“I was literally flattened,” said McKee. “I couldn’t eat and had not eaten much for the previous 30 days. I had internal bleeding that wouldn’t stop. My liver was failing and I couldn’t walk.”
She learned she was allergic to her medication, but switching prescriptions would increase her risk of getting cancer. Her only other option was surgery.
“I said no and somehow got out of the hospital. I somehow found the strength to start on my journey of learning how to heal my body naturally,” McKee said. “I learned the body can heal itself in most dire consequences and food plays a major role. It was a journey of trial and error at first, so of course I became passionate about wanting to help people.”
Today, at 45, McKee is a certified holistic health counselor and the Western Pennsylvania representative for The Cancer Project, a non-profit organization that promotes cancer prevention through healthy eating. McKee presents the four-part Food for Life lecture series at clubs and libraries in the area. She recently shared healthy eating tips at the Peters Township Public Library to a full class.
Food for Life classes cover a range of topics from how foods fight cancer to high fiber foods, dairy and meat alternatives and antioxidants. Classes also include samples and recipes.
McKee said she was impressed by what she learned from researchers from The Cancer Project, headed up by Dr. Neal Barnard, who wanted to know why other countries had low cancer rates while Americans had such an alarming rate of cancer.
“We are finding that one million people are being diagnosed every year with cancer,” McKee said. “The current statistics are that one in three women and two out of three men will be diagnosed with cancer sometime in their life.
“They found that food plays a major role. They found that 30 to 50 percent of cancer is food related.”
McKee said they discovered that residents of countries such as Japan and Italy ate a plant-based diet of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes are loaded with fiber, said McKee, which is essential to help the liver clean the blood of excess fat, cholesterol, hormones and toxins.
“You must have fiber going through your digestive tract to capture those toxins and eliminate them.”
McKee said chicken, beef, fish, eggs and dairy products have zero fiber and are high in fat/cholesterol.
“When you eat a diet high in fat, hormone levels are beyond what is normal. You need normal levels to function. If you go beyond, you are unbalanced. If you are eating a diet high in fat, you have excess estrogen which affects your estrogen-sensitive organs, which are breasts and ovaries.”
Instead of drinking high-fat cow’s milk, McKee recommends alternatives such as rice, almond, oat and coconut milk. As an alternative to eating ice cream, peel a banana and place in a bag in the freezer. “When you have a craving for ice cream pull out a banana and think you are having ice cream,” McKee said.
Spices are also very powerful antioxidants, according to McKee. Ground sesame is a good source for calcium and cinnamon helps balance blood sugar.
Carole Ortenzo, who runs a certified organic personal chef service in her Peters Township kitchen, said she is interested in the classes “because learning about this is a continuum. We can all learn from each other.”
René Sherwin of Peters Township said she signed up for the classes because she lost many people to cancer.
“My father-in-law passed away 1 1/2 years ago after dealing with prostate cancer and then bladder cancer,” Sherwin said. “I have also been touched by so many close friends who have lost loved ones to cancer, therefore I felt it was time to look for ways we can take our health into our own hands.
“Sometimes we feel very helpless when it comes to our health and there is a lot of research proving that there are ways that we can better our health by what we eat. I was interested in learning more about the ways to help my family and myself eat healthier and live better lives.”
She called the classes amazing. “I have learned so much already and am excited to continue learning about the power of food.”
The $80 class fee includes meal samples and a loaner copy of The Cancer Survivor's Guide, a 258-page book which has extensive nutrition information and more than 100 pages of recipes.
For additional information, visit www.cancerproject.org/.
• For more information on Janet McKee and her classes, visit www.janetmckee.comù
