"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." Hosea 4:6
by Mauris L. Emeka
January 2010
What most of us learn during our lifetime about cancer is not the truth; and because of our misperception, we erroneously assume cancer to be something that it is not. All too many people think that cancer is the presence of a malignant tumor, and that if the tumor(s) can be removed either surgically, or with chemicals then the body is said to be "cancer free". This incomplete understanding is a big part of why cancer is fast becoming the number one cause of death. People die from this disease for three main reasons: 1.) lack of information, 2.) lack of discipline, and 3.) blind trust in their cancer doctors. Unfortunately, not many cancer patients play an active role in their own recovery. They do not take responsibility for their condition by redirecting their lives, and fundamentally changing the way they nourish themselves. Instead, they say to the doctor, 'you fix it'. The doctor proceeds to try and 'fix it' by focusing almost exclusively on the tumor symptom, while ignoring the underlying condition in the body that caused the symptom to appear.
The malignant tumor symptom that's commonly called cancer is NOT cancer. Cancer is actually the underlying process that gives rise to the tumor symptom, and the tumor is merely an indication that a metabolic process within the body has gone wrong. We know, for instance, that smoke rises from fire. But the smoke is not the fire, it is an indication or symptom of the fire. Instead of focusing only on locating and treating the symptom of cancer, a better use of our time would be to create an environment in the body that supports health instead of supporting cancerous activity that produces tumor symptoms.
The good news is that it is within our power to address the underlying malfunctioning process; each of us can do it if we have the right commitment to dietary and lifestyle changes. No one else can do it for us! The idea is to change the chemistry in the body to make it less conducive for the cancerous process to thrive. That change involves three main things: 1.) making the body chemistry less acidic and more alkaline, 2.) introducing more digestive enzymes (especially enzymes that digest protein) and more oxygen at the cellular level, and 3.) detoxifying the body and strengthening the immune system.
The three things just mentioned can go a long ways toward enhancing the body's innate healing power, enough to suppress the cancerous process and cause the 'doctor' who resides inside the body to go to work. For example, nearly all raw fruits, vegetables create a more alkaline and less acidic chemistry. On the other hand, cancer cells thrive in an acidic environment, and they CANNOT thrive in an alkaline environment. A preponderance of cooked food makes the body chemistry more acidic, so does all animal products and grains.
For reasons too extensive to detail in this article, it is vital to note that a whole food plant-based diet is best for preventing and overcoming cancer in its various forms. Certain raw fruits, vegetables, and nuts are particularly beneficial, as they introduce beneficial digestive enzymes into the body. Chlorophyll rich leafy vegetables facilitate oxygen circulation at the cellular level, and oxygen suppresses cancer cell growth while enhancing healthy cells. Dr. Otto Warburg, a German scientist, won a Nobel Prize in the early 1940s for discovering that cancer cells thrive on a process called fermentation, which requires simple sugars and no oxygen.
A few especially strong cancer fighting foods include collard greens, wheat grass, garlic, aloe vera, papaya and papaya seeds, pineapple, millet, apricot kernels, blackberries, raspberries, lima beans, and curcumin spice. These foods are especially useful in normalizing the acid/alkaline balance by making body chemistry less acidic. In addition, they increase the flow of oxygen at the cellular level, and introduce critically needed fiber into the body. It is seldom noted, but in fact, the fiber in foods binds with and removes cancer promoting harmones. On the other hand, animal products and refined foods have no fiber, and they promote a cancer friendly acidic environment. An 1882 article in Scientific American begins with the following words: "Cancer is more frequent among branches of the human race where carnivorous habits prevail."
Last but not least, a strong immune system is our first line of defense against cancer. Unfortunately, our immune system is often ineffective because of lifestyle choices that we make. Here are some things that compromise and depress the immune system: consumption of polyunsaturated oils and partially hydrogenated oils (they make digestion difficult),chemotherapy, stress, and inadequate sunlight, dehydration, and lack of rest and regular exercise. The natural approach to cancer is based on making the body healthier by reversing the conditions that allow cancer to thrive. As is noted here, it is vital to strengthen the immune system, and change the internal environment so that cancer cells are simply not welcomed.
Essentially, cancer is a clarion call to drastically change the way the body is nourished to make it more enzyme rich, oxygen rich and less acidic in its chemistry. Those who heed that call can overcome this dreaded disease.
"Each
patient carries his own doctor inside him. They come to us not knowing that
truth. We are at our best when we give the doctor who resides in each patient a
chance to go to work." ---Dr. Albert Schweitzer
"And God
said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of
all the earth, and every tree in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to
you it shall be for meat." --- Genesis 1:29
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Mauris Emeka currently resides in Oberlin, Ohio.
He is the author of "Cancer's Best Medicine", second edition, copyright
2008, and "Fear Cancer No More", copyright 2002. His website is:
www.cancernomore.com. (Note: request a free excerpt of "Cancer's Best
Medicine", 2nd edition, via e-mail at porter41@silverlink.net).