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Answers to Some Nutrition Questions

The following is the answer to a viewer who read Diana's "Super Soy and Phytochemical Shake"© recipe and wrote to ask her some questions.

I am a year out from my breast cancer surgery and a few months out from my last treatment. I gained 30 lbs. during treatment and I thought it would go away. Ha! Weight gain during chemo for breast cancer is, unfortunately, very common. I found your shake recipe while doing research on the web about breast cancer. I am a diabetic and I wondered if this shake would be good to drink every morning considering the sugar content?

In fact, 30 pounds is right within the range of weight gain commonly seen (much to the dismay of these women, as you have expressed!) You are wise to be concerned about this weight gain, and I commend you for starting to figure out how to better optimize your health.

This *sugar content* is a combination of both simple and complex carbohydrates from the whole foods comprising the shake such as the fruits/juice, carrots, soy milk, tofu, wheat bran, wheat germ, and flax seeds. There is absolutely no *added sugar*. There is every reason to try to include all of these foods within a meal pattern for people with diabetes. The most up to date way of helping people with diabetes develop a consistent eating pattern is for a Registered Dietitian to determine for you how many carbohydrate grams is an appropriate level to eat on a daily basis and then to also show you the number of grams per meal and snacks. So I would strongly suggest that you call the Registered Dietitian at your cancer center to make an appointment for an individualized counseling session to discuss all of your concerns regarding the best diet for you as you recover from your breast cancer.

I also have not found anything that will grind whole flax seed. Would it be safe to use them whole?

Flax seeds need to be ground to release the helpful components that our bodies need (the omega-3 fatty acids and the lignans). Our bodies cannot benefit from these compounds unless we individually chew each seed (it can be done but whew! that is tedious) or find some other way to grind them up. Both my blender and coffee grinder will easily grind my flax seeds. In fact, I have stopped pre-grinding flax seeds for my shake and simply throw them into the blender whole. Try this on your blender when you make the shake some morning. If the whole seeds are not sitting in the bottom of your blender or cup after making or drinking your shake, then they must have been ground up enough during the blending of the shake. If your blender will not grind them, then it seems you have 2 choices: (1) buy a blender or coffee grinder with a more powerful motor, (2) buy pre-ground flax seeds (one brand that I have seen sold in grocery stores and natural food stores is Bob's Red Mill), but be sure to store them in the freezer after opening the package to prevent them from becoming rancid.

I am also addicted to carbs and this drink has 65 gm. How many more am I allowed to have during the rest of the day?

Please see my above comments about making an appointment with your local dietitian to help you develop a helpful eating plan to combine your many concerns.

I commend you for trying to take control and do the most to help yourself with your health! Please visit my own website for much more information for cancer survivors. All my best wishes to you,

— ©Diana Dyer, MS, RD — Author: A Dietician's Cancer Story