Organic Ketchup

Tomatoes have a micro nutrient called Lycopene. Studies have found Lycopene to be high in anti-oxidants and cancer fighting properties. Organic Ketchup and tomatoes have much higher levels than non-organic.

Adults may not benefit as much from the switch, but if your child uses ketchup on a lot of food, it adds up. It tastes different than good ol' Heinz, so if you have a particularly picky eater, maybe mix the 2 types for a while until (s)he develops a taste for the organic one. Oh and Heinz has High Fructose Corn Syrup as the 3rd ingredient. By making the switch to Organic, you will also be decreasing the HFCS in your little one's diet.

Rules of Thumb

The following are some general rules that I have used to adjust the food that our son was eating. None of these rules are radical, but are difficult to apply in our society. I'll go into more details on my blog posts

1. Decrease Sugar: high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, fructose, glucose, sugar
2. Increase Vegetables
3. Decrease non-foods: pesticides, antibiotics, growth hormones, dyes, preservatives
4. Brown instead of White
5. Eat at Home / Pack Snacks
6. A little is better than none
7. Nutrition through food, not supplements
8. Give healthy food when hungry, but not starving-to-the-point-of-meltdown
9. Increase Water
10. Tumeric
11. Green Tea (decaf)
12. Variety

Introduction

Background

My son was diagnosed with a rare cancer, Plueropulmonary Blastoma (PPB), in the fall of 2009 at the age of 2.5 years old. He recently finished chemotherapy after 13 rounds, 3 major surgeries and 2 radiation treatments. For more information on PPB see www.ppbregistry.org and more information on my son's history, see http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/benpurcell/guestbook

Nutrition

When he was first diagnosed, we were told to follow the 'cancer diet' which means increase his fat and protein. We were told to let him eat anything so he doesn't lose wieght. I understand and agree that a cancer patient needs to gain back any weight lost and must have meat on their bones to withstand the treatment. That being stated, there are so many things that a parent can do to increase the nutritional value of a child's meal, without them knowing the difference. How does a 3 year old know the difference between a nitrate-laden hot dog and nitrate-free turkey dog? Or standard ketchup versus organic ketchup (higher in Lycopene).

This Blog

There are hundreds of books about cancer and nutrition out there. There are VERY FEW books on feeding a child who has cancer. There are obvious challenges to feeding a child with cancer. An adult can choke down 8 oz of pureed vegetables because we know why we're doing it. Kids can be picky and stubborn. I have chosen to fight this battle with my son because I believe that it has helped him stay strong through treatment and will help him ultimately beat cancer long term.

Disclaimer

I am not a medical doctor or a nutritionist. I am blogging what I have changed in his diet based on books I have read and recommendations from his oncologist, nutritionist and naturapath.