The complexity of our human body to fight off cancer seems almost mind boggling. While there's a battle going on within us, we have to take up "arms" in the fight against cancer through detoxification and wellness. An advocate for medical intervention when needed, I am equally a proponent for utilizing wellness in the fight against cancer. Why not use everything available, especially what comes naturally, to help our bodies become healthy and whole. The below chart shows most of the natural products we can consume to restore/rebuild/replenish what our body requires to help keep us protected in the fight against cancer. Whether through diet or supplemental intake, consuming these items is a preventative method against the war within us.
The "Cancer Detox System" diagram represents what we can do or what our body does naturally and the "Cancer causing" diagram identifies where we become susceptible to cancerous invasion in our body. The increase in using detoxification products (i.e. vitamins, minerals, natural/whole foods) help to counteract the invasion of cancer causing elements (i.e. free and oxygen radicals, poor nutrition/obesity, environmental).
What we know about cancer is this; our bodies naturally "detoxify" cancer within us. The exception to this rule may occur if we possess a genetic deficiency that may adversely affect our ability to detoxify and/or adequately supply our body, naturally, what it needs to produce detoxification. When working properly, the trillions of cells within us possess a natural ability to counteract the toxins we encounter on a daily basis (i.e. free radicals, oxygen radicals, and electrophiles). Whether it's what we consume through diet or the environment, we are constantly fighting off cancer, naturally and systematically, within our own bodies. However, no one knows how much their body will be able to "naturally" fight off cancer or to what extent. That is why it is so important that we avoid things like second hand cigarette smoke, toxic chemicals, preservatives and anything that is unnatural to our body because toxins naturally stimulate the reproduction of free radicals and electrophiles in our body. When we avoid living a healthy lifestyle we (essentially) open the door within us to become diseased. Gambling on how much our body can take isn't wisdom, while living "preventatively" is.
Krebs Cycle
Through what is referred to as the "Krebs Cycle" our body consumes, breaks down, strips away and then converts carbohydrates and fats into energy (electrons). During the process of breaking down, these electrons attach to oxygen molecules forming a toxic chemical called "superoxide". The more we place our body under stress (fighting off disease) the more we break down our ability to defend ourselves against cancer. A deficiency of ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate), our body's natural way to store and use energy, can lead to the reproduction of superoxide within us. When our cancer fighting cells become depleted through poor nutrition and exercise, our body becomes increasingly defenseless and diseased. Whether or not your body's disease will be cancer or some other illness (i.e. heart disease, diabetes, etc.) you still need a daily dose of wellness to counteract the attack. The beauty of our body is that we can get "help" through practicing wellness in our daily diet and exercise. Think about that for minute; every time you put something in your mouth you're either assisting or working against your body's natural ability to live healthy. But what about when we haven't been practicing wellness and now we're faced with disease? What do we do then? And are we able (really?) to reverse cancer? That's a "million dollar" question that science is still trying to figure out. What we do know is that there's many, many cancer fighting resources available to us, both natural and scientific. For this blog, I'll focus first on what we can do naturally to assist our body through cancer.
Detoxification
Detoxification is one of the best first steps to take when you're trying to get well. Regardless of what you are facing, if you start with a quick fix mentality you'll be missing the most important first step; change. Our natural inclination is to want "things" to change while we stay the same. It seems much easier to take a pill, a shot or a treatment if that will "fix us". While medicine is certainly there to assist us in our process of getting "well" so is nutrition and exercise. Our bodies thrive off good nutrition (healthy foods/beverage) so when we abuse our bodies, we open the door to disease and once something becomes habitual change is the greatest obstacle we overcome. The simple desire to want to change seems almost impossible to some and achievable to others. I'm not an expert at what it takes to make someone want to change but what I have observed is this; our "fight" or "flight" emotional mentality greatly affects our ability to change. Unless we "detoxify" our mind, spirit and body, we have little chance of changing. No one can continue doing "business as usual" and expect their body to change on its own. Unless you are willing to do the work (detoxification), then you are willingly giving in to disease (now or in the future). My advice is to do everything medically and naturally to fight off, build, replenish and restore your body as much as possible.
Our body's lymphatic system, which assists in fighting disease, needs all the help we can give it. When we "detoxify" our lymphatic system we help our body dispose toxins found in our tissues and nodes. Previously, I wrote about what we can consume to naturally "detoxify" our lymphatic system (April 20th, 2011, "Lymphatic cleansing"). Another way in which we cleanse/detoxify our system is the intake of minerals and vitamins, either naturally through the food/beverage we consume or via supplements (as listed in the chart at the top of this blog).
The first step in detoxifying your system is to stop doing a few simple things: Avoid fast foods, convenience store products (i.e. candies, crackers, chips, breakfast bars), pre-made refrigerated or frozen meals, premade juices, alcohol and excessive amounts of caffeine related beverages. Start incorporating fresh fruits and vegetables at every meal, with half your meal comprised of these products. Choose whole grains (i.e. brown rice, whole wheat bread) beans (kidney, lentils, black beans) and lean (organic) white meat or (fresh caught) seafood. If you're not sure that your diet is providing you with enough antioxidants then supplement your diet with a One a Day type vitamin and read the label to determine the amount of daily dosage requirements you're actually receiving.
Nutrition
You don't have to be obese to inherit the possibility of receiving cancer causing products, but it doesn't make you immune either. What happens when we're "obese" is simple; we're constantly choosing poor nutrition over healthy nutrition, which in turn invites toxins into our body. The path to wellness incorporates our overall body. If we're obese we're less likely to be healthy. Obesity is a sign that our body is "overwhelmed" and unable to handle what we're doing to it. Eating healthy, fresh food, especially darker green, bright red/orange/yellow fruit/vegetables, is an easy way to incorporate the cancer fighting antioxidants your body needs. Nuts, beans, whole grains are also welcome foods, containing a high amount of vitamins/minerals which are full of antioxidants. When we increase our "antioxidant" level in our body, we increase our body's natural ability to fight off the toxins we've consumed. You have to eat, so why not eat healthy fresh food every meal, everyday?
Quick tip for wellness: Start helping your body today by eating fresh, whole foods, while avoiding processed, fried, fatty foods. That one step alone will make a huge difference in your overall wellness.
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