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Interesting thread. However, there seem to be so many contradictions in advice whether it be in books, websites, learned journals. Some people are strong advocates of soy-based products, personally I avoid them because of the phytoestrogens. I avoid parabens in products too which is a pretty easy thing to do.
Interesting comment about getting the "right water", difficult if tap water is not considered 'right' when most bottled water comes in plastic bottles and there have been concerns over carcinogenic chemicals leaching into the contents.
I found myself going round and round in circles trying to wade through the evidence so now I just stick to what I was doing before my diagnosis i.e a balanced diet, plenty of variety, not too much of one thing, no convenience foods, no refined sugars. I include dairy, alcohol in moderation (wine/beer/cider) and (occasional) red meat because I enjoy them 
I think the main thing is to be happy with any adjustments to your diet. As someone commented, it's important to feel like you're taking some control. Best wishes to everyone.
It's great to learn of so many of us trying to take control of improving our health! Mel and PaulS, both your stories are inspirational! Whilst not wanting to introduce a negative note, I would like to ask Mel if you feel that you need to make any changes to your diet now given that (I assume) you were diagnosed with BC while following it?
One thing which has not been mentioned much is the power of the mind to influence the immune system. This used to be thought a lot of old hocus pocus, yet the placebo effect is accepted without question now. I read a book called "Getting Well Again" by Dr O Carl Simonton, Stephanie Matthews-Simonton and James L Creighton. Dr Simonton was an American oncologist and his wife Stephanie was a psychologist. In the 60s they started to look at how the mind could effect cancer. They used visualisation and a number of other techniques and had some really remarkable results. There is a lot of information in the book about creating helpful mental imagery to visualise cancer being healed. With regard to the immune system, they say that it is really important to visualise your white blood cells as much more clever, organised and prolific than the cancer. For myself, now that my active treatment is finished, I try to imagine the Tamoxifen circulating in my blood and wrapping a film like clingfilm around any tiny cancer cells that might be lurking. Then I imagine some "lookout" immune system cells noticing what is happening and calling for reinforcements...a huge army of white blood cells arrive, surround the cancer cells, eat them up and take them out of my body via the liver or kidneys. I then picture my blood, lymph, bones and organs as being healthy and clear. I'm not sure how biologically accurate this is and you might think it's a load of mumbo jumbo but I do find it helpful.
I was diagnosed in May 2013 and have made quite a few changes to my diet since then. I'll try to list them in case anyone else finds it useful. I have based my changes on the books I have read, the canceractive website, and a introductory course I went on at the Haven which included a session on nutrition. I found all the information overwhelming but made changes in small steps.
Some principles I try to stick to: little or no sugar, no white refined carbohydrates, no processed foods, no dairy, no red meat (although in the winter I did have some venison but if it's farmed I'm not sure it's any better for you than beef or lamb), no alcohol except red wine. Eat as many vegetables as possible(!), especially raw, juiced or lightly steamed. Eat as many colours of vegeatbles as possible. Try to eat no more than 2-3 pieces of fruit per day (to limit sugar intake). i only juice vegetables, not fruit, as the fructose is absorbed too quickly when the fibre is removed from fruit. Eat whole grains (brown rice, bulgar wheat, quinoa, oats etc). I try to eat less wheat than before just to make sure I eat different grains and don't rely on wheat. At each meal, try to make 50% of the plate vegetables, 20% protein, 20% carbohydrates and 10% fat. Make sure every meal includes protein as this slows down the rise in blood sugar you would get if you only ate carbs. Eat organic produce as much as possible (but it's SOOO expensive!).
Foods I make a special effort to include are: berries, nuts (walnuts and almonds), seeds, pulses, garlic, onions, spring onions, oyster mushrooms, flaxseed, sprouted seeds and beans, green tea (at least 4 cups of Japanese Sencha per day). At least one helping of cruciferous vegetables per day. I think it is important to keep your gut healthy by taking a probiotic but I haven't quite worked out what to take yet! I do have home fermented almond milk kefir on my muesli in the morning and I'm hoping the cultures in the kefir are doing something for the good bacteria in my gut, but I think I need to research this further. Oh, and I eat some Green & Blacks organic 80% dark chocolate every day as my treat. My tastebuds have really changed and now I would find milk chocolate or processed sugary products too sickly.
This all sounds difficult but I have made the changes really gradually and I have never enjoyed what I eat more than I am doing now. And I feel really well 
. Obviously I don't know if it's working or not, but my onc thinks I look well and is supportive. I have a husband and 3 young sons and they go along with some of this. They know I really want to be well, and they want me to be well, so by and large they humour me, with only a few complaints! I sometimes don't cook exactly what I'd like to because I know the boys wouldn't eat it, and I am the only one who drinks the green tea or green juice!
The next area I want to work on is supplements. I currently take a multivitamin with selenium, vitamin D3, fish oil, brewers yeast and modified citrus pectin, but it feels a bit ad hoc and I'd like to get some advice on it. I'm going on a course at the Penny Brohn Centre next week and I'm going to ask there. I'll let you know if they have any further useful tips. Does anyone here know where you can get reputable advice on supplementation?
It's great to hear everyone's information! xx
