“…important to recognize the cumulative burden of the disease and treatment-related toxicity in both the stable and active phases of myeloma..”
Hi David- I’m writing to you about your Multiple Myeloma Diet. We haven’t spoken for awhile but I’m still standing 😊. My condition has remained status quo/stable which I guess is a good thing, but frankly I would have liked it to be not just the same but better. I guess that’s asking too much.
All that I do for my well being is natural non- conventional therapies. I focus on nutrition, supplementation and lifestyle therapies.
My question is an onc had said that
- eggplants,
- tomatoes,
- white potatoes,
- goji berries,
- cashews (even organic and unsalted)
were all inflammatory and I should not eat them. There are many foods that are inflammatory I certainly didn’t think these were. Can you tell me your take on this. I personally disagree with her. Hope your doing well yourself
My Best- Lew
Hi Lew-
Great to read that you are still standing :-). I will excerpt your email and reply accordingly.
1) “My condition has remained status quo which I guess is a good thing, but frankly I would have liked it to be not just the same but better. I guess that’s asking too much.”
While it is not asking too much to improve as a MM survivor, it is difficult. The status quo aka stability for two years is actually pretty good.
2) “All that I do for my well being is natural no conventional medicine”
Keep in mind that maintaining your status quo with non-toxic therapies and multiple myeloma diet have the hidden effect of healing as well as “pre-habilitating” you. I will link an article about pre-habilitation below but in-short, you are getting in shape for toxic therapies should you need them.
3) “My question is an onc had said that
- eggplants,
- tomatoes,
- white potatoes,
- goji berries,
- cashews (even organic and unsalted)
were all inflammatory and I should not include them in my myeloma diet. There are many foods that are inflammatory I certainly didn’t think these were. Can you tell me your take on this. I personally disagree with her.”
According to several of the articles linked below, not only are eggplants, tomatoes, white potatoes, goji berries, cashews not inflammatory but most if not all are remarkably nutritious and possibly ANTI-inflammatory. I include all veggies in my multiple myeloma diet.
I don’t know your oncologist much less her experience. Where my nutrition aka multiple myeloma diet is concerned, In my diet:
- I eat fruits and veggies- full stop.
- I eat a little animal protein but animal FAT is a no-no.
- I try to eat as little sugar/glucose as I can.
- I drink a few glasses of wine each week but I don’t drink alcohol otherwise.
My point is that I stick with generalities when it comes to nutrition. Further, my past experience is that conventional oncologists know little about non-conventional therapies such as nutrition.
4) “Hope your doing well yourself”
I am. Thank you very much for asking.
Take it easy, let me know if you have any other questions.
David Emerson
- MM Survivor
- MM Cancer Coach
- Director PeopleBeatingCancer
Recommended Reading:
“Fruits and vegetables from the nightshade family are staple foods for many people. Nightshades are nutritious, healthful foods and the idea that they cause inflammation is not supported by evidence…
Common nightshade vegetables that we eat include:
- white potatoes
- tomatoes
- eggplant
Nutritious nightshades include the following:
- Eggplant
- Eggplant is an ingredient used in many diets, including the Mediterranean diet and is stocked in most grocery stores.
- Eggplant is a good source of fiber, potassium, and vitamin B-1, B-6, and K.
- Tomatoes-Tomatoes are an excellent source of vitamins and minerals, including biotin, potassium, iron, and zinc. They also contain the antioxidant lycopene, which may improve inflammation.
- Potatoes
Purple, white, and yellow potatoes all offer nutritional value that includes fiber, vitamin C and vitamin B-6.
“Background: Anacardium occidentale L. is a tropical plant used for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. The goal of the present work was to investigate the anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant potential of oral administration of cashew nuts (from Anacardium occidentale L.) in a mouse model of colitis…
Conclusions: The results suggested that oral assumption of cashew nuts may be beneficial for the management of colitis.”
“Goji berries are high antioxidant potential fruits which alleviate oxidative stress to confer many health protective benefits such as preventing free radicals from damaging DNA, lipids, and proteins…”
“Summary- A growing population of long-term survivors of myeloma is now accumulating the ‘late effects’ not only of myeloma itself, but also of several lines of treatment given throughout the course of the disease. It is thus important to recognise the cumulative burden of the disease and treatment-related toxicity in both the stable and active phases of myeloma, some of which is unlikely to be detected by routine monitor- ing.
We summarise here the evidence for the key late effects in long-term survivors of myeloma, including physical and psychosocial consequences (in Parts 1 and 2 respectively), and recommend the use of late-effects screening protocols in detection and intervention. The early recognition of late effects and effective management strategies should lead to an improvement in the management of myeloma patients, although evidence in this area is currently limited and fur- ther research is warranted..”
