one way to tell if someone is dehydrated is to look at their skin.  If it looks dry and wrinkly that person is dehydrated, your skin needs to be hydrated.  Believe me, I am not a big water drinker, I have to remind myself to drink.  If I don’t drink enough, I feel dizzy and out of sorts.  *Watch out if you drink out of water bottles, the plastic leaches into the water, so never freeze your water bottle or leave it in a hot car.  I still drink out of water bottles when I am in a rush, I have to plan ahead and fill my stainless steel water bottle.  Also, try to stay away from aluminum water bottles, the aluminum also will leach into your drinking water.

Some of the above information has been taken from the book “Beating Cancer With Nutrition” By Patrick Quillin with Noreen Quillin  This was one of the first books that I purchased when I was battling cancer.  If you only get one book, this should be the one!  It is over flowing with life saving information and healthy recipes.

One of the most important changes that I did on my journey was to incorporate Juice Plus into my life and my families lives.  A former church member told me about Juice Plus and I sprang into action and started taking it.  Juice Plus is a whole food supplement, it is not a juice.  They juice the fruits and veggies and reduce them down to a powder and then put into capsule form.  An adult will get 17 fruits,vegetables, and grains per day.   They come in capsules, gummy form and chewables.  It does not matter if you already eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, the more the merrier!  It would be hard and expensive to eat and buy 17 fruits and vegetables per day.   You can go to www.juiceplus.com/+ck97595 to get more information, click on About listed on the top left of my blog, then click on the decorative box to the left of eatrightforyourlife, then click on the whole food supplement link.  My family and I have been taking Juice Plus for about 8 years and we all feel great!  When I was going through my treatments, I did not look like a typical cancer patient, the nurses and doctors told me that I still had color on my face and life in my eyes.  Juice Plus was a God send to me and my family and the person that introduced me to it!

Remember to start slow, a little change is better than no change at all! Also, when you start eating new vegetables and fruits you may need to take an enzyme to break down your food.  Beano is also a good food enzyme, especially when you are eating beans.  We need to give our precious liver a break.  The liver is essential for the proper digestion and absorption of vitamins and minerals.  If you want to lead a healthy life, your liver must be in tip top condition.  Even if you overeat with healthy food you can cause acid in your body and your liver will be over worked.

To Detox or Not to Detox - Detoxing your body is very important, it cleans out all of the junk and waste in your body.  It actually gives you a chance to start over again, but you have to maintain a clean diet.  We have to clean out the old to let the new in.  We must heal ourselves from the inside out.  The nice perks that come with detoxing is:  You can loose weight, you will gain more energy, you will feel great.  *When you detox, your body may go through some changes, if you have a really poor diet, you will feel sick.  Don’t give up, this is your body working hard to get rid of all of the crap, I am speaking literally.  You may break out, get rashes, feel sluggish.  Then after your cleanse, your body will reward you with a lighter, healthier, more energetic body.  Your skin, hair and nails will look better and you will feel younger.  I will be 45 at the end of this month and I still feel like I am 25 years old!  I love life and so can you!

There are many different ways to detox your body - You can buy an herbal kit and take the pills for about a week or so.  This is the kind that I use – pill form.  I personally do not fast, it is a good idea to give your body a break from food.  During a fast, you would just drink liquids all day, like soup broths, veggie drinks, etc.  Another way is by dry brushing – you can purchase a Yerba Skin brush, this is a brush specifically used to brush your skin.  Please do not use any other kind of brush or use it on wet skin, you can tear your skin.  You must be very gentle when brushing your skin, you start at the bottom of your feet and always brush towards the heart.  By dry brushing it releases the toxins through your lymph nodes, it actually makes them work faster.  You can buy a book about dry brushing, or just google “Dry Brushing”  to get the proper instructions.  I use a Yerba skin brush and I have learned the hard way to be gentle and not rush. If you brush your skin too hard it will leave brown spots in softer areas on your skin, like on your arms.  Never brush your breasts, face, neck or genitals.

I hope that this has helped anyone that is battling cancer or someone that is struggling to eat a healthier diet.  As always, I wish you all the best of health, happiness and joy!

EAT RIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE,

Carol

HOW I CHANGED MY LIFE

26 Mar 2011 2 Comments

by Carol Knizek in Health And Wellness

My name is Carol Joy Knizek, I am 45  years old and I have reversed my second cancer with a very clean diet, a positive attitude, exercise and the will to live.

I am going to blog once per week about my journey to help those of you who have or have had cancer to change your life for the better.  I have been there, now I am here to help you!  It was very confusing to me before I perfected my anti-cancer way of life.

It all started when I was seven months pregnant with my second son.  I noticed a small, movable lump on my right breast.  I chalked  it up to me being very cystic.  As I approached my eighth month, the lump poked out through my skin and felt like a hard marble.  It seemed to root itself down.  I began having pain and numbness that shot down my right arm.  As my pregnancy progressed so did the lump.  I was very concerned for my baby and myself, I called my doctor and she told me that I would have to get a mammogram after my baby was born.

On January 4, 2004 my beautiful baby boy was born through a C-Section he was a spunky little fire ball that warmed my heart.  I was so thankful and grateful that he was healthy!  I pushed that dreaded lump in the back of my mind.  Deep down in my heart, I knew that it was breast cancer.  I couldn’t say the word, the thought of it made me sick to my stomach.  I did not want to put additional stress on my family at that time.  Instead, I focused on my baby and the healing of my C-Section.  I stupidly waited eight months, I could not pretend that the lump was not there.  I got a mammogram and had a biopsy done.  The tumor was removed and I was sent home to heal.  My follow up appointment came fast, as I sat in my general surgeons office wondering what was going to become of me.  Was it going to be cancer?  Was my life going to change for the better or for the worse?  Crazy thoughts buzzed through my mind.  My doctor came in with a stack of papers in his hands and he did not look happy.  He sat down beside me and looked into my eyes and told me that I had a stage 3 breast cancer.  After I heard the word cancer, I saw his mouth moving but did not hear another sound.  I looked at my husband holding my eight month old son, and thought about my 5 year old in pre-K.  What were they going to do if I died?  How was I going to tell a 5 year old that I had cancer?  Everything was going in slow motion, my husband sat there motionless with shock written all over his face.

My doctor told me that there were a lot of options and treatments for my kind of cancer, it was more of a common one.  He also told me that I had a better chance of getting killed by a chicken truck.  That did lighten the mood and I was thankful for it.  I left his office wondering what I was going to do.  I ended up getting a Mastectomy with a reconstruction.  This was a year long process, but I kept strong and smiled my way through everything.  I endured 4 rounds of aggressive chemo therapy that left me sick, weak and bald.  Not even 14 months later, I noticed another lump on my right side again.  This time is was more towards my arm pit.  I did not waste anytime, I got the tumor removed and was told that it was cancer again.  My doctors urged me to do chemo again, I refused and opted to heal myself naturally.  I used a very clean diet, a positive attitude and the will to live.  I went out there and read everything pertaining to healing and preventing cancer.  I was on a mission to save my life!  I wanted to see my boys grow up, I wanted to see my grand children grow up!  I felt empowered and was ready for action.  My doctors were not happy with me, but deep down I knew that more doses of chemo would kill me.  I got monthly tumor marker blood tests done.  As it turned out, I was cancer free, I had reversed my cancer with my new found  knowledge, my doctors, and my naturopath, and my never give up attitude!

I lead a partial vegetarian life, I have given up all meat except, fish and turkey.  I have also given up dairy, sugar,  and all bread.  I also eat right for my blood type.  I am not going to lie, it was hard as hell for me to give up the stuff that I loved.  But the love of my family outweighed the love of food.  I often say to myself, “It is only food”  I ended up learning how to cook healthier meals, to try things that I never tasted before.  It got exciting to me, now I taste the true flavors in food, it’s not masked by junk.  I am now a forever label reader, if you cannot pronounce the word and it has a long shelf life, avoid it like the plague.

I feel that it is my calling to reach out to help others change their  lives.  I have been there and know what you are going through.  I have evolved into a new person, my heart, soul, mind and body are changed forever.

Currently, I am looking for a way to enroll in an on-line natural college to become a certified Holistic Nutritional Consultant.  In all, I have had 7 surgeries and cancer twice, life can get rough sometimes, but there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.

EAT RIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE,

Carol

Please check out my second blog “SUGAR AIN’T SWEET”  Also, I refused chemo because it was my own personal choice.  I am not telling people to go out and do what I did, it all depends on what kind of cancer it is and how aggressive it is.

SUGAR AIN’T SWEET

24 Mar 2011 1 Comment

by Carol Knizek in Health And Wellness

BLOG #2

This will be the first of many more blogs to come on how I reversed my own cancer.  If you would like, you can check out my first blog about my story.

Sugar is very addictive, it is like a drug, the more you eat, the more you want.  I was a junk food junkie, I craved cookies, cakes, ice cream, and white bread.  The more the merrier, I went along like this for many years.  At that time, I was an avid “Gym Goer” I told myself, “oh I can have that huge piece of cheese cake because I will just work it off.”  My sugar intake caught up to me, leaving me bloated, tired and sick.  Eventually, it turned out to be breast cancer.  I don’t know how I got the cancer, but my horrible eating habits did not help.

When you are trying to prevent cancer, the number one thing to give up is sugar.  It actually feeds the cancer, it makes your body acidic and cancer loves to live and breed in this kind of environment.  Sugar will speed up the growth of tumors, that is what happened to me.

The key thing to do is to become a “Label Reader” sugar can hide in so many foods.  If sugar is the first ingredient, don’t even bother with it.  Also, watch out for foods that get converted over to sugar like white rice, white bread and white potatoes.

Sugar in it’s natural form comes from sugar cane, then it gets stripped of it’s color by bleaching it and then you loose all of the vitamins and minerals.   Sugar is just a bunch of empty calories!

We all have cancer cells in our bodies, these cells start to mutate when we  over load our systems with sugar.  Then our immune system becomes weakened and then you fall prey to cancer.  Sugar screws up your white blood cells causing a weakened immune system.  Then that leads to catching all sorts of illness and infections.  We need to keep our white blood cells strong to fight off germs and illnesses.  When you consume sugar it destroys the ability of white blood cells to kill germs for up to 5 hours after eating it.  It is a good idea to choose foods with five grams of sugar per serving or less.  The body does not  register anything  five grams and under.  Sugar drains calcium, which makes you age faster.  It also overloads your body with acid responsible for arthritis.  A hight sugar diet makes arthritis and fibromyaligia pain worse.  There are more and more children getting ADD, this is due to a high sugar diet.  When you remove or lessen your sugar intake, and replace it with a whole food diet, you will have less cravings for it.  Right after dinner, I was the one searching for something sweet in the pantry.  Now, I grab a fruit or don’t have any dessert at all, it is doable.  Sugar is a hard thing to stop, especially if you have been over doing it for many years.  But, when you do give it up, a new world will open up for you.  You will be blessed with more energy, better skin and will loose weight.  Start slow, if you are really craving it, take a small bite and get rid of it.  Better yet, clear your cabinets out and replace everything with fruits, veggies and nuts.  Keep yourself full of nutritious food so you won’t binge on junk, eat every 2 to 3 hours to rev up your metabolism.

SUBSTITUTES FOR SUGAR

STEVIA –  It has been used in South America for over 1500 years.  It does not contain any calories and is 25 times sweeter than sugar.  It comes from a plant and is in powder and liquid form.

SUCANAT – It is made from granulated cane juice.  It is not stripped of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and molasses.  *It is still a concentrated sweetener, use it carefully if you have sugar balance problems.

XYLITOL - A sweetner derived from plums, birch wood chips, strawberries and corn which is safe for diabetics and hypoglycemics.  It is also know for fighting infections, tooth decay and sinusitis, (in nasal spray)  *It can cause diarrhea in some people, use it sparingly until you get used to it.

WATCH OUT FOR THESE MAN MADE SWEETENERS

ASPARTAME (NUTRA SWEET AND EQUAL) – It is 200 times sweeter than sugar.  It is linked to blood sugar problems, high blood pressure, insomnia, hypoglycemia, diabetes, ovarian cancer and brain tumors.  Aspartame is also associated with brain damage in fetuses.  Some side affects are:  Severe headaches, extreme dizziness, attention difficulties, memory loss, slurred speech, throat swelling, allergic effects and retina deterioration.  Dangerous side effects are worse when Nutra Sweet is used hot or cooked, as in pre-pared foods.  These effects are reversible when Nutra Sweet consumption is stopped.  Over time, methanol toxicity from aspartame can mimic the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis and lupus, both diseases common for diet soda drinkers.  Many causes of MS and lupus are actually misdiagnosed.  Sometimes just eliminating aspartame can cause complete remission of symptoms.  Also Aspartame contains 10% Methanol which can cause oxygen deprivation.  At high altitudes, this effect is magnified causing sudden memory loss, visual problems and epileptic  seizures.  Grand Mal seizures are another side affect of Aspartame, especially serious for pilots or people flying.

ACESULFAME K, ACESUFLAME POTASSIUM - Is 200 times sweeter than sugar and boots the sweetening effect of other sweeteners.  Animal tests show it aggrivates reactive hypoglycemia, produces lung tumors, breast tumors, thymus tumors, some forms of leukemia and respiratory disease even when less than maximum doses were given.

SURALOSE, CHLORINATED SURCROSE (SPLENDA) - It is 400 to 800 times sweeter than sugar.  Research from the Japanese Food Sanitation Council reveals that up to 40% of this sweetening chemical is absorbed and may concentrate in the liver, kidneys and gastrointential tract.  FDA studies say that it is not carcinogenic and did not cause significant genetic change, birth defects and brain or nerve damage.  Some experts feel the original data was flawed and that sucralose may pose hazards to human health and to the environment.  In animal testing sucralose is linked to 40% shrinkage of the thymus gland, atrophy of the lympth follicles in the spleen and thymus, enlarged liver and kidneys, decreased red blood cell count, aborted pregnancy and diarrhea.

AGAVE NECTAR - High fructose sweetener it’s 90% solids, a percentage much greater than traditional high fructose corn syrup.  This amount of fructose  may aggravate a copper deficiency linked to serious coronary problems.  Agave may cause disintegration of red blood cells, irritate the skin and the lining of the gastrointestinal tract, depress the central nervous system, and immune response, and may cause miscarriage.

The key thing to do is do everything in moderation, keep your sugar levels low and eat a clean diet.  This is how I changed my life.

Eat Right For Your Life,

Carol

Here are a couple of cancers that you may have a risk of getting if you over due sugar:  Breast Cancer, Pancreatic cancer, stomach cancer, and colon cancer.

Some of the information has come from the book Healthy Healing, by Linda Paige