100 Perks of Having Cancer: Plus 100 Health Tips for Surviving It (16 page)

Perk #11: Cancer Made Me Realize My Own Strength

55

Now that we know a thing or two about healthy eating, the choices are:

●
sweet potato or carrots?
●
wild or brown rice?

●
olive oil or canola oil?

That last one can be confusing. There are so many different oils on that

supermarket shelf. Heck, you can see twenty different kinds of olive oils

alone! Let’s try to sort out the main points:

Oils are made of fats. Oil that comes from a plant is the fat that is

extracted from that plant. Oils contain 100 percent fat. There are no proteins,

carbs, vitamins, or minerals in oil.

Fats are necessary for human life. They keep our nervous sys-

tem in check and provide us with “essential fatty acids,” which

provide fuel for heart and skeletal muscle and are necessary for

many of your body’s metabolic processes. We need fats in our diets

to help with vitamin metabolism, hormone balance, and to aid

with digestion. You could not survive on a diet of 0 percent fat.

There are different kinds of fats that make up all oils. The

differences have to do with the slightly varied chemical compo-

sitions. The three basic fat categories are saturated, monounsat-

urated, and polyunsaturated. These three types of fats are present

in differing percentages in all oils. For example, olive oil contains

14 percent saturated fat, 12 percent polyunsaturated fat, and 74

percent monounsaturated fat. These fats can be further broken

down into specific fatty acids. Omega-3 and omega-6 are two

types of fatty acids present in oils, but there are many more.

It is widely accepted by numerous worldwide health organizations that

diets high in saturated fats lead to heart disease and cancer. (And the jury

is still out on whether plant-based saturated fats like coconut oil do the

same damage, as the studies were conducted only with saturated
animal

fats.) Polyunsaturated fats, once thought to be “healthy,” may not be, as

they tend to be high in omega-6 fatty acids that promote inflammation and

disease. If there were a “best” category for fats, monounsaturated fats would

be the healthiest as they have been linked with lower risk of stroke, heart

disease, and cancer even when eaten in less than moderate quantities.

56

100 Perks of Having Cancer

That said, oils in general should be the smallest part of your diet. Even

though olive oil is one of the healthiest, you don’t want to slather it all

over everything you eat or use it as the main ingredient in your morn -

ing smoothie. The lowest incidence of cancer is shown to come from a diet

where 10 percent or less of its calories come from any kind of fat. In an

average diet, that’s about 200 calories or 22 grams/day which is far less than

most people consume.

The oils lowest in saturated and polyunsaturated fats and highest in

monounsaturated fats are olive, canola, and peanut. (Avocado oil is also

high in monos but is not as easily accessible.) Civilization has been extract-

ing oil from olives for more than six thousand years. Olive oil is my favorite

for general everyday use. I try to buy cold-pressed EVOOO (extra-virgin

organic olive oil) as it has the best flavor, quality, and health benefits.

Terms to Know When Buying Oils

Cold-pressed or expeller-pressed:
This has to do with how they get the

oil out of the plant. Cold-pressed means the plant or seed is squished

using pressure and the oil is extracted leaving whatever is not oil behind.

Cold-pressing does not use chemicals and high heat to force the oil out.

Therefore, this maintains the oil’s composition, so it’s healthier and of

higher quality.

First pressed:
This means pressing just once to obtain the oil. It is not run

though again.

Refined vs. unrefined:
Refining means processing. This can be in the form

of heating, filtering, or with chemicals. The more refined the oil, usually the

higher you can heat it (as with frying), but it lacks the health benefits, as refin-

ing can alter the structure of the oil and change the final fat composition.

Virgin vs. extra virgin:
Okay, all you Madonna fans, sing it with me:
Like

an extra-virgin . . . pressed for the very first time.
Extra-virgin oil is produced

from the first press of the fruit or seed. It is the purest and best-tasting oil.

Virgin oil is still minimally processed, but it has a higher acidity, which gives

it a different flavor. (So I’m told. If I had a master chef’s taste buds, I might

Perk #11: Cancer Made Me Realize My Own Strength

57

be able to tell the difference.) Virgin and extra virgin, as it applies to olive

oil, are higher in monounsaturated fats and other beneficial fatty acids mak-

ing them the healthiest choice.

Pure olive oil (or olive oil):
When it says “pure olive oil” or just plain “olive

oil,” the oil contains a combination of virgin olive oil and processed pom-

ace. Pomace is produced from processing the leftovers from the virgin olive

oil extraction. It has a weaker flavor, but can stand up to frying and high-

heat cooking or baking. If the bottle is labeled “100% pure olive oil” it is

the lowest quality, but it can often be a lot less expensive. “Light

olive oil” has nothing to do with calories. It is made from refined

When choosing

or processed olive oil that causes the color to be light.

your cooking oil,

take the time to

“High oleic”:
This is an oil that contains more than 80 percent

pick the best one

monounsaturated fat. The higher mono content has been bred

for your health!

into the seed itself by altering the way it grows. Unlike genetically

modified organisms (GMOs) or genetically modified foods, these

plants are hybrids of the original. As long as the oil is not chemically mod-

ified, or processed, it’s a very healthy choice because of the high monoun-

saturated content. Since the patent has expired on growing high oleic plants,

you will probably see more on the market. Any type of plant can be made

into a high oleic hybrid, including corn and soybean oil, but a large per-

centage of those crops are GMOs, which you may want to avoid. Always

buy organic high oleic oils if possible as single, one-ingredient foods labeled

“organic” can never be GMOs.

Some Other Oil Facts

●
When using oils for dressings, choose cold-pressed, unrefined oils to get

the best flavor.

●
Avoid heating oils to their “smoke point” (the point where the oils begin

to burn and produce smoke). This means the oil is changing chemically

and can be harmful if done often. It also affects the taste. Certain oils are

better than others for frying. Canola has the highest smoke point out of

the top three healthiest.

58

100 Perks of Having Cancer

●
Store oils in airtight containers in a dark place to prolong life and preserve

the antioxidant health benefits. When oil is packaged, a thin layer of

nitrogen is added to the top of the bottle to replace the oxygen. When

the oil is opened and exposed to air, the aging process begins. Sometimes

vitamin E is added to prolong the oil’s life and will be listed on the label

as “vitamin E” or “tocopherols.” Refined oils high in monounsaturated

fats last up to a year after opening. Oils high in polyunsaturated fats keep

about six months. Saturated fat oils like coconut and palm have years and

years of shelf life. That’s why the food industry loves them so much!

●
Try to buy organic oils whenever possible. Pesticides are “fat soluble” and

usually collect in the oil part of the plant.

Perk #12

Nearly Every Day

Was a Feast Day

I
am very blessed to have a great support network of family and friends

around me. This comes in particularly handy when you consider that I

am a single working parent, mother of three, and my youngest has autism.

Needless to say, I NEED the support!

During the week following my chemo treatments (and longer if needed),

my support team would kick in full force, taking turns making dinners for

me and cleaning up afterward. And I’m not talking mac-’n’-cheese here, my

friends—these were delicious three-course meals. So even on the days when

I didn’t have much of an appetite, I always managed to eat some of these

feasts that had been lovingly prepared for me.

Call upon your support team to cook for you. Don’t have a

support team? Then find one! There are many organizations,

church groups, and other volunteer groups out there

who are dedicated to helping people like you.

HEALTH TIP #12

Need a Hand?

N
o matter how self-sufficient you may be, everyone needs support when

going through a difficult time. Many can find what they need from fam-

ily and friends, while others find great benefits from support groups and

online chat rooms.

Finding and developing a great support system not only benefits your

mental health, but it can also actually improve the outcome of your illness.

I 59 J

60

100 Perks of Having Cancer

Getting the information and help you need can take the stress off you and

allow you to spend that precious energy on getting healthy.

There are four types of support. They are all equally important for

regaining health.

1.
Emotional support:
having someone understand what you are going

through, listen, and maybe give a hug or two

2.
Instrumental support:
things that you may need, like a ride to your treat-

ment or a prepared dinner

3.
Informational support:
knowledge that will help you to make optimum

healthcare decisions; these can come from a doctor or from someone

who has walked in your shoes

4.
Appraisal support:
opinions of others on how you’re doing with the

choices you’ve made—pats on the back, if you will

Studies show that patients with nonfunctioning or nonexistent support