Your Mind Body and Soul

The Healing Power of Fresh Foods

By Ali Brown

Everyone knows the proverbial apple a day keeps the doctor away, but few of us have stopped to consider the truth behind those words.

If we’re ill we grab a pill and ignore the two best medicine cabinets in the house— the fridge and fruit bowl. Some of the most effective treatments are diets rich in fruits and vegetables.

So, if you’re suffering from the sniffles or are having trouble with your tummy, head to the kitchen and grab a banana, a stick of celery, some broccoli, a cabbage, and juice, and munch your way back to health.

This is no revolutionary modern idea; 2,500 years ago, Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, waxed lyrical about the beneficial effects of a good diet when he wrote, “Leave your drugs in the chemist’s pot if you can heal the patient with food.”

He also advised, “Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food.”

Today, the medical profession is slow to give up its reliance on drugs, but there is powerful anecdotal evidence that diet alone has cured people of cancer, heart disease, and other potentially fatal conditions.

Lots of new research from laboratories is released almost daily demonstrating that good food can help the body cure itself.

Fight disease with food

The doors of the food pharmacy are open and more people are realizing that doctors do not have all the answers. Modern medicine is nothing short of miraculous, but it is not winning the war against many of the ailments that plague the planet.

It’s about time that physicians left some room on their plate for a healthy dose of some foods that can fight disease. Food, or more accurately the substances contained inside food, can help to treat and prevent disease.

Consider the case of Kris Carr who was diagnosed with cancer and given only months to live. She defied the odds and treated her fridge as her medicine cabinet and is managing to keep the disease at bay.

She documented her struggle in a powerful, emotional, and at times funny film. She refers to herself as “a cancer babe” and has also written a girlfriend’s guide to cancer called Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips.

Crazy sexy cancer

On February 14, 2003, Carr, then 31, was a model and aspiring actress when she was told she had cancer. Tumors were found in her liver and lungs. They were incurable and inoperable. “Happy Valentine’s Day. You have cancer,” she wrote in her journal.

Carr has epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE), a cancer so rare that only one in a million suffers the illness. Her doctors could do nothing other than advise her to wait and see what happens.

Terrified but not wanting to wait for death to come calling, she hit the Internet, bashed some phones, and read dozens of books looking for any information about cancer and how to manage the condition.

She travelled the country to find doctors, therapies, and dieticians who could help her. She conducted her search for an oncologist as though she were interviewing people for a post in a company that she dubbed Save My Ass Technologies, Inc.

Eventually, she picked George Demetri, director of the Center for Sarcoma and Bone Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. He was chosen because he welcomed patient input into the management of disease.
Crucial to her survival has not only been her kickass attitude in the face of adversity, but the drastic change she has made to her diet and lifestyle.

Out went the fast foods and late nights. In came a vegan diet and regular cocktails of cucumber, celery, kale, and sprouts—a drink overflowing with minerals and vitamins.

These alkaline foods increase oxygen in the body, and oxygen is bad news for cancer cells. Research shows that tumors thrive in a low oxygen environment; alkaline foods such as raw, green leafy vegetables; fresh herbs; non-sweet fruits; and wheatgrass combat this condition.

Five years on from diagnosis, Carr’s cancer is stable. The tumors are still there, but they haven’t moved; and drugs are not keeping her alive—it’s the food from her fridge.

You are what you eat

Carr is a living example of you are what you eat. We all know that good food and nutrition is essential for a healthy lifestyle. The food you take in becomes a part of you and there’s a logical connection between the nutritional value of your food and your health.

A Greek study of 22,000 healthy people revealed that their diet, rich in whole grains, fruit, fish, and olive oil, reduced their risk of dying from cancer by 25%. Other research has shown that nutrients inside dark, leafy greens may hinder the growth of tumor cells in breast, skin, and lung cancers.

In 2006, scientists reported that a chemical found in broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage can boost DNA repair in cells and prevent them from becoming cancerous.

Scientists located a particular compound in these vegetables that acts on some genes to actively prevent cancers. The research showed how food might actually pass on beneficial effects. Many cancer research institutes around the world are actively looking at the compounds in food to see how they work in the body.

Even though many in the medical profession scoff at the claims made for these supercharged foods, modern medicine has always relied on diet to cure us. Many drugs and treatments are derived from natural plant substances, fungus, and molds. It would appear that nature knows a thing or two about healthcare.

Keep your doctor in the loop

Eating a healthier diet and improving your lifestyle is a good idea for everyone, but don’t leave your doctor out of the loop. Always seek professional help and advice if you are not feeling well.

Stock the food pharmacy

If you were to restock your fridge medicine cabinet, here are some foods you should consider:

Wheatgrass – contains chlorophyll which helps carry oxygen to cells

Onion and garlic – contain allyl sulphides which have been shown to suppress tumor proliferation

Green fruits and vegetables – they carry phytochemicals like beta-carotene and many other chemicals that can help to lower cancer risk, reduce inflammation from asthma and allergies, and keep bones strong and healthy

Fruits – Green apples, kiwifruit, avocados, and limes

Vegetables – Asparagus, broccoli, cucumber, cabbage, green peppers, sugar snap peas, spinach, and watercress

Other fruits and vegetables such as bananas, blackberries, dates, parsnips, and turnips are also beneficial.

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April 23rd, 2010 Posted by Colleen Lilly | Main, Manifestation | one comment