7 Ways to Prevent Cancer – Part Two

Editors’ Note: This is another partial transcription of Dr. David Brownstein’s free webinar with Newsmax Health on How to Prevent Cancer. Brownstein’s most important points are exactly what we have been saying for years! And as we stated before, although he discusses primarily cancer prevention, this information is equally valuable for preventing recurrence and for activating immune response in patients currently fighting cancer.

In my previous article, I discussed step 1 – don’t smoke – and step 2 – maintain adequate iodine levels. Here are more steps:

#3: Avoid Synthetic Chemicals & GMOs in Your Food

This one seems obvious. Nobody would ask for synthetic chemicals in their food, and yet hundreds of millions of people are getting them without even knowing it.

That’s because conventionally raised animals are fed diets that contain synthetic hormones, antibiotics, and genetically modified organisms (GMO) that may cause cancer. And the food products that reach your table, such as dairy products, beef, chicken, pork, and farm-raised fish still have these dangerous chemicals in them. On the other hand, organically grown animals are free of these chemicals, such as beef from cattle that graze on natural grass.

Many people mistakenly think that eating red meat can cause heart disease and cancer, but the problem isn’t the red meat, but rather the chemicals in it. If you buy organically grown beef, free of hormones and antibiotics, it’s a healthy source of protein, as long as it’s part of a balanced diet that also includes plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables.

There’s another problem with our common diet. The vast majority of conventionally grown fruits and vegetables sold in grocery stores are sprayed with pesticides and treated with chemical fertilizers. And while that ensures a bigger crop for growers, it means more cancer, since these chemicals are known carcinogens.  Here again, the solution is simple: Eat certified organic fruits and vegetables that are free of pesticides and chemical fertilizers.

There’s more to know about the foods you eat. Harmful, cancer-producing chemicals are found in all of the name-brand artificial sweeteners, including aspartame. One popular brand contains chlorine atoms. Chlorine is in the same family as bromine, and it will inhibit iodine absorption. As you’ve just learned, you need iodine, not only for overall good health, but for cancer-cell apoptosis. Eat products made with these chemicals, and your immune system may have trouble killing cancer cells.

What’s more, two of the biggest artificial sweeteners have been shown to create cancer in laboratory animals. Aspartame, in particular, is suspected of causing brain cancer. And it’s the most common artificial sweetener in diet sodas, sugar-free ice creams, and hundreds of diet products that claim reduced calories. Ironically, these chemically sweetened diet foods do very little to help people lose weight, and when you trade reduced calories for cancer, you’ve made a very bad bargain.

What’s the solution here? Instead of using artificial sweeteners, or products made with them, use pure organic stevia, organic coconut crystals, or natural, raw honey. These will not harm your body. (Keep in mind that raw honey should not be given to children 1 year of age and younger.)

#4: Avoid Refined Sugars, Salts, Flours, and Oils

Refined foods are foods that have been processed during manufacturing. Typically, the nutrients have been stripped out, while harmful sugars, oils, grains, and salts have been left in, or put in. This is done for cost efficiencyand for longer shelf life, but these foods are essentially “devitalized.” If
you eat these devitalized foods, over time you’ll get a devitalized body.

And then your immune system won’t work as it should. And that’s exactly how you allow cancer to get a foothold.

Obviously, this is a common problem with the American diet, so let me give you some examples of specific foods to avoid.

Refined Carbohydrates

Avoid refined white table sugar, as cancer loves refined sugar. It’s literally the fuel cancer needs to grow. What’s more, refined sugar has been shown to suppress the immune system for up to five hours.

Think about that . . . If you snack on candy or soft drinks every few hours, and then finish your dinner with cake, pie, or ice cream, you are literally suppressing your immune system near continuously, and that may be an open-door invitation to cancer and other chronic illnesses.

When people are diagnosed with cancer, they are always shocked, but they never consider that too much sugar in their diet might be the culprit.  Likewise, their oncologists never say, “Stop eating sugar immediately.” Instead, they say, “You will have surgery, and then chemotherapy and/or radiation.

The natural sugars in fresh fruits are fine, but not the sugar added to bottled fruit juices, canned fruit, and fruit-flavored yogurts.

Next, avoid refined flours, oils, and salts, all of which are unhealthy and put you at greater risk for cancer, as well as for arthritis, diabetes, and heart disease.

Refined flours, grains and carbohydrate foods include:

• white bread
• white pasta
• white rice
• white potatoes
• cookies
• cakes
• chips
• almost all processed foods in boxes, bags, and cans

All of these foods convert to sugar in your body, and again, cancer loves sugar.

For healthy food choices, see my book, The Guide to Healthy Eating, which will not only help you reduce refined sugars in your diet, but also move you toward a healthy body pH.  This is important because cancer loves an acidic body pH.

Let me give you a few good choices right now — you can eat oatmeal, nuts, and all products made with organic whole grain flours that have not been bromated. You can eat yams, but not white potatoes. You can eat all the fresh fruits and vegetables you want, but choose organic produce, as these will not have harmful pesticides and chemical fertilizers in them.

Processed Oils

Next, it’s very important to avoid refined and processed oils. Bad fats and oils include:

• Margarine
• Canola
• Corn
• Cottonseed
• Soybean oils
• Any product whose label includes the words “partially hydrogenated”

All of these have been shown to suppress the immune system over time by producing toxic trans fatty acids.

Healthy oils include:

• Organic butter
• Coconut oil
• Cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil

Organic butter is a healthy fat that will not hurt you. Coconut oil is one of nature’s “perfect foods” with great nutritional and healing powers. And olive oil has long been part of the healthy Mediterranean diet.

Next, avoid common white table salt, which has been refined, processed and bleached and is devoid of all nutrients. Instead, use organic, unrefined sea salt, which is natural and contains nutritious minerals. Unlike bleached table salt, unrefined sea salt is a healthy food, even for people with high blood pressure. I recommend one-half to one teaspoon daily for almost everyone. What’s more, eating organic sea salt daily will also help you achieve an ideal anti-cancer body pH of 7.4.

You’ll find that the good foods are more delicious, give you more energy, don’t cause digestive problems, and will naturally reduce your weight.

Soy Foods

Soybean foods have been promoted as healthy, but that’s flat-out wrong. There is only one form of soy that won’t do harm, and that’s fermented soy. This is found in miso and tempeh. Every other non-fermented soybean food, including edamame and soy milk, is unhealthy and harmful to your body.

Why have we been misled on this? Because soybeans are among the most profitable crops in the United States. They are extremely cheap to grow and food manufacturers use soy as a filler in many processed foods.

Approximately 50% of all packaged foods in the grocery store contain some form of non-fermented soy that is harmful to you.

You can thank Washington food manufacturing lobbyists for enshrining this misinformation.

In my next article, I will cover steps 5-7 for preventing cancer.

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