Hannah Bradley
Two years after being diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour Hannah Bradley is in remission and says a change in diet has played a big part in her recovery
Hannah Bradley was diagnosed with cancer in 2011 but after major surgery and radiotherapy, the prognosis was not good, with doctors giving her just 18 months to live.
But the 29-year-old was not willing to give up her life without a monumental fight and with the help of family and friends, ‘Team Hannah’ raised hundreds of thousands of pounds to enable her to fund a trip to America where she underwent pioneering treatment.
Two years on, the treatment has been effective and the tumour has decreased in size. But one thing that has helped Hannah in her recovery has been the radical changes she has made to her lifestyle and diet.
Previously Hannah had a bad relationship with food, putting on weight, losing it, skipping meals when she was under stress and being disinterested in cooking full stop. But following her treatment, Hannah has turned to a low-carb and sugar free diet, to rid her body of many of the toxins that are thought to be a result of the modern diet.
By cutting out most sugars and limiting the amount of carbohydrates she eats, Hannah, who previously hated cooking, has been on a mission to discover and find new ways of cooking. Along with her partner, Pete, she has experimented with food and the result of all of their efforts is in the Team Hannah Cookbook.
It includes healthy low carb recipes such as Ginger and protein American Style Pancakes, Beef Stroganoff and Blueberry rose muffins.
Hannah hopes her healthy recipe book will show that anyone can cook, and how easy it is to cut carbs out of your diet and still eat ‘normally’. By taking some simple steps, Hannah’s cookbook is testament to the long-term impact of a low carbohydrate diet, on health, energy and well-being.
Teekshana Smith Interviewed Bradley and Cohen of behalf of Patienttalk.org.
SMITH The first question is, Hannah what was your first thought when being diagnosed with your tumour? What was the best advice you received personally?
BRADLEY The best advice I received was from Dr Bob as he’s known the man who forwarded my book, was to cut out starchy foods and sugar.
SMITH And why did you decide to write a book?
BRADLEY Because I wanted to show how easy it was for somebody going from no cooking to be able to cook quite well for myself and friends if you’re diagnosed with this problem.
SMITH And now do you enjoy cooking?
BRADLEY I love it. Pete used to cook for me quite a lot and now I always cook for him because I might be a bit disappointed.
SMITH Lucky you Pete
COHEN Absolutely
SMITH How did the change in diet and lifestyle help in your recovery?
BRADLEY The change in lifestyle was definitely, it needed to change really. I was running around the country at 100 miles an hour and I definitely needed to slow down so that change in lifestyle has been immense in my recovery and the diet just helped me to focus on something that I knew was making me healthier inside.
SMITH Where did you get the ideas for the different recipes in your book?
BRADLEY I researched and I made some up and it was just trial and error all though there wasn’t much error. Pete will tell you.
SMITH They look lovely I’ve actually seen the book, they look really good. Pete you might actually be able to answer this one. They’ve sent this through I’m not sure if you can answer it but he’s asking, would a gluten free diet be suitable?
COHEN Yes, most definitely. The problem for so many people is excess grains which people eat in their diet. Starchy foods; breads, rice pasta, potatoes, too many simple foods as in crisps, chocolates, cakes, soft drinks, these foods are just full of sugar and sugar definitely has in most cases a negative impact on the body, there’s no nutritional value especially to simple sugars. So you know cutting these foods out of your diet in many cases is going to benefit anybody. Most illnesses and diseases related to inflammation, so heart disease, cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure and sugar is quite inflammatory, the response of it in the body. So whether it’s gluten free or completely sugar free or just doing the best that you can I think most people seem to benefit quite well from a lower carbohydrate diet.
SMITH Going back to the book, who are the recipes suitable for? Is it for everyone or is it certain age groups?
BRADLEY It’s for everyone. Anyone that wants to learn how to cook and learn how to follow a low carb lifestyle but one diet isn’t suitable for everyone so I’m not telling everyone to go out and cut out all carbs. I think if you say to someone you can’t have something you crave it more.
SMITH Agreed. And where can people go to find out a bit more about the recipe book and your really inspirational story?
BRADLEY They can go to teamhannah.com and they will find our film, a 40minute film documenting our journey and they can also buy the book there.
SMITH That’s great, thank you so much