How To Use Food To Treat Cancer
(6/20/2020)
The Role of Food in Cancer Treatment: Doctors and Patients Sound Off
by Andrew Scholberg
Every spring I send one of my reporters to the annual Annie Appleseed Cancer Conference in West Palm Beach, Florida to bring you a report on the latest treatments. This is the fourth of several articles reporting on treatments discussed during the conference.
Diet is the foundation of many natural and alternative cancer treatments. In fact, most natural and alternative cancer doctors agree that eating the right food is important whether you’re treating cancer or trying to prevent it.
However, what these doctors—and many cancer survivors— don’t agree on is what should comprise a cancer-fighting diet. At this year’s Annie Appleseed Cancer Conference, a number of doctors and cancer survivors spoke on their view of the best way to let “food be thy medicine.”
Today we’re going to take a brief look at some of their ideas. Dr. Rodrigo Rodriguez is one of Mexico’s top cancer doctors and the founder of the International BioCare Hospital in Tijuana.
I’ve personally toured the International BioCare Hospital several times and have interviewed Dr. Rodriguez and a number of his patients there. I’ve always been impressed by his common sense approach to medicine.
Many of his patients at the Tijuana hospital are Amish people who travel there from all over America. When the Amish get cancer, they generally travel to Mexico for treatment.
“Food is medicine. If I could only use one medical treatment, it would be the kitchen,” Dr. Rodriguez declared. “You should think of your body as a Lamborghini. You can’t run a Lamborghini on cheap gas. Great performance can’t be achieved with poor fuel. Feed your body accordingly.”
A nutritious eating plan is the #1 cancer treatment
In his talk at Annie Appleseed, Dr. Rodriguez said the body has an inclination towards health, but we sabotage it by making unwise lifestyle choices. As a result, he claimed, 70 percent of people will die of a chronic inflammatory disease — “the big disease of our lifetime.”
In fact, 2014 was the last year the U.S. life expectancy increased. It’s been dropping every year since.
Statistics show that people are dying younger, sometimes in their 30s, 40s, or 50s, of heart attacks, strokes, and cancer. According to Dr. Rodriguez, “This generation of parents may be the first to bury their kids. We see a lot of cancer within families: they eat the same garbage. They have the same lifestyle. That’s what we have to correct.”
To make a point about the connection between diet and immune health, Dr. Rodriguez described this common Western-style eating plan: Breakfast: two eggs, bacon, and white bread. Lunch: burger and coke. Supper: 16-ounce steak and more white bread.
He told the attendees, “You gave nothing to your intestinal flora. Nothing! With that kind of eating plan it’s going to start to die. The only bacteria that will survive are the bacteria you don’t want in our body. You’ll lose the integrity of the gut, which causes inflammation. The intestinal tract is crucial for healthy white blood cells and robust immunity!”
BioCare treatment
Dr. Rodriguez described his BioCare system of cancer treatment as a pyramid.
At the bottom of the pyramid is the foundation of good health: clean air and water, a nutritious eating plan, beneficial flora in the intestines, exercise, rest, sleep, and reduced stress.
Farther up the pyramid are digestive enzymes, enemas and colonics, nutritional supplementation, far-infrared sauna, antioxidants, selenium, IV nutrition, liver protectors, and chelation.
At the top of the pyramid are hyperthermia, immune stimulants, autologous stem cell therapy, platelet rich plasma, and dendritic cell vaccines. Longtime readers of Cancer Defeated will be familiar with these treatments. Dendritic cells, for example, are rare immune cells, usually from a patient’s own body, that can be made into a vaccine to produce an anti-tumor response in the body.
As for cancer drugs, Dr. Rodriguez considers them pretty much useless. He said that when a cancer doctor gets sick and hears the words “Doctor, I’m sorry to tell you this, but you have cancer,” it puts the fear of God into them. That’s because oncologists “know they have nothing to control it.” Indeed, when oncologists get cancer, studies show that many of them refuse to take the chemo drugs that they routinely bully their cancer patients into taking.
“BioCare is anti-inflammatory and supports the intestinal flora,” Dr. Rodriguez explained. He recommends eating more produce and plant-based proteins such as legumes. “Chickpeas are the vegetable equivalent of ‘meat.’ Lentils are high in protein too.”
However, it’s not only foods in your diet that fight inflammation, but also lifestyle. Dr. Rodriguez went on to say that, “exercise is a potent anti-inflammatory strategy! Exercise! Move!” He recommended walking as an exercise. For those who are unsteady on their feet, he suggested going to Walmart for exercise, using a cart as a “walker.”
She fired the doctor who started bullying her
One of the highlights of every Annie Appleseed conference is the patient panel. This year’s moderator, Julia Chiappetta, explained how mammograms missed her breast cancer, which she discovered herself in 2000 when she felt a lump.
Julie underwent a lumpectomy, and doctors then told her the cancer was aggressive and that she needed a double mastectomy followed by chemotherapy and radiation. The doctors were adamant, saying, “Don’t come back to me unless you’re going to do chemo.” She said no to all that and fired them.
Instead, Julie leaned on her faith, praying, trusting in Jesus, and realizing that she’d be fine whether she lived or died. Then, she dramatically changed her diet and lifestyle.
Julie threw out all of the toxic products in her house, including her microwave oven. She began eating a raw food, 100 percent vegan diet and broke up with her fiancé. Her breast cancer disappeared—naturally. That was 20 years ago.
Rhonda Kodijayan was another panel member who recovered from breast cancer.
Traditional Chinese Medicine takes a nutritional approach, too
Three years ago, doctors told Rhonda she needed a mastectomy. Another physician recommended a lumpectomy and chemotherapy, so she opted for a double lumpectomy and started taking a chemotherapy drug. She experienced horrendous side effects and decided not to continue.
Instead, she followed the advice of a doctor of oriental medicine, who said, “We have to build up your immune system.” He recommended various vitamins and herbs.
She started taking vitamins A, C, E, and selenium and zinc. She added melatonin, turkey tail mushrooms, various Chinese herbs, and mistletoe, and she exercises three times each week. She also swears by green tea, saying, “Cancer hates tea.”
Then there was Joseph Chammas with perhaps the most amazing recovery of them all.
Raw food diet saves man from terminal colon cancer
In 2008, Joseph was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer with metastasis to the liver and lymph nodes. His doctors gave him 18 months to live even with aggressive treatment. Joseph felt so miserable in the hospital while undergoing chemotherapy and other treatments that he swore he would never go back if he got out.
When he was discharged, Joseph made some radical changes. His first task was to change his thinking so he no longer believed the doctor’s prediction that he had only 18 months to live. He said that if he’d continued believing that doctor, he would’ve died within 18 months.
“You have to take your power back. You’re not a victim,” Joseph said. “You’re either going to get out or not. But follow your route and let the chips fall where they may. Fear is the first thing you need to release, and then follow your passion.”
Next, Joseph undertook a raw, 100 percent vegan diet as well as regular infrared saunas and rebounding (mild bouncing on a mini-trampoline, which moves lymphatic fluid).
Joseph went so far as to start growing his own food on raised beds at his home. One room inside of his house became a sprout room. Soon Joseph started feeling good and strong, and 12 years later, he has stayed on that path.
Gerson diet protocol heals breast cancer
The last panelist was Elisa Gorman. When she was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer a year ago, doctors recommended a double mastectomy followed by chemo and radiation. But she had a strong feeling that she should just say no, so she did. Instead, Elisa read the book Radical Remission, which is about patients who proved cancer death sentences wrong.
She found a good way to handle any oncologist who tried to bully her into taking chemo. With tape recorder in hand, she would ask the doctor, “If I do chemo, how much money will you make off me?” That’s an embarrassing question for oncologists, because they get a 50 percent kickback on chemo drugs, according to Ms. Gorman. [Editor’s note: This is broadly true of oncologists in independent practice but not of those associated with a hospital.]
In many cases, if a patient’s insurance company is billed $10,000 a month for a chemo drug, $5,000 a month goes into the oncologist’s pocket. About half of oncologists’ income is from chemotherapy profits.
Elisa was not in good overall health. Bourbon on the rocks was her favorite drink, and she was 60 pounds overweight. She found a naturopathic oncologist, gave up her bourbon habit and lost her excess weight following the Gerson protocol, a famous cancer treatment plan that includes a vegan diet, vegetable juicing and regular coffee enemas to detoxify the body. Her tumor shrank to the point where a lumpectomy could be done.
Now she’s cancer-free and still follows the Gerson eating plan. In addition, she takes weekly nutritional IV treatments, does infrared saunas four days a week as well as ozone treatments, and she purchased a Bemer -- a pulsed elctromagnetic therapy mat -- that she uses on a daily basis to optimize blood flow throughout her body. Her concluding advice was, “Don’t let anyone tell you what you can’t do.”
It’s important to note that, in my experience, certain dietary plans like Gerson are more effective in certain cancers than in others. So, if you’re undertaking dietary therapy to treat cancer I encourage you to examine the research on that therapy in your specific cancer.
Cancer Defeated's general advice to cancer patients—and to anyone wanting to prevent this terrible disease—is to eat organic foods where possible, focusing on lots of fresh produce, minimize carbohydrates, consume meat in moderation, avoid processed foods and sugar at all costs, as well as minimize or eliminate alcohol.
Another part of nutritional cancer therapy isn’t only eating, it’s NOT eating, too.
Should cancer patients fast?
Dr. Carol Lourie, N.D. spoke to the Annie Appleseed audience about the value of fasting for certain cancers and in certain patients.
She remarked that fasting is seeing a resurgence in medicine now that science reports more benefits of intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that cycles between periods of fasting and periods of eating. It doesn’t specify which foods you should eat, the way a diet would, but rather when you should eat them to maximize health.
To get the benefit of intermittent fasting, you have to fast for at least 14 hours out of 24, and eat all of your food within a ten-hour window. Dr. Lourie said patients can work up to that level. It’s also possible to do a more severe intermittent fast by eating within an eight-hour window and fasting for 16 hours.
Dr. Lourie explained that cancer cells need food, so patients who fast before taking chemotherapy could increase the effectiveness of the drug. During fasting, the normal cells go into protective mode, while the cancer cells crave food and then gorge on the chemotherapy drugs. What’s more, with fasting, patients experience fewer and less severe side effects.
Another system of fasting that Dr. Lourie suggested is “periodic fasting.” You fast for an entire day and then you eat normally for the next two days, followed by another all-day fast and two more days of eating, etc.
She mentioned a third fasting system called the “5-2” plan: eat normally for five days, then fast for two full days in a row, then five more days of eating, two more days of fasting, etc.
Avoid water fasts for this reason
Dr. Lourie warned against water-fasting by saying that this type of fasting is not as effective as people might believe. Water fasting, she explained, is “not great” for intestinal flora and instead of supporting these beneficial bacteria required for a strong immune system, can kill them off.
Instead, intermittent fasting or caloric restriction is more beneficial because it doesn’t damage your intestinal flora.
Is fasting for everyone? No.
Dr. Lourie said those cancer patients who are undernourished, underweight, or at risk for cancer-related cachexia (a wasting away of muscle and fat tissue) shouldn’t fast. Others who should avoid it include those who have severe metastatic disease, abnormal liver function, diabetes, or hypoglycemia (unless you’re working with a qualified clinician).
How you come off a fast is almost as important as what you did during the fast. Dr. Lourie said, “Don’t eat a hamburger when you come off a fast.” She recommended bone broth, vegetable juice, and herbal tea instead.
We’ll talk more about the latest research on fasting in cancer patients in an upcoming article.
Amazon Rainforest’s Cancer-fighting Vitamin E
For the last 35 years, Barrie Tan, Ph.D., has been researching the health benefits of vitamin E. At this point he may be the world’s foremost vitamin E expert.
At this year’s Annie Appleseed Cancer Conference, Dr. Tan revealed he’s discovered a unique, natural source of vitamin E that contains the largest amounts of cancer-fighting tocotrienols—the most important form of vitamin E.To understand the importance of Dr. Tan’s findings, you first must understand that vitamin E is the collective name for a group of eight fat-soluble compounds that perform critical antioxidant activities in the body. These compounds include four tocopherols and four tocotrienols.
Vitamin E in cancer growth and prevention
To date, there have been many studies on vitamin E and cancer, mostly positive.
For instance, scientists have found relationships between increased intake of vitamin E and a lower risk of cancer, as well as a lower risk of death from all major diseases including heart disease.
In a meta-analysis of the research, reported last year in the International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research, scientists in Shanghai analyzed three randomized trials and eight studies that examined the effect of vitamin E consumption on the risk of bladder cancer.
They found an 11 percent lower risk of bladder cancer among subjects whose intake was highest compared to those who had a lower intake.
What’s more, researchers followed the tocopherol levels of 29,092 older male smokers over a thirty-year period and published their results last year in the journal Circulation Research. In addition to a 40 percent lower risk of stroke and a 47 percent lower risk of respiratory disease, the men with the highest levels of alpha-tocopherol—one of the four tocopherols—also had a 19 percent lower risk of cancer.
“To our knowledge, this is the largest study to examine alpha-tocopherol biochemical status in relation to overall and cause-specific mortality,” Jiaqi Huang, PhD and his colleagues from, the National Cancer Institute announced.
He continued, “Our data supports the long-term health benefits of higher serum alpha-tocopherol for overall and chronic disease mortality and should be replicated in other more diverse populations.”1
The research begs the question…
Which vitamin E compound
is most powerful against cancer?
A review of existing research reveals that most science has been performed on tocopherols, and that alpha-tocopherol is credited with carrying out antioxidant activities in the body. However, throughout the decades of researching vitamin E, Dr. Tan has come to believe this is not true. He says the healthiest form of vitamin E is the tocotrienols.
For example, Dr. Tan told the Annie Appleseed Cancer Conference that tocotrienols can provide 40 to 60 times more antioxidant protection than tocopherols. What’s more, tocotrienols are smaller and more agile molecules, allowing them to move around the body 50 times faster than tocopherols.2
Plus, recent studies have revealed that tocotrienols are testing stronger than tocopherols against cancer in animal models and lab-cultured cell lines.3
The studies reveal that tocotrienols have anti-angiogenic effects on tumors, which means they prevent the formation of blood vessels that feed tumors.4
Tocotrienols also promote apoptosis, known as programmed cell death. In other words, tocotrienols cause cancer cells to “commit suicide.”
Tocotrienols kill many different
types of cancer cells safely
Researchers in England studied an intravenous delivery system of concentrated tocotrienol in laboratory animals and found that it led to tumor regression and improved survival rate compared to animals that did not receive the intravenous tocotrienol. In addition, there were no negative side effects.
Researchers concluded that this is a “highly promising therapeutic system, leading to tumor regression after IV administration without visible toxicity.”5
Additional research at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit found that tocotrienols help stop the growth of colon cancer cells.
The Detroit researchers studied the effects of tocotrienols and curcumin (the anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer compound found in the spice turmeric) on the growth and development of colon cancer cells in mice. They concluded that together these natural compounds worked synergistically and “significantly inhibited growth” of colon cancer cells.6
A review of the research published in the International Journal of Molecular Science reports that “Tocotrienols can suppress the growth of different malignancies, including those of the breast, lung, ovary, prostate, liver, brain, colon, myeloma and pancreas.”7
Even more exciting, the positive results of the laboratory research on tocotrienol’s ability to fight cancer in animals is bearing out in humans.
Tocotrienol fights cancer in people, too
In a clinical trial of ovarian cancer, researchers gave patients with chemotherapy-resistant cancers 300 mg of tocotrienol and the drug bevacizumab (which stops tumor-feeding blood vessels from forming). The result was a 70 percent rate of disease stabilization.8
In a clinical trial of pancreatic cancer, researchers found 400 mg to 1600 mg of tocotrienol alone “significantly induced apoptosis” in the majority of patients with no adverse effects.9
These results are why Dr. Tan’s discovery is so exciting.
Contains 90 percent tocotrienols--
nature’s richest source!
As Dr. Tan explained at the Annie Appleseed Cancer Conference, he began searching for natural sources of tocotrienols, which he found in palm plants and rice. However, no source ever compared to the tocotrienols he found in a unique plant from the Amazon rainforest.
The plant’s official name is annatto tocotrienol, but in the Amazon it’s known as the lipstick plant because native peoples used it to make their cultural face markings. In the West, we’ve used this plant as natural food coloring.
The lipstick plant has only two compounds, delta tocotrienol at 90 percent and gamma tocotrienol at ten percent—that’s more tocotrienol than any other natural source. (The other two forms of tocotrienol are alpha and beta.)
“These are the most potent antioxidants of the vitamin E family,” explained Dr. Tan. “This plant is as close to medicine as you can possibly get!”
How to take tocotrienol
Dr. Tan says 100 mg to 200 mg of tocotrienol per day is adequate for a healthy person. For those with health concerns, between 300 mg to 600 mg per day is recommended, dividing your dosage with no more than 300 mg taken at each meal. This is far more than the U.S. government’s recommended daily intake of 15 mg, so once again their nutritional guidelines fall short.
Dr. Tan recommends against supplementing with tocopherols at all, as they can interfere with tocotrienol absorption. That means that many of the vitamin E supplements available on the market today are inadequate because they contain both tocopherols and tocotrienols in the same capsule.
Cancer Defeated’s recommendation has been to supplement tocotrienol and tocopherols on alternate days. Also, the doses of tocotrienols Dr. Tan recommends are quite large.
What’s interesting is that Dr. Tan believes you can easily obtain the recommended 15 mg a day of tocopherols through diet alone (although this is not true of tocotrienols.)
For instance, eating a handful of nuts or sunflower seeds will provide enough tocopherols, so will consuming foods cooked in sunflower or safflower oils, such as salad dressings, baked goods and chips and crackers—even the “healthy” ones. I would urge eating the nuts or seeds, not the oils and baked goods.
Dr. Tan manufactures vitamin E products from the lipstick plant through his company American River Nutrition, based in Massachusetts.
******************************************************************************************************************************
Health Disclaimer: The information provided above is not intended as personal medical advice or instructions. You should not take any action affecting your health without consulting a qualified health professional. The authors and publishers of the information above are not doctors or health-caregivers. The authors and publishers believe the information to be accurate but its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. There is some risk associated with ANY cancer treatment, and the reader should not act on the information above unless he or she is willing to assume the full risk.
by Andrew Scholberg
Every spring I send one of my reporters to the annual Annie Appleseed Cancer Conference in West Palm Beach, Florida to bring you a report on the latest treatments. This is the fourth of several articles reporting on treatments discussed during the conference.
Diet is the foundation of many natural and alternative cancer treatments. In fact, most natural and alternative cancer doctors agree that eating the right food is important whether you’re treating cancer or trying to prevent it.
However, what these doctors—and many cancer survivors— don’t agree on is what should comprise a cancer-fighting diet. At this year’s Annie Appleseed Cancer Conference, a number of doctors and cancer survivors spoke on their view of the best way to let “food be thy medicine.”
Today we’re going to take a brief look at some of their ideas. Dr. Rodrigo Rodriguez is one of Mexico’s top cancer doctors and the founder of the International BioCare Hospital in Tijuana.
I’ve personally toured the International BioCare Hospital several times and have interviewed Dr. Rodriguez and a number of his patients there. I’ve always been impressed by his common sense approach to medicine.
Many of his patients at the Tijuana hospital are Amish people who travel there from all over America. When the Amish get cancer, they generally travel to Mexico for treatment.
“Food is medicine. If I could only use one medical treatment, it would be the kitchen,” Dr. Rodriguez declared. “You should think of your body as a Lamborghini. You can’t run a Lamborghini on cheap gas. Great performance can’t be achieved with poor fuel. Feed your body accordingly.”
A nutritious eating plan is the #1 cancer treatment
In his talk at Annie Appleseed, Dr. Rodriguez said the body has an inclination towards health, but we sabotage it by making unwise lifestyle choices. As a result, he claimed, 70 percent of people will die of a chronic inflammatory disease — “the big disease of our lifetime.”
In fact, 2014 was the last year the U.S. life expectancy increased. It’s been dropping every year since.
Statistics show that people are dying younger, sometimes in their 30s, 40s, or 50s, of heart attacks, strokes, and cancer. According to Dr. Rodriguez, “This generation of parents may be the first to bury their kids. We see a lot of cancer within families: they eat the same garbage. They have the same lifestyle. That’s what we have to correct.”
To make a point about the connection between diet and immune health, Dr. Rodriguez described this common Western-style eating plan: Breakfast: two eggs, bacon, and white bread. Lunch: burger and coke. Supper: 16-ounce steak and more white bread.
He told the attendees, “You gave nothing to your intestinal flora. Nothing! With that kind of eating plan it’s going to start to die. The only bacteria that will survive are the bacteria you don’t want in our body. You’ll lose the integrity of the gut, which causes inflammation. The intestinal tract is crucial for healthy white blood cells and robust immunity!”
BioCare treatment
Dr. Rodriguez described his BioCare system of cancer treatment as a pyramid.
At the bottom of the pyramid is the foundation of good health: clean air and water, a nutritious eating plan, beneficial flora in the intestines, exercise, rest, sleep, and reduced stress.
Farther up the pyramid are digestive enzymes, enemas and colonics, nutritional supplementation, far-infrared sauna, antioxidants, selenium, IV nutrition, liver protectors, and chelation.
At the top of the pyramid are hyperthermia, immune stimulants, autologous stem cell therapy, platelet rich plasma, and dendritic cell vaccines. Longtime readers of Cancer Defeated will be familiar with these treatments. Dendritic cells, for example, are rare immune cells, usually from a patient’s own body, that can be made into a vaccine to produce an anti-tumor response in the body.
As for cancer drugs, Dr. Rodriguez considers them pretty much useless. He said that when a cancer doctor gets sick and hears the words “Doctor, I’m sorry to tell you this, but you have cancer,” it puts the fear of God into them. That’s because oncologists “know they have nothing to control it.” Indeed, when oncologists get cancer, studies show that many of them refuse to take the chemo drugs that they routinely bully their cancer patients into taking.
“BioCare is anti-inflammatory and supports the intestinal flora,” Dr. Rodriguez explained. He recommends eating more produce and plant-based proteins such as legumes. “Chickpeas are the vegetable equivalent of ‘meat.’ Lentils are high in protein too.”
However, it’s not only foods in your diet that fight inflammation, but also lifestyle. Dr. Rodriguez went on to say that, “exercise is a potent anti-inflammatory strategy! Exercise! Move!” He recommended walking as an exercise. For those who are unsteady on their feet, he suggested going to Walmart for exercise, using a cart as a “walker.”
She fired the doctor who started bullying her
One of the highlights of every Annie Appleseed conference is the patient panel. This year’s moderator, Julia Chiappetta, explained how mammograms missed her breast cancer, which she discovered herself in 2000 when she felt a lump.
Julie underwent a lumpectomy, and doctors then told her the cancer was aggressive and that she needed a double mastectomy followed by chemotherapy and radiation. The doctors were adamant, saying, “Don’t come back to me unless you’re going to do chemo.” She said no to all that and fired them.
Instead, Julie leaned on her faith, praying, trusting in Jesus, and realizing that she’d be fine whether she lived or died. Then, she dramatically changed her diet and lifestyle.
Julie threw out all of the toxic products in her house, including her microwave oven. She began eating a raw food, 100 percent vegan diet and broke up with her fiancé. Her breast cancer disappeared—naturally. That was 20 years ago.
Rhonda Kodijayan was another panel member who recovered from breast cancer.
Traditional Chinese Medicine takes a nutritional approach, too
Three years ago, doctors told Rhonda she needed a mastectomy. Another physician recommended a lumpectomy and chemotherapy, so she opted for a double lumpectomy and started taking a chemotherapy drug. She experienced horrendous side effects and decided not to continue.
Instead, she followed the advice of a doctor of oriental medicine, who said, “We have to build up your immune system.” He recommended various vitamins and herbs.
She started taking vitamins A, C, E, and selenium and zinc. She added melatonin, turkey tail mushrooms, various Chinese herbs, and mistletoe, and she exercises three times each week. She also swears by green tea, saying, “Cancer hates tea.”
Then there was Joseph Chammas with perhaps the most amazing recovery of them all.
Raw food diet saves man from terminal colon cancer
In 2008, Joseph was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer with metastasis to the liver and lymph nodes. His doctors gave him 18 months to live even with aggressive treatment. Joseph felt so miserable in the hospital while undergoing chemotherapy and other treatments that he swore he would never go back if he got out.
When he was discharged, Joseph made some radical changes. His first task was to change his thinking so he no longer believed the doctor’s prediction that he had only 18 months to live. He said that if he’d continued believing that doctor, he would’ve died within 18 months.
“You have to take your power back. You’re not a victim,” Joseph said. “You’re either going to get out or not. But follow your route and let the chips fall where they may. Fear is the first thing you need to release, and then follow your passion.”
Next, Joseph undertook a raw, 100 percent vegan diet as well as regular infrared saunas and rebounding (mild bouncing on a mini-trampoline, which moves lymphatic fluid).
Joseph went so far as to start growing his own food on raised beds at his home. One room inside of his house became a sprout room. Soon Joseph started feeling good and strong, and 12 years later, he has stayed on that path.
Gerson diet protocol heals breast cancer
The last panelist was Elisa Gorman. When she was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer a year ago, doctors recommended a double mastectomy followed by chemo and radiation. But she had a strong feeling that she should just say no, so she did. Instead, Elisa read the book Radical Remission, which is about patients who proved cancer death sentences wrong.
She found a good way to handle any oncologist who tried to bully her into taking chemo. With tape recorder in hand, she would ask the doctor, “If I do chemo, how much money will you make off me?” That’s an embarrassing question for oncologists, because they get a 50 percent kickback on chemo drugs, according to Ms. Gorman. [Editor’s note: This is broadly true of oncologists in independent practice but not of those associated with a hospital.]
In many cases, if a patient’s insurance company is billed $10,000 a month for a chemo drug, $5,000 a month goes into the oncologist’s pocket. About half of oncologists’ income is from chemotherapy profits.
Elisa was not in good overall health. Bourbon on the rocks was her favorite drink, and she was 60 pounds overweight. She found a naturopathic oncologist, gave up her bourbon habit and lost her excess weight following the Gerson protocol, a famous cancer treatment plan that includes a vegan diet, vegetable juicing and regular coffee enemas to detoxify the body. Her tumor shrank to the point where a lumpectomy could be done.
Now she’s cancer-free and still follows the Gerson eating plan. In addition, she takes weekly nutritional IV treatments, does infrared saunas four days a week as well as ozone treatments, and she purchased a Bemer -- a pulsed elctromagnetic therapy mat -- that she uses on a daily basis to optimize blood flow throughout her body. Her concluding advice was, “Don’t let anyone tell you what you can’t do.”
It’s important to note that, in my experience, certain dietary plans like Gerson are more effective in certain cancers than in others. So, if you’re undertaking dietary therapy to treat cancer I encourage you to examine the research on that therapy in your specific cancer.
Cancer Defeated's general advice to cancer patients—and to anyone wanting to prevent this terrible disease—is to eat organic foods where possible, focusing on lots of fresh produce, minimize carbohydrates, consume meat in moderation, avoid processed foods and sugar at all costs, as well as minimize or eliminate alcohol.
Another part of nutritional cancer therapy isn’t only eating, it’s NOT eating, too.
Should cancer patients fast?
Dr. Carol Lourie, N.D. spoke to the Annie Appleseed audience about the value of fasting for certain cancers and in certain patients.
She remarked that fasting is seeing a resurgence in medicine now that science reports more benefits of intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that cycles between periods of fasting and periods of eating. It doesn’t specify which foods you should eat, the way a diet would, but rather when you should eat them to maximize health.
To get the benefit of intermittent fasting, you have to fast for at least 14 hours out of 24, and eat all of your food within a ten-hour window. Dr. Lourie said patients can work up to that level. It’s also possible to do a more severe intermittent fast by eating within an eight-hour window and fasting for 16 hours.
Dr. Lourie explained that cancer cells need food, so patients who fast before taking chemotherapy could increase the effectiveness of the drug. During fasting, the normal cells go into protective mode, while the cancer cells crave food and then gorge on the chemotherapy drugs. What’s more, with fasting, patients experience fewer and less severe side effects.
Another system of fasting that Dr. Lourie suggested is “periodic fasting.” You fast for an entire day and then you eat normally for the next two days, followed by another all-day fast and two more days of eating, etc.
She mentioned a third fasting system called the “5-2” plan: eat normally for five days, then fast for two full days in a row, then five more days of eating, two more days of fasting, etc.
Avoid water fasts for this reason
Dr. Lourie warned against water-fasting by saying that this type of fasting is not as effective as people might believe. Water fasting, she explained, is “not great” for intestinal flora and instead of supporting these beneficial bacteria required for a strong immune system, can kill them off.
Instead, intermittent fasting or caloric restriction is more beneficial because it doesn’t damage your intestinal flora.
Is fasting for everyone? No.
Dr. Lourie said those cancer patients who are undernourished, underweight, or at risk for cancer-related cachexia (a wasting away of muscle and fat tissue) shouldn’t fast. Others who should avoid it include those who have severe metastatic disease, abnormal liver function, diabetes, or hypoglycemia (unless you’re working with a qualified clinician).
How you come off a fast is almost as important as what you did during the fast. Dr. Lourie said, “Don’t eat a hamburger when you come off a fast.” She recommended bone broth, vegetable juice, and herbal tea instead.
We’ll talk more about the latest research on fasting in cancer patients in an upcoming article.
Amazon Rainforest’s Cancer-fighting Vitamin E
For the last 35 years, Barrie Tan, Ph.D., has been researching the health benefits of vitamin E. At this point he may be the world’s foremost vitamin E expert.
At this year’s Annie Appleseed Cancer Conference, Dr. Tan revealed he’s discovered a unique, natural source of vitamin E that contains the largest amounts of cancer-fighting tocotrienols—the most important form of vitamin E.To understand the importance of Dr. Tan’s findings, you first must understand that vitamin E is the collective name for a group of eight fat-soluble compounds that perform critical antioxidant activities in the body. These compounds include four tocopherols and four tocotrienols.
Vitamin E in cancer growth and prevention
To date, there have been many studies on vitamin E and cancer, mostly positive.
For instance, scientists have found relationships between increased intake of vitamin E and a lower risk of cancer, as well as a lower risk of death from all major diseases including heart disease.
In a meta-analysis of the research, reported last year in the International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research, scientists in Shanghai analyzed three randomized trials and eight studies that examined the effect of vitamin E consumption on the risk of bladder cancer.
They found an 11 percent lower risk of bladder cancer among subjects whose intake was highest compared to those who had a lower intake.
What’s more, researchers followed the tocopherol levels of 29,092 older male smokers over a thirty-year period and published their results last year in the journal Circulation Research. In addition to a 40 percent lower risk of stroke and a 47 percent lower risk of respiratory disease, the men with the highest levels of alpha-tocopherol—one of the four tocopherols—also had a 19 percent lower risk of cancer.
“To our knowledge, this is the largest study to examine alpha-tocopherol biochemical status in relation to overall and cause-specific mortality,” Jiaqi Huang, PhD and his colleagues from, the National Cancer Institute announced.
He continued, “Our data supports the long-term health benefits of higher serum alpha-tocopherol for overall and chronic disease mortality and should be replicated in other more diverse populations.”1
The research begs the question…
Which vitamin E compound
is most powerful against cancer?
A review of existing research reveals that most science has been performed on tocopherols, and that alpha-tocopherol is credited with carrying out antioxidant activities in the body. However, throughout the decades of researching vitamin E, Dr. Tan has come to believe this is not true. He says the healthiest form of vitamin E is the tocotrienols.
For example, Dr. Tan told the Annie Appleseed Cancer Conference that tocotrienols can provide 40 to 60 times more antioxidant protection than tocopherols. What’s more, tocotrienols are smaller and more agile molecules, allowing them to move around the body 50 times faster than tocopherols.2
Plus, recent studies have revealed that tocotrienols are testing stronger than tocopherols against cancer in animal models and lab-cultured cell lines.3
The studies reveal that tocotrienols have anti-angiogenic effects on tumors, which means they prevent the formation of blood vessels that feed tumors.4
Tocotrienols also promote apoptosis, known as programmed cell death. In other words, tocotrienols cause cancer cells to “commit suicide.”
Tocotrienols kill many different
types of cancer cells safely
Researchers in England studied an intravenous delivery system of concentrated tocotrienol in laboratory animals and found that it led to tumor regression and improved survival rate compared to animals that did not receive the intravenous tocotrienol. In addition, there were no negative side effects.
Researchers concluded that this is a “highly promising therapeutic system, leading to tumor regression after IV administration without visible toxicity.”5
Additional research at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit found that tocotrienols help stop the growth of colon cancer cells.
The Detroit researchers studied the effects of tocotrienols and curcumin (the anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer compound found in the spice turmeric) on the growth and development of colon cancer cells in mice. They concluded that together these natural compounds worked synergistically and “significantly inhibited growth” of colon cancer cells.6
A review of the research published in the International Journal of Molecular Science reports that “Tocotrienols can suppress the growth of different malignancies, including those of the breast, lung, ovary, prostate, liver, brain, colon, myeloma and pancreas.”7
Even more exciting, the positive results of the laboratory research on tocotrienol’s ability to fight cancer in animals is bearing out in humans.
Tocotrienol fights cancer in people, too
In a clinical trial of ovarian cancer, researchers gave patients with chemotherapy-resistant cancers 300 mg of tocotrienol and the drug bevacizumab (which stops tumor-feeding blood vessels from forming). The result was a 70 percent rate of disease stabilization.8
In a clinical trial of pancreatic cancer, researchers found 400 mg to 1600 mg of tocotrienol alone “significantly induced apoptosis” in the majority of patients with no adverse effects.9
These results are why Dr. Tan’s discovery is so exciting.
Contains 90 percent tocotrienols--
nature’s richest source!
As Dr. Tan explained at the Annie Appleseed Cancer Conference, he began searching for natural sources of tocotrienols, which he found in palm plants and rice. However, no source ever compared to the tocotrienols he found in a unique plant from the Amazon rainforest.
The plant’s official name is annatto tocotrienol, but in the Amazon it’s known as the lipstick plant because native peoples used it to make their cultural face markings. In the West, we’ve used this plant as natural food coloring.
The lipstick plant has only two compounds, delta tocotrienol at 90 percent and gamma tocotrienol at ten percent—that’s more tocotrienol than any other natural source. (The other two forms of tocotrienol are alpha and beta.)
“These are the most potent antioxidants of the vitamin E family,” explained Dr. Tan. “This plant is as close to medicine as you can possibly get!”
How to take tocotrienol
Dr. Tan says 100 mg to 200 mg of tocotrienol per day is adequate for a healthy person. For those with health concerns, between 300 mg to 600 mg per day is recommended, dividing your dosage with no more than 300 mg taken at each meal. This is far more than the U.S. government’s recommended daily intake of 15 mg, so once again their nutritional guidelines fall short.
Dr. Tan recommends against supplementing with tocopherols at all, as they can interfere with tocotrienol absorption. That means that many of the vitamin E supplements available on the market today are inadequate because they contain both tocopherols and tocotrienols in the same capsule.
Cancer Defeated’s recommendation has been to supplement tocotrienol and tocopherols on alternate days. Also, the doses of tocotrienols Dr. Tan recommends are quite large.
What’s interesting is that Dr. Tan believes you can easily obtain the recommended 15 mg a day of tocopherols through diet alone (although this is not true of tocotrienols.)
For instance, eating a handful of nuts or sunflower seeds will provide enough tocopherols, so will consuming foods cooked in sunflower or safflower oils, such as salad dressings, baked goods and chips and crackers—even the “healthy” ones. I would urge eating the nuts or seeds, not the oils and baked goods.
Dr. Tan manufactures vitamin E products from the lipstick plant through his company American River Nutrition, based in Massachusetts.
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Health Disclaimer: The information provided above is not intended as personal medical advice or instructions. You should not take any action affecting your health without consulting a qualified health professional. The authors and publishers of the information above are not doctors or health-caregivers. The authors and publishers believe the information to be accurate but its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. There is some risk associated with ANY cancer treatment, and the reader should not act on the information above unless he or she is willing to assume the full risk.