The Strategy, Why the Plan Works

Most cancer therapies merely deal with the cancer burden, not with the underlying
causes that led to the abnormal growth. In this chapter, I will show you
how to change the conditions that spawn cancer. This means bolstering the
built-in mechanisms that protect us from cancer. As mentioned before, these
protective mechanisms are ranked in order of importance, like a defensive
football line trying to stop the runner from getting a touchdown.



Bolstering the Body’s Anti-Cancer Mechanisms:

The Front Line of Tackles & Guards – Primary Defense Immune System

We have an extensive network of protective factors that circulate throughout
our bodies to kill any bacteria, virus, yeast or cancer cells. Think of
these 20 trillion immune cells as both your Department of Defense and your
waste disposal company.



Most experts now agree to the “surveillance” theory of cancer.
Cells in your body are duplicating all day every day at a blinding pace.
This process of growth is fraught with peril. When cells are not copied
exactly as they should be, then an emergency call goes out to the immune
system to find and destroy this abnormal saboteur cell. This process occurs
frequently in most people throughout their lives. Fortunately, only one
in three people will actually develop detectable cancer, yet most experts
agree that everyone gets cancer about 6 times per lifetime. It is the surveillance
of an alert and capable immune system that defends most of us from cancer.



In the cancer patient, for a variety of reasons, the immune system has not
done its work.



The immune system can be shut down by:

• toxic metals, like lead, cadmium and mercury
  
• volatile organic chemicals, from agriculture and industry
  
• sugar
  
• omega-6 fats, like soy and corn oil
  
• stress and worry
  
• and more.
  

The immune system can also be enhanced by:

• vitamins, like A, beta-carotene, C, E, and B-6
  
• quasi-vitamins, like Coenzyme Q-10, EPA and GLA (special fats)
  
• minerals, like zinc, chromium, and selenium
  
• amino acids, like arginine and glutathione
  
• herbal extracts, like echinecea, ginseng, Pau D’arco, and astragalus
  
• nutrient factors, like yogurt, garlic, cabbage, enzymes and fresh green
  leafy vegetables.
  
• positive emotions, like love, forgiveness and creative visualization
  

We are going to bolster your immune army with improved:

QUANTITY by producing more Natural Killers cells, lymphocytes,
interleukin and interferon.

QUALITY by:

1. Reducing the ability of cancer cells to hide from the immune system.
A healthy immune system will attack and destroy any cells that do not have
the “secret pass code” of host DNA. Both the fetus and cancer
are able to survive by creating a hormone, HCG, which allows the fetus to
hide from the immune system. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF), which is specifically
made by the immune system to kill cancer cells, is like a sword. TNF-inhibitor
is produced in the presence of HCG and is like putting a sheath on the sword.
Digestive enzymes and vitamins E and A help to clear away the deceiving
“Stealth” coating on the tumor and improve tumor recognition by
the immune system.



2. Providing anti-oxidants. We can put special shielding on the immune
soldiers so that when they douse a cancer cell with deadly chemicals, the
immune soldier is protected and can go on to kill other cancer cells. Otherwise,
you seriously restrict the “bag limit” of any given immune soldier.




Enzymes are organic catalysts that speed up the rate of a biochemical
reaction. Enzymes either put things together, called conjugases, or take
things apart, called hydrolases. There are literally millions of enzymes
produced by your body each second. Without hydrolase enzymes in your gut,
the digestion of food could not occur. Our body makes digestive enzymes
to break down large food particles into usable molecules:

• proteins are digested into amino acids by the action of proteases, including
  trypsin and chymotrypsin
  
• starches are digested into simple sugars by the action of amylase
  
• fats are digested into fatty acids and glycerol by the action of lipase.
  

Our ancestors ate a diet high in uncooked foods. Cooking food denatures
enzymes, like changing the white on an egg from waxey to white when it is
cooked. All living tissue contains an abundance of hydrolase enzymes as
part of the lysosomes, or “suicide bags”, which are there to mop
up cellular debris and destroy invading organisms. When our ancestors ate
this diet high in uncooked food, they were receiving a regular infusion
of “enzyme therapy” as a lucky by-product. These hydrolytic enzymes
would help to digest the food, and about 10% of the unused enzymes would
end up crossing through the intestinal wall into the blood stream.



It is clear that people who are undernourished without being malnourished
live a longer and healthier life. Why this occurs is less obvious. Many
good European studies support the use of digestive enzymes as a critical
component of cancer treatment. Your mouth, stomach and intestines will make
a certain amount of enzymes to digest your food into smaller molecules for
absorption through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream. Enzymes absorbed
into the bloodstream help to break up immune complexes, expose tumors to
immune attack and assist in cell differentiation. People who eat less food
may live longer because they are able to absorb a certain percentage of
their unused digestive enzymes, which then have many therapeutic benefits.
Indeed, as far back as 1934, an Austrian researcher, Dr. E. Freund found
that cancer patients do not have the “solubilizing” tumor-destroying
enzymes in their blood that normal healthy people have.



One of the founders of alternative cancer treatment, Donald Kelley, DDS,
felt that cancer was caused by a deficiency of digestive enzyme production,
just as diabetes is caused by a deficiency of insulin production. Both the
diabetic and cancer patient have some genetic predisposition that makes
he or she vulnerable to the disease. The symptoms of diabetes and cancer
may be controlled with proper lifestyle, but the underlying genetic vulnerability
will never go away. This enzyme theory may help to explain why the vast
majority of cancer patients are older people, who have demonstrated a reduced
output of digestive enzymes; and also explains why raw foods, which are
high in hydrolytic enzymes, may sometimes help cancer patients.



Enzymes help the cancer patient by:



1. breaking up immune complexes, thus improving the efficiency of
the immune system



2. chemically altering a by-product of the tumor to reduce cancer
side effects



3. changing the surface of the tumor to make it more recognizable
to the host immune system.



Enzymes are an important aspect of my program. Beyond the scientific evidence,
I have personally seen enzymes help many cancer patients. While other enzyme
products may work equally well against cancer, Wobenzym is one of the few
enzyme products that has been clinically tested on cancer patients. Wobenzym
(800-899-4499) is a unique product from Germany with a proprietary blend
of various plant and animal-derived digestive enzymes, coupled with rutin
(a bioflavonoid) all packaged in an enterically coated pill to survive the
acid bath of the stomach and move into the intestines for absorption.



Protect and Repair DNA

Your 60 trillion cells possess a thread of material that holds all the “blue
print” information to make another you. This thread, called DNA, is
truly the essence of life itself. DNA looks like a spiral staircase that
is so long and flexible, it begins to wind around and wrap into “X”
shapes. Stored on 23 pairs of chromosomes are 50,000 to 100,000 genes, collectively
called the human genome. If you could unravel and place end to end the DNA
in one adult body, it would reach to the moon and back–8,000 times!⁶




This long spiral staircase is constantly under attack. As mentioned, each
cell in the human body takes an average of 1,000 to 10,000 “hits”
or DNA breaks each day. Imagine sitting on your roof in the middle of a
hurricane while shingles are constantly being ripped off and you have to
continuously repair this damage. Make a mistake, and cancer could be the
consequence. Geneticists have estimated that each DNA molecule contains
about the same amount of information as would be typed on 500,000 pages
of manuscript. Imagine if trillions of times daily, you had to type a half
million pages error-free. A mistake can lead to cancer.



Fortunately, the body is well prepared to keep the inevitable DNA errors
from turning into cancer. DNA polymerase is a repair enzyme system that
moves along this spiral staircase, like a railcar on railroad tracks, finding
and fixing broken rail ties, or base pairs. This crucial repair system is
fueled by folacin, zinc and other nutrients. A low intake of folacin increases
the likelihood that cancer will become metastatic. One of the earlier drugs
used against cancer, methotrexate, is a folacin inhibitor that limits new
cell growth. Giving folacin to a patient on methotrexate does not inhibit
the effectiveness of the drug, since it is folinic acid, a more metabolically
active form of folacin, that is required to rescue a patient from methotrexate
therapy.



Certain ethnic groups in the Middle East who eat extremely hot or abrasive
foods have a higher incidence of cancer of the esophagus. Mechanical injury,
especially when repeated, means that the repair process has accelerated
beyond the normal hurricane into something much wilder. During these vulnerable
phases, the body needs to be free of contaminants and have an adequate supply
of growth nutrients–lest cancer surface.



I worked with a young patient who developed a cancerous growth in the exact
same area where he had experienced a mechanical injury. This 32 year old
male had been in a snow skiing accident, in which he fell and accidentally
stabbed himself in his thigh muscle with his ski pole. He was a smoker and
ate a typical American diet, which is low in zinc and folacin. His wound
seemed to heal well within the expected few months; then one year later
he developed a massive metastatic lesion exactly where he had injured himself
and died soon thereafter. The injury created the stress, the tobacco provided
generous amounts of a carcinogen to interrupt the repair process and his
typical American diet lacked the growth nutrients required for accurate
DNA synthesis.



There are food components in soybeans that shut down the cancer process
at the DNA level. Twenty years of work by Dr. Ann Kennedy has shown that
something in soybeans, coined the Bowman Birk Inhibitor, will both prevent
and reverse the cancer process in numerous animal studies. You don’t need
to wait for this BBI to become an FDA-approved drug. By eating a 1/2 cup
serving of soybeans daily, you can provide your body with this vital DNA-protector.
Could it be that the successes from the macrobiotic diet are primarily due
to this soybean factor?



Vitamin D inhibits the production of DNA fragments from cancer cells, hence
helping to shut down the metastatic process. Residents of sunnier climates
have a much lower incidence of breast cancer. Sunlight is essential for
the production of vitamin D, which then prevents the “seeds” of
cancer cells from being spread throughout the body.



We all contain oncogenes, or “oncology genes” on the DNA that
are like a dormant saboteur waiting to be awakened to cause cancer. DNA
has receptors for certain nutrients, just like immune soldiers have receptors
for brain chemicals. Nearly seven decades of research shows that humans
and animals have a higher cancer rate as vitamin A intake goes down. Molecular
biologists have shown that vitamin A “plugs in” to the DNA to
regulate growth. Studies in Europe with lung cancer patients show a higher
survival rate and lower incidence of cancer recurrence with patients taking
high dose vitamin A along with conventional therapy. Vitamin A may help
shut down the cancer process by down-regulating oncogenes.



This continuous repair process of DNA is like a high speed bullet train
that is easily derailed. Cancer is the resulting train wreck. We need to
get these DNA repair mechanisms working properly in the cancer patient.



Influence Cell Differentiation

Somehow, an invisible fertilized human egg cell will become a complex adult
with millions of categories of specialized cells. Cell differentiation involves
the process of one undifferentiated cell splitting and becoming a kidney
cell and a liver cell. This miraculous process is one of the more bewildering
aspects of human development. A cancer cell has differentiated into a rebellious
saboteur. There are nutrients, including vitamins A, D and digestive enzymes
that improve the accuracy of the cell differentiation process.



Linebackers – Secondary Defense

Oxygenate Your Body

One of the most prominent differences between healthy cells and cancer cells
is that cancer is an anaerobic cell, fermenting rather than metabolizing
food and living in the absence of oxygen. Professor Otto Warburg received
two Nobel prizes, in 1931 and 1944 for his work on cell bioenergetics, or
how the cell extracts energy from food. In 1966, Professor Warburg spoke
to a group of Nobel laureates regarding his work on cancer cells: “…the
prime cause of cancer is the replacement of the respiration of oxygen in
normal body cells by a fermentation of sugar.” Cancer cells are more
like primitive yeast cells, extracting only a fraction of the potential
energy from sugar by fermenting food substrates down to lactic acid.



This singular difference is both the strength and weakness of cancer. Cancer
slowly destroys its host by using up fuel inefficiently and thus causing
lean tissue wasting, in which the patient begins to convert protein to sugar
in order to maintain a certain level of blood sugar. Cancer also hides in
its oxygen deficit pockets. The denser and more anaerobic the tumor mass,
the more resistant the tumor is to radiation therapy.



Aerobic-enhancing nutrients. Yet, by oxygenating the tissue, you
can exploit the “Achilles heel” of cancer. Cancer shrinks from
oxygen like a vampire shrinking from daylight. Fuel is burned in the cellular
furnaces, called mitochondria. As long as the mitochondrial membrane is
fluid and permeable, oxygen flows in and carbon dioxide flows out and the
cell stays aerobic. With a diet high in fat, saturated fat and cholesterol;
the mitochondrial membrane becomes more rigid and less permeable to the
flow of gases and electrons, which are essential to aerobic metabolism.



Nutrient factors that heavily influence aerobic metabolism include the B-vitamins,
including biotin, B-1 thiamin, B-2 riboflavin and B-3 niacin. Numerous herbal
extracts, including ginseng and ginkgo biloba, can enhance the aerobic capacity
of the cell. Coenzyme Q-10 is a nutrient that is the rate-limiting step
in aerobic metabolism, not unlike the bridge that ties up traffic going
into the city during rush hour. Most people are low in their levels of CoQ.
In an unpublished study of our cancer patients, we found that serum levels
of CoQ were roughly half that of the average American, which is still well
below optimal. Karl Folkers, PhD of the University of Texas finds that 90%
of Americans have serum CoQ levels that are indicative of a deficiency.
CoQ:

• is a potent fat soluble anti-oxidant.⁷
  
• has been shown to prevent cancer and reduce the size and metastasis
  of induced cancers.⁸
  
• supplements taken orally usually elevate serum CoQ levels and improve
  aerobic metabolism.⁹
  
• improves cardiac ejection, or how much blood that the heart can pump.¹⁰
  
• improves immune functions overall.¹¹
  
• improves the ratio of T-4 to T-8 lymphocytes.¹²
  

Exercise. Humans evolved as active creatures. Our biochemical processes
depend on regular exercise to maintain homeostasis. A well respected Stanford
physician, Dr. William Bortz, published a review of the scientific literature
on exercise and concluded: “our dis-eases may be from dis-use of the
body.”¹³ Cancer patients who exercise have fewer side effects
from oncology therapy. Exercise oxygenates the tissue, which slows the anaerobic
cancer cell progress. Exercise stabilizes blood sugar levels, which selectively
deprives cancer cells of their favorite fuel. Even if exercise is not a
possibility for the cancer patient, deep breathing would be invaluable.
The most essential nutrient in the human body is oxygen. Sheldon Hendler,
MD, PhD has written an excellent book on the need for oxygenation of tissue
in THE OXYGEN BREAKTHROUGH.¹⁴ Westerners typically are sedentary
and breath shallowly, which deprives the body of oxygen, which is a perfect
environment for cancer.



Breathing is a lost art in our modern world. Ancient scholars and
spiritual teachers taught us that breath as the essence of life. Modern
Americans breath shallowly, or try the military breathing stance with chest
thrust out and stomach sucked in–all of which leaves the tissue oxygen-starved.
Proper breathing should include stomach and diaphragm deep breathing. Lay
flat on your back on the floor. Place a book on your stomach. Begin inhaling
through the nose and push out the stomach. Raise the book as high as you
can, then complete inhalation by filling the chest with air. Exhale through
the mouth slowly. This is diaphragm breathing, which more thoroughly oxygenates
tissue and can be done by the most bed-ridden patient.



In another effort to oxygenate tissue, some physicians have been using hydrogen
peroxide therapy given intravenously for cancer, AIDS, chronic fatigue and
allergy patients. For more information on physicians in your area who can
administer this safe and potentially helpful therapy, contact the International
Bio-Oxidative Medical Society in Oklahoma City at 405-478-4266.



Cell membrane Dynamics – The Gatekeeper

Each cell in your body is like a miniature water balloon with a semi-permeable
outside membrane. This membrane becomes the “gatekeeper” that
allows nutrients to flow in and toxins to flow out. The more flexible and
selectively porous this membrane, the better. Many substances in the diet
alter cell membrane dynamics.



While the protein and carbohydrates that make up the structure of our body
cells are largely influenced by genetics, the structural fats in our cells
are entirely based on our diet. You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow’s
ear. And you cannot make an essential fatty acid from a saturated or hydrogenated
fat. The fats in the cell membrane are a perfect reflection of the diet.



Long ago, food manufacturers in America recognized the merits of saturated
and hydrogenated fats: they have a long shelf life, they do not ooze out
of the food product because they are solid at room temperature and they
are cheap to produce. Unfortunately, these same fats create a rigid gatekeeper
in the cell membrane. One third of fat intake in America is saturated and
much of the remaining two thirds is at least partially hydrogenated. Hydrogenation
involves adding a hydrogen atom to a fat to increase saturation and change
three dimensional structure. If you want a flexible and cooperative gatekeeper,
then you need to eat more complex carbohydrate foods and less overall fat.
Of the fat that you do eat, consume more valuable fats like EPA from fish
oil, GLA from black current seed, borage or evening primrose oil and ALA
from flaxseed oil.



The fats that we eat do more than become an integral structural part of
cell membranes, these fats also become part of prostaglandins, which are
potent hormone-like substances that dramatically influence bodily processes.
The same valuable oils mentioned above will also help create a prostaglandin
series 1 and 3, which elevates immune function, reduces the stickiness of
cells to deter metastasis, improves blood flow by vasodilation and reduces
inflammation. Stickiness of blood components is another critical topic for
the cancer patient. Rarely does any cancer patient die of one tumor. It
usually takes massive spreading, or metastasis, of the tumor to cause death.
Tumor cells spread by sending out “sticky” cancer cells to adhere
to the walls of blood vessels, burrow through the vascular wall, then start
a fresh tumor in another area of the body. By reducing stickiness, we can
dramatically slow down the ability of the tumor to spread.



The sodium to potassium ratio in the diet also influences the cell gatekeepers.
Potassium is found primarily in unprocessed plant food, like vegetables,
fruit, whole grains and legumes. There is some sodium in all foods, with
higher concentrations in animal foods, and much more of it in processed
foods. Americans eat 10 times the sodium that our ancestors consumed. An
ideal ratio of sodium to potassium would be 1 to 4, but ours is 4 to 1.
By drastically changing this ratio, we have changed the “electrolyte
soup” that bathes all cells and creates the electrical battery of life.
This electrical charge influences the gatekeeper. High sodium diets increase
both cancer incidence and metastasis. To improve the gatekeeper’s functions,
return to our “factory specification” diet of lots of potassium
and little sodium. Consume a diet in which the calorie breakdown is about
1/3 each low fat animal food (like fish, turkey, chicken, lean ham), 1/3
unprocessed cooked plant food (like potatoes, garlic, squash, whole grains,
legumes), and 1/3 unprocessed uncooked plant food (like fresh green leafy
vegetables and fruit). That’s the calorie breakdown. Since lean meat is
very dense in calories compared to plant food, the volume breakdown is somewhat
different:



Get Rid of Garbage

Everyone is detoxifying their bodies all day throughout their lives–or
they would die. But some people don’t detox fast enough, and the toxins
build up to encumber their bodily processes. One of the favored theories
of aging says that eventually the accumulation of these cellular waste products
overwhelms the cells and they begin to die. Similarly, fermenting yeast
creates alcohol to a certain point and then dies in its own toxins. Cell
cultures of living tissue that are kept in a fresh nutrient solution and
changed daily to eliminate toxin buildup will experience slowed aging.



If I was forced to summarize the essence of good health into one simple
sentence, it would be: “bring in the right groceries (nutrients) and
take out the trash (toxins).” Each of the 60 trillion cells in your
body is like a house in your neighborhood. You must bring in the right collection
of essential groceries and remove the garbage often. Many cancer patients
have erred at both ends of this equation: not enough essential nutrients
coupled with an accumulation of poisons.



Fortunately, humans are not “virgins” at exposure to poisons.
The human body, when properly nourished, has an enormous capacity to either
excrete or neutralize poisons. Yet 20th century pollution has stretched
the limits of our elaborate detoxification systems. We have physical means
of eliminating waste products through urine, feces, exhaled air, sweat and
tears. We also possess an enviable system of chemical detoxification that
is mostly concentrated in the liver, where a complex array of enzymes serve
to neutralize poisons. Cytochrome P-450, catalase, mixed function oxidase,
conjugase and other enzymes are constantly at work neutralizing and excreting
poisons from the body. That is why the liver is often the secondary organ
affected after some other part of the body becomes cancerous–like trying
to break up a fight and, instead, getting beat up.



Not only do many people voluntarily consume poisons, such as tobacco, alcohol,
prescription and “recreational” drugs; but we are also exposed
to an alarming amount of involuntary poisons in our air, food, and water
supply. Annually, America alone dumps 90 billion pounds of toxic waste into
our 55,000 toxic waste sites, sprays 1.2 billion pounds of pesticides on
our food crops¹⁵, and spews forth 600 pounds of air pollutants
for every person in America. Scientists have found residues of the lethal
industrial solvent PCB (polychlorinated biphenyls) and the pesticide DDT
in every human on earth, including mother’s milk. And on it goes.



After looking at the toxic burden carried by the average American adult,
the question is not: “Why do 1/3 of us get cancer?”, but a more
appropriate question might be: “Why do only 1/3 of us
get cancer?” Dr. Sam Epstein has profound evidence showing that regardless
of other measures taken, our cancer epidemic will not be abated until we
get our environmental disaster cleaned up. By increasing the body’s ability
to purge poisons, detoxification may help the cancer recovery process for
some individuals. Toxic burden blunts the immune system, erodes the delicate
DNA, changes cellular functions and encourages cancer growth.



A word on coffee enemas. Enemas are one of the oldest healing modalities
in human literature. Milk enemas are still used by noted surgeons and gastroenterologists
to stem diarrhea that does not respond to medication. Coffee enemas have
been in the Merck Medical Manual for decades, until 1977, when editors of
the manual claimed that this revered therapy was eliminated for “lack
of space” in the new manuscript. The reality is that coffee enemas
became the focal point in criticizing alternative cancer therapies. Coffee
enemas help to purge the colon and liver of accumulated toxins and dead
tissue. Coffee enemas are prepared by brewing regular organic caffeinated
coffee, let cool to body temperature, then use enema bag as per instructions
with 4 to 8 ounces of the coffee solution. Proponents of this therapy use
it daily for very sick cancer patients, or weekly for recovering cancer
patients.



As a by-product of living, we create our own waste products, which must
be eliminated or we die in our own biological sewage. Urine contains a collection
of worn out parts, filtered out toxins and potentially lethal ammonia. The
intestines can become a distillation device like the old moonshiner “still”,
loaded with strange by-products as bacteria ferment food matter into an
incredible array of chemicals and gases. Feces contains unabsorbed food
matter, about 100 billion bacteria per gram and many toxins that could cause
cancer if allowed to contact the intestinal wall long enough.



Detoxification includes:



Urine. Increasing urinary output and dilution of urine poisons by
drinking more clean water, 8-10 cups of fluid daily, which is enough to
have urine that is light yellow in color and inoffensive in odor. Drink
filtered water, preferably from reverse osmosis. Chelation therapy helps
the body to gather up toxic minerals and excrete them via the urine.



Feces. Improve fiber intake until feces are soft in consistency.
Also, fix digestive problems, such as low output of hydrochloric acid or
digestive enzymes. Take mild herbal purgatives, such as Perfect 7. Some
people use enemas and colonic irrigation. The typical American diet is low
in fiber and loaded with poisons. Colon cleansing, through a variety of
methods, is crucial for whole body detoxification.



Sweat. Encourage purging of toxins through sweat glands by taking
hot baths or steam baths, then scrubbing the skin with a natural sponge
to scrape off the excreted poisons.



Mercury. With more than 90% of the American population sporting at
least a few mercury fillings in their teeth, the subject of mercury poisoning
has become a hot topic. Lewis Carroll’s classic book, Alice in Wonderland,
showcased the “mad hatter” as representative of an industry that
whimsically used mercury to give stiffness to formal felt hats. Mercury
is a deadly poison, and putting it in the mouth to erode over the years
and eventually be swallowed is just plain ridiculous. About 1% of the population,
or 2 million people, are very sensitive to any exposure to mercury while
most other people would be better off without any mercury in their mouth.
Some people have found relief from a wide assortment of diseases, including
cancer, by having their mercury fillings replaced with non-toxic ceramic
or gold material.¹⁶



Chelation of heavy metals. Lead poisoning is much more common than
mercury poisoning. Though our use of lead is starting to be reduced, lead
is a clearcut immune poison and has been targeted by the Environmental Protection
Agency as a “top priority” cleanup item. Chelation therapy involves
injecting chemicals (like EDTA) that put the heavy metal in a molecular
“cage” and carry it out of the body in the urine. Chelation therapy
may help to reduce heavy metal toxicity, which is assessed by mineral excretion
in the urine or by hair/nail analysis.



Reduce intake of poisons. Over a century after the evidence clearly
pointed toward the harmful effects of smoking, 25% of Americans and up to
90% of males in other countries still smoke. In my work with hundreds of
cancer patients, I have never seen a smoker get better. Ironically, smoking
may have a minor benefit for some people, since smoking elevates basal metabolism,
which is particularly noticeable in hypothyroid individuals. My hunch is
that people who find smoking such an addiction are using nicotine to elevate
basal metabolism as a crutch to support their sagging thyroid output. A
way to ease the withdrawal for these people is to normalize thyroid output.
See the “action” plan for more details on thyroid help.



According to the National Academy of Sciences, pesticide residues on food
crops causes 14,000 new cases of cancer each year out of 1.3 million total
cases. Which means that about 1% of our cancer comes from pesticide use
and abuse. That 1% is fairly insignificant, unless you are one of those
14,000 people. For those people who do not have easy access to organic produce,
which is grown without pesticide use, peeling or washing produce is mandatory.
For produce that you consume entirely, like broccoli and apples, soak it
in a solution of one gallon of warm water per 2 tablespoons of vinegar for
5 minutes, then rinse and brush.



From tainted water, food and air; to exposure to carcinogens in the home
and work place; to voluntary intake of poisons in drugs, alcohol and tobacco
to showers of electromagnetic radiation falling on us–Americans are constantly
pushing the outer envelope for toxin tolerance. Too many of these common
toxins both assault the fragile DNA and blunt immune functions. We need
to be more responsible in dealing with our 20th century waste products.
Cancer patients need to do everything possible to eliminate accumulated
wastes and minimize intake of new toxins.



Balancing PH

Cancer is acidic (low pH) tissue.¹⁷ It is clear from all human
physiology textbooks that pH in the blood, saliva, urine and other areas
is a critical factor for health. Blood pH is usually 7.35-7.45 with 7.41
thought to be ideal. Acceptable pH for saliva is 6.0-7.5, stomach 1.0-3.5,
colon 5.0-8.4 and urine 4.5-8.4. Most foods influence pH–pushing toward
either acid or alkaline. Clinicians will spend much time adjusting parenteral
feedings to achieve a proper pH in the blood. Meanwhile, there have been
many alternative health books that attempt to treat various diseases by
adjusting the body pH via the diet.



Potential hydrogens, or pH, refers to the acid or alkaline nature of a chemical.
If you mix a mild acid, like vinegar, with a mild alkaline substance, like
baking soda, then the resulting reaction produces a salt–they neutralize
one another by exchanging hydrogens. Just about everything that goes in
your mouth can alter pH, including oxygen. The acidic pH of cancer cells
also decreases the oxygen-carrying capacity of the surrounding blood so
that tissue can become somewhat anaerobic–which are perfect conditions
for cancer to thrive. Deep breathing has an alkalizing effect on the blood.
An alkalizing diet of lots of plant food also helps to encourage removal
of toxic heavy metals.



The macrobiotic book claims that pH adjustment is one of the more crucial
objectives of their diet.¹⁸ Yet, I have worked with a few cancer
patients who got worse on the macrobiotic program. Remember our discussion
of biochemical individuality–not everyone will thrive on the same diet.
Nick Gonzales, MD sometimes uses a diet high in red meat to adjust the cancer
patient’s pH into a normal range. It appears that some people are prone
toward extreme acid or alkaline metabolism. For these people on the edge
of acceptable biological pH, diet provides a counterbalance to bring serum
pH back toward normal. Think of sailing a small boat where you may have
to use your body as a counterbalance to prevent the boat from being tipped
over by the wind. If your metabolism is in jeopardy of “tipping over”
toward extreme pH, then diet and breathing become your counterbalances that
keep metabolism upright.



While this area may be absolutely essential for some cancer patients, a
trial and error method may be the only way to find out which direction your
pH needs adjusting. If your condition improves on the macrobiotic program,
then you are pushing your pH in the right direction. If your condition worsens
on the macrobiotic program, then you must push your pH in the opposite direction.



The following chart is a composite of many works, including Russell Jaffe,
MD, PhD, the USDA food data base, FOOD & NUTRITION ENCYCLOPEDIA, NUTRITION
APPLIED PERSONALLY, and ACID/ALKALINE. Use this chart as a guidepost to
adjust your pH. About 8% of the population must have acid forming foods
to counterbalance their extremely alkalotic pH. Some people can eat anything
they want and their internal mechanisms compensate to find an acceptable
pH. For many people, an alkalizing diet (toward the left) will help to neutralize
their acidifying tendencies, which can invite cancer.



Venous pH is the most accurate indicator of your overall body pH. Yet blood
tests are invasive, expensive and not practical for regular use. A rough
indicator of your body pH is your saliva and urinary pH. You can purchase
Nitrazine paper from your local druggist and follow the directions for measuring
saliva or urine pH. Test your saliva at least one hour after any food or
drink. If your saliva is strongly acidic, then you may need to emphasize
this part of my program.



The Telegraph Between Cells

Cells communicate with one another in an intricate system using ions that
move in and out of the gap cell junctions. This system works like a telegraph
to keep nearby cells relating on DNA content. Studies have shown that vitamin
A, and probably other nutrients, encourage this healthy communication of
cells which slows metastasis and improves the chances for a cancer cell
reverting back to a normal healthy cell.

Decrease the “Stickiness” of the Spreading Cancer Cells

Even tiny cancer growths are constantly sending out cells for “colonizing”
other areas of the body. This metastatic process is the real problem in
cancer. Prostaglandins are potent hormone-like substances that influence,
among other things, the stickiness of cells. We all make prostaglandins
all the time. The question is whether you are making “emergency”
prostaglandins that are counterproductive for anything more than a few minutes
a month, or healthy prostaglandins which can dramatically reverse disease.



Not long ago there was a toy fad involving a “wacky wall walker”
in which some clever entrepreneur promoted a small piece of very flexible
rubber that was coated with a sticky material. You throw the toy at a window
and it sticks, then slowly starts to move down the window. Cancer spreads
in similar fashion. The initial tumor flings out colonizing cells that try
to stick to the surface of blood vessel walls and start a new tumor. By
reducing the stickiness of cells, we are coating the “wacky wall walker”
of cancer with a layer of salad oil to reduce metastasis. If you can slow
down the spreading of cancer, then you are winning an important battle in
the war on cancer.



The stickiness of cells, or platelet aggregation, can be varied by:

• anti-coagulants, like coumadin derived from the rat poison Warfarin,
  have been shown to reduce metastasis and improve cancer outcome
  
• aspirin works by affecting prostaglandin metabolism and cell stickiness,
  hence some studies have shown a reduced risk for cancer with regular aspirin
  intake
  
• vitamin E works by protecting the prostaglandin that reduces the stickiness
  of cells
  
• enzymes, like Wobenzym, reduce the stickiness of cells and change the
  coating on cancer cells
  
• EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) from fish oil feeds the prostaglandin pathway
  that makes cells more slippery
  

n the least toxic and most effective of these anti-metastatic efforts is
to use food and supplements to direct healthy prostaglandin synthesis.



Drug companies have spent billions of dollars researching prostaglandins
and trying to develop some “magic bullet” that could cure diseases.
But prostaglandins taken orally do not survive the acid bath of the stomach,
and prostaglandins injected are removed from the system long before they
make one pass through the vascular network. Hence, if you want to create
a favorable flow of prostaglandins, then you are going to have to do it
with your diet: stabilize blood sugar levels while consuming a low sugar
diet, while taking generous amounts of vitamin E, EPA and GLA.

Adjust Steroid Hormone Activity

Steroid hormones, particularly estrogen in breast cancer, can cause or worsen
cancer. Some physicians and researchers have misinterpreted this information
to recommend that women have wholesale preventive surgery to remove the
breast and ovaries, which are main sources of estrogen production. You will
notice that none of these predominantly male experts have recommended wholesale
castration of males, which would follow a parallel path in preventing prostate
cancer. Humans are not defective and universal removal of sexual organs
is not the answer to cancer. There are numerous biological mechanisms that
keep these potentially lethal hormones under control.



Since estrogen is produced in adipose storage cells, the total amount of
body fat dramatically influences estrogen metabolism.¹⁹ Therefore,
controlling obesity can reduce free circulating estrogen levels and help
to control breast cancer. Also, the body makes its own estrogen binders
as a by-product of healthy prostaglandin metabolism. Once again, high blood
sugar levels can cripple these built-in mechanisms for controlling estrogen.
Also, there are phyto-estrogens, or estrogen-like compounds found in plants
(especially cabbage family and soybeans) that bind to estrogen receptors
to inhibit estrogen-driven cancer. There are certain lignans in plant food
that provide estrogen analogs (similar in structure) that can slow estrogen-related
cancers.



The upshot of this area is: 1. avoid or reduce obesity, 2. eat more fresh
vegetables, including broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, and
soybean foods, 3. control prostaglandin flow with more fish oil or flaxseed
oil and very low controlled blood glucose levels.



Bioenergetics

Tumors have abnormal energy metabolism that more resembles a primitive yeast
organism in fermenting sugar. We can capitalize on this difference to selectively
starve tumors. Tumor growth can be controlled by minimizing rises in blood
sugar. Thus, your strategy here includes aerobic exercise, with therapeutic
levels of nutrients to encourage efficient aerobic metabolism: Coenzyme
Q-10, niacin, riboflavin, thiamin and perhaps germanium sesquioxide. Also,
vitamin C selectively interferes with energy production in the tumor mitochondria.



Pro & Antioxidants

Life is a continuous balancing act between oxidative forces (pro-oxidants)
and protective forces (anti-oxidants). We want to fully oxygenate the tissue,
which generates pro-oxidants, but we also want to protect healthy tissue
from excess oxidative destruction, using anti-oxidants. Anti-oxidants are
a sacrificial substance, to be destroyed in lieu of body tissue.



Salt water boaters know about the sacrificial plate that is mounted near
the propeller of the boat. Salt water corrodes (pro-oxidant) all metals,
including an expensive brass propeller. But we can slow down that corrosion
by bolting a zinc plate near the brass propeller. The salt water then corrodes
the sacrifical zinc plate in preference over the nearby brass propeller.
Anti-oxidants act similarly, by being destroyed to protect something more
valuable. Anti-oxidants include beta-carotene, C, E, selenium, zinc, riboflavin,
manganese, cysteine, methionine, N-acetylcysteine, and many herbal extracts
(i.e. green tea, pycnogenols, curcumin).



Tumor tissue does not absorb anti-oxidants as effectively as healthy host
tissue. Hence loading the patient with therapeutic levels of anti-oxidants
is like giving the good cells bullet proof vests before you go in with a
SWAT unit that opens fire (chemo and radiation), thus killing more cancer
cells than healthy cells. Some recent research shows that the destruction
of tumor tissue that occurs with administration of EPA fish oil is because
the tumor cells do not have normal protection against the oxidation of fats.
These highly polyunsaturated fats are like grenades going off in cancer
cells, but have minimum impact on healthy cells which are able to protect
themselves with fat soluble anti-oxidants, like vitamin E and CoQ.



Defensive backs – Tertiary Defense

Selective Toxins Against Cancer

There are a number of substances in the diet and supplements that have been
identified as selective toxins against cancer–they kill cancer but not
healthy tissue:



n Vitamin K is similar in chemical structure to a potent chemotherapy drug,
doxorubicin; yet vitamin K is non-toxic in normal dietary intake and has
demonstrated a “selective toxin” effect as a supplement in human
studies.²⁰



n Bioflavonoids, especially quercetin²¹ and rutin. Elliott Middleton,
MD and colleagues have found that bioflavonoids cannot only slow down cancer,
but may reverse cancer cells back to normal healthy cells.²²



Vitamin C²³, especially in combination with the B-12 vitamin²⁴



Garlic²⁵



Phycocyanins, or green pigment substances found in algae and spirulina.



Sodium selenite²⁶



Vitamin E succinate²⁷





Growth Control Factors

Nutritionists are well aware of the need for nutrients to fuel growth, but
when growth continues unrestricted, it becomes cancer. For every system
in the body, there is something to turn it on and something to turn it off.
Selenium and EPA are proposed nutrients that control growth.



The Root Killer – Shut Off the Blood Supply to the Tumor

If you tie a tourniquet around your arm, the tissue on the other side will
eventually die (ischemia). If you close all of the transportation routes
into a city, it will eventually die. In 1980, well respected researchers
Judah Folkman, MD at Harvard University and Robert Langer, MD of the MIT
published an intriguing paper showing that something in cartilage tissue
could slow down the growth of new blood vessel extending from tumors.²⁸
They coined this “X” factor, the anti-angiogenesis (making blood
vessels) substance. The aggressiveness of tumor growth is clearly related
to the number of new blood vessels being extended from the tumor(s).²⁹



I. William Lane, PhD, found that shark cartilage was effective against animal
tumors. Dr. Lane received a use patent on the use of shark cartilage to
inhibit angiogenesis, indicating that even the United States Patent Office
agreed that shark cartilage was a unique and potent anti-angiogenesis factor.
Shark cartilage has fabulous potential as a non-toxic therapeutic substance
against diseases that rely on the infiltration of new blood vessels, including
solid tumors, rhematoid arthritis and inflammatory diseases.



Studies in Mexico and Cuba on end-stage cancer patients given shark cartilage
found success with 1.5 gram per kilogram body weight given daily as oral
powder or retention enema. A consultant in the Cuban study, Charles Simone,
MD, is an NCI-trained oncologist. More studies are now underway with potential
funding from the Office of Alternative Medicine through the National Institute
of Health. While shark cartilage may sound like a therapy invented by Woody
Allen; it may become a primary focus of cancer treatment in the near future.
For localized solid tumors, the risk to benefit to cost ratio is heavily
in favor of using this therapy.



Shark cartilage probably does not harm the growth of healthy blood vessels.
Sharks have this anti-angiogenesis factor in their young, who are able to
grow quite well in spite of the substance that selectively squelches tumor
growth. Tumors send out blood vessels that grow in cork-screw fashion, while
healthy tissue creates blood vessels that grow more direct, like tree roots.
This difference allows the active ingredient in cartilage to selectively
inhibit tumor tissue angiogenesis while allowing healthy host tissue to
grow necessary blood vessels.



Fix What’s Broken

If you have a zinc deficiency, then a truckload of vitamin C will not be
nearly as valuable as giving the body what it needs to end the zinc deficiency.
If an accumulation of lead and mercury has crimped the immune system, then
removing the toxic metals is more important than psychotherapy. If a low
output of hydrochloric acid in the stomach creates poor digestion and malabsorption,
then hydrochloric acid supplements are the answer. If a broken spirit brought
on the cancer, then spiritual healing is necessary to eliminate the cancer.



The need to “fix what’s broke” is a prime limiting factor in studies
that examine cancer therapies. In a given group of 100 cancer patients,
based upon my experience, 10 may need grievance counselling, 10 may need
high dose supplements to stimulate the immune system, 5 may need serious
detoxification, and the remaining 75 have a complex combination of problems.
This issue complicates cancer treatment tremendously and makes “cookbook”
cancer treatment an exercise in futility. Our progress against cancer has
been crippled not only by the complexity of cancer, but also by the need
for Western science to isolate one variable. While it is easier to conduct
and interpret research with one or two variables, cancer and the human body
are far more complex than that. We will eventually help most cancer patients
by fixing whatever bodily function needs repair. This is easier said than
done. Finding the underlying problem requires a physician trained in comprehensive
medicine.



Thyroid Check

The second most common malnutritive condition in the world, after protein-calorie,
is iodine deficiency, with about 400 million people suffering this condition.
The mineral iodine feeds the thyroid gland, a small walnut-shaped gland
in the throat region that produces a mere one teaspoon of thyroxin annually.
But that thimble-full of thyroxin can make a huge difference in whether
you will be bright or dull, fat or lean, healthy or sick, energetic or always
tired. Like other organs, when the thyroid gland is deprived of its needed
nutrients, it becomes enlarged. There are some regions of the world, particularly
inland and mountainous areas, where iodine deficiency (goiter) is so common
that the few people who do not have goiter are called “bottlenecks”
for their abnormally slim necks. While the United States has made progress
against goiter by adding iodine to salt, there are unsettling results from
studies showing that about 33% of children consuming with seemingly adequate
iodine intake still have goiter.³⁰



What does all this have to do with cancer? There is compelling evidence
that low thyroid output substantially elevates the risk for cancer.³¹
Based upon the groundbreaking work by Broda Barnes, MD, PhD from 1930 through
1980, it is clear that about 40% of the population suffers from chronic
hypothyroidism. Dr. Barnes earned his doctorate in physiology and medical
degree from the University of Chicago. His primary interest was the thyroid
gland. He found that people with a basal temperature of less than 97.8 F.
were probably suffering from low thyroid. Symptoms include coldness; easy
weight gain; constipation; sexual dysfunctions of infertility, frigidity,
heavy periods, regular miscarriages or impotence; elevated serum lipids
to induce heart disease; mental confusion and depression; hypoglycemia and
diabetes; and cancer. This may sound like an improbable grocery list of
diseases that can all stem from one simple cause. But realize that the thyroid
gland regulates energy metabolism throughout the body, which is the basis
for all other functions.



Work with your physician on this issue. Blood tests for thyroid function
are not valid indicators of thyroid problems. Body temperature is the best
way to detect hypothyroidism. Take your temperature first thing in the morning
on several consecutive days before getting out of bed. If your temperature
is below 97.8 F., then you may have a problem that can be easily resolved.
Dessicated thyroid supplements are inexpensive and non-toxic. For some people,
ginseng, kelp, chromium picolinate, L-carnitine and/or medium chain triglycerides
(MCT) will slowly bring thyroid function up to normal. People who consume
kelp, or sea vegetables, often have healthier thyroid functions, which indicates
that sea vegetables or kelp tablets should be consumed by cancer patients.
Here is another area of “simple solutions for major problems”.



Deal With Your Allergies

If nutrition itself is a controversial subject, then allergies represent
controversy to the cubed power. From 25% to 50% of the population suffer
from allergies, which can come from foods that we eat (ingestant), air particles
that we breath (inhalant) or substances on our skin (contact). Allergies
can cause an amazing array of diseases, including immune problems, arthritis,
diabetes, heart disease, mental illness and more. The reason allergies are
so complicated to detect and treat is the limitless combinations of chemicals
in the human body. You might react to wheat products only
if you consume citrus at the same meal and are under stress.
Otherwise, wheat may not create any problems. Some people have transient
food allergies, that come and go along with the pollen seasons. Because
of this trend, some allergists subscribe to the “rain barrel”
theory, in which you only have allergic reactions when the rain barrel is
overflowing, such as combined allergies with stress.



Allergies are generated by an over-reactive immune system. What happens
is that small undigested particles (polypeptides and peptides) of food pass
through the intestinal wall into the blood stream and are recognized by
the immune system as an invading bacteria (since its DNA is not yours).
Now, you may be thinking that an over-reactive immune system should help
to fight cancer, yet the immunoglobulins that instigate allergies will depress
the production of cancer-killing immune factors, like natural killer cells
and tumor necrosis factor. Allergies create an imbalanced immune system.
Correct the allergies and you can re-establish a balanced immune attack.



Detecting and correcting allergies is a challenge at the Sherlock Holmes
level. There are many methods designed to determine allergies, including
radio-allergo-sorbent test (RAST), skin patch, dietary food challenge and
sub-lingual testing. Probably the best tests are either the ELISA/ACT test
from Serammune Labs (800-553-5472) or ImmunoLaboratories Elisa test (800-231-9197).



Another way to relieve and/or detect allergic reactions is to use the Ultra-Clear
program distributed by Metagenics (800-692-9400) This product is composed
of rice protein (hypoallergenic) coupled with vitamins, minerals and amino
acids to help the body eliminate toxins. For the full program, you consume
this powdered protein drink as your only food for 21 days. Once you have
allowed your allergic reactions to subside on this diet, then you can detect
the offending substances by methodically re-introducing foods to your diet.
Once you determine what foods or inhalants that you are allergic to, then
it requires diligence to avoid that substance for at least 2 weeks while
you reset the switch on the immune system. Allergic reactions can be:



Type 1. Immediate reaction of less than 2 hours. It is estimated that less
than 15% of all food allergies are of this easily-detected type.



Type 2. Delayed cytotoxic reaction which may require days to develop into
subtle and internal symptoms. It is estimated that 75% of food allergies
involve this category of cell destruction. The ELISA/ACT test detects type
2 delayed reactions.



Type 3. Immune complex mediated reactions. In this reaction, a “wrestling
match” goes on between the antigen (offending factor) and antibody
(immune factor trying to protect the body) which can easily slip through
the permeable blood vessels due to large amounts of histamine release.



Type 4. T cell dependent reactions. Within 36-72 hours after exposure to
the offending substance, inflammation is produced by stimulating T-cells.



Allergies are common, complex to diagnose, difficult to treat and very related
to a variety of diseases, including cancer. A primitive and not terribly
accurate way to find allergies involves the hypoallergenic diet. For 4 days,
eat nothing but rice, apples, carrots, pears, lamb, turkey, olive and black
tea. If you find relief from any particular symptoms, then add back a new
food every four days and record the results. The most common allergenic
foods are milk, wheat, beef, eggs, corn, peanut, soybeans, chicken, fish,
nuts, mollusks and shellfish. Outside of humans, no other creature on earth
consumes milk after weaning. Only 11-20% of Americans breast feed, which
helps explain why the most allergenic food in the world is cow’s milk.



Detecting and treating food allergies is a real challenge. I have found
that any or all of the following can blunt allergic reactions: alfalfa (3-6
tablets daily), bee pollen (2-4 tablets daily), L-histidine (1000-1500 mg)
and vitamin C (2-20 grams) .

Improve Digestion

As many people mature, they can lose their ability to produce hydrochloric
acid in the stomach (hypochlorhydria), or digestive enzymes in the intestines
(pancreatic insufficiency), or their intestines become inhabited by hostile
bacteria (dysbiosis), or their intestines become more permeable to food
particles which causes allergies to surface.



Charles Farr, MD, PhD has been a pioneer in many areas of comprehensive
health care, including nutrition and computer diet analysis. Dr. Farr has
noticed that humans seem to slide into an “involutional malnutrition”,
meaning a retrograde or degenerative change in health. The beginning of
the problems may stem from low output of stomach acid or pancreatic enzymes,
which leads to poor digestion. Also, pathogens can now survive the less
hostile GI tract for absorption into the bloodstream. Since the cancer patient
has a compromised immune system that is not firing on all cylinders, this
problem leaves the patient open to infections, called opportunistic infections,
which can only gain a foothold in that person when their host defenses are
down. Among the key host defense mechanisms against infections are mucous,
saliva, acid and enzymes that guard the GI tract.



To determine the health of the digestive tract, you will probably need the
help of a holistically oriented physician. There are diagnostic companies
that are skilled at detecting the problem in a compromised GI tract. If
you cannot find professional help, then here are some tips to help you determine
if you have a problem with digestion. If your GI tract is working well,
then you should have:

• a sensation of stomach emptying about 30-60 minutes after a meal.
  
• no excessive gas or discomfort.
  
• daily soft bowel movements that do not have greasy appearance or terribly
  offensive odor.
  
• bowel movements that do not have undigested food matter within.
  

If you do not have this “ideal” GI tract, then read on.



1. Hypochlorhydria. If you have a sense of stomach fullness
for more than 30 minutes after eating, then you may be suffering from insufficient
hydrochloric acid flow. To test this hypothesis, take 2 capsules of betaine
hydrochloride (derived from beets), available at most health food stores,
with your meal. If this therapy improves symptoms, then hypochlorhydria
was indeed your problem. If this does not improve symptoms, then add 1 more
pill with each meal until you get to five pills. If you have heartburn,
then decrease dosage next time. If you find no relief, then discontinue
altogether.



2. Pancreatic insufficiency. If you have cramps, heart burn
or your food appears relatively undigested or greasy in the stools, then
you may not be making enough digestive enzymes to break down your food.
For enzyme replacement therapy, use digestive enzymes from Enzymatic Therapy
(800-558-7372), called BioZyme. You may need 2-3 pills with each meal. If
symptoms improve, then you may need to continue this therapy for the foreseeable
future.



3. Parasites. Most of us have intestinal parasites. In some
of us, these worms and bacteria are causing serious harm to the lining of
the intestinal tract, such as a permeable gut which allows allergies to
form. Our ancestors developed many de-worming techniques that they used
seasonally, such as fasting while consuming purgative herbs or regular flushing
out with garlic. In order to confirm if you have a problem, you must send
a stool sample to a lab capable of detecting the myriad of microorganisms
that inhabit the GI tract.



Change Your Diet

n Eat your ancestral diet. There has been an endless parade of diets
that were hailed as “the perfect diet”. But there is no one perfect
diet. Behold the fascinating spectrum of 5 billion people on the planet
earth. We are all different. While macrobiotics may be helpful for some,
it seems counterproductive for a few. In order to have a decent grasp on
the core diet for humans, we need to take a ride in our time machine back
5000 years, to our hunter and gatherer ancestors who roamed the earth before
the dawn of agriculture. By examining the diet of primitive hunter gatherer
societies plus archeological findings, a trio of modern day “Indiana
Jones” researchers turned up some of the most important nutrition data
of the 20th century.³²



Our ancestors ate a diet consisting of about 1/3 lean animal tissue with
the remaining 2/3 of the diet unprocessed plant food; mostly vegetables,
some grains, some fruit, nuts, seeds and legumes. If the creature runs,
flies, or swims, then it may be about 4% body fat, with obvious exceptions
including duck and salmon. Cows, the staple meat of America, do none of
the above and are about 30-40% body fat. While there are certainly variations
on this theme, this is the basic diet of our ancestors and a good starting
point for our cancer-fighting diet. Both studies and my clinical experience
show that a low fat diet with lots of fresh vegetables will improve cancer
outcome. Take a look at the following graphic illustration of the contrast
between the modern American diet and our “factory specification”
diet. Notice how far we have strayed from our ancestral diet.



Keep in mind that you may have to “fine tune” this diet to suit
your ethnic background. The macrobiotic diet was developed by a Japanese
physician who cured himself of cancer in the 19th century. The macrobiotic
diet tends to encourage anything Oriental (even soy sauce and pickles) and
discourage anything Western, including chicken, turkey, fish and fruit.
Macrobiotics may be ideally suited for many Orientals, and has helped some
Caucasians because it is such a vast improvement over the nutritional quality
of the typical American diet. I encourage people to determine the diet of
their ancestors 5000 years ago and use that food pattern as a starting point.




Stabilize your blood sugar levels. Cancer is a sugar-feeder.



The literature clearly points toward a substantial increase in glucose metabolism
with the onset of cancer. Sugar has a number of ways in which it promotes
cancer:



1. Rises in blood glucose generate corresponding rises of insulin,
which then pushes prostaglandin production toward the immune-suppressing
and stickiness-enhancing PGE-2. While fish oil (EPA) and borage oil (GLA)
have a favorable impact on cancer, these potent fatty acids are neutralized
when the blood glucose levels are kept high. Refer back to the prostaglandin
chart earlier in this chapter.



2. Cancer cells feed directly on blood gl