Cancer diagnosis was a wake-up call

When my husband, Richard, was diagnosed with Stage III cancer of the prostate last year at the age of 68, it was a wake up call for the whole family to change our dietary, nutritional and exercise habits. I searched online for ideas about how we could live better; ways to incorporate healthy habits into our lives. We started walking every morning—at least, when Richard is feeling up to it—even if it is only for 10 or 15 minutes, some physical activity is better than the mostly sedentary lifestyle we had been leading. Our children and their spouses, as well as our two grandchildren also take part in walking every morning. Even though they live in different parts of the country from where we are, we are able to talk on our cell phones while walking. It is a nice way to connect with one another, while doing something healthy to improve the quality of all of our lives. While Richard really is not able to join me at this point, I have started lifting light weights at the gym as well. In additional to adding the exercise component to our daily lives, most of the time, we have gone to a whole foods diet. Through Beyond Probiotics at Christine’s Corner Inc we found Garden of Life products, which we have used to our satisfaction. The high quality of whole food vitamins and supplements are highly nutritious and contain micronutrients that are found in whole foods. Whole foods rich in nutrients from around the world are used in the Garden of Life products to make probiotics available in many formulations through the Poten-Zyme fermentation process whenever available.

Day by day, Richard’s health is improving and we are going through everything together. When he goes through his chemo treatments, I sit by his side and we read about food and nutrition. Richard has become especially interested in learning about why foods that contain essential proteins, fats, carbohydrates, fiber, enzymes, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and micronutrients are so important to restoring and maintaining good health. His growing interest in proper nutrition and his vehement opposition to eating processed foods, with little to no nutritional value, have impressed me. This is a man who used to enjoy pizza with all the toppings and a couple beers on a Friday night, a big tub of salty, buttery popcorn during a movie and a heavy steak dinner to follow on Saturday, and a brunch that included several slices of bacon, scrambled eggs with cheese, sausage links and pancakes loaded with syrup during brunch on Sunday. Now my husband eats on a vegan diet and only whole foods.