Diet and Cancer
I recently attended a seminar by Jenny Phillips, a lady who has recovered from breast cancer and promotes a healthy diet as a way of creating an environment in the body where cancer cells are less likely to thrive. She advocates that this approach can significantly reduce the risk of developing cancer or experiencing a reoccurrence and help to enhance the effectiveness of cancer treatment and reduce side effects.
In this newsletter I’d like to share a little of what I learnt at the seminar.
Our body makes abnormal cells everyday which have the potential to become cancerous. Cancer cells thrive in an acidic environment, love sugar and hates oxygen. So all we have to do is keep our immune system working optimally and focus our diet on alkaline foods, avoid sugar and breathe!! Easy!!!!
So how do we keep our immune system healthy? In a healthy state we continue with our healthy diets and lifestyles with regular attention to our gut. 70-80% of our immune cells are located in the gut where they are protecting the most significant point of entry into the body. This means that our gut health and immune health are intrinsically linked. To address a low immune system supplements can be used such as probiotics, which help to normalise the gut flora, vitamin C, which has been found to maintain activity of the Natural Killer cells, cells which react against viruses and tumor cells, and vitamin D, which has a role in healthy cell production and programmed cell death.
Acidity promotes the growth of cancer cells. An alkaline diet is rich in foods with high levels of sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium. These foods include all vegetables, especially leafy greens, sprouted beans (alfalfa, mung beans etc), lentils, almonds and lemons and limes. Foods which are acidic are high in nitrogen, sulphur, phosphorus, chlorine and sugar, these foods include high quantities of meat, diary, processed foods, fizzy drinks, and wheat. There are many diets which makes life confusing and there isn’t one diet for everybody. Jenny feels that the overriding goal is to eat fresh, eat natural foods and strive for a balanced plate including protein, lots of vegetables, good fats (this includes butter and olive oil not margarines), fruit and starch. This applies whatever healthy diet plan you select.
One word about the paleo diet which has been promoted as a useful tool in the fight against cancer. This diet does have its benefits, particularly when organic meats are eaten and has been seen as useful for those with a compromised digestive function. Jenny has become an authority on healthy diet and cancer, she works with two cancer charities, Together against Cancer and Yes to Life, and she is a health writer and nutritionist and regularly blogs at www.InspiredNutrition.co.uk. She has written several books on diet and healthy recipes which I urge you to look at if your interest has been sparked. I’ve got to say my first impression on meeting her was ‘INSPIRED’.
Contact details : for more information and advice
Catherine Wasik BSc Hons Ost; BSc Hons MNIMH
At George Morris Physiotherapy Clinics in Hindley, Ashton and Leigh Direct line: 07828261152 email: catherine.w12@hotmail.com