After 40 years of fighting the “War on Cancer,” we are not winning. Three times more die of cancer now than in 1900—what has changed since then? Can we choose to NOT have cancer?
We've invested faith and boatloads of money in science but deaths from many types of cancer stubbornly rise. This war did generate 1.5 million scientific papers on cancer that have brought limited success with certain types and reductions in the brutal side effects of treatments. But cures are illusive and statistical bright spots are usually from “ early detection” . These are conclusions of a 2008 Newsweek article .
“Early detection” is finding a small breast tumor. That's obviously better than finding a big spreading one, but prevention is when the lump never forms at all. Too often cancer reoccurs or shows up elsewhere. Radiation and chemo treatments are unquestionably carcinogenic and may be partly to blame. Even surgery might liberate cancerous cells from an encased tumor into circulation. But the biggest factor is that the conditions in the body that lead to the first disease are rarely fixed.
Cancer cells appear in each of us every day, but if we are healthy, they can't get a foothold. Unfortunately, our cells may be burdened with more of something than they can handle (e.g. toxins) and/or they are deficient in something they need for optimum function. Then all bets are off. Struggling cells create systems (like the immune system) that can't do their jobs properly.
These 6 simple choices will go a long way to help restore a healthy balance:
1. AVOID SUGAR and white flour (it rapidly turns into sugar). One load of sugar reduces immune effectiveness for 5 hours. 1 (With a donut for breakfast, a soda at lunch and dessert at dinner —immunity can be off duty all day.) Another scary thought: cancer cells love sugar in the blood. 2, 3 (They grab it so fast that a traceable sugar is used to highlight tumors in PET scans. Current research acknowledges the connection but focuses on anti-diabetic drugs rather than reduced sugar intake.) As Doug has taught us, intestinal yeasts also love sugar. The mycotoxins generated by them add to cellular overload. Moreover, if yeasts eat your lunch for you, how are your cells going to get the nourishment they need? Dr. Patrick Quillin sums it up nicely in Beating Cancer with Nutrition .
2. GET ENOUGH VITAMIN D. It can reduce deaths from various cancers dramatically—up to 75%. 4 One study shows “only” a 40% reduced risk of developing colorectal cancer.5 Show me a drug that can do that! Because Vitamin D is made in our skin during sun exposure, advice to stay in the shade has led to widespread deficiency. But even the tanned can have low blood levels—apparently they lack something required for manufacture or utilization. The body makes vitamin D from cholesterol. Is it possible that extreme low-fat diets short-circuit Vitamin D? The recommended minimum intake may soon change to 2,000 IU a day. I take 5,000. Learn more at the nonprofit www.VitaminDCouncil.org .
3. GET ENOUGH SELENIUM. A large randomized trial showed that the mineral selenium (from yeast—methylselenocysteine) dramatically cut the incidence of various cancers (e.g. prostate reduced by 63%, colon by 58%, etc.). Overall deaths from cancer were cut by 50%! Other selenium supplements (e.g. selenomethionine and sodium selenite), while useful, have not been shown to have this dramatic effect. (Sadly, when the National Cancer Institute tried to “replicate” the research, but used the wrong kind and gave up.) A typical dose is 200 mcg / day.
4. EAT THESE: colorful vegetables, berries, fish, garlic, the spice turmeric, and if you eat grains, choose whole grains like brown rice. (Unless you are likely to become anemic, consider selecting grains NOT fortified with iron because excess iron body stores are considered a risk factor for cancer.) 6Cultures that have low cancer rates eat these nutrient-rich chemical-free foods. There is no substitute for the magic of real food, but concentrates (e.g. supplements like broccoli seed extract, aged garlic extract and fish oil) are very helpful insurance with proven effects.
5. DON'T SMOKE. (Okay, I said “simple” not “easy”.) You already know that even second hand smoke increases the risk for lung cancer, but it also increases the cells' burden of toxins like heavy metals that put you at risk for all cancers.
6. GET ENOUGH SLEEP. Your body repairs itself during sleep and your immune system cleans house. If you don't sleep well, consider the supplement melatonin. It is a natural sleep aid that is an antioxidant and is believed to have other cancer-protective benefits. 7
Read good news about pancreatic cancer and advice for those who have cancer .
Copyright Martie Whittekin 2010
* Note: This article was first published in Doug Kaufmann's Know the Cause newsletter and is archived on their site. That format does not support hyperlinks to resources or the footnotes that show my sources of information. I have reprinted the article here to provide those. Here is a link to subscribe to Doug's newsletter . And one to subscribe to mine .
1Role of sugars in human neutrophilic phagocytosis. Albert Sanchez, J. L. Reeser , H. S. Lau, P. Y. Yahiku, R. E. Willard, P. J. McMillan, S. Y. Cho, A. R. Magie, and U. D. Register. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 26, 1180-1184.
2 The role of dysregulated glucose metabolism in epithelial ovarian cancer. Kellenberger LD, Bruin JE, Greenaway J, Campbell NE , Moorehead RA, Holloway AC, Petrik J. J Oncol. 2010;2010:514310.
3 Association Between Capacity of Interferon-alpha Production and Metabolic Parameters. Tominaga M, Uno K, Yagi K, Fukui M, Hasegawa G, Yoshikawa T, Nakumura N. J Interferon Cytokine Res. 2010 Mar 17.
4 Vitamin D for cancer prevention: global perspective. Garland CF, Gorham ED, Mohr SB, Garland FC. Ann Epidemiol. 2009 Jul;19(7):468-83.
5 Association between pre-diagnostic circulating vitamin D concentration and risk of colorectal cancer in European populations: a nested case-control study. Jenab M, Bueno-de-Mesquita HB, Ferrari P, van Duijnhoven FJ, and others. BMJ. 2010 Jan 21;340:b5500.
6 Moderate elevation of body iron level and increased risk of cancer occurrence and death. Stevens RG, Graubard BI, Micozzi MS, Neriishi K, Blumberg BS. Int J Cancer. 1994 Feb 1;56(3):364-9.
7 Melatonin and breast cancer: cellular mechanisms, clinical studies and future perspectives. Grant SG, Melan MA, Latimer JJ, Witt-Enderby PA. Expert Rev Mol Med. 2009 Feb 5;11:e5. |
