Preventing Cancer Is More Possible Than You Think

By Hillary M. Wright, M.Ed., R.D., L.D.N., Harvard Health Publications

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A recent survey by the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) found nearly half of Americans think that preventing cancer is either impossible or highly unlikely. This is despite the belief that cancer is our number one health concern. The survey also found that Americans' awareness of several proven links between diet and cancer remains alarmingly low.

• Only 49% were aware that diets low in fruits and vegetables increase cancer risk.
• Only 46% cited obesity as a risk factor for cancer.
• Only 37% knew of alcohol's link to cancer.
• Only 36% were aware of the link between diets high in red meat — particularly processed meat — and cancer.

At the same time, Americans are increasingly likely to attribute cancer to factors that lack a proven link to the disease. For example:

• 71% view pesticide residue on produce as a carcinogen.
• 58% see food additives as causing cancer.

The Benefits of Juicing With Recipes

“Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food.”
--Hippocrates (460-377 B.C.)

At HPS Health, there are lists of recipes for juices (combinations of raw fruits and vegetables with some fresh herbs) to address specific ailments such as headache, anemia, fatigue, and gastric ulcers. Other recipe sites include ones promoting delicious taste (this one has a V8 recipe) and those that have, well, interesting combos.

And, for the skeptics, there's a site that gives recipes as well as advice on choosing a juicer. The site? The Stanford Cancer Center, part of the Stanford University Medical System.

According to Stanford, "The best selection of juices comes in nature’s own containers: fresh fruits & vegetables. Fresh juice is loaded with cancer-fighting phytochemicals and vitamins, in a state easily absorbed by the body."

Special thanks to Rebecca at Everyday simplicity for a wonderful post.

Nutrition and Cancer: A Review of the Evidence For An Anti-cancer Diet

Abstract

It has been estimated that 30–40 percent of all cancers can be prevented by lifestyle and dietary measures alone. Obesity, nutrient sparse foods such as concentrated sugars and refined flour products that contribute to impaired glucose metabolism (which leads to diabetes), low fiber intake, consumption of red meat, and imbalance of omega 3 and omega 6 fats all contribute to excess cancer risk. Intake of flax seed, especially its lignan fraction, and abundant portions of fruits and vegetables will lower cancer risk. Allium and cruciferous vegetables are especially beneficial, with broccoli sprouts being the densest source of sulforophane. Protective elements in a cancer prevention diet include selenium, folic acid, vitamin B-12, vitamin D, chlorophyll, and antioxidants such as the carotenoids (α-carotene, β-carotene, lycopene, lutein, cryptoxanthin). Ascorbic acid has limited benefits orally, but could be very beneficial intravenously. Supplementary use of oral digestive enzymes and probiotics also has merit as anticancer dietary measures. When a diet is compiled according to the guidelines here it is likely that there would be at least a 60–70 percent decrease in breast, colorectal, and prostate cancers, and even a 40–50 percent decrease in lung cancer, along with similar reductions in cancers at other sites. Such a diet would be conducive to preventing cancer and would favor recovery from cancer as well.

DR. LORRAINE DAY BEAT CANCER

A Plan For Building The Immune System

by Lorraine Day, MD.

March1995

Cancer doesn't scare me anymore. I had it and got well by natural, simple therapies that you seldom hear about. I refused mutilating surgery, radiation and chemotherapy because studies in the medical literature and common sense told me that you shouldn't destroy your immune system while you are trying to get well.

The following information is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as prescribing treatment. Treatment should be decided by each individual patient under the advice of a health practitioner. However, it is important for individuals to be informed about all options available for treatment and prevention of illness. The underlying basis and documentation for this program of building the Immune system are presented in my video, "Cancer Doesn't Scare Me Anymore."

Cancer is a disease of the immune system. Building the immune system is important in combating cancer as well as many other diseases. Disease is not confined to one organ or area but affects the whole body, as all parts are interconnected. Therefore, therapy must be a holistic approach to improve all body systems. A "magic bullet" approach rarely works for any significant illness. The following regimen will help build the Immune system for those who are ill or will help prevent disease in those not presently ill.

This Is a brief synopsis of the basic three part plan:
I) High quality nutritional intake.
a) A diet of vegetables, fruit, grains and nuts organically grown without pesticides and
prepared to maintain the maximum nutrition outlined in detail in my video including
specifics of the Gerson therapy with references provided. (Also, see Health and Healing
Newsletter, February 1995 Supplement)
b) If it can be tolerated by the intestines, at least 50% of food should be eaten raw including large quantities of fresh vegetable juices.
c) Elimination of all processed food, as well as sugar and salt.

2) Elimination of toxins from the body by colon cleansing with either enemas, colonics, colon cleansing and/or a high fiber diet.

3) Elimination of toxins from the local environment, including removal of toxic cleaning chemicals from the house and replacement with less toxic or nontoxic biodegradable cleaners.

Many other specific individual nutritional therapies and supplements including barley green, Essiac tea and. shark cartilage are helpful in certain instances and are presented in some detail in the video with numerous resources provided. Many have found that a basic regimen incorporating this three point plan with the addition of specific supplements, depending on the condition, has resulted in major improvement and even elimination of many diseases, including cancer.

If it were only this easy as Dr. Day describes it. I am not diminishing her story, but each person with cancer is unique, if it were just as easy as cleaning up the diet to cure cancer it would have been done. I do think everyone should follow the above recommendations. I am not willing to write off conventional care as much as Dr. Day and Dr. Whitaker are. Where I do think conventional care misses the boat is: 1) treating the whole person as a person, not just the disease. and 2) Use of herbs and nutritional supplements alongside of chemo and radiation. Alex

Meat Vegetable ratio

Studies keep linking diets high in red meat with increased cancer risk. Could part of the risk from large amounts of meat reflect an unhealthful balance between vegetables and meat? The Mediterranean and Asian eating patterns have a well-established link with lower cancer risk. These diets both limit meat and strongly emphasize an abundance of vegetables.

One reason the vegetable-to-meat balance might be so important are compounds in vegetables that act on potentially harmful substances produced by meat.

We keep on learning the same things over and over in more detail...Eat vegetables. Diets such as Gerson therapy or macrobiotics are exclusively vegetarian. I am not sure of their pros and cons at this point. It is something I will be pursuing. If anyone has experience please write in.