You Are What You Eat

Well, it's certainly been an interesting few days. My husband (hereafter known as Mac, on account of his Scottish roots) has had a cancer scare. This is clearly something that should only happen to other people, so it was a horrible shock to hear the word mentioned in the context of our own lives.

We are very fortunate though, as the suspected lymph cancer seems to have been ruled out so far. The latest theory is that he has some kind of kidney disorder, which may require surgery. The next step is to see a kidney specialist (that's a nephrologist for word-of-the-day fans), who will hopefully make a definite diagnosis.

In the meantime, doctor's orders are to ensure that sure he eats extremely healthily to give his body the best chance of fighting back.

Now, I thought that we were already pretty healthy. I'm vegetarian and I do make an effort to have a good diet, although I'm not obsessive about it. I tend to think that a little chocolate, pizza, alcohol and so on can't do any harm in moderation, and since I've never had any weight problems, there's been no impetus to change.

Never one to do things by halves though, I consulted this book by the formidable Gillian McKeith for some serious advice.

What an eye opener! Whilst I don't think that any sane person could follow this kind of diet to the letter, it has certainly made me think about making some permanent changes in our diets.

This week we've breakfasted on fruit and berry smoothies, snacked on a variety of nuts & seeds (the non roasted and salted kind), and generally chomped our way through plenty of organic vegetables, wholegrain bread, pasta and rice. In just a few days I lost a couple of pounds without even meaning to, so I decided to supplement the regime with some alcohol and chocolate (purely for their anti-oxidant properties, you understand).

Incidentally, the doctor also advised that as a vegetarian I should read up about vitamin B12, as supplements may be required to avoid long term damage to the nervous system. Also, everybody should consider their intake of the mineral selenium, since we are quite likely to be deficient, and this has been linked with an increased risk of cancer. Apparently just one brazil nut a day should sort you out.

Anyway, the health clinic is now closing for the day. Now, where did I put that Creme Egg...