Wednesday, June 16, 2010

A Word About Cancer

I know this blog is mainly about Environmental Illness, but today I wanted to take a moment to share some thoughts about cancer.

Recently I heard an amazing statistic: 40% of cancer is preventable. Forty percent! That's almost half of all cancer cases!
After everything I've learned about the human body, this statistic does not surprise me. What does surprise me is that the medical community doesn't seem to be taking this seriously! They keep pushing for a cure for cancer - and believe me I'd love to see that happen too - but if 40% is preventable, why aren't they focusing as much on education and prevention?

Cancer seems so prevalent now. There's hardly a home or family in America that hasn't been affected by it in some way. I know there's a lot of information out there about cancer, more than I have the strength to read through. But I've learned some things in the last couple of years that I hope might be helpful to someone who reads this.

We live in a world of cause and effect. If you see an effect, you know there's a cause. People don't get sick for no reason. There's always a cause (or several causes). So let's consider some causes of cancer.

1) Toxins - The obvious example is cigarette smoke. People who smoke (or who live with a smoker) are likely to get lung cancer. Why? Because tobacco is a toxin - a carcinogenic (cancer-causing) toxin.
So an important question to consider is:
Is there such a thing as a non-carcinogenic toxin?
I'm not a bio-chemist, so I can't give a definitive answer to that question. However, my suspicion is that all toxins are carcinogenic. I think some toxins cause cancer more quickly, while other toxins build up in the body for years before cancer appears.

Two years ago a doctor found at least 2 pesticides in my blood (DDE and something else). She said - "These pesticides are 100% carcinogenic. If you don't get them out of your body, you will get cancer."
Many toxins in our environment are known carcinogens. It makes sense that the rest are as well.

So if toxins cause cancer - DETOXIFY your home and personal care products as much as possible by switching to healthy alternative products. Then Detoxify your body through lymphatic massage, exercise, supplements, etc.
Don't let toxins build up in your body and possibly lead to cancer. You can do something about them now.


2) Fungus - In many cases, it's been proven that the cancer is linked to an overgrowth of fungus in the body. Anti-fungal drugs have proved effective against many forms of cancer (including Aspirin). Many doctors now tell their cancer patients to eat low or no sugar diets because the sugar feeds the cancer. Guess what? Sugar also feeds fungus! Maybe there's a reason for that....

If this is true, (and I believe it is) then the best thing to do is simply change your diet.
Don't eat foods that contribute to fungus growth - sugar, dairy, yeast, etc.
Eat more anti-fungal foods - brocoli, cinnamon, coconut/coconut oil, etc.
You can also use anti-fungal supplements - olive leaf extract, oregano oil, caprylic acid, etc.
Learn about how to keep fungus in your body to a minimum.
If fungus is linked to cancer, this is a good way to prevent it.
(There's much more information about this fungus-cancer link and an anti-fungal diet at KnowtheCause.com)


3) Radiation - The jury is still out on this one because the research is so new. Personally, I think there's already good evidence that radiation from things like cordless phones, cell phones, and laptops causes cancer.

My aunt died of a brain tumor a couple of years ago. As far as I know the doctors didn't give any reason why an otherwise healthy woman in her 60's would suddenly be brought down by a tumor. However, she spent hours every day on the phone at her job. My mom believes that the radiation from the phone is what caused the tumor.

Even if you think there is weak evidence to support this, isn't it worth it to take some precautions?
Don't use cordless phones. They emit as bad or worse radiation than many cell phones. Regular phones that plug into the wall are ok as far as I know.
Don't hold a cell phone to your ear. Use a headset or put the phone on speaker and hold it away from your face.
Don't carry cell phones in your pocket. Having the radiation next to you all the time is bad. Leave it in a purse or something else that you can carry away from yourself.
Don't set laptops right on your lap. Set them to the side or put something underneath them as a barrier between you and the radiation.

I'm sure there are other radiation precautions you can take if you research it a little.
(For more information about cell phone radiation and a list of phones with the least amount, go to ewg.org)


I wish & pray that there would be a cure for cancer soon. But in the meantime, I hope that more people will get serious about education and prevention.
So to all six of you who actually read this blog =) - please take care of yourselves! And please tell others about this, pass these ideas along, and maybe we'll be able to help someone in the process.

Blessings,
-Joanna

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Some Specific Diet Changes

I know I said I'd do this post sooner...sorry for the delay.
Here are a few of the specific diet changes I've made over the years:


1) no pork or fish/seafood - Aside from my allergy to pork and lifelong distaste for fish, I also learned that these two meats are highly toxic. Pigs are basically 4-legged garbage disposals. They eat anything and everything. When you eat pork, you essentially eat whatever that pig ate. Not to mention that almost every form of pork is made with lots of preservatives (bacon, ham, sausage, etc.). Fish/seafood often sounds healthy because it has Omega-3 oils, HOWEVER it is also highly toxic. As the ocean becomes more toxic, so do the fish.
One other factor is that both pork and fish contain parasites and you have to cook them at VERY high temperatures to kill the parasites. Almost no one cooks them high enough to kill the parasites because people don't like meat that's "overcooked."
So generally speaking, it's best to avoid these two foods.


2) seldom eat dairy products or yeast - These two foods contribute to fungus growth in the body so it's best not to eat them often, if at all.


3) I rarely eat raw vegies (& fruits unless they're blended) - For some reason my stomach doesn't handle raw food well. I've heard from many sources that raw fruits and vegies is the "ideal" diet. I think for many people this is true. But if you're like me, you might notice a big change in how you feel if you just stop eating raw and switch to cooked vegies instead. (Once I stopped eating salad my stomach improved a lot.)


4) no cold drinks - Along with not eating raw, my doctor told me not to drink cold water. She said I have a "cold" stomach. That means I shouldn't eat raw foods, should drink warm water, and should eat other foods that will "warm" up my stomach. If you can identify whether you have a "warm" or "cold" stomach, it might help a lot.


5) no "nightshade" vegetables - This includes tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, and green pepper I think. These vegies can deplete magnesium in the body. Since magnesium deficiency is a problem I've had for years, I don't eat these vegies, except for once in a while, on special occasions. I definitely noticed a positive change when I stopped eating these foods (especially potatoes and tomato paste/sauce).


Well, I thought there was one more, but I can't remember it for some reason. If it comes back to me I'll add it later. =)
I hope these ideas are helpful to you.
Remember, you ARE what you EAT. Take it seriously.


Blessings,
-Joanna
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