We all know that cancer cells are mutated cells. But did you know that they can only thrive in a certain environment? To put it bluntly, cancer cells thrive in a toxic environment. Once you are aware of what causes this type of environment, you can do some internal cleansing and take steps towards starving the cancer cells through adjustments in your diet and lifestyle. This approach will help ensure that you are not unknowingly contributing to the growth of cancer cells in your body.
Let's look at the characteristics of the highly toxic internal environment cancer cells thrive in. They process energy anaerobically, so they like a low oxygen, highly acidic terrain. They also use the inflammation process to build new blood vessels and expand their territory. Finally, they feed off of sugar and require a lot of it to fuel the development of a tumor. So how can we cleanse the body of toxins and stop creating an ideal environment for cancer cell growth?
First we have to understand why the body has created a toxic environment. The human body is an incredibly intelligent and agile machine. It is constantly adapting to our outer world, our emotions and what we feed it. An essential function of the body is the constant flushing out of toxins, metabolic waste, by-products of the food we eat and dead cells. Everyday, a healthy body gets rid of upwards of 30 billion cells, of which approximately 1% are cancer cells. Generally the process is quite efficient but problems arise when there is congestion somewhere in the body. Cancer cell growth is fostered when there is serious inner congestion. When too much congestion or serious blockages (constipation, tension etc.) exist, waste products start to accumulate and ferment and create more dangerous toxins to eliminate. This, combined with the toxins we ingest or breath in, can become too much for the body to keep up with and the environment becomes contaminated (low oxygen, acidic etc.).
Another aspect of feeding the growth of cancer cells is inflammation. Research has shown that the more local inflammation cancer cells can leverage to create new blood vessels, the more aggressive the tumor and more likely it is to spread. So let's look at how to help clean up the internal environment and starve the cancer cells.
10 ways to cut off cancer cells lifeline and de-congest the body:
1. Start each day with a cup of warm lemon water. This helps loosen stool and the fresh lemon actually decreases body acidity and gives you a shot of vitamin C.
2. Add a tablespoon of hemp hearts (they look like small seeds) to your cereal or sprinkle it over some fruit. This is a great way to help keep you regular while giving you a protein and omega 3 boost! Hemp hearts should be available at most health food stores.
3. Avoid sticky, mucus forming foods (at least for a while); including white flour, white rice, eggs, oatmeal.
4. Drink 6-8 glasses of water a day. Water helps flush out toxins and keeps cells healthier.
5. Eat plenty of raw fruits and vegetables everyday - great for bringing more fibre and digestive enzymes into the system to keep things moving! For salads dressings, avoid store bought dressings which are very acidic - make your own olive oil, apple cider vinegar and honey dressing.
6. Reduce your consumption of meat and avoid processed meats all together. Meat are highly acidic and non-organic meat may contain toxins or hormones.
7. Increase your intake of omega 3's that reduce inflammation - sources include olive oil, fish and fish oils and hemp hearts. Eliminate all trans or hydrogenated fats!
8. Do yoga or light stretching everyday to unblock tense, tight muscles, help you to relax and reduce stress hormones which can accumulate and cause inner congestion.
9. Walk, run, dance or do other weight bearing/cardio exercises in order stimulate circulation, bring in more oxygen and encourage more flow throughout the body. Exercise outdoors to get more fresh air whenever possible.
10. Breath better - flood your body and any cancer cells with oxygen by practicing deep conscious breathing whenever you are waiting - in your car, at the bank, at the hospital. Make a habit of it and you will see how good deep breathing feels!
Bonus: Get to sleep before 10pm - during the hours before midnight much of the vital cleansing and rejuvenating of your body takes place.
Now let's look at cutting down on the 'fertilizer' often made available to cancer cells. In North America our sugar consumption has gone through the roof over the past century and a half (from around 4lbs to 150lbs per year)! Sugar provides tissues with fuel and helps them grow faster. Using scans, doctors can track the areas of the body that consume the most sugar in order to detect where cancer may be present. Sugar also helps increase inflammation in the body. Today we know that too much sugar, even natural sugar, can have very negative effects on the body.
10 ideas to help decrease your cancer cell fertilizer (sugar) intake:
1. Drink more water, less juice and no sodas! For variety, try water with fresh lemon or lime juice.
2. Mix your juice with water or sparkling water to dilute the intensity of the sugar. Drink only 100% juice - no added sugar.
3. Avoid flavored waters and sports drinks that are full of sugar.
4. Try herbal teas that are flavorful (like licorice or cinnamon) so you don't need to add sugar.
5. Have coffee without sugar or reduce your coffee consumption. Caffeine is acidic so lowering consumption also helps regulate your ph levels.
6. Replace sugary breakfast cereals with whole wheat or multi-grain toast and almond butter or fresh fruit with nuts (and hemp hearts!).
7. Replace sweet granola bars and other process snacks with fresh fruit, vegetables and dip or nuts.
8. Limit desserts to special occasions or take very small portions. Replace brownies or milk chocolate with 75%+ dark chocolate - again small portions help avoid creating an acidic environment.
9. Avoid foods and drinks that are high on the glycemic index like white flour, white pasta, chips, beer.
10. Eliminate foods and drinks that contain high fructose corn syrup, which is a modified sugar that the body does not recognize and has a hard time processing. It is an inexpensive sweetener so you will find it in many common prepared or packaged foods (even soup mixes) and especially sweet drinks (ex. Iced tea), baking products and candy.
I suggest you have a look at your diet and identify areas where you can adjust your sugar intake. Try making changes gradually and you may notice as you eat more vegetables and fresh, healthy food your sugar cravings will naturally decrease.
This is a long list of things to consider but <b>more important than any of this is your attitude. Emotions can change our physiology on a dime</b>. Don't be hard on yourself, take one day at a time and simply do what you can each day. If you eat a hamburger and fries one day - enjoy them fully! Congratulate yourself for any progress you make and for your active participation in changing your body's internal environment to help cut off cancer cell fuel.
The remaining two parts of this four-part article will be published under the following headings:
Part 3: Fueling the immune system for deep and lasting healing from cancer
Part 4: The emotional side of the cancer healing equation