Sugar and Breast Cancer Risk
POSTED BY Pink Ribbon Cooking / February 4, 2016
By now, we are all pretty aware that too much sugar in our diet isn’t great for our bodies. But what isn’t so cut and dry is the impact sugar intake (and corresponding risk of obesity) has on breast cancer risk for women.
While the general consensus is that more research is needed, there are some interesting and pertinent findings that relate to sugar levels, breast density (one possible avenue to an increased risk for breast cancer), and obesity – particularly in premenopausal women.
The Skinny on Body Weight and Breast Cancer
POSTED BY Pink Ribbon Cooking / July 9, 2015
Maintaining a healthy diet and weight is important for everyone. But, what relationship, if any, does weight have with breast cancer risk?
Well, we know that in addition to increased inflammation more body fat can result in higher levels of certain hormones like estrogen and insulin in the bloodstream which can stimulate cancer growth.
A Weekend of Hope in Stowe
POSTED BY Pink Ribbon Cooking / May 5, 2015
This past weekend I was a presenter and exhibitor at the 2015 Stowe Weekend of Hope, a weekend retreat for those living with or touched by cancer. Set amongst the Green Mountains in Vermont it is a powerful weekend and I am always honored to be a part of it. Being in the presence of others that are empathetic to your own situation is a powerful experience. When the connection is unfiltered, natural and authentic it makes all the more meaningful.
The Pink of October
POSTED BY Pink Ribbon Cooking / October 13, 2014
We cannot hide form the pink of October. It is Breast Cancer Awareness month.
Sadly I just read two very negative essays about the excess hype this month gets compared to other health concerns.
Breast Cancer Prevention: Reducing Your Risk of a Breast Cancer Diagnosis
POSTED BY Pink Ribbon Cooking / July 23, 2014
While there is no way surefire way to prevent breast cancer, there are many steps you can take to lessen your chances and put your body in the best position to avoid cancer.
Exploring Inflammation and Breast Cancer
POSTED BY Pink Ribbon Cooking / July 15, 2014
The connection between inflammation (particularly chronic inflammation) and cancer and other serious health issues is well known. Inflammation releases free radicals that can cause significant damage to cells. When cells are weakened or can’t perform the way they are supposed to, the body is naturally more susceptible to disease, including cancer.
Coping with Treatment: Omega 3, Omega 6 and Breast Cancer
POSTED BY Pink Ribbon Cooking / July 12, 2014
Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids are fats that are present in the foods we eat, and Omega 3 fats in particular might be beneficial in helping to reduce the fatigue, insomnia, cognitive difficulties, and joint pain commonly experienced by women being treated for breast cancer, particularly women with higher levels of inflammation.
A Delicious Look at Food ... What is Old is New Again!
POSTED BY Pink Ribbon Cooking / June 19, 2014
I was doing some research online and came across this PSA from the U.S. Food Administration from 1917. I thought the words tatsed as good today as they did nearly 100 years ago. Then I had to ask myself where we went wrong.
Antioxidants and Breast Cancer
POSTED BY Pink Ribbon Cooking / June 18, 2014
Curious aboutthe relationship between antioxidants and breast cancer?
Antioxidants are molecules that inhibit oxidation – the chemical reaction that sees the transfer of electrons or hydrogen from one substance to an oxidizing agent. Free radicals, formed during these reactions, can initiate chain reactions that can damage or even kill cells. Antioxidants work to terminate such reactions by in essence removing the free radical.
Phytoestrogens and Breast Cancer
POSTED BY Pink Ribbon Cooking / May 27, 2014
Phytoestrogens, a group of food-based compounds commonly associated with soy products and available in oral supplements, are connected with a wide range of health benefits, including lowered risks of breast cancer, heart disease, and symptoms of menopause. Some research indicates potential downsides to the introduction of phytoestrogens to a diet when taken in supplement form – none of which are currently regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.
5 Healthy Foods You Should Eat During Breast Cancer Treatment
POSTED BY Pink Ribbon Cooking / May 8, 2014
It is difficult to know exactly what impact cancer treatment will have on your body. Beyond the physical toll the treatments often have, appetite is commonly affected.
As is so often the case, the best defense is a strong offense. Heading into treatment, it is critically important to best prepare your body for the battle ahead.
There are many great foods – so called super foods – that are not only extremely high in nutrition, but also provide sources of much-needed energy for your body.
While no one food can ever prevent or cure cancer, let’s take a quick look at five foods that have shown benefit in helping you keep nourished and strong during treatment.
Making Resolutions Stick
POSTED BY Pink Ribbon Cooking / January 27, 2014
Did you make a New Year's Resolution to eat better, lose weight or exercise? If you did you are not alone; better health and wellness related resolutions are among the most popular. Unfortunately they are also the ones that tend to have the highest failure rates.
Chef Curtiss Recently joined Judy Simpson on Across the Fence, the University of Vermont Extension's daily farm and home television program, to share some simple strategies that can keep you cooking healthier food year round.
Cooking for a Breast Cancer Patient or Caregiver During the Holidays
POSTED BY Pink Ribbon Cooking / December 16, 2013
"Food, like a loving touch or a glimpse of divine power, has that ability to comfort." Norman Kolpas
By most accounts there will be between 250,000 and 300,000 newly diagnosed cases of breast cancer this year.
For many this will be the first holiday season with breast cancer in their lives. Also realize that few people face cancer alone; cancer impacts family, friends and coworkers as well.
5 Reasons Cancer Patients Should Love Oatmeal
POSTED BY Pink Ribbon Cooking / December 12, 2013
Oatmeal is one the most underrated and inconspicuous whole grains. Many consider it a super food because of its ability to affect our health and wellness in a variety of different ways.
Steel cut oats (also known as Irish Oats or Coarse Ground Oats) include all three parts of the grain seed; the bran, endosperm and germ. Processed or refined grains typically lack the bran and the germ, along with these missing elements comes a significant reduction in protein, fiber and nutrients.
Simple Holiday Tips That Can Keep You Healthy And Help Fight Breast Cancer
POSTED BY Pink Ribbon Cooking / November 30, 2013
Pink Ribbon Cooking™ was recently featured on the University of Vermont Extension's Across the Fence program to share some healthy holiday tips. We shared with Judy Simpson and the viewers an example of a healthy option that could easily be prepared and served at your own party.
Also we would like to share some simple tips that can make the holidays healthier and help continue to fight cancer deliciously.
5 Foods That Can Help Fight Breast Cancer This Thanksgiving
POSTED BY Pink Ribbon Cooking / November 26, 2013
For many Thanksgiving can be a challenge to eat healthy, while still having a good time with your family and friends. If you wish to avoid the typical food comas, stretchy waist pants and the "Stick a fork in me," feeling try preparing or eating some of these foods that are beneficial to your body.
Cooking Through Chemo
POSTED BY Pink Ribbon Cooking / November 19, 2013
Recently the University of Vermont's Across the Fence program re-aired our October segment where we featured many simple and healthy foods suited for those battling cancer and the affects of cancer treatment. Please share this as a resource for those you love battling cancer.
5 Daily Wellness and Breast Cancer Prevention Tips
POSTED BY Pink Ribbon Cooking / November 4, 2013
Migrating or transitioning to a healthier life is not easy for many people. Our daily lives are riddled with temptation, vices and bad habits. Giving up our bad habits and diet is very similar to quitting smoking or alcohol, in that our diet does have a physiological, mental and emotional hold on us. We need to be able to take one step at a time into wellness. Trying to look at it longer term is not always the best approach.
Here are 5 things that you can do today to take a first step toward wellness or prevention ...
Recipes for Cancer Patients
POSTED BY Pink Ribbon Cooking / October 31, 2013
Chef Curtiss Hemm of Pink Ribbon Cooking Joined Judy Simpson, of the University of Vermont's Across the Fence television program, to share some advice of nutrition and recipes for cancer patients.
A Pink Ribbon Diet
POSTED BY Pink Ribbon Cooking / October 29, 2013
The best kind of diet is not a diet. That's right, diets are not permanent solutions. At least not fads and diets-of-the-day eating trends.
A Letter from Bridget (8 year breast cancer survivor)
POSTED BY Pink Ribbon Cooking / October 5, 2013
When we launched Pink Ribbon Cooking I asked Bridget to express herself to those that are newly diagnosed. I wanted her to capture her strength and authenticity about her journey with Breast Cancer and to help others see the light at the end of that very dark tunnel. This letter is her welcome to all those in the Cancer Club.
"Cancer ... Do I want it, NO. Did I take from it, Yes! It taught me to see my own strength. It allowed me to see who my true friends are and gave me new ones whom I may never have met. It gave me a new appreciation for love, life, family and friends." Bridget Hemm
Ten Years and Ten More Birthdays: Building a Cancer Support Community
POSTED BY Pink Ribbon Cooking / September 27, 2013
Amy Deavitt, Distinguished Giving Executive with the American Cancer Society of Vermont knows first hand the impact cancer can have on a person. It has been ten years since those words, "You have Cancer" were spoken to her. Amy shares her cancer journey with us and demonstrates how beutiful life can be when you are living with breast cancer.
Breast Cancer Nutrition: Supporting Patients and Their Recovery
POSTED BY Pink Ribbon Cooking / September 26, 2013
Dr. Kim Dittus joined Chef Curtiss and Judy Simpson on the University of Vermont's Across The Fence program to discuss breast cancer nutrition, diet and exercise for those in the community that have been touched by breast cancer.
On set Chef Curtiss demonstrated some simple techniques for including the whole family in the meal, from start to finish. we did a rustic breakfast sausage and some gluten free maple oatmeal pancakes.
I hope you enjoy!
Growing a Cancer Support Community: My Journey with Cancers
POSTED BY Pink Ribbon Cooking / September 19, 2013
The cancer diagnosis came the day before Thanksgiving. I was 42 years old. I had lymphoma. I told my doctor that I had the pies in my car and I was heading to New Hampshire to be with my family. Life has a way of turning us upside down.
I was in the prime of my life, building my own business, working 80 hours a week, raising two teen age children with a husband who traveled for work. Life was grand! I went to the hospital because I had a nose bleed that wouldn’t quit. When they told me they would have to cauterize the inside of my nose I said “no thank you” and left with the promise that I would follow up with my primary care. As many of you know, that is when the ball started rolling. One doctor’s appointment lead to a billion tests and more doctor appointments.
Guest Appearance on TREATMENT SOS with Joni Aldrich on Cancer Support Network
POSTED BY Pink Ribbon Cooking / July 5, 2013
Join us as we are doing a guest appearance on TREATMENT SOS with show host and author Joni Aldrich (www.jonialdrich.com) on Thursday, July 25th, 2:00-2:50 p.m. EST www.W4WN.com (Women 4 Women Network) and www.W4CS.com (Cancer Support Network). No downloads or Apps needed to listen. Treatment decisions are absolutely critical! These include setting goals for treatment and proactive next steps after diagnosis. (If you miss it, catch the rebroadcast on the Sat. after the show at 5:00 p.m. EST on both networks.)
Gastronomic Reflections on Obesity from 1825 Paris, France
POSTED BY Pink Ribbon Cooking / June 20, 2013
Tuesday's adoption of obesity as a disease prompted me to open a post I had been working on about the reflections of Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, A court of Appeals Judge in France and a well respected gastronomic voice in early 1800's Paris and France.
In this post I reflect on a book Brillat-Savarin wrote called Physiology of Taste. The Physiology of Taste is a reflective piece, where Brillat-Savarin shares his thoughts, referred to as meditations, on the pleasures or connoisseurship of food. These mediations explore our physiological and psychological desires for food, liquids and how these drive our appetite. Along the way he shares several conversations with friends and dialogs with himself.
Physilogy of Taste is often thought of as the most important book written about food. Given our ever expanding dialog about food and the quality of research, education and contributors in recent years I can't agree with that but, without exception, this is one of the most defining and relevant explorations about our relationship with food and how it affects our behaviors and life.
A Quick but Delicious Thought
POSTED BY Pink Ribbon Cooking / April 27, 2013
It is nice to think without borders!
Spring at The Markets
POSTED BY Pink Ribbon Cooking / April 15, 2013
Spring is a wonderful season, especially for those of us that spend time at the markets and in our kitchens. The essence of Spring is rejuvenation and new life. We can capture this for ourselves with the foods we eat.
Is Local Food More Nutritious?
POSTED BY Pink Ribbon Cooking / April 9, 2013
I thought I would share Kathleen Frith’s 2007 Harvard School of Public Health piece that examines this issue and summarizes 4 favorable qualities to local food vs the large scale agriculture model we employ today.
Just Be.Cos
POSTED BY Pink Ribbon Cooking / March 28, 2013
Romaine, a member of the Cos lettuce family, is a powerful ingredient, both for its culinary personality and its nutritional value.
Cos lettuce is a tight head lettuce with leaves that grow vertically around a center head. The leaves are elongated, with dark green to a slightly yellowish coloring and a central ridge or spine along the middle of the leaf.
Bánh Mì with Maple Sriracha Sauce
POSTED BY Pink Ribbon Cooking / March 21, 2013
Bánh Mì is a classic Vietnamese sandwich that merges the cultures of France and Vietnam, and now America. We are representing a healthy version of the sandwich by replacing the pate with avocado, allowing us the rich and creamy texture, while taking in good sources of fat and phytonutrients.
Allicin, My Aim is True
POSTED BY Pink Ribbon Cooking / March 20, 2013
While driving home the other day I was singing along to the original 1977 version of Alison by Elvis Costello, a favorite song of mine from days long since past. The sun was out, there was little traffic and the ferries were on time. So what does Alison, Elvis Costello or my drive home have to do with cancer prevention, survivorship or food for that matter?
Cattle Barron’s Ball Donation
POSTED BY Pink Ribbon Cooking / March 16, 2013
Pink Ribbon Cookingâ„¢ Hosts Private Chef’s Dinner
We were honored to participate in the 2012 Cattle Baron’s Ball for the Hope Lodge in Burlington, Vermont and a private Pink Ribbon Cookingâ„¢ Chef’s Dinner was donated and raffled off.
Celebrating Survivorship
POSTED BY Pink Ribbon Cooking / March 12, 2013
Pink Ribbon Cooking™ and Woodchuck® Hard Cider are proud to team up and help those living with Breast Cancer celebrate their accomplishments and savor the moments life has to offer. Pink Ribbon Cooking™ will be pairing recipes with Woodchuck® Hard Cider Private Reserve Pink.
