best cancer fighting foods

[Monica]

Yup. Which is why I think it is important for people to understand the nuances, even if it takes more time and effort. If somebody goes in to their MD and starts talking about "alkalinizing the blood" they are going to raise some eyebrows, and for good reason.

Actually, I get more reactions from doctors. When I talk about pH, doctors almost always assume I'm referring to the blood pH, and I always have to clarify for them.

Then, there is the fallout/backlash from conventional practitioners getting concerned about people propagating pseudoscience. Of course- most of those docs don't take the time or effort themselves to really look into the concept themselves.

Very true. I've had a few MDs who did, though, and were very impressed with the research. And I know one MD who is currently doing cancer research regarding alkalizing the body. So they are, apparently, starting to notice the results the alternative practitioners are getting.

I tend to focus on getting the most nutrition per calorie. I guess the closest ideology to my beliefs would be "nutritarianism" ala Dr. Joel Fuhrman.

I hadn't heard of him before but I just glanced at his website.

The way I look at it- if we focus on getting the most nutrition from our food then we are automatically eating more alkanizing foods, less meat, less refined foods, etc.

Well that sounds like a good plan!

So it is kind of like a big umbrella under which a lot of other approaches fit pretty well- yet without all of the confusion and controversy. Eat foods that are nutritious. Simple, straightforward, and not much there for the "establishment" to argue and nitpick at.

Ah, if only everyone could agree on which foods are nutritious! Especially when absorption/assimilation come into play. Milk is a prime example of a food commonly thought of as nutritious but many in the alternative health community would disagree.

Ya- I don't know what it would take for that to happen. For practical purposes, I wouldn't consider it a concern.

Agreed!

Say, while we're on the topic, I'm curious to know about the effects of alkaline water on the stomach pH. I know that is one of the regions that actually should be really acidic, and seeing as how the water hits it first... ? Is it a good idea to drink a bunch of alkaline water before a meal? Or...?

That's a very good question and one that I get asked a lot. First, it's important to note that water can be alkalized in different ways. For example, just adding baking soda to tap water will raise the pH about a point or so. Such water may indeed adversely affect stomach acids; I really don't know.

The water I am familiar with isn't just alkaline. It has other properties as well. It's electrically charged, meaning it has extra electrons that neutralize free radicals. (Baking soda water will have a positive charge; thus oxidizing.) It has free hydrogen. And, its molecular structure has been micro-clustered. (There are research studies on this property alone.) This means it has reduced surface tension and is better able to penetrate the cells. The medical term for such water is Electrolyzed Reduced Water, or ERW.

Our medical adviser, one of the top 10 MDs in the world, explains that when we drink ERW, most of it is absorbed in the esophagus! So it doesn't even hit the stomach (contrary to popular belief).

I can send a link to a short video of him explaining this, to anyone who's interested. Just send me a pm.

One of my doctors also explained this ERW helps heal the stomach lining, thus balancing the stomach's naturally acidic pH. He also explained that the stomach isn't producing copious amounts of acid at all times, but only when needed.

My personal experience is that drinking ERW has dramatically improved my digestion. I never worry about drinking it with meals, though I generally drink more of it before the meal rather than with the meal. In fact, I routinely offer a challenge to people: Try drinking a pint of tap, bottled, filtered or RO water 5 minutes before a meal, then eat. Ugh!!! B-L-O-A-T-E-D.

But do the same thing with ERW and guess what! No bloating!

I found this resource on seaworld.org about gorilla diets. It says an adult male gorilla can eat up to 40 pounds of vegetation a day! Of course- they weigh about twice as much as humans.

Now if a person ate 20 pounds of veggies a day- they would definitely be getting enough protein!

Thank you! One of the raw vegan gurus, Victoria Boutenko, popularized the idea of 'green smoothies' as a way for humans to more closely simulate the gorilla diet. There's just no other way to get enough greens otherwise! Gorillas chew on leaves all day long! Who wants to do that!

I'm not sure how most could afford to pay for it though. Plus- that's a lotta poop!

Better than to poop a lot than too little!

The other thing I think is interesting here is how much diets vary for different species of gorillas. From 2 - 67% fruit.

Oh I didn't know that; very interesting! It seems to vary a lot depending on their environment too, and whether they're wild or in captivity.

I will admit, I have a hard time being inspired when the facts are befuddled. Pesky mind!

My husband doesn't like Dan the Man either. He wonders why I do.

It's more about getting the right stuff in than getting the wrong stuff out.

Well if you get the right stuff in, the body will automatically get the wrong stuff out.

It sounds to me like she got taken in by the hype, and is now paying the price. This kind of thing is why I tend to get my feathers ruffled with all these laypeople spewing misinformation out on the Internet.

Well it could be any number of things. As we both know, correlation isn't always causation, though sometimes it is. I could have been the poster child for a failed vegan diet, and yet my problems had nothing to do with being vegan. (I found this out after going back to meat and it didn't help.) So many possible factors...and the person doesn't always tell us everything.

Just today, a lady was telling me she wasn't noticing any benefits from the water. I was puzzled, because usually, virtually everyone notices some benefits. This lady kept insisting she was drinking the recommended amount. I kept asking questions in the hope of uncovering a hidden soda habit or something, but everything kept checking out.

Then, finally, after several conversations, it came out that she wasn't drinking water...she was making tea with the water! In her mind, it was the same thing, but of course it isn't at all. So often, the person leaves out a very important detail. I used to marvel back when I tried to sell health insurance (I say "tried" because I was awful at it) and people would tell me they were "very healthy" then when I saw them, it turned out they were obese and diabetic. Or they'd say they didn't take any meds but when we did the list, it turned out they were taking about 6-8 OTC meds on a regular basis!

I'm not saying this particular woman's problems weren't from diet. I agree that just going vegan doesn't make the diet healthy! Not by a long shot! I'm not even totally vegan myself, though mostly, and I make sure to cover all the bases with superfoods, supplemental B12, etc. Even eating healthy foods doesn't cut it anymore because the foods don't have the same nutritional profiles they once did, due to depleted soils and chemical farming.

But what some people don't seem to understand is that it isn't enough to simply "go vegan" we need to make sure that the body is getting the right nutrition.

Agreed! (I think I just said the same thing! )

Iron and zinc are two nutrients in particular which come to mind.

Iron I understand, but why zinc? I never thought much about zinc. I know it's found in nuts and seeds, especially pumpkin seeds, but I admit I don't eat pumpkin seeds much.

Sesame seed is a great source of iron which I think is most easily consumed as tahini.

Tahini is a staple at our house.

people need to educate themselves about these things, which takes some time and effort.

Agreed! But the same could be said whether they eat meat or not. Vegans just have different problems due to lack of education than meat-eaters do.

Watching a YouTube video of a guy who is "high on life" and deciding to run off half-baked and make major changes to one's diet could turn out just fine. Or it couldn't. Which is what these folks making all these videos and websites don't seem to understand, or care about.

I agree! I can enjoy Dan the Man because I don't take him too seriously. But there are a lot of people out there making videos that are considered authoritative. The Patanaudes come to mind...I disagree with them quite a lot and have protested on their blogs whenever they spout stuff that I think is inaccurate, and it's obvious to me they hadn't done their homework on that topic.