There’s a video doing the rounds online where Dr Peter Glidden, a naturopath medicine doctor practicing for 27 years in the United States, claims that chemotherapy has a failure rate of 97 per cent and yet doctors prescribe it because of large kickbacks by pharma companies. While his claims may be exaggerated, there is increasingly a cloud over chemotherapy and radiotherapy as a ‘cure’ for cancer.
And this is why millions of dollars are now being spent on immunotherapy, where one’s own immune system is stimulated via drugs to kill cancer cells. While this is effective for patients who already have cancer, the logic of immunotherapy does go back to the philosophy of holistic healing: stimulate your immune system to fight diseases, including cancer.
Nutritional immunotherapy, which means consuming specific quantities of nutrients that increase immunity, can make the immune system so strong that the good cells won’t let the bad (cancer) cells grow rapidly. We’ve already seen the effects of nutrition and lifestyle changes to reverse type 2 diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol and many autoimmune conditions.
My clinic gets stories every day where determined patients suffering from drug side-effects come and just want to get rid of the health issue as well as the medication, and they do so successfully. And yet, millions pop pills every day when the cure is so easy. The same is with cancer. A few facts below will help you look for more holistic ways to build your immunity against cancer:
• Over 70 per cent of cancers are lifestyle related. Out of these, 35 per cent are purely diet related.
• A low pH means an acidic environment, which promotes the growth of cancer cells. You pH can be measured by a simple routine urine test. Aim for a pH above 7.5 if you want protection against cancer, by including more alkaline foods in your diet.
• Just 200 mcg of selenium a day can prevent breast cancer in women, as it cuts breast cancer risk by over 80 per cent.
• Just being overweight can be a serious cause for cancer. One out of five deaths due to cancer in the US are due to obesity.
• Milk has been linked to cancer in various studies. And yet most Indians guzzle down milk indiscriminately. Watch your intake. Over the age of 18, you need some yoghurt a few times a week, no milk.
• Small doses of vitamin C via vitamin C-rich foods or supplements reduces inflammation, thus reducing the risk of lifestyle cancers by over 50 per cent. Eat fresh, raw green, add a dash of lime, to up your vitamin C.
• Eating more saturated fats (and that includes the latest fad, coconut oil, in any form) increases the risk of prostate cancer in men. Going often to the washroom? Get that prostate checked and reduce saturated and bad fat in the form of namkeens, fried foods, butter and ghee.
• Calorie restriction is the most effective way to stimulate your immune system to live long. This means eating 30 per cent less calories than you need on an average day. Hence, if as per your BMI, you’re supposed to consume 2,500 calories, consuming 750 less, or 1,850 calories of a wholesome diet instead, persistently and consistently, will reduce cancer risk.
• Drinking very hot tea, coffee, soups, dals and too much alcohol raises the risk of esophageal cancer. These start eroding the esophagus. Go slow. Stay cool.
These are just some facts on how cancer can be prevented in your life. Don’t wait till you get it. Because if Dr Glidden and the research he’s quoted are correct, then with chemotherapy, you only have a 3 per cent chance of survival. Isn’t it just better not to get it? Or to be able to fight it with your strong immunity if you do? Think about it.
Columnist
Rachna Chhachhi is a certified holistic cancer nutrition and yoga expert, and author of four bestselling health books. She treats across 27 countries.
