Being vegan doesn't make you immortal!?

Several people have responded to my cancer diagnosis with “But you’re vegan!” as if somehow that meant I was invincible to any and all maladies. I’ve been vegan for almost four years now and if this had happened three years ago, I would have had the same response.

I consider myself someone who knows quite a bit about nutrition. More, in fact, than most doctors. I’ve been studying vegan nutrition for years and I know all the many health benefits of a vegan diet- a diet free from saturated fat, dietary cholesterol and carcinogenic animal-based proteins. I know that plant based nutrients and vitamins like Liopein, Beta-carotene, Calcium, Vitamin B12, etc. all play an important role in preventative bodily maintenance. But knowing what foods make a person healthy is not the same as consuming those foods, much to my dismay.

Pre-diagnosis, William and I ate more healthful foods than the SAD (Standard American Diet), certainly. We ate a reasonable amount of quinoa with vegetables and vegetable proteins. The problem was that we also ate a LOT of fat and refined sugar. We would make a pan of vegan mac n cheese and finish it off in one sitting. Delicious? Mos def. A cup of olive oil, vegan shredded cheese, vegan butter? You bet! This is not to say that fats are bad for you AT ALL. Especially fats from avocados and the like. But there’s a line between a healthy amount of fat and a ridiculous amount of fat and we blew ridiculous out of the water.

Upon my cancer diagnosis, we did a little dietary overhauling, but not much. Made smoothies more often. Cooked with a *little* less oil. But I keep hearing and reading about the dangers of excessive fat and refined sugar in cancer patients (and everyone)and we’re taking it to heart. Most recently, a co-worker brought in some articles about cancer. One of particular interest from Experience Life Magazine called Integrative Oncology informs at length on the need for lots of plant food intervention and how fats and sugars fuel cancers.

This information is so important, yet so surprisingly unknown. During my second visit with my oncologist, he offered me a handful of miniature Snickers and Milky Ways! And we aren’t at some cut-rate clinic- we’re at one of the top hospitals in the state for oncology. Even more surprising of his offer, my oncologist has had cancer himself! Surely he did some research into the inflammatory properties of certain foods…

I really hope that some of you (well, all of you) reading this will consider how important good nutrition is, especially my vegan friends that follow similar diets to mine. A full bag of potato chips is not a meal (thanks for trying to warn me, Chelsea), and it’s always better to eat your nutrition than supplement it.

xoxo, Ry