7 minute read

Don’t wait for a miracle

I believe that diet and nutrition belong at the forefront of any discussion about cancer prevention and treatment, but I don’t believe that there’s a miracle diet that’s going to cure me and I don’t recommend relying on these. Nor do I recommend putting all of your faith into conventional treatments either, but make no mistake, cancer is a really aggressive disease, and sometimes really aggressive treatment is needed. At the very least, we should never underestimate it.

Hopefully in my last post I was able to get you to start thinking about diet and nutrition as your cancer-fighting allies and highlight that, whilst I’ve learned a lot about these things from natural and alternative websites, not all natural and alternative diets are safe. Often, these require careful planning, and you shouldn’t ignore any potential risks.

I wasn’t being naive when I signed on for chemo. I understood that the drugs were toxic and that they were going to destroy my immune system – the very thing that normally protects us from disease. There’s no doubt in my mind though that I’m still alive today because of chemo (of course, the great irony in chemo is that it’s designed to keep you alive but makes you wish that you were dead! It didn’t feel like a great choice).

Not all chemotherapy drugs are created equally. Some are stronger than others and, whilst they can all cause some pretty bad side effects, there are some truly awful ones (The Red Devil anyone) – often the more effective a drug is at killing cancer cells, the more damage it causes to health cells too (and most chemo treatments involve a combination of drugs).

That’s why I prefer to take a balanced look at all of these things and why I believe that each can, and have, played an important role in my fight against cancer. There is no doubt in my mind that if the first thing I had done before I had chemotherapy was to radically change my diet and lifestyle, then I wouldn’t still be alive today.

That said, there is also no doubt in my mind that eating the right diet and nutrients has improved my quality of life, reduced the side-effects of the medical treatments I’ve had and contributed to the reduction in the number of cancer cells, the size of my tumours and the amount of cancer in my body. I just wasn’t willing to bet my life on it.

There are no guarantees that a healthy lifestyle will prevent cancer, however, studies have shown a strong correlation between cancer and diet and it is thought that (up to depending on the source) 50% of the most common cancers are related to diet and lifestyle. That means they were preventable!

So, whether you have cancer or you’re worried about your cancer risk (because really the principles are the same), I recommend eating a healthy and balanced diet packed with a variety of nutrient-rich and cancer-fighting foods.

Modern life is killing us

I do agree that, until relatively recently, the medical and pharmaceutical industry has tried to ignore, or even suppress research (and will likely continue to do so until it can become highly profitable), that undoubtedly could have saved millions of lives. This distrust, however, has unfortunately led to a rise in alternative anti-cancer diets, used to replace medical treatment, which sound credible but don’t often stand up to scrutiny. This, unfortunately, has only contributed to the problem, not the solution.

Despite what you might read, doctors have been looking into curing cancer nutritionally since the 1920’s (perhaps even earlier) and yet, we’re only just beginning to learn the many roles nutrition plays in cancer prevention, treatment and remission. It makes sense to me, though, that a rigid, one-size-fits-all eating plan alone is not going to be able to cure the overwhelming majority of cancers. There are so many variables to consider around the person, the type of cancer, the stage of cancer… it just doesn’t feel practical to me.

I think it’s great that there are so many natural survivor stories; cancer patients who have successfully used nutrition to heal themselves. However, I also think this makes it really easy to convince people who are already feeling vulnerable and scared that this is the answer.

Where are the countless other patient’s stories, though? The ones who tried to treat their cancer naturally and didn’t make it, or it didn’t work for them and they turned to medicine too late with untreated tumours when all it was possible to do was manage their pain. Sadly, there are people who can take your money, but can they take the blame? 

That doesn’t mean that there aren’t certain foods that I think we should all be eating more of. Similarly, there are going to be foods that we all should definitely be cutting down on (saying goodbye is better, but I know that for some of you that might be too hard at first). Don’t worry though because I’ll be looking at all of these things and trying to unpick the secrets of which foods really help fight cancer so you can make the right changes for you or someone you love who has been affected by cancer.

Indeed, one of the key things that excited me was recent studies, which have proven you can enhance your immunity by changing your diet. What we’re seeing now is a general acceptance that the best way to treat cancer might be to use our bodies’ own immune systems – and the immune system is very much dependent on nutrition. Not only that, but we now know that diet and lifestyle have a lot to do with cancer because of the way a tumour interacts with the tissue and cells surrounding it.

I now eat a diet that’s probably around 90% plant-based but I’m under no illusion that everything with the plant-based logo is healthy. Processed food is still processed food and a lot of these plant-based substitutes are high in calories, sugar, fat and salt which is why, now, I try to stick to whole natural foods. If nature made it it’s more likely to be good for you than if it was made in a factory.

As a gemeral rule, it’s recommended that we all eat 30 different plant-based foods a week, which might sound like a lot, but it’s actually really easy. Fruits and vegetables are obvious, but then you have whole grains such as brown rice, oats, and quinoa. Legumes such as peas, beans, and soy. Nuts and seeds. Herbs and spices count too. Plus organic coffee and dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa).

You should only count each plant once but that doesn’t mean there aren’t easy wins and I’ll share a recipe with you for a crazy sexy bean chili that is made with 12 plants! The more different plants you an add to your diet, the more you are going to benefit so why not start trying it if you don’t already. Aim for as as many different colours as you can and select the ones with the most colour because the more colour, the more nutrients they contain.

If, like me, you think that this sounds more like common sense and something to put your faith into, then I think you’ll get a lot out of my blog. All I really ask is that you are open to trying new things and willing to change your approach to food and nutrition. It’s time to stop living to eat and time to start eating to live.