FED UP and scared. Please read....

[Savvy_Darling]

So for the last couple of weeks I've been blending a about a cupful carrots and a grapefruit and drinking it once a day. I thought I was doing good for my health and I was proud on my healthy eating kick.
This morning I looked up about grapefruit and of course stumbled on something about grapefruit increasing risk of breast cancer.... The study is incunclusive and it was worth mentioning that they said further research would need to be done but basically something about synthesizing oestrogen (which is linked to breast cancer) and in women post menapause eating a quarter grapefruit every other day it increased risk by 30%!! Then I stumbled on another site with a study about citrus fruit like oranges and especially grapefruit increasing risk of melanoma!! Again study is incunclusive and more research needs to be done but things I've read have scared me!! It said also about the same nutrient in citrus is in carrots but they don't think that would increase the risk because we normally cook carrots. But hello I've been just blending baby carrots that aren't cooked!
Plus I'm fair and can burn easily... Which is something they said about especially with us eating grapefruit.
But then on other sites I see things praising grapefruit and carrots about anti cancer benefits which is why I started this to begin with!!
I feel completely confused and scared to eat anything. I was reading some of the things to stay away from to avoid breast cancer and I eat carbs and all that and like I said I'm scared to eat anything. :( I feel like I'm gonna get cancer. I try to eat healthier but I feel like I'm already doomed. Plus my gramma on my dads side had breast cancer and survived. I'm always terrified of it.

Oh and another thing I read was about how emotional stress causes up to 85% of diseases. GREAT. The past year my anxiety has been horrible and I'm causing my self diesease. I feel so confused and afraid to live honestly.. Seems like everything I do is gonna cause cancer and what kind of way is that to live?!
I'm afraid to make my carrot juice again or to eat grapefruit which I really love... I was eating a whole grapefruit blended up a day too!! So I must really have caused my body harm?? I don't know what to do. I feel so upset. Between this and my vein issues I posted about last night and kidney failure I am a totally panicked WRECK. And again there's this emotional stress so I'm gonna get a disease I guess.
I'm tired of all this I'm so much afraid of cancer and bad health that I feel like I can't do anything right or enjoy my life. This cancer phobia and health anxiety is ruining my life.
And yeah I know, get therapy and be put on pills.. But I don't wanna be seen as crazy and I just wanna be normal agai. Without drugs and therapy. I'm scared. :weep::weep:

[Megan knight]

I feel like I can't swallow my food properly because I am scared of doing it in case I throw it back up and I feel so down and I am so scared to eat. I'm scared I have all kinds of cancer all I think about is dying I need help ��

[Fishmanpa]

And yeah I know, get therapy and be put on pills.. But I don't wanna be seen as crazy and I just wanna be normal agai. Without drugs and therapy. I'm scared. :weep::weep:

You won't be seen as crazy! And frankly who cares?! If you had an actual serious physical illness, would you not get treatment for it? This is no different. You do have a serious illness and it's taking your life away. You're crying out for help and it's there if you want it.

Positive thoughts

[Savvy_Darling]

Megan_knight
I've never feared of throwing up my food but I've definitely feared of having different cancers and it makes me feel depressed and it takes enjoyment outta my life when I get to worrying.. To the point I'm scared to eat because I'm scared it's just gonna cause cancer. Or afraid to be in the sun because of skin cancer.. The list goes on. I battle between feeling like maybe a therapist would be nice and feeling like no one can really help me and I don't want help because there's no point. It's extremely tough & avoiding the doctor makes it worse.. Which is another battle between wanting to see the doc to hopefully put my mind at ease to being terrified to go in fear they find something and then I have to live my nightmares.. It seems to me that life is harder as I get older and I'm only 21. I wish I was young and didn't know all about the terrible things that can happen to you and how cruel this world is.
I just know I don't want pills that mess with my body but I'm also sick of feeling so scared of my health and body. Just now after going on. Nice bike ride and looking in the mirror I noticed s small red looking freckle & now scared about skin cancer again or some type of blood cancer since I've been worried about my veins being so visible. I'm a mess.
And what I read this morning on the Internet has totally ruined me more... I feel doomed.

[DrG00GLE]

Haha what the heck kind of article did you read? Anxiety doesn't cause 85% of diseases because I'm pretty sure 50% of those diseases are inherited. Don't believe the internet, but believe me when I say don't believe the internet. Also, you can notice when a freckle has turned bad. It will do the following: Swell, Turn a way different shade of color, Grow a few millimeters bigger, and turn into an ugly gross alien abomination. You're 21. Skin cancer happens because of over exposure to the sun over a long period of time. I've never heard of a young adult getting skin cancer. There is literally a .000000001 percent chance of anything bad happening.

[Savvy_Darling]

drgoogle,
i appreciate your reply... the websites i were reading were actually reputable health websites like Mercola for example. I usually agree with the "take everything you read on the internet with a grain of salt" but when it comes to websites i know are pretty reliable than its hard. The studies about grapefruit and cancer werent proven exact which gives me a little comfort but i do feel like it will be taboo if i eat them..so i dont know what to do with the 4 red grapefruit i have in the fridge..i feel nervous to eat them like i was when i thought they were beneficial to me. Which actually pisses me off because its like how can their be so many good benefits of something and then all of a sudden it can cause cancer..it doesnt make sense to me. Its like carbs aren't good for you supposedly but whole grains are suppose to be beneficial..you can't win with food anymore. It seems like everything we eat is gonna cause cancer or heart conditions and its frightening.
about the skin cancer, ugh i wish i could beleive you but i still fear it. :( i dont want to be that .1 chance that gets it.....

[Savvy_Darling]

For example, after my bike ride today I looked in the mirror and discovered this red colored for or maybe freckle on my forehead I don't remember seeing until today. I'm worried it's Skin cancer.. Because I don't know what else it is. I tried washing it off so it's not a mark. :( it's small like you can see and basically in the middle of my forehead and now it's all I see when I've looked in the mirror.
With everything else in worried about I feel like I'm a mess.

[lily1]

My Nan is 95 and she eats all sorts of things including bacon and citrus fruits.
My mother in law has always had grapefruit and is 74...

You can't think that way as its not the be all and end all.

As for the mark on your head, im sure it's nothing.. Give it a week to go away.

[DrG00GLE]

It's 1mm... literally I don't even think that's a freckle! Also, read the article. Though the CDC is reliable, many factors go into this. Besides, CDC said the gloves I wear to clean dishes can cause cancer. I don't beleive them 1 bit. Cancer happens and I doubt your mind has anything to do with it!

[Savvy_Darling]

Lily- you're actually extremely right about that sort of perspective. It's just hard to remember when I read things like my original post said. I actually remember a quote by Keanu Reeves and in short it basically says that his mother or somebody (I forget te correct relations of the people to him) ate healthy and exercised regularly her whole life and got cancer . His grandma or father (again can't remember the other person) ate what they wanted and enjoyed life the way they wanted and lived upwards of 80+. I wish I could find the quote but it definitely puts things in perspective.. And to basically enjoy the life you have while you have it going things you love.

Drgoogle-- oh my, about the gloves... Wow you're right then. I don't know how to feel but maybe I'll eat grapefruit again.
About the red dot... Yeah i don't know what it is.. I said freckle because it's like part of the skin.. Not raised or anything like that. Flat and part of the skin and yeah small... I guess another thing to put on the back burner and hopes goes away :/

[Captain irrational]

This morning I looked up about grapefruit and of course stumbled on something about grapefruit increasing risk of breast cancer.... The study is incunclusive and it was worth mentioning that they said further research would need to be done but basically something about synthesizing oestrogen (which is linked to breast cancer) and in women post menapause eating a quarter grapefruit every other day it increased risk by 30%!! Then I stumbled on another site with a study about citrus fruit like oranges and especially grapefruit increasing risk of melanoma!! Again study is incunclusive and more research needs to be done but things I've read have scared me!! It said also about the same nutrient in citrus is in carrots but they don't think that would increase the risk because we normally cook carrots. But hello I've been just blending baby carrots that aren't cooked!
Plus I'm fair and can burn easily... Which is something they said about especially with us eating grapefruit.
But then on other sites I see things praising grapefruit and carrots about anti cancer benefits which is why I started this to begin with!!
I feel completely confused and scared to eat anything. I was reading some of the things to stay away from to avoid breast cancer and I eat carbs and all that and like I said I'm scared to eat anything. :( I feel like I'm gonna get cancer. I try to eat healthier but I feel like I'm already doomed. Plus my gramma on my dads side had breast cancer and survived. I'm always terrified of it.

Pick just about any food or drink in existance and you will find a dubious "study" somewhere that suggest it might cause cancer, dig deeper and you will probably find another "study" that suggests that same food prevents cancer. Frankly I don't pay much heed to any of them, and I certainly pay no heed to the sensationalist media stories that blow all of this stuff completely out of context.

You can't spend your life fretting over the minute details about which individuals foods might or might not cause this that or the other, it will drive you to insanity in the end. Where healthy living is concerned, you have to look at the bigger picture and just follow a few basic common sense principles;

-Eat a balanced diet rich in fruit, vegetables and whole foods.
-Avoid overly processed, fatty or sugary food and drink.
-Drink plenty of water
-Don't get overweight.
-Don't smoke.
-Consume alcohol in moderation.
-Excercise.
-Be light of heart and laugh often.

Now none of this is an absolute guarantee that you won't get some kind of cancer or other illness somewhere down the line, nothing can gaurantee that, such is life I'm afraid. However living by these principles will drastically reduce your risk of many serious illnesses and it will increase your chances of living a long and healthy life, which really is the best any of us can hope for.

[Savvy_Darling]

Captain- I really appreciate that! Everything you said make sense and you're right I shouldn't worry about all that and just try my best to live a healthy lifestyle whilst still enjoying myself. Thankyou!

[MyNameIsTerry]

The confusing world of studies and nutrition. And it gets proved one year but disproved the next.

Over here we get a lot of this and we even have the NHS writing articles to examine the research because of the panic it causes. But HA people either won't see that or because it just doesn't fit with the fear, it will get discounted. That's why Cognitive Distortions are so important to understand and work on.

We have medical professionals saying anxiety doesn't have a link to physical conditions (as an outcome) yet at the same time tell us that stress does. Now I don't know about you, but I've had a stressful job and I can say with total conviction that "stress" is nothing compared to anxiety. It's like comparing twisting my ankle to breaking it.

We have to try to accept things like this because they just exist. It only encourages us more to take action with our mental health really, albeit how hard that all is.

I would suggest you are very careful with the internet. I don't say ignore the internet because that's incorrect, the internet provides access to credible & accepted studies but it does mean knowing your way around the garbage. For me, I doubt a lot of HA people can do that until they are in a good recovery position for the same reasons they can't just look at a big list of what could be wrong with them and strike al the nasty stuff straight off the list (like I can).

Do you have a link?

That mark on your forehead, do you mean the little roundish brown thing? I've got tons of them.

[Savvy_Darling]

Terry- which link did you want ? The grapefruit one??

And I can understand what you're saying.... It just bothers me because I thought I was doing good for me health and now I feel like i don't know what to do.. I liked my carrot and grapefruit drink but I don't wanna increase any risk of breast cancer or melanoma. Especially since I was eating a whole grapefruit a day and i don't know what the serving size a day is for that but they were talking about s quarter every other day increasing risks!!
The spot on my head I swear appeared out of thin air after my bike ride too. If remember it because I appldon't makeup ya know ?
I've been doing this online workbook I found someon post a link to on another thread on here and it has given me some tips so I'm trying to help myself anyways.

---------- Post added at 12:15 ---------- Previous post was at 11:35 ----------

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/296087.php

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/04/08/the-truth-about-grapefruit-and-breast-cancer.aspx

There you go Terry. And if you just search grapefruit and breast cancer a lot sites come up which is overwhelming. I chose one the ones I read. Also one about skin cancer too. I'm no gonna read anything else today as I promised myself I wouldn't. But he grapefruiT in my fridge are haunting me..

Oh and I think the studies might be relatively old like '07 but I think I seen one from 2015 addressing it too.

[DrG00GLE]

Terry is correct, although I disagree. Stress and anxiety seem like pretty similar subjects. And like I said, I also disagree with these "studies" I'm not any doctor, but I do know that millions of people have HIV, millions have diabetes, millions have inherited diseases. To think those are the ~15% of diseases whilst the other 85% are stress related confuses me. The only diseases that could possibly be related would be heart issues like stroke. But you still have to have a history of things leading up to a stroke.

However, I only disagree with these things because it helps me feel better. Maybe they are real maybe not, but I'll choose to believe they're not. Screw the internet. Don't listen to Dr. Google (Oh wait)

Also, you have to realize stress is super common. It's known that 70%+ people are unhappy and stressed about their job.

[Redsoles]

I think the red freckles are haemangiomas, they're harmless blood vessel growths. I have loads of them but they're nothing to worry about.

[Savvy_Darling]

Dr Google... I wish I could be like that and just not believe something or listen to something to make myself happy. Reading anything like that makes me feel taboo about that thing. I did eat a little grapefruit today and tried not to think about it.. I just don't wanna waste the grapefruit I have..

Red soles-- hopefully! I don't wanna look that up because I'm trying to stay off google today.. Or until further notice. Just weird this came outta nowhere on my forehead /: thanks though..

[MyNameIsTerry]

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/296087.php

There you go Terry. And if you just search grapefruit and breast cancer a lot sites come up which is overwhelming. I chose one the ones I read. Also one about skin cancer too. I'm no gonna read anything else today as I promised myself I wouldn't. But he grapefruiT in my fridge are haunting me..

Oh and I think the studies might be relatively old like '07 but I think I seen one from 2015 addressing it too.

This is for the first link for the grapefruit.

What they are saying they have found is the possibility that a certain element of these foods are carcinogenic in that they are the same as those found in certain self tanning products that they have found to be a problem.

There is a big BUT in here...that it's not that the element in that food itself causes anything BUT that it increases how you will be impacted by UV rays. If you look to the advice that several medical professionals give, including the one in charge of this study (who says it's not enough to go on without more research as no real causal relationship has been found at this stage, only that more people seem to develop melanoma) they are clear that the public should NOT change anything in their diet based on this study but could mix up the juices/fruits if they could be more at risk and ensure they use good levels of sun protection.

So, whilst in the future we may get a causal relationship proven, it's not a causal relationship between the fruits and melanoma developing, it would be that the fruit decreases our natural ability to handle UV rays and that we need to compensate for this with greater sun protection.

That's like saying "cover up your body or put sun protection on". If you take your t-shirt off and walk around bare chested (men obviously, sadly :D) you are putting yourself at X% greater risk of developing X & Y in your life. That's just what we know already.

Also, it mentions HIGH use compared to LOW use. Based on the results, half a grapefruit would be under anyway so you could adjust to this and fill in with other things BUT remember, you could be eating 10 a day and if you are protecting yourself enough from the sun, at this stage that would mean no increase in any risk based on their per their speculation.

A valid article, not an internet scare story at all but it's how you have misinterpreted it which is where the anxiety & things like Cognitive Distortions have come into play.

---------- Post added at 06:13 ---------- Previous post was at 06:02 ----------


http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/04/08/the-truth-about-grapefruit-and-breast-cancer.aspx

There you go Terry. And if you just search grapefruit and breast cancer a lot sites come up which is overwhelming. I chose one the ones I read. Also one about skin cancer too. I'm no gonna read anything else today as I promised myself I wouldn't. But he grapefruiT in my fridge are haunting me..

Oh and I think the studies might be relatively old like '07 but I think I seen one from 2015 addressing it too.

Now for the second link.

The scary bit says that a valid study did find a link between eating more than half a grapefruit every two days and breast cancer. The problem? A later larger study did the same and couldn't find one. On that basis, the earlier study no longer proves anything.

So, without reading that first study it's obvious that no causal relationship was found. This is often the case with studies, they look at whether a potential link to investigate shows up in them and then commission later studies which look to pinpoint the link.

Savanna, I'm not someone from a medical background but I have conducted a lot of analysis within the field I worked in. I designed analysis/studies and carried it out, managed others performing it, etc all the time for years. Two studies contradicting each other highlight flaws and mean more detailed investigation is required as neither prove or disprove (unless the later study looked to disprove a causal relationship because it was more detailed than the first...which means yes the first study could be better too).

To understand if one study is to be discounted, you look to see if one was better. There is no mentioned of this other than a later & larger study. AND the most important part of all, the people who create change (in this case the American Cancer Society) decided there was insufficient evidence to make any changes. Basically, the studies show them nothing to be concerned about.

[Savvy_Darling]

Terry, thank you so much for taking me through all that rationally. It really makes more sense and is a lot less scary. You're so helpful! You're one of my favorite people on here. You're so good at helping people.

[J-P]

It'll take more than that for cancer don't worry. If anxiety killed so quickly you'd see people dropping like flies. The stress certainly isn't ideal but at 21 you have a long way to go before worrying about it. I'd concentrate on finding the help, eating foods that will boost serotonin in your brain etc.

Grapefruit is healthy, go ahead and have some! You sound like me, googling the poop out of every ingredient. If you pay attention to every study out there you will die of starvation. You're young and pretty, enjoy life :)

[Savvy_Darling]

Yeah you're right about that one for sure... Googling food is totally not a good idea & I guess until there's concrete evidence against certain foods than I shoudnt avoid them.. Because they are healthy and aren't junk.
Thanks JP :) that was nice of you to say..and I know I should be enjoying my life instead of worrying.. Easier said than done of course.

[J-P]

Easier said than done of course.

My logical side only works with others, when it comes to me it freaks out with red lights flashing lol.

[MyNameIsTerry]

No problem, Savanna. Just glad to help.

You've learnt from this that even accepted medical studies can be triggering if you look at them the wrong way. This is where those Cognitive Distortions come into play because you focussed on the scary bits and didn't seem to take in the parts later in the article which effectively said "don't worry, we still don't know".

I think this is where you can work on how you read something. The Thought Records used in therapy ask you to provide evidence for & against. So, with an article like these you could list them in the table (templates are online, just ask) and then you have a clear set group of facts for each. Then you write a new conclusion based on the evidence which will typically diffuse the issue. It's a bit like getting a marker pen and highlighting the important parts.