Raw Food and Fighting Disease

Susan | September 15, 2010

The other night, a special ran on every channel on TV during prime time. It was called, “Stand Up to Cancer”. It wasn’t a presidential address, it was a program about cancer. All four channels, prime time.

Cancer has become our number one killer. It is estimated that one out of every two men, and one out of every three women will get cancer in their lifetime. It is an epidemic that is out of control.

As I sat watching this program, I couldn’t help but notice that while there was a lot of focus on medical treatment for cancer, there was no discussion of nutrition or nutrition as a part of prevention. I found that frustrating and sad.

Do a quick Google search for food and cancer and over 180 million responses will come back. Tons of references for anti-cancer diets, cancer fighting foods, cancer fighting spices, and how to fight cancer with food. Medically backed, lab tested, and proved, we know that there is a huge connection between what we eat and our health.

We have one of the biggest cancer fighters available to us every day. It is simply the food we eat. There are foods we eat that feed cancer and food we eat that starve cancer. Drs Oz and Roizen point out that everyone has cancer cells in their bodies. “You probably don’t know that you have cancer. That’s right. Every single person has cancer cells in them. But in most cases, your body finds the cells, realizes that they’re foreign, and kills them right away-without you even knowing that it happened.” How we eat is one of the greatest influences on whether those cancer cells grow out of control or stay in a state that won’t harm us.

Eating fruits and vegetables in their raw, organic form is a great way to get your nutrients. There are a few exceptions, such as tomatoes (lycopene) and kale (vitamin K) where certain nutrients actually increase with cooking. But for the most part, raw food is a way to go. Keep in mind that even with kale, when you cook it, you might increase the vitamin K but you will decrease many of the other nutrients. It is a balancing act.

My question is, how do we start to consciously make the connection. I have always said, if the result was immediate, we would change. But it isn’t. It is gradual. It is invisible. It sneaks up on us. We gain weight, we become short of breath, but we ignore the signs. We can’t see what is happening on the inside of our body so we default to the old, “out of sight, out of mind” theory.

It is time to become mindful. It is time to really make the connection between how we eat and our health. Simply by incorporating more raw foods into your diet gives you an edge. A step up. It isn’t a fad, it is health.

Stacey wrote on September 17, 2010

I’m with you all, too. What amazes me even more than a whole show dedicated to cancer and not mentioning nutrition, is people’s reactions to the idea that drastic diet changes can make a difference; can help you live. I was a cynic for many years because I never got results from diet changes, but I was jumping from cooked food diet to cooked food diet. I was still starving my body for the nutrients it gets in eating high raw. Once I discovered and made the quick transition to raw foods, my diabetes receded in 15 days, my autoimmune disease ‘rebalancing” is still a work in progress, but I’m on a lower dose of steroidal medications than I’ve been able to manage in years. It’s all due to eating raw and feeding my body the right stuff.

When I tell others why I look so much better and why I have more energy, and no thank you, no cookies for me…they look at me like I’ve got three heads. Like I’ve changed over night from being a “rational person” to a “foodie freak”. They, with their obesity, bad backs, fatigue, horrible sleeping patterns, etc. criticize and cringe when I mention the word “carrot chip” when thinking it’s some kind of “freaky food” when it’s just a carrot cut in diameter in place of being sold whole. Almost everything I eat is what they eat, but I just may juice it and they eat theirs in salad form, but I still get faces, cringing, sarcasm, and the like, even though I’ve proven with my own health that it’s working well for me.

So, it’s not just the media, it’s the whole population that’s been brainwashed. It’s going to take years to get people to wake up and give a darn about what their putting into their mouths and bodies that’s killing them one mouthful at a time!

Let’s hear it for those who “get it”!! Yeah us!!

Kathleen wrote on September 17, 2010

I too watched the show Stand Up to Cancer and was frustrated and disappointed. To me, it simply said the same old same old, give your money to research…yeahhhhh we all want to see cancer stopped in our lifetime. So frustrating to hear, and how long has so much money and research been going on and cancer is still one of the top killers in this country? People are still walking the causes, and faithfully hoping for change. Well now it’s time for us to claim ownership of our dis-eases as well. I’m overweight and I am claiming mine and I challenge everyone to do the same. No pharma nor medical professional is going to change what I have to change in myself. I own that responsibility. I switched to 80% raw food in February and I am not looking back. In honor of my mother and my sister who went through decades of trusting pharma/doctors and now they are gone. It was painful to watch it all go down. It was MY wake up call. I challenge you to wake up with me and make a difference in your own life. Thanks for this great post.

Robert wrote on September 16, 2010

You are so right! Great thoughts.

JoanBee wrote on September 16, 2010

Indeed, there are foods that feed cancer. All the processed non-foods help feed cancer. There is evidence that cancer cells have difficulty existing in the body if it is an alkaline state. Raw foods help the body to achieve such a state. It is a pity that more emphasis is not placed on prevention rather than cure. We would love to find a cure, but in the meantime let us try to prevent cancer by eating more raw foods!

Barb wrote on September 16, 2010

Some great comments; there are a couple of other things to add to raw to be effective against cancer and other western diseases. Choosing low fat and organic are as important as being raw in my opinion. Fat, pesticides and herbicides are very big contributing factors that must be taken into account along with fitness if one is really interested in vibrant health.

Jodi wrote on September 16, 2010

Well said!!! If our diet can give us disease…….does it not make sense then to start there???
Thank you!

Dot D. wrote on September 16, 2010

Well, everyone certainly had a lot to say for this post. And I agree wholeheartedly with all of you, and thanks for the info of other sites to visit and hear what is being said.

It is the same story over and over again, and I’m going back some 20 + years of recall. And the world isn’t getting any better, except that now I’m finding that more and more are tuning the crap out and listening to their bodies and locating vegetarian, vegan and raw food sites looking for advice. Keep on truckin’ Susan. I tell everyone I can about your, as well as other’s, website. We’ll change ourselves and anyone else who wants to make that change.

Linda McMullen Marcy wrote on September 16, 2010

I have freaked out more than a few people refusing to give to support cancer research groups. My stated reason “I do not beleive they are really trying to find a cure.” Anyone, any group connected to big pharm is not looking for real answers just lots of money.

Judith wrote on September 16, 2010

You are a dear to bring this up. It is amazing, and yet for those with the eyes to see and the ears to hear, we know one thing clearly: Television air waves are generally ‘owned’ by Rupert Murdoch and an small elite of individuals that basically have no intention of doing anything but dumbing down the population in order to control, manipulate & exploit. Yes, it would be great to get some actual truth, but that is what blogs and the internet are for. Once in a while, a few news reporters get onboard with some valuable info, but as we all know, mostly not.

The only way to really change it at all is to find ways to continually object and demand better while creating the best for our own lives in exactly the way it is happening here. Be a proactive force for good!

Here is one perfect example of an alternative approach to cancer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQuODiMlUsc
Know The Cause, Doug Kaufman, hosts a show informing on this topic. He interviews Dr. Simoncini from Italy who has been using this totally effective and non-toxic treatment. He demonstrates this via video on the show. He discusses this wonderful treatment for cancer ( and the cause) that you will definitely NOT be finding on TV anytime soon. Big Pharma owns just far too much of the media for them to allow this.

It isn’t just our bodies that need healing.
Again, thanks for bringing this up.
bless,
Judith

Your whole food, plant-based life.