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Food Matters TooPowerful Patient 2008 week 30Joyce Graff, host, on webtalkradio.net Beginning July 21, 2008
Kurt has metastatic cancer. He was operated on ten years ago, and underwent radiation therapy six years ago. He has studied and sought experts to help him control the cancer through the food he eats, supporting the body’s own healing powers. He is living well with cancer. About Our Guest
Kurt was told by his doctor that he was a perfectly healthy 29-year-old. But he didn’t feel right. He kept pressing for answers until a doctor finally ordered an ultrasound … which discovered a 17 cm tumor (that’s six inches) – the size and shape of a Nerf football. It was a paraganglioma, and it had already metastasized. Suddenly he was a cancer patient, fighting for his life.
He underwent MIBG therapy, a kind of radiation therapy. Meta-iodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) is a radioactive isotope that is similar to adrenaline and seeks out certain types of tumors in the body called neuroendocrine tumors. In small doses it is used to take pictures of the tumor. In larger doses, it can be used to irradiate the tumors and cause the tumor cells to die. It is a very targeted radiation therapy.
Food Matters Too
Even before his diagnosis, Kurt was seeking help from a naturopathic physician, working to discover why he was not feeling well. The primary problem turned out to be the tumor and the metastatic tumors it had already created. But there is a school of thought that says that a healthy body cannot create a cancer. According to this philosophy, cancer itself is a symptom of poor nutrition. When you nourish the body and make the body well, the body itself will control the cancer.
We are used to considering ourselves one of the best-fed nations in the world. Certainly we eat more per person than any other country. But is it the food our bodies really need? Are we getting the essential elements important to good health? Or are we getting too much of the foods that undermine our health?
A number of prominent physicians are now pointing out the problem areas in the American diet, and the toll it takes on our health, most recently Dr. Andrew Weil and Dr. Dean Ornish. Yet still today most traditionally trained doctors do not incorporate into their advice anything about how to eat. In fact it has become extremely confusing to determine what is and is not good for you, what to eat, or what not to eat.
A new film, Food Matters, presents interviews with a number of leading world experts in supporting your body in staying well and healing itself. http://www.foodmatters.tv This program also examines the underlying self-interest of many of the companies distributing information about food – or blocking information and scientific evidence on the healing properties of pure, unprocessed foods.
Dr. Weil is one of the most visible proponents of a new trend toward “Integrative Medicine”, which includes both standard western medical practice and a number of the “complementary” practices (meditation, acupuncture), and nutrition advice as well. http://www.drweil.com
The book Diet for a Small Planet and its sequel Hope’s Edge by Frances Moore Lappé talk about combinations of plant-based foods that will give you a complete protein that is just as effective in the body as protein from meat.
The Best Plan for You
Clearly no one can create a single plan that is right for every individual. You will need to find professionals who can help you determine what particular challenges you are facing, and assist you in working out a comprehensive plan.
Kurt visited a practitioner of iridology, an ancient method of analyzing the colors in the iris to determine where imbalances may be in the body. This is one diagnostic technique that may be used in naturopathy or Chinese medicine. Another is an examination of the tongue. They are only one two aspects of examining the patient. Analyses of blood and hair can be used to determine what vitamins may be in short supply, or what heavy metals may be stored in your body that need to be eliminated.
Cleansing is a way of encouraging your body to eliminate toxic build-ups in the colon or other organs. It is best to check with your doctor before embarking on such a program, just to make sure there is no reason why it not be a good idea for you. The simplest and safest way to cleanse is simply to drink more water and eat more fiber, which will naturally cause food waste to move more efficiently through your bowel.
If you have an urgent problem, then urgent care may be needed. Broken bones need to be fixed, a tumor may need to be surgically removed. But acupuncture may help to speed healing, and good food is always needed to make sure your body’s own healing powers are operating at peak capacity.
The health care system in America is very good at fixing critical problems. But when it comes to fixing the chronic, longer-term problems, including chronic disease, one of the most important aspects of managing a chronic health problem is the food we eat.
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