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Doctor Changes Diet and Improves His Cancer. Is This True?

The topic of diet and cancer can be found often in the media.  There are such diverse ideas about what to eat to be healthy, it usually results in most of us being confused.  Low fat, low carb, green smoothies, vegetarian – the possibilities are almost endless.  How on earth do we figure it all out?  A few weeks ago I posted a story about the Metabolic Typing diet which I believe helps to individualize this question.  Some people do well on a more vegetable based diet while others seem to do better on a diet that has at least some meat protein.

The topic of diet and health as it relates to cancer is even more confusing.  Organizations such as Inspire Health who do an outstanding job of helping cancer patients maximize their health recommend multiple servings of fruits and veggies a day.  These foods offer a multitude of healing phytochemicals to help strengthen the body’s immune system. The article referenced below offers a philosophy that is almost completely opposite yet the results are very impressive.  What is true? Or, perhaps, is there a middle ground that embraces the best information from both?                                                                                                                                                          I normally don’t believe articles that make such grandiose claims to cure cancer but I have witnessed the power of a Paleo diet on a friend of mine.  As the article reports, her cancer numbers also dropped below her numbers at diagnosis when following this type of diet for year.  Every single marker for health improved dramatically and her physicians are stunned.  They had previously told her that her cancer numbers would not ever improve unless she took chemotherapy.  She has proved them wrong and has already lived several years past their prediction for her.  Her cancer doctor even acknowledged that it is true – cancers thrive on sugars and complex carbohydrates.

Here is the link to the article: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/03/10/ketogenic-diet.aspx?e_cid=20130310_SNL_Art_1&utm_source=snl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20130310

So, how do we make sense of this?  What should we eat and what should we feed out children?  Here are a few of my thoughts that are particularly important if you have cancer or any other serious or chronic health problem:

  1. Identify food sensitivities and remove them from your diet.   They cause chronic inflammation in the body and, over time, contribute to a multitude of health problems.
  2. Remove gluten containing grains from your diet as much as possible and do not use them as the mainstay of your calories.  The grains we are eating today are not remotely the same as the healthy grains of our past.  If you eat them, increase your variety and ensure they are organically grown.
  3. Use only organic, grass fed meats free of antibiotics and hormones to increase your intake of Omega 3 oils and decrease your intake of Omega 6.  Also use free range eggs.
  4. If you are consuming dairy products, do so in moderation and do your best to find organic, grass feed animals as the source of the milk.
  5. Replace complex carbohydrates and highly processed foods with healthy and nutritious alternatives.  If God didn’t create it, it has been processed.
  6. Eliminate sugar with the exception of the occasional treat.  Sugar increases inflammation, depresses the immune system, and results in huge spikes and drops in blood sugar.  This does not bode well for your future health.
  7. Don’t be afraid to add healthy fats to your diet.  Use coconut oil to cook with and even add a bit to your smoothies.  Use olive oil on your salads and consider adding some fish or fish oil regularly, as well.  Soups and stews made from organic, free range meats also helps.
  8. Eat a wide variety of foods.  Each fruit and vegetable has unique phytochemicals so ensure you include lots of different colours in your diet.

8. When you are hungry, eat something with protein or a healthy fat such as avocado as well as a carbohydrate so that your blood sugar doesn’t plummet an hour later.

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