Living a healthy life heavily depends on nutrition. In fact, proper diet is the key to living healthy.
When a person is diagnosed with a life-threatening condition, they must make some dietary changes as soon as possible.
Mounting evidence shows that there is a strong link between the consumption of highly processed foods and the development of conditions like arthritis and diabetes. The same applies for cancer patients as well!
How Does An Alkaline Diet Fight Cancer?
As the name itself suggests, an alkaline diet emphasized the intake of alkaline foods while reducing the intake of acidic food.
According to some people, the best would be to cut out acidic foods completely. The concept behind this suggests that since cancer cells die in an alkaline environment, the consumption of alkaline food will make it impossible for them to thrive.
Most acidic foods cause inflammation, which is regarded as one of the major causes of cancer.
The Battle Against Inflammation
An inflammatory response starts out when the damaged tissue releases chemicals. In this response, the white blood cells produce substances which divide the cells and cause them to grow in order to rebuild tissue and repair the injury. The inflammatory process ends once the wound is healed. Note that this applies for inflammatory processes in a healthy individual.
When it comes to chronic inflammation, the inflammatory process begins even when there is no injury whatsoever and it doesn’t end when it is supposed to end. It may be caused by abnormal reactions to normal tissues, infections, and conditions like obesity. Chronic inflammation may lead to DNA damage and cancer over time.
7 Steps Towards An Alkaline Diet
The modern western diet is mainly based on acidic foods. Below you have a list of 7 steps which will help you make simplify this process:
1. Eat Your Greens
An acidic diet makes pH more acidic, a condition which is called latent acidosis. This condition creates the perfect conditions for cancer to thrive. Therefore, an alkaline diet can re-balance the pH and prevent the disease from spreading.
You should consume more cruciferous vegetables, such as kale, cabbage, and broccoli. Some of them should be eaten raw, so make sure you do a little research about the best ways to consume them. Even though fruits are abundant in vitamins and minerals, you should eat 2-3 pieces daily to maintain your acid level low.
2. Swap Your Protein
Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) form when meat like fish, beef, muscle or pork, is cooked on high temperature.
It has been scientifically shown that HCAs and PAHs are mutagenic, meaning that they cause DNA damage and increase the risk of cancer.
According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), deli meats increase the risk of colorectal cancer.
With this being said, you should reduce your meat intake and always opt for organic and appropriately fed meat. To supplement your protein intake, consume more nuts, seeds, peas, lentils, and beans.
3. Cut Out Sugar
Cancer cells utilize more glucose than other cells and sugar supports the cancer progression by creating acid.
Moreover, high sugar intake puts additional stress on the pancreas by causing it to produce insulin. This leads to insulin resistance, which has been associated with cancer proliferation. It is also worth mentioning that high fructose corn syrup contains mercury, which is carcinogenic.
Cancer patients should cut out white sugar and high fructose corn syrup as well as ‘natural’ sugars like agave or honey. This prevents deficiency in magnesium since this mineral is often drained in the process of metabolizing excess sugar.
4. Eliminate Gluten
Wheat, rye, spelt, and other glutinous grains cause inflammation. Wheat is also packed with pesticides, which are pro-inflammatory as well.
If you want to adopt an alkaline and cancer-suppression diet, stay away from baked goods like cakes, cookies, muffins, bread, cereals, pasta, crackers, etc.
Although processed gluten-free foods are convenient, they are loaded with added sugars and unhealthy oils which destroy their health benefits.
The best would be to replace these greens with organic rice, millet, amaranth, quinoa, teff, and buckwheat.
5. Stop Eating Dairy
According to Prof. T. Colin Campbell, PhD., Cornell University, cow dairy is one of the major cancer-causing foods.
Casein, a protein which is often found in powdered milk added to cheese and yogurt, feeds cancer, causes inflammation, and leads to bone deterioration. Stop eating cow dairy and replace it with coconut or almond milk.
6. Switch to Heart-Healthy Oils
Eliminate processed corn, soy, safflower, sunflower oils, margarine, and hydrogenated oil.
Fat is critical for neurons to communicate with each other, which act as a transition between the electrical impulse and the nervous system. This communication is of utmost importance for daily survival.
Hydrogenated fats are not able to perform this task. Instead, they inhibit cell`s ability to function when absorbed. These cells act as broken sections and compromise the transition, creating dead spots in the body. Consequently, important messages are not received or are received later.
This increases the risk of cancer, a condition in which the cells don’t respond to these messages and proliferate purposelessly, affecting other cells.
Opt for oils which are organic and cold-pressed, such as olive oil, avocado oil, and coconut oil, all of which are anti-inflammatory and help transmit messages within the nervous system.
This contributes to the development of cancer, a condition in which cells that no longer respond to intracellular messaging and proliferate without purpose, impacting other cells.
7. Change Your Drinking Habits
You should avoid soda and beer at any cost and opt for water instead. You should also avoid store-bought juices as they are packed with sugar, preservatives, and food coloring.
If drinking water makes you feel like you miss out something, try making your own herbal tea, green tea, or vegetable juice. Moreover, limit your coffee intake or replace it with detox shots.