How Would Illness Change Your Diet?

If diagnosed with cancer i would do strict vegan for sure. I consider myself flexivegan at the moment. I would also drastically increase my bikram yoga sessions. Good for your family member!!! Wish my FIL did that (he had prostate cancer and I think has adult onset diabetes)

I completely changed my diet last year after being diagnosed with Melanoma. Luckily I didn’t have to go through any chemo or radiation but after having this serious health scare I stopped eating meat, seriously reduced my dairy consumption and buy as much organic as possible. My healthy eating habits are a work in progress and I hope to be even healthier this year!

I think I eat fairly healthy now, but it’s not surprising at all to me that people will start eating healthier with a diagnosis like that. I would probably eat even healthier at that point, probably going fully to vegan and cutting down on sugars.

I got a little more accomplished this morning before heading off to work (yay!), but I’m still struggling with the night time schedule. We’ll see how that goes!

P.S. That’s wonderful news about your family member, what a relief!

I have a chronic illness called Cystic Fibrosis which impairs my ability to absorb nutrients due to enzyme deficiency. The diet recommended diet for CF is high fat, high calorie. My dieticians have encouraged me all my life to consume calories in he form of icecream, McDonalds (seriously)and other such things which made me even more ill and worsened my digestion! A cleaner diet, with lots of OSG tips and daily green monsters has been a major turn around. My doctors can’t stop commenting on my health and glow. In the end it is a gift. Without sickness, I wouldn’t have been able to put such value on my health.

I am SO GLAD he is ok. I have been thinking about him a lot!

That bar looks great… I cannot wait to order bars from you in a few weeks ;)

Well Done on the Gluten-Free Bar! I guess it’s as they say “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again”.

such fantastic news, Oh Glowy One.

A friend was recently diag.with stage 3 ovarian cancer and we are working together to revamp her diet like there’s no tomorrow.
Im praying, if we do this, there may be one for her.

Such great news! I’m so happy for you! Cancer seems to occur in every family I know. :(
Glad this had a good outcome though!

If I was diagnosed with an illness I might be a little less strict with my diet, I don’t like eating things which, in some way, might not benefit me. For example, I rather eat a high calorie nut & fruit snack than a low calorie, sugar/salt filled bag of chips.
But I would totally up the amount of fish and seafood as I am still debating if I should let fish in my diet, I know it’s very good for you but I kind of feel like cheating if I ate it (I’m vege!).

Hoooray for the good news!

I can’t wait to try the g-free glo bar! I am curious what steps you are taking to avoid cross contamination. My home is completely gluten free now but in the beginning, I had a lot of trouble with baking/pans/utensils.

I have completely changed my diet for my health. I feel so much better for it and can only think that I am doing good things for my future health as well. It took me a long time to realize that the food we put into our bodies directly impacts how we feel and our long term health.

What a creative use of your juicing leftovers!

I’m so happy your friend is doing well. Sometimes it takes a real scare to overhaul one’s diet and to embrace health.

I can’t wait to try a gluten-free Glo bar… I am looking to find good gluten-free replacements for every food I’ve had to give up since discovering my gluten intolerance.

I’m glad to hear that things are looking better for that family member of yours and I”m very glad to hear he has changed his diet. If I was sick then I think my diet might get cleaner, and I’d force even more green juice into my belly!

Hmmm…if that bar is ‘da bomb’ you should name it the Bombastic Bar. It looks delicious, can’t wait to hear more about it.

SO SO SO happy to hear the good news about your family member, Angela! That’s amazing :D

My diet is pretty clean as it is, but I would probably decrease my sugar intake and my alcohol intake.

So glad to hear that your family member is improving. I do believe making changes in your diet can have a very positive impact. I was diagnosed with IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) when I was 18 years old. I suffered severe abdominal cramps and other “symptoms” usually within 30 minutes of eating throughout my life (I’m now 38). About 3 years ago, I gave up eating red meat and one day noticed that I no longer had the IBS attacks. I try to follow a vegetarian diet several days a week and will have chicken breast, fish and turkey on some occasions. Of course, my favorite breakfast items is a Green Monster Smoothie!!

I totally think that what you eat has an affect on how you feel and how you fight illness. The way I see it, the better you eat while sick, the better you’re going to feel inside and out which ultimately helps you fight your illness!

That is so great that he changed his diet. Has he heard of the Gerson Institute? That is what I would do if I got cancer. It is all about eating right-pretty much vegan- and juicing and a few other things. There is a great documentary on netflix about it.

Ellen will be on Idol starting Feb 9. And she’ll be the only reason I’ll ever watch, I’m so looking forward to her and Simon together!

Oh YUM, there is nothing better than a great chickpea salad! Looks delicious!

how is drinking juice better for you than eating the food straight-up? if you eat every component of the food anyway, why break it up into juice and pulp? Is the body better at digesting the juice?

Dirty trick Angela!

Continually creating more yummy glo bars that I MUST order!?!

geez.

;)

Thanks for addressing this topic! When I was diagnosed with late stage Lyme Disease I had to make an immediate switch to an immune boosting diet, which meant no more sugar or synthetic sweeteners, no more dairy (I now eat goat dairy products which don’t hurt the immune system and also yogurt and cultured dairy for the probiotics), no more refined wheat (substituting complex grains and sprouted/living bread instead), lots of healthy fats from olive oil and nuts, and no more alcohol and caffeine at all. At first I thought it seemed so hard, but now I wouldn’t have it any other way! Nearly every system in my body was out of balance, so my body needed tons of vitamins, nutrients, and enzymes from as many living foods as possible which meant I eat a ton of veggies every day. I’ve fallen in love with nutrition just seeing what it can do for health!

I used to only eat lean protein like chicken and fish since I’m allergic to soy protein, but now I’ve added hormone free and abx free meat into my diet. And I just cut out meat like pork and shellfish that carry high levels of toxins in the flesh. That was hard since I loved shrimp and lobster. Recently I had to add more healthy meat into my diet. For some reason it was something my body needed. I do love, love, love vegetarian cookbooks and raw food recipes though since they’re packed so full of living nutrients.

And even though I don’t have celiac disease, I do follow a really low gluten diet, so I’m super excited about the Gluten Free Glo Bar! (Of course I couldn’t help but enjoy one now and then before it was gluten free too) :)

Very excited about the report.
Its funny – my Mom and I talk a lot about this. I get jokes because I don’t eat all the sugary things at breakfasts we have in the office. If I was a diabetic they wouldn’t laugh at me, or if I had celiac disease, but just because I am trying to limit my calorie intake of no nutrition foods (junk food) they poke fun.

That salad looks awesome! I put chickpeas in my salads all the time. PS: I also have that set of plates, bowls, and mug(the one you were using).

Glad he’s okay! I have no idea WHAT would change if I were diagnosed with a serious illness, but I’m sure there would be a lot in my life that I would make an effort to change.

Angela – love this post, first off because of the gluten-free glo bar in the works and also because you talk about illness & diet. I have two autoimmune diseases (lupus and polmyositis), and my diet has changed tremendously from hen I got diagnosed. I went from fast food, sugar, sugar, and even more sugar (!) to healthier things like lots of veggies, no red meat, and I try to avoid gluten because it supposedly exacterbates muscle diseases. looking forward to those gluten free glo bars!

I’m glad to hear your family member was ok. An illness would change my diet tremendously in every way. I turn vegetarian everytime I get a common head cold.

I am so happy for you and your family. Cancer is very scary and will make you look at life differently. YEAH :)

Hi this is my first time in your blog. I just found out this while searching online. Well I believe that my diet would change if I were diagnosed with an illness. Only the foods that are good for me will be taken consideration. =) I hope everything’s fine now with your family. By the way, you might want to visit Happy Tiffin to see some of the stainless steel tiffins there. They are eco-friendly and safe. Its good for our health.

An illness *did* change my diet. And I swear that that’s what has allowed me to recover and remain healthy for as long as I have.

When I was 17 I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. I ate like a PIG (tons of junk) but lost weight rapidly due to my thyroid. I got down to 89 pounds, and looked/felt absolutely disgusting. I realized that I *needed* to gain weight, but I didn’t want to do so by eating pizza and cookies all day long. I start incorporating healthy nuts, avocados, etc. and slowly but surely I got back to my normal weight.

Fast forward 6 months, and my disorder became hyPOthyroidism (it’s very common for it to go from one to the other). And with that, I easily *gained* weight. Let me just say that these weight fluctuations really STINKED as a teenager! So once again I had to tweak my diet and add a ton of exercise in to lose the weight. Thankfully I did it in a healthy way, and everything I learned about nutrition and fitness has stuck with me. I’m even more passionate about it than ever :)

So, I can’t say for sure if my new lifestyle has “cured” my thyroid, but my levels have been normal for 5 years! Coincidence, maybe. I like to think not :)

My diet has changed as a result of an illness.

After spending over 2 years seeing over 20 specialists and several GPs all over the US (and even abroad!), the only conclusion they all came to was: “Wow, how interesting… There’s clearly something going on here but I don’t know how to help you. Sorry!”. Some even asked me to let them know if I ever found out what was going on and how to fix it…

Needless to say, I kind of lost a little faith in western medicine after that and started searching for answers in other areas. That journey has completely transformed my life. It started by changing my diet, but I soon found everything else in my life changed. I’ve changed career paths, mental outlook on life, and have just added so much to my life (yoga, meditation, journaling, green juice!!, and so much more).

I’m now a big supporter of integrative medicine and using nutrition to support and heal. So I’m overjoyed when I read about people who have had a similar “wake up call” that got them to change their diets and help themselves. It’s a beautiful thing!

“How would illness change your diet?”
This question is so near and dear to my heart right now. This summer my dad had a heart attack that we consider the “best possible worst thing” to have happened. As a result of his heart attack an aneurysm was bypassed and because of one Dr. (none of the other cardio doctors he saw even mentioned this, but one did and he ran with it), my dad has switched to a vegan diet. Mr. Meat and Potatoes switched to a vegan, no nuts, low oil diet. My mom has joined him on the vegan diet (easier for her – we’re more vegetable happy people). It’s amazing to see the change this has made in his health, his recovery time, etc. The most important thing I witnessed was that he made that decision for himself, he wasn’t coaxed into it, and now he’s continually educating himself about it and what choices he can and should be making. Is there scientific evidence enough for everyone to do this? Maybe not – but for him the limited studies that Dr. Esselstyn has done showing that this can add 15 years for a heart patient are worth it. Because once you’re a heart patient you are always a heart patient.

I’ve also made changes in my diet and lifestyle to help treat migraines, not nearly the dramatic changes my father has made – but it’s worth it, it’s worth it to listen to what your body needs and to support it. To care for it as you would care for a loved one. On that note – give your body a hug if you haven’t already today, it does so much for you, support it and help it continue to support you!

Also – I’m another person excited about the GF bar coming out :-)

Hi, I just found your site, looks like wonderful recipes! I have been a vegetarian for over 20 years, albeit not a healthy eating one, but needless to say a vegetarian. Last year I was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer, 6 out of every million, mostly males over 65 but, I’m female and 47..go figure. The doctors having me in a holding pattern watching my blood values before starting treatment. Since then I’ve been on a rollercoaster of eating habits (my old ways vs juicing and actually trying to eat more nutritious organic, gluten free vegetarians meals!) It is really hard to do! I really feel my health depends on it though. Soo happy I found your site…making my grocery list now, can’t wait to try your pumpkin recipes!!!!