Cancer nutrition with Dr Krystle
- Kate
- May 6
- 46 min read
This is a special episode for me, my grandad passed away from pancreatic cancer at 93 and my dad is currently living with stage 3 lymphoma.
It's not a matter of if but when.
I would prefer to be prepared and in good shape for that moment I receive a diagnosis.
A little morbid, you might argue, but to me fitness and nutrition are even more important because I have a lot of fight in me and, like my dad, I want to do everything I can to ensure that if cancer comes knocking that I am as bulletproof as possible.
Summary
In this episode of the CFK Nutrition Podcast, Dr. Crystal Zuniga discusses the critical role of nutrition in cancer treatment and prevention. She emphasizes the importance of a balanced diet, debunks common myths about sugar and cancer, and highlights the need for holistic care in managing cancer patients. Dr. Zuniga shares insights on how to navigate nutritional challenges during treatment, the significance of foundational nutrition principles, and the impact of dietary choices on recovery and overall health outcomes. In this conversation, Krystle and Kate delve into the intricate relationship between nutrition, cancer prevention, and quality of life. They discuss the importance of dietary choices, the challenges faced by cancer survivors, and the role of muscle health in recovery. The conversation emphasizes the significance of whole foods over supplements, the risks associated with high supplement intake, and the need for a balanced approach to nutrition that prioritizes healthspan. Krystle shares her personal nutrition practices and encourages listeners to focus on gradual improvements in their dietary habits.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Cancer Nutrition and Dr. Crystal Zuniga
02:30 The Role of Nutrition in Cancer Treatment
05:21 Debunking Myths: Sugar and Cancer
09:21 Managing Nutrition During Treatment
12:14 Foundational Nutrition Principles for Cancer Patients
15:54 Common Nutritional Challenges for Cancer Patients
18:27 The Importance of Holistic Care in Cancer Treatment
20:00 Addressing Side Effects: Nausea and Loss of Appetite
23:14 Understanding Cancer Statistics and Prevention
26:16 Guidelines for Cancer Prevention Nutrition
30:41 Red Meat: Risks and Recommendations
34:56 Navigating Dietary Choices for Cancer Prevention
36:03 Understanding Cancer Risks and Lifestyle Factors
37:46 Quality of Life vs. Longevity
39:39 Challenges Faced by Cancer Survivors
41:54 The Importance of Muscle Health
43:56 The Role of Supplements in Cancer Care
46:18 The Power of Nutrition and Agency
49:58 Evaluating Supplement Use and Risks
52:55 The Importance of Whole Foods Over Supplements
56:57 Personal Nutrition Practices and Goals
Transcript
Kate | CFK Nutrition (00:02)
Alright, we are here with the CFK Nutrition Podcast and Dr. Crystal Zuniga. Is that how I say your last name? Awesome. Beautiful. Welcome. I'm really excited to talk to you.
Krystle (00:09)
Yes.
excited to have a conversation about this too.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (00:16)
Yeah, so you have the Instagram page Cancer Nutrition HQ and your first post is awesome. You're like, Hi, I'm Crystal. Here's a list of PhD in nutritional sciences, registered and licensed dietitian, board certified specialist in oncology, nutrition, clinical cancer exercise specialist. And I was like, how long did you go to school for? Yeah. That's amazing. And was it an area that you knew that you wanted to go in or was this just something that
Krystle (00:37)
Too long.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (00:45)
kind of you were inspired to do as you studied more and more.
Krystle (00:49)
Yeah, as an undergrad, was pursuing a degree in nutrition and I did an undergraduate research experience where my mentor was doing research in relation to cancer and nutrition. And that's what really opened my eyes into the power of nutrition. I really didn't get to have any of that discussion in regular classes. So I was really excited to learn more about that area and then just kept going down that route.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (01:12)
That's awesome. Are you typically working with people like one-on-one? What is it? How are you helping people? Like, what is it? What is the form of work kind of come in?
Krystle (01:21)
Sure, so I'm also an assistant professor of instruction at the University of Texas at Austin, so I teach nutrition in that way. And then I also have a private practice where I'm working with individuals one-on-one that are going through or recovering from cancer treatment.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (01:36)
It's pretty, like, I guess to me, like, obviously being in the world of health and fitness and nutrition, it's like, to me, I'm like, it's a no brainer that nutrition is kind of the backbone of health. But I think that there's a lot of people that would potentially, you know, underestimate its impact. But at the same time, I wonder for people who have, you know, they're literally sitting in their doctor's office and they've just been diagnosed with some form of cancer. At that point,
what can nutrition do for people? cause I know that there's, know, I've listened to you on another interview and it was like, when you're actually going through treatment, nutrition can be very different because you're nauseous and you don't feel good and it's really hard to eat. So like there's this interesting thing that has kind of has to happen. Like in your, you know, in your mind, what, how does nutrition have to impact people's health overall? And then how does nutrition have to impact people when they're actually diagnosed with cancer and going through treatment?
Krystle (02:30)
Yeah, it is kind of unfortunate that I've heard from many survivors that when they get diagnosed and they ask about diet, told either one, it doesn't matter or two, eat whatever you want, we just don't want you to lose weight when there is so much more evidence that we have about nutrition that unfortunately, but they of that guidance. And so k we do know that individua
Kate | CFK Nutrition (02:43)
you
Krystle (02:59)
cancer treatment have bet overall survival, less tre And it's actually estimat of cancer related deaths is that if someone's not nutrition, that's going to But now we even have more beyond just malnutrition want to have malnutrition
can play a role in their outcomes. Now new evidence about, for example, fiber impacting the response to some therapies. So we are actually getting more evidence about how we can improve treatment responses and help these treatments work better.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (03:45)
Yeah, can you define malnutrition? Like is that just being deficient in soda nutrients? Is that just not eating enough food and energy overall? What does that actually look like?
Krystle (03:56)
Yeah, so we do have some criteria for malnutrition. in lean mass and fat some of the indicators to diagnose malnutrition. see in cancer is that un
Kate | CFK Nutrition (04:26)
So for people who are actually actively going through treatment, I think a couple of things that kind of pop into my mind is one, I would be terrified of sugar because I've heard the sugar feeds cancer cells. That's how they grow them. And I'm just like, that would be absolutely mortifying to me to then be presented with like, I'm living with this thing. How do I avoid sugar? And then feeling bad if I eat it, like I feel like that would be something that I would be afraid of. And then, you you also hear the other extreme of like,
people who are doing juice cleanses and doing these more extreme changes with their nutrition to try and either do an alternative method of treating the cancer or in addition to complement whatever treatment journey they're on. like for, you know, for people that are going through treatment in the lens of it could be hard to eat as well as I might have some misconceptions or some fears around foods. Like how do you navigate that?
Krystle (05:21)
Yeah, I'd say the sugar feeds cancer is probably the number one thing that I hear from survivors that they're finding this information on their own and it does make them scared about eating any carbs. So then they're cutting out fruit and they're cutting out whole grains and then they're struggling about what to eat. And so, yes, and then I have individuals that hear like no animal products and that you need to go vegan or you need to go keto and there's so much misinformation out there. And also I always like to bring it
back to cancer is not one disease. Cancer is an umbrella term for over hundred different diseases. How a breast cancer cell is responding is going to be different than a pancreatic cancer cell, a brain cell, a lung cancer, the therapies, all of that intermixed. So it really is frustrating to hear like that one diet is going to be the cure-all for all cancers, because it's not that simple. And even within one cancer type, we know that they can acquire
different mutations. So someone's breast cancer stage one could look very different genetically from somebody else's stage one breast cancer. So I always like to bring that, you know, that common thing is that they're not all the same. And then how do you navigate that? It really is complicated for them to find out what's true and what's not. But I would like to touch on that sugar feeds cancer. Why? Because it is such a common myth. And even people who have not been in that cancer space have heard this, right? And
The theory is that we do know that cancer cells are rapidly dividing and they use glucose as a fuel source because they need a rapid fuel source and glucose can also be a way that they can get the nucleotides to make more DNA. It's a good fuel source for them. But also these are cells. They also need lipids. They also need vitamins and minerals. And so we can't selectively starve cancer.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (07:18)
Yeah.
Krystle (07:18)
by reducing
carbohydrates in the diet. And I kind of bring it back to, you know, there's like these little grains of truth, like, yes, having a lot of fuel source could support these cancer cells. But if you cut down on those carbohydrates and you're also reducing the availability of carbohydrates to your immune cells, which are also trying to work hard, your brain cells and that as well. So right now, when we're looking at these metabolic therapies,
Kate | CFK Nutrition (07:22)
Yeah, okay.
Krystle (07:48)
for example, of limiting carbs, some of the evidence is looking at using this in combination with certain therapies for particular cancer types that have acquired mutations that might make them more reliant on things. So all that to kind of say is, gosh, it's so complex. But yet what people hear is sugar feeds cancer, don't eat carbs.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (08:10)
Yeah, it's totally a fair tactic around just sugar in general is like this demon food and it's like, well, hang on a second, carbohydrates are not a demon. And I think if you wipe off an entire macronutrient, you're going to do, there's going be a lot of negatives that come with that. So I think that's, I feel like that's would be so reassuring for a lot of people who going through the process of figuring out how do I improve my health and lifestyle with this stuff.
without becoming extreme or dogmatic or then, how much do you notice, I guess, if you have a life altering diagnosis and you then are stressing out about your health and food, how much does just that stress potentially impact people?
Krystle (08:53)
a really good point as we understand why people are information and want to tr there is so much that is o They're told what time t what chemo they're getting radiation. There's just lo can feel like in diet is one control. So, but then as
piece of this, trying to micromanage this. Also something you mentioned that the side effects that they're dealing with. So how do I follow this diet when I have mouth sores and it's difficult to swallow and I can't really cook and things taste weird, then they're adding this additional stress on themselves because they feel that they're not eating the quote perfect diet or what they think the perfect diet is. And so I always try to bring it back to focusing on these pillars. The foundations.
of nutrition still apply here. We want to have diversity in the diet with limited processed foods, limiting added sugars, like stick to the pillars as best as you can. And then also the pillars of health, including physical activity and sleep and stress management, those all still apply as well. So, okay, maybe you're eating a whole bunch more vegetables, but.
Now you've lost any time for physical activity and you're stressed out and you're not sleeping as much. What's your trade off there?
Kate | CFK Nutrition (10:24)
So with regards to nutrition, know you mentioned that, you know, looking at different types of cancer cells, everybody's gonna potentially need a different treatment or different, you know, different path that they need to follow. Does that also mean that there would be specific changes with nutrition related to different cancers? Is there evidence or research or even with your practice, is that something that you factor in or is it more broad?
most of the basics, focus on the pillars, let's just get the foundations right.
Krystle (10:55)
Yeah, I think right now with our evidence is more on the pillars. As I mentioned, there are some investigations going on right now about using a certain type of therapy for a certain cancer type with a specific diet. And then we might be able to get some more nuanced, more specific by cancer type and even treatment type. But the evidence is still very, very limited in that area. So we focus on some of the pillars about what we know is happening to anyone undergoing cancer treatment.
is that healthy cells are getting damaged as well. So we're going to need more protein. There's more inflammation that's breaking down muscle. You're going to need more protein to help offset that. Example with immunotherapy, some evidence now coming out about fiber, having a higher fiber diet can help diversify that microbiome and potentially improve immunotherapy response. So maybe someone on immunotherapy, we might target a little bit more of the fiber and really
focus there. But right have the evidence of, you need to follow keto. need to go on a fasting mi not there yet. And I thin a while
Kate | CFK Nutrition (12:14)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I mean, I think what you said before around just the application, it's like, what can people actually be consistent with? And I think the more extreme or the more strict or restricted that people become, the harder that is actually to maintain. And it's like, ultimately, like what you mentioned with just some minimizing some of the wrong types of foods, trying to increase more of the right types of foods. It's like, if we can just get a general ratio that's right for people that's sustainable, it's like that.
that sounds like it would be the approach, ironically, which is the same approach that I coach all of my nutrition clients with, right? I'm like, hey, let's have more fiber and protein and can eat more vegetables and change up the colors this week.
Krystle (12:48)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, yeah, right. And you think about, well, after cancer, that's what we're going to be promoting as well. So start using this time to start building those foundations. And as you said, this messaging is around weight management, diabetes prevention, cardiovascular disease. These are the same foundations that apply to other health conditions as well. So I think often it just gets drowned out or people think like, well, that couldn't apply to this situation. This is something different.
actually the evidence has supported right now that those that adhere more to a healthful dietary pattern tend to have better outcomes. yeah, I'm like, I know it's not the most exciting message out there, but I also say personally, I do think that's exciting that we don't need to do some completely drastic overhaul in the diet. The foundations continue to apply in this situation as well.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (13:45)
Obviously you're talking about outcomes with people that you've worked with in your clinic. Do you notice an immediate adjustment or change? Like I know the funny conversations I've had with my clients where I'm like, Hey, like we're going to increase fiber. We're going to have more more vegetables. And I've had conversations where they've said, you know, it's funny. I thought having more vegetables was important for longevity and for when I'm older and for like, you know, down the line, that was going to be an investment in my future health. But when I eat it, I'm like, I immediately feel better and like,
gosh, I should have probably registered that a little sooner. Is that something that you notice with people with their nutrition when they are eating consistently well, that even going through treatment that they actually feel better for it?
Krystle (14:26)
Yes, so some of the things that I've heard from patients is, well, we do know cancer-related fatigue is the most reported side effect across different cancer types as well, that fatigue is improved. Now, I won't say it's completely eradicated, but they do feel like they have more energy. Or if they're going through chemotherapy, they'll find that the days where they're not feeling well are lessened so that they're recovering faster. They're kind of back to their quote, normal.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (14:32)
you
Okay.
Krystle (14:53)
for a little longer and that helps when they're going through multiple cycles of chemotherapy. So absolutely, I've noticed those more immediate benefits with surgical patients, that their recovery can be better. We do have evidence that it can lower the risk of surgical infections when you're focused on high protein and good nutrition. So yeah, there's those immediate benefits in their recovery energy levels. And so we do see that it doesn't take
years before you're see these benefits that you can start feeling those now, especially when you're on such a long, for some people, it's years, right, of a treatment journey.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (15:32)
Yeah. What are the main problems then that you're seeing? Like obviously if we're trying to improve people's nutrition, when they come into you or people come in and they've got a diagnosis, that you've seen people typically eating not enough fiber, not enough protein, eating out too much and inflammatory diet. Like what are the most common kind of problems that you're, or challenges that you're trying to address?
Krystle (15:54)
Yeah, I'd say one is that maybe they've already looked up some information and kind of fell down rabbit hole and being on a very restrictive diet is a very common one. And like I kind of see that biased approach because people who are seeing me clearly think their nutrition is important, have already been doing some work, but it's leaned towards the side of this isn't a sustainable approach. And also I feel like I can't eat anything and this is stressing me out. So that is definitely a common theme that I've seen in individuals. But I've also seen those that have really not
Kate | CFK Nutrition (16:00)
Yep.
Krystle (16:23)
prioritize their nutrition for various reasons. Like they have children, they're working full time. It's just a lot to manage. And some of the dietary patterns that I see there is that there's meal skipping, not prioritizing some of the fruits and vegetables or reliance on some processed foods just for a convenience factor. And then cancer comes along and they want to do everything possible and invest that time in their nutrition. So I've seen people who are really already
prioritize micromanage versus zoes that have not really even thought about their nutrition before and want to do an overhaul.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (16:59)
Yeah, I guess
it's interesting. I probably hadn't even considered like, you know, if I were in the position of having a diagnosis, like for context, my dad has lymphoma, he's got stage three lymphoma. He has no symptoms, he's very healthy and they found it accidentally. So he's just kind of living with it and just monitoring it. My mother-in-law also has lymphoma. She's been through chemo once previously in the last couple of years and had a full recovery and now has had it come back. So.
There's different kind of examples in my world. But I guess when I think about if I were diagnosed, I would probably see a doctor and a specialist. I don't know if it had occurred to me to go and see someone about nutrition for cancer. So like even that, what you said, you you've probably got a particular type of person who's pursuing like support in that area specifically for someone who's got that kind of knowledge. think, I guess that's such a...
Do you have many people that are doctors that are referring to you? Like how do people connect the dots with like, I need to go and get someone to support me with my nutrition.
Krystle (17:57)
Yeah, I'd say the majority of people who I work with have found me on their own. That it has not come from referral. And in fact, it's because they've been frustrated that they have not had anybody discuss nutrition with them beyond maintain your weight, don't lose weight, or eat whatever you want. And they're like, I'm pretty sure there's more to that. And maybe they're more connected to support groups than are hearing things. And then like, okay, but they're saying this and that person's saying this, I need to talk to someone who's just going to give me a simple
Kate | CFK Nutrition (18:17)
Yeah.
Krystle (18:27)
message that's also a common theme I see is like, I'm just so confused. I've heard so many different things. I just want to hear from one reliable resource about where to get that. And I do have some providers who refer to me and they tend to be some providers who are really valuing the integrative approach. They're providers who have not only recommended nutrition, they've discussed with their patients physical activity. They have done referrals for mental health support.
Those tend to be some providers who are looking at the individual more holistically, which I hope that we continue to see a push in that type of care because I think in healthcare in general, there's been a lot of treat the disease, not treat the individual. And starting to get some recognition about all the pillars are still needed and in fact, more than ever in this type of condition.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (19:12)
Yeah, right.
the whole system right? Yeah.
Krystle (19:22)
Yeah,
it's like, you know, I don't expect the oncologist to give the nutrition advice and the physical activity and have a mental health. You know, let's talk about your anxiety right now. It's just connect them to the people who can help support them.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (19:29)
Mm.
Yeah, yeah, that's so interesting. With the people that are going through treatment that are feeling nauseous, the feeling of fatigue, whatever is coming up for them, how do you manage things like appetite or food just being the last thing they really want to eat? What is it that you kind of do to work through those phases?
Krystle (20:00)
Yeah, there can be quite effects that people are d say probably one of the m is nausea and loss of ap things that we can approa meals, maybe more bland me better tolerated liquids, that I always work with them but there are medications I think sometimes people ju
Sometimes we do need to get those things in as a prophylactic approach because if it helps curb your nausea, then you're going to eat better. Then you're going to recover from this cycle better. So then when you go into the next cycle, a little bit stronger, less likely to have more severe side effects. So these medications can actually help with taking kind of the edge off of these things. So I see some hesitancy in using these medications that can help manage side effects. So I try to discuss with them when they can be helpful. But then yes, dietary modifications for
textures, flavors based on the side effects that they're dealing with. And I think again, that's why I wish that it was you have a diagnosis, here's a referral to a dietician because eating is going to be challenging. And so how are going to navigate this and to have someone help you as you're dealing with these different side effects.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (21:13)
Yeah.
Krystle (21:20)
well, like they can give you a long laundry list of all the anticipated side effects, which they do, they have to, they go through all of that. I think it's so interesting. They get this education about all the potential side effects and then no discussion about, here would be some ways to manage this and to eat well, unfortunately. would like, well, here's the medications that we're going to prescribe you because we know this is going to happen as well. And one of the biggest things though, with the loss of appetite or just not being excited about food anymore, you've got to treat this.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (21:33)
Yeah.
Krystle (21:50)
like your medicine. You can't not know it's weird. We're all looking for when our next meal is and things are always making us want to eat. And then it can feel really weird to not have those sensations anymore. So you cannot wait for that. Just like your got your 8am alarm going off for your medication. That's your alarm to eat as well. So we also use some strategies about nutrition needs to be
Kate | CFK Nutrition (22:12)
Yeah.
Krystle (22:18)
approach just like you your medications. You don't skip it. Your body needs this fuel. So it's a shift in mindset as well. And I definitely empathize with the struggles that I can. I've heard very severe side effects from individuals. I understand the challenges that they're facing, but we still have to get that nutrition in.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (22:40)
Yeah, I mean, I can just imagine there's just a whole mindset, bit of a mind fuck to be totally honest of like, I want to do everything right, but if I can't get it right, or if I mess it up, but then I need to like back off and not be too controlling. But then I, you know, it's like, I can just imagine there would be a lot of emotional extremes with that whole, that whole thing. And, you know, even I actually was going to ask you, I know that, you know, it's roughly around 70 % of deaths are due to some kind of chronic disease.
Krystle (22:46)
Yes.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (23:07)
Do you know what percentage of people are either affected or their cause of death is cancer?
Krystle (23:14)
we do know in the US that it is the second leading cause of death in the US is cancer.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (23:18)
Because it's almost like
everybody's gonna be impacted by it. Like, there's a huge percentage that it's like the idea that, it won't happen to me, which I think is so much about thinking, right? It's like, ⁓ like it won't happen to me. It's unlikely or like I do these things and I'll be all right. But it's like, no, the reality when you just look at the numbers, it's like we were this, better chance you will be impacted by it at some point than you want. And so, you know, this idea of like the nutrition thing, it's like, like you said, it's...
Krystle (23:35)
Mm-hmm.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (23:47)
It would be so amazing if it was something that was far more proactive. was something that was attached to the treatment and it was looking at the whole system, like you said. Yeah, it's just so interesting to me that we all probably have a bit of a, I'll probably be okay. No, I don't think it'll happen to me. Or if it does, I'll be fine. And it's like, well, hang on a second. No, we probably need to have the mindset of.
When it happens to me, what will I do? Like, how will I respond? How am gonna deal with this? What does my life look like and how the hell do I deal with that? Because I think, you know, if you go into it surprised, my God, that's the worst way to deal with it. But going into it with a little bit of awareness, understanding, and maybe some planning or prepping and just simple knowledge around like what you've mentioned. It's like, you master the basics and have these pillars with regards to your nutrition and lifestyle? Just having a little bit of preparation.
Krystle (24:22)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah. yeah. I how you talked about the pillars and mentioning that. And our statistics are that it's estimated lifetime risk. One in three men and one in three women in the U.S. cancer in their lifetime. And so even if you don't, you may be supporting someone who is or know someone who is impacted by cancer. And I've worked with so many patients, too, that are like, I did everything.
I didn't drink alcohol. I ate a good diet. I was always physically active and cancer still happened to me. I know that's terrible that we can do all these things. But the reality is that cancer is very common. It's just part of being a human. It's that risk that we carry. But to know that you approaching this with those foundations, the data says that you are more likely to have better outcomes.
that you might be able to tolerate those treatments better. So you've had those foundations going in, they still apply, they still matter as well.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (25:44)
In terms of the food that people are eating, you've got, one, if you're trying to be proactive and eat in a way that's preventative, or two, if you've actually got some kind of diagnosis, or maybe it's just that you know that it's genetic, runs on your family or something along those lines, do you have a general guide around the quality of food? Is there a specific thing like, hey, you're gonna have two handfuls of vegetables at every meal or fruit, or you're gonna have this much palm-sized serving of-
protein or it's gonna be 2,500 calories. Do you have specifics around that or does it need to be more individual?
Krystle (26:16)
Yeah, so we have some foundations and then we can individualize based on, well, what does that protein and calories look like for you based on your activity level? But a reference is we do have our 10 cancer prevention recommendations collaboratively put together by the American Institute for Cancer Research and the World Cancer Research Fund. And they are based on evidence. They say they're evidence-based recommendations and specifically looking at lifestyle factors in cancer.
say that because they sound very similar to things that we recommend for diabetes and cardiovascular disease, but we also see the evidence specifically in cancer, which is to maintain a healthy body weight, be physically active, limit processed foods, avoid processed meats and limit red meat. It's best to avoid alcohol as that recommendation and then to eat a diet rich in whole grains, fruits and vegetables.
That sounds pretty similar to the recommendations we give just for a general healthy diet, but we do know that those pillars have also been shown to lower the risk of cancer and that also there's been further research using these recommendations that the more of these recommendations that people adhere to, the lower their risk. So that also shows like it doesn't necessarily need to be perfection in all fronts, but the more that you can do, a little bit of all of them could be helpful in lowering your risk.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (27:44)
Is there anything like that's an absolutely don't do that? If you could say stop doing that thing or a couple of things, like I'm assuming maybe smoking and alcohol would be like kind of the obvious ones. Like my dad, he will have bare most nights. he's not an overweight person. He's extremely slim and muscular. He's always been a gym bunny, but he still drinks alcohol. And I'm like, God, dad, you gotta like, you need.
Please, and we're trying to get him to have the alcohol-free beers and then they'll make margaritas. And I'm like, my God, what are you guys doing? This is the most obvious thing to get rid of. But it's like, I mean, think I look at him, like you said, you look at the individual and overall, I'm like, he's active, he eats really well. Alcohol's probably the only thing that I'd be like, that's the only thing that really stands out. Everything else, he's pretty good. Would you in that instance say, hey, you would still improve by reducing alcohol or removing it?
Krystle (28:15)
Yeah.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (28:36)
Is there more evidence? I feel like there's so much evidence around alcohol now of like zero amount is is Tolerable by us like this, you know, what's your what's your opinion?
Krystle (28:48)
Yeah, I think right now the messaging is starting to come a little bit stronger. There's really no safe amount because we know that even small amounts can increase the risk of some cancers. So that's where they kind of change the messaging a little bit to be no amount of alcohol for cancer prevention. But certainly the level of risk at something like one drink a day is going to be a very different level of risk than someone having.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (28:54)
you
Krystle (29:13)
three drinks a day or mor on just a couple of days, different amounts of risk. something that's well alco just like tobacco is a carc know that they are linked be something to focus on. than okay, I've got to we do recognize that um
I'd say the magnitude of effect of something like higher alcohol intake would be a little bit more significant. As you said, it's like kind of in that whole context of things. It's like, well, I don't drink, but I have sugar, multiple sugar sweetened beverages a day. It's like, that also carries some risk as well.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (29:57)
Yes,
yes, so true. Yeah, absolutely. I have a lot of people who are like, don't drink any alcohol, but I'm like, yeah, but your diet is still extremely inflammatory or high in sugar or, yeah, interesting. Speaking of the meat, I'm curious to know about red meat. Obviously, red meat brings in a lot of nutrients and it can be beneficial, but there's obviously this foundation of, hey, reduce it or limit the amount. One, I have a question. Would that be something that is...
across the board with any type of red meat, whether it's from like grass-fed and finished, regenerative, or farm-edding. Like, is that something that has been looked at or is it something that we don't know the difference between? As well as, if you are gonna encourage people to limit red meat, what does that quantity actually look like in the week?
Krystle (30:41)
Yeah, so the cancer prevention recommendations about limiting red meat is to limit to less than 12 to 18 ounces per week. So it isn't zero. And I think it's pretty moderate level, although I know some people who are big meat eaters are like, that's nothing. But 12 to 18 ounces is what's in the recommendations. And as far as the different types of meat, we don't have the data to get into the specifics of that because it's largely based on observational research at that association.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (30:50)
you
Krystle (31:10)
But we can also recognize that the mechanisms that are proposed about how red meat could increase risk would be present in different types of red meat. For example, heme iron. High amounts of heme iron can be more oxidative stress in the colon. So the concerns about red meat are actually more strongly associated with colon cancer. So that's kind of the mechanisms there. So example, the heme iron or that these tend to be higher in fat.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (31:32)
interesting.
Krystle (31:40)
Bial acids, secondary bile acids can also be harmful to the colon, the way that the meat is cooked. So that charring can introduce carcinogens into that. So that could be a potential risk factor. So it doesn't matter whether that was grass fed or not. If you're charring that meat, that's a carcinogen. There's heme iron that can cause oxidative stress. If it's higher fat, that can also increase that production of those secondary bile acids.
Again, that's kind where we have that evidence that it doesn't really matter how I was growing. It is more related to some of the components of red meat that are a particular concern. And it doesn't mean that someone needs to be vegetarian or vegan. In fact, there's been some data that's done some what they call substitution analyses like, well, if we substituted red meat for chicken or turkey, we don't see that increase in risk. So it's not necessarily just animal products, something related to that.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (32:12)
and
Krystle (32:37)
So the red meat, for those that aren't aware, it's not just beef, it's going to be pork as well. Game, like deer or venison, yeah, would be an example of the red meat.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (32:43)
Right.
Yeah, that's super interesting. So then would you go about trying to replace some of those nutrients? And I mean, obviously you mentioned white meat, I'm assuming you'd have things like seafood and fish. Would you also supplement? Like what does that look like?
Krystle (33:06)
necessarily like, okay, the protein, we're going to get the same amount of protein or you can get minerals from plant foods as well. For example, beans can be a source of iron. Yes, it's a different type of iron, but you can still absorb that. So again, you're staying within those recommendations of 12 to 18 ounces, it should be enough to get some good nutrients and that you can get many of the nutrients through other foods as well. And that just kind of points to that important of diversity in the diet.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (33:35)
yet.
Krystle (33:35)
and that if you start swapping some of these animal proteins with the plant proteins, then you are able to get some more fiber, which the recommendation for cancer prevention is 30 grams of fiber per day. In the US, average intake's about 17 grams. So we've got a gap between what we're consuming versus what is recommended for cancer prevention.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (33:43)
Yes.
Yeah, that's why I observed that
in my clients as well, trying to get people to get above 20 grams is a bit of a push. Like it's a big nudge to get there. And then I'm like, okay, we're going to take that next step. Like we've got to get up there. And it's something that people have to quite drastically change what they're buying at the supermarket and introduce some different things and really look at like specifically buying foods to target fiber.
And it's a really nice change. It's in the same light that people will make adjustments for protein, for example. But yeah, fiber is something that consistently I see so many people just hovering below 20 grams and I'm like, let's get up, let's get it up. Come on. like, just get a little bit of raspberries. Like that's pretty much gonna get you there. But I wanted to, was just touching 12 ounces for everyone in Australia. It's 340 grams. So 12 ounces is the weekly.
Krystle (34:21)
You
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (34:47)
12 to 18 ounces. That's 340 grams for us in Australia and New Zealand. So there's a couple of steaks there. That's pretty good.
Krystle (34:56)
Yeah, and you can spread that out throughout the week about when you want to do red meat and incorporate that. And maybe you have a heavy red meat week, and then the next week you're not eating as much. It can also just be average. Because again, when we look at this observational intake, it's more of like over the week, how often have you consumed red meat? So yeah, know that's it. That one, when I talked about it on my social media, I got a little bit of a pushback about
I feel like red meat and alcohol are ones that people don't like hearing that they are part of the cancer prevention recommendations. And I always hear like, blah, blah, I drank their whole life and they did just fine. Like, I'm sure they did. But we're just communicating what are some things that can increase risk and to recognize that these lifestyle factors, we call them the cancer prevention recommendations. And we say, I kind of hate that messaging in public health. When we say prevention, people think, okay, this is going to keep me from getting.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (35:24)
soon.
Yeah.
Krystle (35:53)
cancer.
Prevention and public health terms are what are things that we can do to lower our risk. You can do all the things and still get cancer.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (36:03)
Yeah, I think like you mentioned,
it's like people that have been perfectly healthy all their life, had the lifestyle, had the diet, had the training, and it's like, you will still potentially be at risk of getting cancer. Like no one is immune to it. And I think, yeah, I think even potentially you'd be more stressed and worried about it because you'd spend your whole life trying to avoid it. And it's like, it's always gonna be a risk. It's always gonna be a risk. that's just, I think you said it perfectly. It's like, that is the reality of being human and.
aging and you know having cells in our body that are cancerous right? Like actually I was talking to someone who mentioned that in postmortems they will find a lot of cancer cells in people who've never been diagnosed with cancer so there's a lot of us just running around with cancer cells that never express themselves what is that?
Krystle (36:50)
Well, like one example is prostate cancer where they found that high rates of prostate cancer in men had no idea in those postmortem that some cancers just it's about how large that gets if it's able to be detected, if it actually leads to problems. our number one cause of death in the US is cardiovascular disease. And even if you add number two and three, that's still not as high as number one. So cardiovascular disease is still a major risk factor.
death. Being human is the number one risk factor for dying, But cardiovascular disease. But just saying, I know not laughing about death, but like you said, it's the reality of it. What are things that we can do with our life that are going to improve our quality of life? The things that we recommend for lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease are the same things that we recommend for cancer risk reduction as well. And there are things that help with lifespan and quality of lifespan.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (37:22)
Yeah.
Hmm.
Yeah, the quality of life thing, right? Like it's like, I would be happier to live to a 90 years old. I'm at the moment in Colorado skiing. I'm like, I want to be 90. I want to be able to ski. And then like one day, just like, I don't know, I have a car crash and just it'd be over rather than living an additional 10 years or like, God, I used to say like, I'm going to live to be 120. And I'm like, ⁓ I totally take that back because if I live to be 120 and I've got 20 years of not being functional, having to be supported.
Krystle (37:48)
Healthspan is the term I like to use, yeah.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (38:15)
for getting out of bed or getting off the couch. can't go to the toilet on my own. I can't drive a car. It's like your quality of life is down the toilet. And I just, I think that, you know, a high quality of life is being functional, being able to live independently and feel pretty good. Not, you know, I'm probably going to have a few eggs and pains because I have been skiing a lot. But it's like, you know, at some point you're going to die. it's like.
Krystle (38:35)
Yeah.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (38:40)
how do we look at what's what are the last 20 years going to look like? I think that's almost the way that I would determine how I would look my life.
Krystle (38:46)
Yeah, yeah. And it's like, well, that's where the nutrition and the being active comes in is like, this is going to help me when maximize my health while I am here.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (38:56)
So then what do you typically see, like I'm assuming that you have a lot of people come to you with specific cancers that are more common or are there people that have, you know, what is the type of people that you're treating or what are the types of cancers let's say that you're treating?
Krystle (39:11)
I'd say the number one type is breast cancer. One, it is a leading cause of cancer in women. And that also it leads to lot of, it's very highly treatable, lots of therapies available, but many of them come with side effects that really bother women, like throwing them into menopause when they're in their 30s and 40s. So then they're dealing with hot flashes, aches and pains, unintentional weight gain, more of the visceral body fat and their
don't want to go through therapy again, so they're very highly aware of recurrence. So those are probably the largest portion of patients that I see are breast cancer survivors, especially those that have been dealing with a lot of the side effects of the hormone therapies that they're put on after to reduce their risk of recurrence. And yeah, yeah, so a lot of them, it's like the therapy, they're getting through it, maybe navigating some of the side effects that they're dealing with during
Kate | CFK Nutrition (39:58)
Yeah, interesting.
Krystle (40:09)
therapy, but it's that after effects of their just don't feel like themselves. And I understand that that's very challenging for them because went in strong, felt like they came out the other end like a different person. I mean, anyone going through therapy might say that they feel like a different person. But had someone say, like, I feel like I'm 70 years old, just someone this week, she's in her early 40s and says, I feel like I'm in my 70s, like aches, pains, fatigue. I want my quality of life back.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (40:38)
you
Krystle (40:38)
And so those are the things that we start thinking about. What are things we recommend for women going through menopause, the resistance trainings, or building muscle or fiber intakes, protein intakes, some things that can maybe help lower inflammation so that can help lessen some of the pains and aches that they're going through.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (40:57)
Do you notice people who are going through treatment who, you know, come in with a lifestyle that's fairly much adhering to what you're already recommending and including things like training? Are those people able to maintain that? And I'm assuming that relative to people who have never had that lifestyle and are trying to introduce it, they'd probably be a different experience of trying to bring that in while you're going through this thing. Like what are those two, I guess, populations like going through something like that?
Krystle (41:24)
Yeah, that's a good question because the ones that kind of came in with a healthful diet, they actually get a little more frustrated during treatment because they feel like the things that I liked before are now more challenging to eat and how do I do this? And so that can be certainly challenging for them versus the ones that didn't have that foundation. Maybe we're just focusing on one thing, like let's get the protein in check, like let's just maintain muscle through this and see if we can grip our way through this with maintaining your muscle and then we can
Kate | CFK Nutrition (41:30)
Yeah.
Yeah, right.
Krystle (41:54)
Try to get some more plant foods in there if you can. So sometimes those that have come in without a strong foundation might need to really simplify and focus on one thing to help them versus those that kind of came in with that foundation. We're just working around how do we best maintain this? Okay, you can't eat this vegetable anymore, but here's another one that we can try that might be better tolerated. Or those proteins don't taste good to you anymore. Let's try these other ones.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (42:21)
In your experience with people who have more muscle, it just came to my mind, I'm not sure if you're familiar with Dr. Gabrielle Lyon, who talks a lot about being muscular and that is almost another additional lens to look at health through. It's like, muscular are you? And muscle produces so many benefits for the body and for the system. Just with your anecdotal experience or evidence, have you noticed...
difference in people who have come in who have been more muscular versus people who are not? Is there any difference or is it maybe just more that it's a reflection of lifestyle?
Krystle (42:59)
That's a good question. I what's hard is that I don't always get body composition data on individuals. I don't really know their their muscle quality going in. But if we look at more than anecdotal, if we look at the actual evidence, it does show that those that have more muscle or maintain their muscle during therapy, like have less loss of muscle because we're going to get some loss during therapy. That's kind of anticipated. Have better outcomes, less treatment, toxicities. So, yeah, absolutely. And that's why I focus so much.
on it, as you mentioned, like muscle and something I try to give some education to about my patients. Like this is not a vanity thing. This isn't about having big biceps for flexing. This is something that when you work it, it secretes signaling molecules that are recruiting your immune system. I think that is so cool how we're learning more about what the muscle is doing for overall health. So this is a sink. You're worried about glucose. That muscle is going to take
Kate | CFK Nutrition (43:37)
you
Krystle (43:56)
muscle is a huge glucose hog, it'll take it and use it for energy. So yes, and then having like we don't want to have to tap into it, but at times of high inflammatory states like cancer treatment, muscle is going to be broken down. So if you have more in there, when you get through this, you know, you're going to be in a better state than someone that had less muscle. And now that got chipped away at. You probably know this too.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (44:22)
Yeah, I mean, I think it's like a guarantee. Yeah, it's like a guarantee like you're
gonna lose muscle and hopefully it's not because you cancer, but like just from aging, you're gonna lose muscle. So don't be worried about building too much of it. One, it's hard for us to lose women. And I think even a lot of men would argue it's hard to do as well. yeah, just the idea of being worried about getting too buff or too big. It's like, oh, no, man, like build that muscle.
Krystle (44:31)
Mm-hmm.
No, exactly.
Mm-hmm.
Yes, yes, it is so, it's so frustrating about our physiology is how hard it is to build muscle, but how fast it can be lost is how fast it is. It just shows that where it becomes like a reserve organ essentially for the body, that's a good resource for those amino acids we need to make proteins over here and antibodies and to rebuild these cells. So, it's never too much. It's really hard to build.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (44:51)
Yeah.
Yes.
Yep. Yep.
Krystle (45:12)
I even get that reality of like what we're doing right now is just to try to help mitigate some of the loss. You know, there actually has been some studies though of resistance training and interventions in those going through cancer treatment and able to build some muscle. So, but you've got to be really intentional. example, in prostate cancer, if they're not, many of them go on androgen deprivation therapies and so losing their testosterone.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (45:28)
wow, okay that's cool. Yeah.
Krystle (45:40)
How is that going to impact their ability to build muscle? They've shown resistance training, high protein intake, even with androgen deprivation therapies, able to build muscle.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (45:50)
That's awesome. That's so cool. And I think that's another way where it's like, like you mentioned, nutrition is something that you still have control of in the same way that the way you your body training, that's still something you have control of an agency. And just some autonomy through a journey like that is, you know, I think, at some point, if that's me, you know, I'm going to be hopefully grateful that I can at least exercise that agency and have some control. And now have this frickin knowledge and information to do it right. So with
Krystle (46:17)
Yeah.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (46:18)
With
muscle, I'm curious then, creatine is so popular, it's so trendy right now, and I think there's a combination on social media of it being like this really fun thing for people to talk about, and there's a lot of people who are making money from it. So is creatine something that you would potentially recommend as a supplement for people to maintain muscle mass or to help them build muscle mass?
Krystle (46:39)
So there's a little bit of data that's been done in cancer might have some benefits. But then I've also had some survivors scared because there was an animal study, they give creatine and then showed that it could potentially help with metastasis or have an influence on metastasis. That was in an animal study. The doses that I calculated from what they're doing was not something that we'd be consuming. And so I get like, well, can I take it? Should I take it?
Creatine is in no way going to replace the foundations. You could take creatine, but if you're not eating enough protein and you're not doing resistance training, muscle isn't just going to come out of nowhere. anything, creatine just makes could be potentially helpful when you are doing those foundational things. But it's not a substitute. Sometimes too, I call it the FOMO about supplements because they're...
Kate | CFK Nutrition (47:20)
Yeah.
Krystle (47:37)
can't take that supplement. I heard this supplement can do this and I can't take that. These supplements are not replacing foundations. They might add a little edge on something, but not enough to offset the foundational things that you need to do.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (47:52)
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. think it's like, you can look at supplementation as exactly what it's called. It's supplementary to the foundations of lifestyle, right? That's how they've been designed. And my dad actually has been taking a lot of additional supplements. Like he's on all sorts of things. And the funny question I mentioned that I was gonna talk to you and I was like, hey, like what would you wanna know? Like, is there anything you would like me to ask? And he was like, well, actually, know, Kate, I'm curious. I've been taking a lot of these supplements and you know, the supplements he's taking is,
CoQ10, fish oil, think he's taking like curcumin, he's taking like NAC, like just a bunch of little things kind of combined. And he's like, is it too much for my liver to handle? Like is that a whole lot of supplements is gonna be bad for my liver? Meanwhile, as you may recall, he has alcohol on almost a nightly basis. And I'm like, oh, dad, really, I hate to drink it you, but I think I know what the answer is gonna be. So in your own words, what would you say about?
Krystle (48:48)
Ha
Kate | CFK Nutrition (48:48)
high supplement intake to support, you know, just health. He, like I said, he's not doing any treatment. He's just kind of monitoring and has a healthy lifestyle overall, but drinks alcohol probably every most, most nights. And it's like one, one or two standard drinks.
Krystle (49:04)
Yeah, yeah, I usually have like that frank conversation with my patients. It's like, are you really doing everything? Because that's where the supplements can come in with the benefit of like, I've done all the foundational things and I want to try this and I want to try this. Because yes, as you mentioned, like there are risks of supplements. I think people think that they only come with benefits and don't give adequate attention to the potential risks.
of supplementation, especially here in the US. I'm not familiar with what regulations are, but here in the US, there's no requirement of proof of safety, purity, efficacy before they're allowed to be on the market. Lots of stories about contamination or products not having what they say they have in there. You're not even getting the active ingredient counterfeit supplements. It is such a wild, wild west market out there.
without strong evidence that it is going to provide long-term benefits. So I think people need to, if you're going to think that this has benefits, put that attention into understanding, are there any risks of what I'm doing as well? As you mentioned, the liver, major detox organ, there are some supplements that have a higher risk of potential liver injury like ashwagandha, turmeric supplements at higher doses. There are some things that can be hepatotoxic.
So I'm not a never supplement person. I've definitely recommended like vitamin D to some of my patients, magnesium, these types of things where I feel like it could help fill in the gap for them. But that's after a discussion of have we done everything with the diet that we can do for you? Here's where we can fill in that gap. And actually back to the prevention recommendations, there's a specific recommendation that says do not use supplements for cancer prevention. Yeah, yeah.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (50:45)
Yeah.
There you go. There it is.
Krystle (50:58)
But
that's the evidence there, unfortunately. But I get it. People want to optimize and try everything possible. I've also had conversations with patients like, let's sit down and look at how much this is costing you, these supplements. Like, it's just a little of this, a little of that, a little of that. We add that up over the month. That's 50, 60 bucks over the month. In our earlier conversation, you said you don't really know how to exercise or you don't have equipment or you can't afford a gym membership or you're having trouble getting fruits and vegetables. Could we use?
Kate | CFK Nutrition (51:15)
Yep. Yep.
You're like, gotcha! Gotcha! Sorry buddy!
Krystle (51:27)
Those $50 or $60 to help with that.
I know, I try not to have a got you, but it's like, let's do the math together about what this is costing you. Yeah, it's like.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (51:32)
It's so true, it's so true. Yeah, I mean I do the same thing but I use
Uber Eats. I'm like, how much money are you spending on Uber Eats? Okay, I think you can afford a coach. I think you can afford a nutrition coach now.
Krystle (51:41)
Yeah.
Yeah, right, because it is those little things that are common and you're not really sitting down to do all that math together and it's not trying to be a gotcha. It's just like, oh yeah, let's sit down and look at those numbers because you're telling me you want to use supplements to help it, again, optimize your outcomes here. But let's see if we can optimize the foundational things first with that same money.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (52:01)
Yeah.
Yeah, I mean, I guess it's like start from the perspective of what are you actually trying to do? Because yes, a supplement might market itself as like having this amazing benefit, but ultimately the big goal is to optimize health, quality of life, longevity to support yourself through potentially going through a treatment. So it's like, is there another way to get that thing? Because why don't we start with food? Like what if we literally start with the diet? And I mean, I think I could probably...
point a few holes into my dad's diet where like he probably doesn't eat sufficient at times and like he probably misses out on protein occasionally and like I'm gonna start tracking his fiber and now because I'm going actually you know what I don't know how much fiber he's eating so it's like I can probably start looking at a sign and going man don't even worry about taking the other things it's like you've got too many holes here for that to actually give you the benefit that you think it does and maybe there's a placebo effect that's very strong but
Krystle (52:43)
you
Kate | CFK Nutrition (52:55)
I think it's like, man, is there a way to look at the nutrition, to look at the diet and get the supplements or the nutrients that you're trying to get from these little capsules on your plate, like getting it from on your plate, which is the most bioavailable form. You know, it's like you've got all these supplements marketing the bioavailability. And I'm like, well, there's also the food thing. You could also just eat it.
Krystle (53:06)
Yes.
Yeah, yeah,
the bioavailability. Oh, that's a good point, Bear. It's like, what can come on the plate? Because we know, like, for example, we've been talking about fiber and I get asked the question, well, right, I only eat 17 grams. So could I just supplement the rest? Like, well, actually, the evidence comes from fiber in food. And when you think about, well, what are the foods that have fiber? Well, they also have vitamins and minerals and phytochemicals. It's fiber might just be actually a marker of, we know fiber, yes, has some.
mechanisms that it's working through, but it could also just be a marker of a diet that's high in plant foods that are coming with these other things. So that fiber supplementation, just taking 30 grams of fiber might not be actually as beneficial.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (53:44)
Yes, interesting.
You can't have high-fiber cereal
and fiber one bars.
Krystle (53:57)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, the supplemental fiber because the fiber that we get from food is different types of fiber. It's got the insoluble, insoluble and different types even within there. So you're feeding a diverse microbiome. So it's not just one thing. And what often happens is the supplements is let's just extract this and say, this is the thing. When our evidence is actually more supportive of the food, the dietary pattern, the lifestyle.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (54:07)
you
Yes.
Mm-hmm. Yeah, absolutely. think that's it's just it's so it sometimes it's painfully obvious But it's like it's not the sexy stuff, right?
Krystle (54:34)
I get it. Yeah, it's not. We all want the shortcuts. Trust me. I even want the shortcut. It would be great if I could just spend the day not worrying about getting my fruits and vegetables in. yeah, unfortunately, we don't have the shortcut yet.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (54:42)
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah,
yeah. Look, one thing that I will say about people that eat more and more vegetables and focus more and more fiber, they get the benefits of feeling better and just having more energy and feeling like even things like, my God, Kate, my skin is so much better. Like little things like that, it's right. It's like you get that feedback and the positive reinforcement. And man, when you start eating more and more vegetables, it's enjoyable. Vegetables actually.
contrary to popular belief, are fricking tasty and you can make beautiful food and it can be so simple. And I just think we have these like ideas that like, vegetables, ⁓ you know, it's like, it's so, it's such a like accepted belief, you know, at least in Western society of like, ⁓ vegetables, like I hate broccoli or like we have, you know, traumatized memories of being children having boiled, boiled, I don't know, Brussels sprouts or something and you're like, but it's, it's like man, it can be so enjoyable. It can be so enjoyable.
Krystle (55:39)
Hahaha
Yeah, yeah, I totally agree. And I that's where you need to start experimenting, see what you like. It's okay if you never want to touch a Brussels sprout. There are other vegetables that you might be able to like. It's totally okay if you hate apples or bananas. There are other fruit than you can eat. So just start experimenting with that. And as you said, that there are other benefits because I get it. Some of these things like cardiovascular disease risk, cancer risk, those seem so far down the line.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (55:51)
Yeah.
Hmm.
Krystle (56:10)
to help you stay motivated could be what are the immediate benefits that I feel I'm getting when I eat this way.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (56:17)
So I want to finish on getting a little personal because I think you know we've been talking a little bit about prevention a little bit about people actually going through treatment and actually living with a diagnosis. What are you doing like what is it do you have a bit of an idea of your week you're like I'm hitting fiber every day I'm protein every day these are the types of veggies I'm trying to hit like I their particular you know I'm one of the things that I try and do is I'm like I'm trying to get zinc by having oysters once a week like little things where it's like
Throughout the week, are the things, almost like, you know, a little checklist is kind what I have in my brain of like, hi, I haven't eaten much leafy greens this week. Okay, I'm gonna go top up my kale or spinach or something. Do you have a little bit of a map for your week?
Krystle (56:57)
Yeah, that's a great question. So I don't count anything. I'm not tracking. I think I've gotten to a point of making it a priority that every meal has protein and fiber in there. Some really good source of fiber. I always add in a serving of beans somewhere in the day. That's something I checklist because then I know that I just did a really big bump in my fiber intake. Every meal, like every lunch and dinner has vegetables.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (57:15)
nice.
Hmm.
Krystle (57:26)
no problem getting my fruit in. like, in fact, I've got a portion out. Okay, only two servings. Got to save room for the veggies as well and whole grains as well. try to have it breakfast, lunch, dinner. Here in the US, we have the my plate thing and like that's kind of the way I guide it. It's like I got my protein, half my plate being veggies, got some grains in there and incorporate my snacks. Try to have nuts and seeds somewhere in the day as well.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (57:30)
Yeah.
Nice, I like that.
Krystle (57:54)
You know, I don't know if I count everything, if I'm really hitting every single target every single day. But as you said, like, well, I feel good. I prioritizing these things that I know are nourishing foods. And for me, I try not to micro manage because I also feel too personally and like working with those that have cancer also to just enjoy our lives as well. Like nutrition should be something that is helping bring vitality in your life, not to be a stressor.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (58:02)
Hmm.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Krystle (58:24)
in your life. And I like to use nutrition as a way to fuel me as well for being active. Right now, I'm currently training for the London Marathon to do fundraising for the World Cancer Research Fund. So those types of things matter to me too, to feel like you have a sense of purpose and that your nutrition and physical activity are fueling these things that are bringing you that sense of purpose.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (58:36)
awesome. Yeah.
I love that. Yeah, go and have some beans on a daily basis before you go and do some kind of like gut detox or cleanse or something. Just try a can of beans every day and see what happens. I think some people would have some like really big light bulb moments.
Krystle (58:54)
Yes!
Yeah, yeah, think they don't get enough love. They don't get enough love. Here in the US, actually, they're having a discussion about potentially putting that into our dietary guidelines. It's the recommendation specifically around beans and legumes and lentils.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (59:04)
Yeah.
Awesome.
Perfect. Awesome. Cool. Well, thank you so much. That was really awesome. I was able to ask so many questions that just kind of came to my brain that I was like, there's this thing and there's this thing. I mean, I feel like I could probably haggle you with questions for weeks and months if I really wanted. But thank you so much for hanging out. That was just super informative and I really appreciate your time.
Krystle (59:29)
You
Kate | CFK Nutrition (59:35)
Obviously you're building towards the London Marathon. Are there any other projects or any other ways that you would love to direct people towards with things that you're working on?
Krystle (59:47)
Yeah, so follow me on Instagram at Cancer Nutrition HQ. Like right now I'm actually doing a Fiber Up February challenge where every day there's been a challenge of a way to increase fiber in your day. I did a mocktail month in January to get people to try alcohol-free. I haven't quite decided what my March challenge is going to be yet, but I like to give information and then help people like have something to work towards. Like what does that look like about adding more fiber? What are fiber containing foods?
Kate | CFK Nutrition (1:00:02)
happen.
Hmm
Krystle (1:00:16)
So follow me there, because there might be a challenge that you'd like to join in on to start working towards these cancer prevention recommendations. One at a time, not to overwhelm people. Just focus on one thing at a time.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (1:00:23)
Amazing.
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. I mean, I think what you said before was really nice to be like, look, I don't know every day if I'm hitting every single target. It's like, it's not the reality to be hyper conscious and micromanage like that. Like it's what happens over weeks and months. And you know, it's like not a single day or a single week that matters. It's the accumulation of everything that you're doing. So yeah, I really appreciate that. I absolutely love your insight and there was just so much knowledge that that was really awesome. So thank you so much for hanging out with me.
Krystle (1:00:55)
Thank you so much for the conversation. It was great.
Kate | CFK Nutrition (1:00:57)
Amazing. Thank you.
Krystle (1:01:00)
Bye.
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