The best approach to cancer is a positive outlook and a healthy lifestyle.So when I heard that people I know have had or did have cancer I decided to accumulate information on cancer and see if I could come up with a natural solution rather than a pharamaceutical one.
As I mentioned in a previous article I was a Research And Development analyst in Teva Pharmaceuticals in Waterford where I spent many happy years working on pharmaceutical products so I learned that pharmaceuticals are not the best way to go to treat an illness or to manage an illness.So I decided to come up with a more natural approach.
When I worked in Teva I was friendly with Deidre a women who was great at cancer fundraising she raised money for cancer by selling mugs I bought one and I still have it today.
I had a cuppa and two hobnob biscuits as my blood sugar levels were dropping.It is a very colourful mug with a pretty flower what do you think?
While more research is needed to better understand the complex relationship between diabetes and cancer, we do know that a dual diagnosis is relatively common. It’s estimated that as many as one in five cancer patients has diabetes as well.
Researchers suggest that the link between the two diseases may be partly due to shared risk factors, including aging, overweight and obesity(mainly type 2 diabetes), unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, alcohol and smoking.
Lifestyle choices can influence risk of both diabetes and cancer. Many
strategies that decrease risk of cancer also promote control of diabetes.
Maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking, and being physically active are lifestyle measures that can reduce the risks of both diseases.
Dietary recommendations to reduce cancer risk focus on predominantly plant-based diets emphasizing a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes.
The three most obvious means by which diabetes could influence the development and spread of cancer are insulin, blood glucose, and inflammation.
People with type 2 diabetes are insulin resistant which increases the body’s production of insulin and also increases blood glucose levels which leads to inflammation.
Experts now theorize that high blood sugar levels increase the growth of cancer cells.The most important thing to remember is that stable blood sugar levels are essential and so is a healthy lifestyle as well as good diabetic management such as monitoring blood glucose levels regularly.
Both diabetes and cancer are thought to have an inflammatory cause. Uncontrolled blood sugar can lead to chronic inflammation, which may cause the types of changes in cells that can increase the risk of cancer.
While cancer alone is difficult to treat, it becomes an even bigger challenge to try to treat cancer with diabetes. This is because many anti-diabetic medications interfere with conventional cancer treatment. Similarly chemotherapy also interferes with blood sugar levels that may lead to poor diabetic control.
Medical Treatments For Cancer Affect Diabetes
Radiation therapy and some types of chemotherapy may impact your blood sugar levels causing high blood sugar that leads to dehydration. Taking extra care to manage your blood sugar levels and keep them stable can help you feel better during treatment.Uncontrolled blood sugar levels also can have a negative impact on all your organs.
It is vital, to take the diabetes into consideration as part of the cancer treatment.That means assembling a multidisciplinary team of caregivers that may include an endocrinologist ,a medical oncologist and a dietitian for nutritional education and counseling.
The good news is that experts can generally predict how certain treatments such as surgery and chemotherapy will affect diabetes management and advise accordingly.
Stress of any sort can affect blood sugar control, Consequently, blood sugar levels need to be closely monitored through surgeries and other forms of treatment.
Some chemotherapy drugs can damage the nerves in your body. This can cause pain and changes in sensation. These effects can be worse if you already have nerve damage caused by diabetes.
Focus on a healthy eating plan that’s rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains and low in fat and calories. You can help keep your blood sugar level in a safe range by ensuring there’s a balance of these foods in your diet throughout the day.
If you’re finding that it’s difficult to eat healthy foods, talk to your doctor or schedule an appointment with a dietitian who is also a diabetes educator to find ways to get these foods into your diet.
Exercise when possible. This can help you maintain a healthy weight, which plays a key part in controlling your diabetes. Studies have also shown that exercising during treatment can ease side effects and improve quality of life for many patients.
Research shows that heavy drinking damages cells and can lead to cancer. Alcohol is also high in calories and sugar.
It is recommended that women have no more than two drinks per week and men have no more than four drinks per week. (A drink serving is defined as 12 ounces of beer, five ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of liquor.)
Remember, if you have diabetes, the best thing you can do is to make sure your blood sugar levels are under control. That’s true before, during and after cancer treatment.
I picked up several medical information brochures in the Waterford Medical Centre!
See below a number of brochures on differnt kinds of cancer.
OVARIAN CANCER
BOWEL CANCER
PROSTATE CANCER
CERVICAL CANCER
Natural Treatments For Cancer
The following natural cancer approaches have been shown to naturally relieve cancer symptoms and limit the spread of tumor cells.
Herbal medicine
Herbal medicine is one of the most commonly used alternative therapies by people with cancer. Some studies have shown that as many as 6 out of every 10 people with cancer (60%) use herbal remedies alongside conventional cancer treatments.
People have used herbal medicine for centuries to treat many different health conditions. It is often promoted as a natural way to help you relax and cope with anxiety and depression.
Herbal medicine uses plants, or mixtures of plant extracts, to treat illness and promote health.
Herbal medicine aims to restore your body’s ability to protect, regulate and heal itself. It is a whole body approach that looks at your physical, mental and emotional well being.
Many modern drugs are made from plants. But herbalists don’t extract plant substances in the way the drug industry does. Herbalists believe that the remedy works due to the delicate chemical balance of the whole plant, or mixtures of plants, not one particular active ingredient.
The two most common types of herbal medicine are Chinese herbal medicine and Ayurvedic medicine (Indian).
Refer to our article Using Herbal Remedies Safely!
Ketogenic Diet
We can use food as medicine in our natural cancer approach.The following foods are very helpful in combating cancer these include fruit and vegetables,herbs and spices,green tea,omega 3 fatty acids such as fish and low glycemic index foods such as salads and vegetarian stir frys.
The ketogenic diet detoxes the body and it helps people to remove processed foods from their diet and to include healthy foods such as those foods listed above.
A ketogenic diet is rich in healthy fats and low in carbohydrates.
Pastured beef and dairy products, organic poultry, good fats such as coconut oil and avocados, low carbohydrates fruits and vegetables such as asparagus, cabbage, lemon and limes are all ketogenic approved foods with cancer protective properties.
A ketogenic diet has been shown to significantly delay the progression of cancer tumors and increase survival rate periods by more than 50%!
Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber
Hyperbaric oxygen chamber therapy helps to remove two of the major bodily problems which contribute to cancer,lack of oxygen to cells and excessive acidity. This treatment increases the amount of oxygen that circulates around the body and therefore also decreases acidic conditions.
Unlike cancer cells, healthy cells cannot flourish without an adequate oxygen supply. Hyperbaric oxygen chamber therapy is an effective strategy to increase the oxygen flow to all cells and organs and also neutralise the pH of your body’s environment to better equip cells to maintain their normal functions.
By keeping your pH above 7, the body then acts as a “cancer treatment” for itself and goes to work to break down and dispose of any cancerous tumors!
The Awesome Power of Selenium!
Selenium has now been recognised by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an anti-cancer nutrient. For this to happen, there has to be some strong evidence to prove selenium’s benefit in cancer prevention and treatment.
It was discovered that selenium alone was able to reduce the overall cancer mortality rate by a stunning 50%.Furthermore, it was able to reduce prostate cancer in men by 63%, and stomach cancers in all participants by 58%. It was also able to reduce lung cancer by 46%.
For selenium take green food (these foods also contain high amounts of vitamins C, E and beta carotene).
Also, eat plenty of Brazil nuts (buy the shelled kind) as they contain high amounts of selenium.
Power of Green Tea!
Researchers discovered that drinking at least 5 cups a day of green tea cut the rate of blood cancers(leukaemia) by an astounding 42%, and lymphatic cancer by 48%.
What’s more, these big reductions were found to be the same in both men and women as well as people with various body mass sizes.
Even more surprising was the fact that by combining green tea with a citrus fruit, the anti-cancer benefits of green tea were increased even more. It’s thought that citrus fruits stabilize the green tea ECGC antioxidants in the gut – enhancing the absorption rate significantly.
The powerful antioxidants contained in green tea are substances known as polyphenols or catechins (ECGc’s). These substances are a 100 times more potent at scavenging and disarming free radicals than vitamin C or vitamin E.
Further studies on green tea and cancer have also shown that green tea can actually reduce the incidence and size of tumors – by a small degree in many cases.
In Japan and China, where women regularly consume green tea, they have the lowest rates of breast cancer in the world. In fact, breast cancer is almost nonexistent in Japanese women! And Japanese men also have one of the lowest incidences of prostate cancer in the world.
Both men and women in Japan and China have the healthiest diet in the world!
Matcha green tea is definitely the most potent and beneficial green tea and tastes the best. Regular green tea will still do the job nicely. Just make sure that whatever type you buy is certified organic.
You can now buy green tea varieties that have been infused with citrus, or instead, simply make your own by adding a slice of orange and lemon (and ginger) to your Matcha green tea. It tastes amazingly good!
Detoxification
Effective healing requires the removal of accumulated toxins and bodily wastes. It is important to stop eating processed foods as they inhibit your recovery from cancer.
It’s also beneficial to begin a healing regimen with a cleanse of the kidneys, liver and colon to remove stored toxins. There are many effective cleansing formulas and procedures that can be found at health food stores, the internet, or through a holistic healer.
The liver is sometimes referred to as the “CEO of detoxification.” It detoxifies the blood, produces bile to digest fat, works to break down hormones, and extracts essential vitamins and minerals the body needs. In addition, your liver also helps to produce some major substances needed to keep your immune system and the rest of you working smoothly, including glutathione − the “mother” of all internally-produced antioxidants.
There are many factors that lead to a sluggish liver such as obesity and viral infections. The most important factor is drinking too much alcohol.
An organ that works hand-in-hand with the liver are the kidneys. If the liver is the great detoxifier, then the kidneys are the “great filters” since they help to remove toxins and waste from the body. Have you known someone (maybe even yourself) who has had the unfortunate experience of passing kidney stones? If so, you probably know that besides being extremely painful, kidney stones may be a huge indication that it is time to give these tiny but important organs some love.
You can help your kidneys daily by staying hydrated and also staying away from processed foods. For a cleanse of the kidneys, consider healing citrus juices that can be incorporated into your daily routine. Cranberries have been known to cleanse the body of excess calcium oxalate, one of the main substances in kidney stones. Be sure to use cranberry juice free of extra sugars and artificial ingredients.
Other fruits and veggies that can be juiced and are also great for the kidneys include beet, lemon, cucumber, spinach, green apples, and pineapple.
Toxic build-up can also be removed through fasting, which helps to heal and rejuvenate the body.
Lifestyle Changes
Deep, restful sleep is an important part of cancer recovery. During sleep our bodies undergo the processes of healing, rebuilding and detoxifying . The value of adequate sleep should not be overlooked because without it our cancer recovery will be compromised.
Other lifestyle changes include sunlight exposure and daily exercise.Regular exercise speeds up the elimination of toxins and is necessary to keep the body oxygenated . These therapeutic benefits can be achieved through moderate exercise at least three times per week .
Developing a positive attitude will reduce stress and profoundly aid the healing process. A cancer survivor can achieve this in part by becoming proactive through researching alternative options.There are innumerable books and websites like this one that outline alternative cancer therapies.
The link between diabetes and cancer remains unclear. What is clear is that physical activity, maintaining a stable weight and consuming a healthy diet will help prevent both Type 2 diabetes and cancer.
Until more is known about the possible link between diabetes and cancer, the best approach we can take is to strive to follow a healthy lifestyle.
If you have any information,questions, or feedback you would like to include in this post.
Please email momo19@diabetessupportsite.com or leave your comments below.