39 Quick and Easy Ways to Reduce Your Risk of Getting Cancer
Written by Ritamarie Loscalzo on May 31, 2010 – -
Cancer is often referred to as a modern day disease, as if it was barely recognized as a disease back at the turn of the 20th century.
Yet I recently found a book called “Cancer…Its Causes, Symptoms and Treatment”, by Eli G. Jones, MD. It was recommended by my herbal medicine mentor David Winston. It sat on my shelf for almost 2 years and I just happened to come upon it during my recent reorganization frenzy. What I read blew me away.
The cover looks modern enough, since it was reprinted in 2004, yet the inside has many tell-tale signs of age. The book was written in 1921! What shocked me were the cancer statistics presented in the very first chapter. Before reading this, I had thought that cancer was practically unheard of in the early part of the 1900’s.
In the US in 1890, there were 18,536 deaths from cancer. In 1900 there were 29,222 and in 1921 there were over 50,000. In 1921, it was estimated that one man in 32 and one woman in 11 die of cancer.
Cancer Statistics: Are We Really Making Progress?
Conventional medicine would like us to believe that great strides have been made in the eradication of cancer. Yet the statistics say quite the opposite. Today, in the US alone, there are over 562,000 deaths per year from cancer and it’s estimated that 1 in 2 or 1 in 3 people will get cancer. And if do you get cancer, the odds are bleak if you rely on modern medicine to bail you out.
The Journal of Clinical Oncology in 2004 (16:549) published a study done by two Australian oncologists who looked at every randomized controlled clinical trial between 1990 and 2004. On average, the 5 year survival rate for 22 types of cancer treated with chemotherapy and radiation was 2.1 percent. Admittedly, the survival rates tend to be higher in the general population than in studies. Michael Boyer, head of oncology at the Sydney Cancer Center estimated the 5 year survival rate to be closer to 5 or 6 %. It should be noted that in drug trials, anything with less than 30% effectiveness is considered placebo.
The cancers with the best 5 year survival were:
- Hodgkin’s lymphoma – 40.3%
- Testicular cancer – 37.7%
- Cervical Cancer – 12%
- Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma 10.5%
What About Nutritional Cancer Interventions?
Are the statistics much better for non-conventional treatments? Hard to say because we really don’t have good statistical analysis for non conventional treatment approaches. And to further complicate things, most people who undergo alternative cancer protocols do so AFTER conventional treatment has failed. At this point their bodies are so ravaged from the chemotherapy, radiation and surgery that it would take a miracle for them to recover.
Still, there are so many case reports of people who have been given up as dead who turned to nutrition and natural therapies and went on to live for decades.
The Hippocrates Institute in Florida was originally founded by Ann Wigmore who at the age of 56 was given 6 months to live. She turned to the natural medicine wisdom of her grandmother, completely reversed her disease and went on to use her approach to do the same for thousands of others with cancer and other serious illness.
The Gerson Institute in San Diego California, uses a program of organic foods, juicing, coffee enemas, detoxification and natural supplements developed by Dr. Max Gerson in the 1920’s and has helped thousands of cancer patients recover their health.
The Oasis of Healing in Tempe, Arizona, is a comprehensive and integrative medical and healing facility that helps cancer patients and their families learn to re-establish health. It’s run by Dr. Thomas Lodi, whose 3 pillared approach has restored health to thousands of people. Dr. Lodi combines juicing, living foods and emotional healing with elements of modern medicine to guide the patients to stop making cancer, target and eliminate the cancer without harm to healthy cells and enhance the immune system.
There are many other healing centers that utilize natural methods, mainly diet and nutritional balance, movement and attitude in helping hundreds of thousands of cancer patients regain their health. Others include Optimal Health Institute in Austin and San Diego, Creative Health Institute in Michigan, and an Oasis of Hope Hospital near Los Angeles, California.
Strengthening Cancer Defenses vs Killing Cancer Cells
The approach of natural cancer interventions is to increase the body’s ability to get rid of cancer cells or to cause the cancer cells to self-destruct. Contrast that to chemo therapy which initiates machine gun fire on all cells, hoping the cancer cells die before the good ones. Statistics tell us that’s not what usually happens. Many cancer deaths are a result of the treatment, not the illness
According to Mike Anderson, author of “Healing Cancer from the Inside Out”, when caught during the initiation or promotion stage, a true anti-cancer diet has 100 percent chance of reversing the disease. When it’s progressed beyond that, nutritional treatment extends patients lives form months to years, or at minimum, reduced pain and suffering.
Seems to me the best approach is to adopt a diet and lifestyle to PREVENT cancer long before it strikes. Prevention programs target what you eat, how you think, the quality of your relationships, with others and yourself and a long list of lifestyle choices over which you have day to day choice.
There are many books and many natural cancer prevention and management programs. The one thing that almost all have in common is that the diet is primarily or exclusively plant based, fresh, whole living foods.
Your body makes cancer cells every day. Your body also has the ability to destroy the cancer cells before they multiply and create a problem. Your daily choices determine how effectively your immune system checks the growth of cancer cells keeps you safe and healthy. If you wait until cancer is detectable, you’ll have to work a whole lot harder to get rid of it that you would have to prevent it in the first place.
It’s your choice. You can choose health or you can make choices that increase your risk of cancer. What will it be?
39 Quick and Easy Ways to Reduce Your Risk of Getting Cancer
- Eat plenty of sulforaphane. Say what? Sounds like the name of a chemotherapy drug. It, in fact, is a compound found in the cruciferous family of vegetables. These are broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale and all their relatives. Sulphorophane blocks cancer cells. Broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower also contain a compound called indole-3-carbinol that can combat breast cancer by converting a cancer-promoting estrogen into a more protective variety. If that’s not enough to have you packing in the crucifers, they also contain lutein and zeaxanthin, antioxidants that help decrease prostate and other cancers.
- Try a daily dose of ellagic acid. It’s found in about 46 different foods. The highest concentrations are in berries, particularly raspberries, and pomegranates, grapes and walnuts. Ellagic acid stops cancer cells from mitosis, the process they use to replicate themselves, prevents destruction of the p53 tumor suppressor gene, and causes cancer cells to commit suicide.
- Eat an alkalizing diet. Your blood maintains its pH slightly alkaline at 7.35. Life presents acid residue at every turn – when you exercise, get stressed, and in the foods and chemicals you take into your body. Foods that create an alkaline residue help balance life’s acids. Cancer thrives in an acid environment. Additional information on acid/alkaline balance is found at http://drritamarie.com/Articles.htm
- Exercise daily and vigorously. Cancer cells thrive in an environment deprived of oxygen.
- Take a break from the news. Studies show that the biochemical changes that occur when you’re stressed worried or feeling powerless affect tumor growth and spread by effecting DNA repair and the regulation of cell growth.
- Give your body an oil change. Heated oils oxidize, causing cancer-producing free radicals to form. Switch them out for raw omega 3 fats like flax seeds, chia seeds and hemp seeds. Minimize the use of oils. Instead choose whole food fats.
- Tame your sweet tooth. Cancer cells thrive on sugar. It’s best to eliminate all forms of refined sugar, and if you already have cancer, its best to eliminate all sweet foods, including fruit, with the exception perhaps of those fruits mentioned below, used therapeutically for their cancer fighting properties.
- Avoid animal foods. Study after study has reported on the cancer protective effects of a diet free of meat and dairy products. One of the most renowned is the “China Study”, conducted by T. Colin Campbell, and published in a book with the same name. Animal foods are devoid of fiber and travel slowly through your digestive track, producing toxic metabolic wastes en route. One mechanism proposed for the increased cancer rates in meat eaters is that the digestion of meat requires large quantities of the pancreatic enzymes trypsin and chymotrypsin, which leaves less of these enzymes available to dissolve the protein coat on cancer cells.
- Get plenty of sunshine. Vitamin D is made in your skin from exposure to sunlight. Maintaining appropriate blood levels of vitamin D has been shown to protect against many forms of cancer. If you can’t be out in the sun, take a vitamin D supplement and test your vitamin D blood levels regularly.
- Eat organic foods as much as possible. Pesticides affect your immune system and detoxification systems and put you at higher risk of cancer.
- Use “Green” cleaning products. Products using natural substance reduce the toxic load. Many of the chemicals used in commercial cleaning products are carcinogenic.
- Keep cholesterol levels in a safe range. Excess cholesterol can trigger cancer proliferative estrogens.
- Keep your colon clean. You need to be having at least 2 good sized bowel movements each day to keep the waste flowing out. Sluggish bowels predispose you to toxic recirculation and increased risk of cancer.
- Breathe deeply and fully to increase oxygenation of your tissues and minimize cancer risk. Cancer can’t thrive in well oxygenated environment.
- Avoid refined foods. These are devoid of cancer protective phytochemicals and nutrients and usually contain preservatives and chemicals that can increase your risk of cancer
- Chew your food thoroughly. When you eat under stress and on the run, your digestion becomes inefficient. Toxic residues accumulate from unchewed and undigested food, leaving you more prone to immune stress and cancer formation.
- Avoid food allergens. Anything you are allergic to creates an immune system response, which distracts your system from the more important work of cancer surveillance and destruction.
- Drink plenty of pure water. Insufficient hydration decreases your kidney’s ability to excrete water soluble toxins. Recirculation of these poisons increases your cancer risk. Rule of thumb is ½ your body weight in fluid ounces each day.
- Eat lots of green leafy vegetables every day. They are loaded with cancer protective phytochemicals, minerals and nutrients that protect from cancer and disrupt the functioning of cancer cells.
- Load up on Vitamin C. It’s a powerful anti-cancer nutrient that’s frequently given in IV form to treat cancer. Foods like fresh greens, bell peppers, berries, citrus, and sweet potatoes are rich sources. Supplementary vitamin C can be taken in the form of buffered ascorbic acid or whole food concentrates, like camu camu, amla, goji, acerola cherry and pomegranate powder.
- Eat laetrile containing foods, like apricot and peach kernels, buckwheat, berry seeds, grape seeds, chick peas, lentils, lima beans, mung sprouts, cashews, alfalfa brown rice, millet, bitter almond and macadamia nuts. Laetrile has very powerful anti-cancer properties. It works by killing cancer cells and building the immune system to fend off future outbreaks. For the treatment of cancer, many experts recommend a daily dose of 24 – 40 apricot, spread throughout the day.
- Eat carrots, which contain thousands, of phytonutrients, many of which have already been identified for their cancer-fighting abilities.
- Eat flax seeds, which contain antioxidant lignans that block or suppress cancerous growth.
- Season with Garlic. Its immune-enhancing allium compounds .increase the activity of immune cells that fight cancer, help block carcinogens from entering cells, and indirectly help break down and slow tumor development. Diallyl sulfide, a compound found in the oil of garlic, has been shown to deactivate carcinogens in the liver.
- Enjoy Citrus fruits. Grapefruit and oranges contain monoterpenes, which appear by clear carcinogens from the body. Tangerine peels contain cancer destroying Salvestrol 40, a type of phytoalexin produced to repel insects or fungi. Oranges and lemons contain Iimonene which stimulates cancer-killing immune cells
- Eat red grapes, especially concord grapes with the seeds. They contain cancer protective compounds such as ellagic acid, catechin, quercetin, oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPC), resveratrol, pterostilbene, selenium, lycopene, lutein, laetrile, beta-carotene, caffeic acid and/or ferulic acid and gallic acid! There are several books written about a cancer treatment called the grape cure, during which a water fast is followed by a diet of blended grapes. The idea is that the cancer cells love the grapes because of their high sugar content and while eating the sugar, they are poisoned by the chemo therapy that grapes naturally contain.
- Make friends with mushrooms. There are a number of them that have been shown to have cancer protective effective and immune building effects, including shiitake, maitake, and reishi. The mushrooms contain lentinan, beta glucan and lectin –powerful substances that help build immunity.
- Eat 2 Brazil nits every day. They provide cancer protective selenium, an essential mineral. Other nuts contain the antioxidants quercetin and campferol that may suppress the growth of cancers.
- Season your food with cancer protective herbs and spices. Turmeric is extremely powerful as an antioxidant and anti-cancer agent. It inhibits production of cyclo-oxygenase 2 (COX-2), which reduces inflammation and cancer cell growth, especially bowel and colon cancer. Rosemary contains carnosol, which inhibits breast and skin tumors in animals. Rosemary may help increase the activity of detoxification enzymes.
- Indulge in asparagus when in season. It contains cancer reducing saponins. Blend 1 or 2 stalks into a green soup or salad dressing.
- Add beets to your salads. They contain anti-cancer proanthocyanidins (OPC’s).
- Get tropical. Enjoy raw pineapple and papaya. In addition to lots of vitamin C, they contain the enzymes bromelain, papain and pexoxidase that have been shown to have anti-cancer properties.
- Eat from the sea. In addition to being an excellent source of minerals that support your immune system, sea vegetables contain substances which bind to heavy metals and toxins and eliminate them from your body. Powdered sea vegetables like kelp and dulse can be added to salads, soups and smoothies.
- Switch from coffee to green tea. Green tea contains polyphenols , one in particular called particularly epigallocatechin gallate, or EGCG , that inhibit an enzyme required for cancer cell growth and kills cancer cells without harming healthy cells.
- Eat tomatoes. They contain lycopene, an antioxidant that attacks cancer promoting free radicals. Blend them into a sauce with rosemary, basil, thyme and oregano for extra immune support.
- Prioritize fresh foods. Adopt a diet that contains 75% or more fresh raw foods, including lots of sprouts and greens.
- Drink a green smoothie every day to provide lots of fresh raw cancer fighting plants.
- Learn to love your lawn. There is a cancer protecting effect of several of the cereal grasses. There have been several prominent rat studies which showed a definite reduction in cell mutation in rats fed wheat grass juice along with a highly carcinogenic substance called benzopyrene compared to when they were fed the benzopyrene alone. Barley grass extract was demonstrated to inhibit growth of human prostate, breast and melanoma cancer cells in a study done at George Washington University Medical Centre. While wheat grass juice may not be the tastiest juice you can drink, it sure does appear to be one of the most health promoting ones.
- Practice the Art of Appreciation. There is no better way of getting your stress hormones settled down and your immune system fired up than taking time to deeply appreciate your blessings. Do it daily, morning and evening. Find 3 things to appreciate and experience how good it feels.
So there you have it. Creating cancer protective habits is not difficult. There are lots to choose from. While you don’t need to master all 39 tips all at once, the more you do, the better your odds of protecting yourself from clenches of cancer.
To hear more, visit www.drritamarie.com/cancertalk.
Love, Health and Joy ..and lots of Fun!
Dr. Ritamarie
Tags: alkalize, Ann Wigmore, Cancer, cancer prevention, cruciferous, detoxification, emotional health, green juice, green leafy vegetables, green smoothie, immune system, Living Foods, natural medicine, sugar and cancer, sulphorophane, sunshine, wheat grass juice
Posted in Cancer Nutrition, Green Smoothies, Holistic Nutrition, Raw and Living Foods, Vibrant Health | 4 Comments »
Living Foods that Protect You from Cancer: BROCCOLI SPROUTS
Written by Ritamarie Loscalzo on May 31, 2010 – -There are many whole fresh foods that belong in your arsenal of cancer protection and immune support. None is more powerful that the little known, super powerful broccoli sprout.
Here’s a contributed article I thought I’d share.
BROCCOLI SPROUTS – Potent Little Cancer Fighters
by Jane Hardin, MS, RD/LD
One of the many benefits of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables is the reduced risk of cancer. Hundreds of studies are being conducted to determine exactly which components in our food are anti-carcinogenic and one of them – broccoli sprouts — is getting a lot of research attention for its phytochemical, SULFORAPHANE.
In general, cruciferous plants are rich in sulforaphane in its glucosinolate precursor form, glucoraphanin (conversion occurs in the gut). Broccoli contains unusually high levels of glucoraphanin, with the youngest plants having the most concentration. Raw is preferred, as heat appears to destroy some of the glucoraphanin. However, the evidence suggests that broccoli must be eaten in large quantities to substantially reduce the risk of cancer. Broccoli sprouts, then, become the optimal food for the following reasons:
- Glucoraphanin is concentrated in the broccoli sprouts. In fact, three day-old broccoli sprouts contain approximately 20 times the concentration of sulforaphane glucosinolate found in mature broccoli. (Other studies suggest sulforaphane glucosinatelevels anywhere from 10-100 times higher in sprouts than in fully grown plants.) A single ounce of sprouts has as much glucoraphanin as 1¼ pounds of cooked broccoli.
- There is a lot of variance in nutrient and phytochemical content from one broccoli plant to another. The sprouts seem to offer more uniform benefits.
How does it work?
There are two complementary routes to controlling cancer. The first is prevention – reducing exposure to cancer-causing chemicals and harmful diet choices.
The second, protection, bolsters the body’s own defenses by releasing detoxification (Phase 2) enzymes. These enzymes neutralize cancer-causing agents and free radicals before DNA is damaged and cancer is initiated. Dr. Paul Talalay and his colleagues at John Hopkins University School of Medicine have shown sulforaphane is a potent activator of these Phase 2 enzymes, thus enhancing the body’s natural cancer fighting instincts.
In animal studies, administration of sulforaphane blocked tumor development, thereby reducing the incidence, size, and multiplicity of carcinogen-induced tumors.
Nutritional biochemist Jed W. Fahey, M.S., Sc.D. (John Hopkins) states that protective enzymes are increased by just a just a couple ounces broccoli sprouts per day.
How do I incorporate broccoli sprouts into my diet?
Just mix them into your salads and wraps, or throw a handful into your smoothies, soups or blended salads! Broccoli sprouts have tender shoots and tiny leaves resembling alfalfa sprouts, but their taste more closely resembles radish. Its sharp flavor is the result of high concentrations of glucoraphanin, exactly what you want to stimulate protection against cancer.
Sprouting your own broccoli seed is easy and cost effective. Just soak the seeds overnight, then rinse and drain them two or three times a day, using any of the multiple sprouting systems you can purchase or make yourself. After just a few days you have sprouts! Eat immediately or store them for a few days in the refrigerator.
Broccoli sprouts are a dietary means to chemically reducing cancer risk, but the good news doesn’t end there. Studies have shown that broccoli sprouts may decrease overall cholesterol levels, while increasing HDL; reduce inflammation; optimize heart, artery and kidney function: decrease the risk of macular degeneration; protect lung cells while dealing with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; and potentially reverse the damaging effects of diabetes-induced vascular disease!
Plant phytochemicals number in the thousands; only a handful of these have been identified and their mechanisms of action determined. There is also the issue of synergy – to what degree might healthful effects be dependent upon multiple food components working together, rather than as isolated substances?
Because there are still so many unknowns about the nutrition connection with cancer, a sensible approach is to incorporate lots of whole fruits and vegetables, including those crazy broccoli sprouts!
About the Author
R.Jane Hardin, MS, RD/LD is a traditionally-trained registered dietitian with a lifelong engagement in various holistic approaches to health and nutrition. Her eclectic food interests over the years have led her to studies with experts such as Dr. Ann Wigmore and Michio Kushi.
Jane’s renewed interest in raw living foods enabled her to reverse several deteriorating, personal health conditions, including fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. This inspired her to become a certified Raw Foods Educator. She now enjoys helping others along the pathway to nutritional wellness, regardless of starting point or destination, one bite at a time.
Tags: broccoli sprout, Cancer, cholesterol, cruciferous, detoxification, Dr. Ritamarie, gluten free, heart disease, sprouts, sulphorophane
Posted in Cancer Nutrition, Holistic Nutrition, Raw and Living Foods, Vibrant Health | 1 Comment »
Healing Cancer with Diet, Determination and Exercise
Written by Ritamarie Loscalzo on May 31, 2010 – -
In 1982, at the age of 47, Ruth Heidrich got the shock of her life. She was diagnosed with breast cancer. At the time, she considered herself healthy and fit. After all, she ran marathons and ate what was considered a healthy diet. After a modified radical mastectomy to remove the tumor, she was told by not 1 but 5 different doctors that her tumor was life threatening and there was nothing they knew to do to strengthen her immune system. As she would later discover, the cancer had spread to her bones and one lung.
Fortunately for Heidrich, she was an avid reader and researcher, and found that Dr. John McDougall was doing a study on the effects of diet on breast cancer. She paid him a visit, and was told “If you want to save your life, change your diet.” On the spot, she decided she’d rather change her diet than undergo chemotherapy and radiation, joined Dr. McDougall’s study and adopted a vegan, low-fat diet.
She states “In two hours I went directly from the Standard American Diet (SAD) to a low-fat, whole food vegan diet.”
In an interview with Vegetarians in Paradise, Heidrich said, “I’m convinced that a vegan diet saved my life. By the time the breast cancer was diagnosed, it had become advanced and spread to my bones and left lung. I’d had the surgery to remove the primary tumor, so I was depending on my immune system to handle the remaining cancer. My diet of 100% whole plant foods allowed my immune system to function more efficiently.
Fortunately for her, Heidrich didn’t believe her oncologist and all the other doctors she consulted when they told her that diet had nothing to do with cancer. Shortly after starting on the vegan diet, Heidrich began training for the Ironman Triathlon, determined to be the first cancer patient to complete it.
After 18 years as a cooked vegan, Heidrich decided to see if there were additional benefits to being a raw vegan. She’d heard lectures that cooking food denatured protein and destroyed vitamins, so she gave it a 30-day trial, but forgot and didn’t notice when the 30 days were up. She told Vegetarians in Paradise that she has never been tempted to go back to cooking.
Her current diet is all raw except for condiments such as salsa and mustard, popcorn for the “munchies,” and an occasional non raw meal as a special occasion when she’s invited over to a friend’s home or a restaurant.
After her surgery, Heidrich entered every race she could find. Her fitness improved dramatically on the new diet. She was winning gold medals. Since her cancer diagnosis, Heidrich has completed 6 iron man triathlons, 67 marathons and won close to 1,000 first place medals. Her record so far is 62 races in one year.
Here’s a typical day in the life of Ruth Heinrich: “ A typical day starts with an hour on the bike, an hour’s run, and alternating between either a mile swim or a weight training session. Then breakfast consists of a large bowl filled with greens, a carrot, celery, a banana, a mango, nutritional yeast with B-12, and a little blackstrap molasses. Midday snacks consist of carrots, apples, and other fruit in season. Supper is more greens, carrot, tomato, bell pepper, cabbage, other vegetables in season, and salsa/mustard/ground flaxseed dressing. Dessert consists of blueberries, strawberries, and walnuts for my omega 3 fatty acids.”
Had Ruth Heidrich followed conventional medical approaches to her cancer when she was diagnosed almost 30 years ago, she would most likely no longer be with us. Instead, she decided to look for alternatives, change her diet and increase her fitness level. Her outcome is that 28 years late, she’s fitter and healthier than ever, and cancer free. At 75 years old her latest endeavor is a run around the world trip. A video of her stops is at http://lanternbooks.com/blog/entry.php?id=869
Tags: Cancer, Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo, Fitness, Gluten Free Diet, immune system, Living Foods, raw and living foods, Raw Foods, Ruth Heidrich, Success Stories, vegan
Posted in Cancer Nutrition, Raw and Living Foods, Vegan Diet, Vibrant Health | 1 Comment »
Cancer, Heart Disease and Chronic Fatigue: It’s Not Worth The Risk
Written by Ritamarie Loscalzo on May 22, 2010 – -My 16 year old son just got his driver’s license about 2 weeks ago. It’s a right of passage I guess, and I cried, just as I did when I dropped him off at kindergarten for the first time.
Call me a sentimental fool, and I will proudly wear the title.
He and I went out for dinner the other night. It’s our best opportunity to spend time together. At home, it’s sometimes too busy for us to just sit down together and chat.
As he was driving home – and I was gripping the passenger side strap, working on my Heart Math breathing and appreciation – (I’m not the most relaxed passenger) he said words that are music to any parents ears. He said “It’s not worth the risk”.
Out of context that statement doesn’t mean very much. Yet in context, it set my mind at ease about the degree of “recklessness” I could expect from my newly on the road teenager.
The reason I loved hearing those words is because what he felt was not worth the risk was a road rule that my husband and I disagreed on and Eric was doing it the way I suggested was correct…because it wasn’t worth the risk of getting in trouble for getting into the turn lane too soon.
What that told me is that he is ultra aware of the rules of the road and does not want to break any lest he get in trouble with the police.
What excited me about his comment was that this is such a minor thing…one we experienced drivers don’t even think about. It helped me to feel confident that he was not going to risk the more dangerous driving behaviors that teen drivers often engage in.
Is it worth the risk ? is a great question to ask yourself when making lifestyle choices that affect your health.
What risks do you take on a regular basis?
Driving or being passenger without a seat belt? Riding a bicycle without a helmet? Going to bed without flossing your teeth?
Life is filled with risk / reward choices. Are you clear enough about your core values and goals that the choices are easy to make?
Here are 5 risks that most people take on a daily basis:
1.Eating heated oils. The threshold temperature is slightly different for each oil, yet the result is similar. Above the threshold, the heat causes oxidation of the fat , making it damaging to your immune system and antioxidant status. This puts you at risk for cancer, heart disease and a host of degenerative ailments. Poly-unsaturated oils like safflower, corn, sunflower and soybean are the most risky, and are generally oxidized in the bottle, before you even open them, due to exposure to light, heat and air.
2.Eating sugar. Sugar not only contributes to poor dental health, it also feeds cancer cells, and its consumption dramatically increases your cancer risk. Sugar also creates hormonal disruption, contributes to a condition called insulin resistance and its characteristic fat around the waist, and results in impaired energy metabolism and decreased immunity. As if that’s not enough, sugar contributes to focus and concentration, heart disease, and dozens of other health maladies.
3.Exposure to pesticides, herbicides and chemicals in the air and water. These tax your inborn detoxification systems, leading to toxic buildup, mental health issues and digestive disturbances.
4.Worrying. Getting yourself in a tizzy about things that may happen, could happen and would be horrible if did happen is a sure fire way of putting yourself at risk for heart disease, cancer, stroke and chronic fatigue. It puts your body into ‘fight/flight’ mode, creating a cascade of chemical reactions that impairs digestion and absorption of nutrients and can contribute to cancer.
5.Eating processed and refined cooked foods. These are deficient in nutrients and usually contain harmful preservatives, additives and flavorings, which disrupt hormone pathways, drain your body of B-vitamins and other nutrients needed for energy metabolism and leave you exhausted, toxic and undernourished
Go through the list and determine how much you’re putting yourself at risk. Then ask yourself when confronted with a food or lifestyle choice, “Is this worth the risk? Is the momentary pleasure worth long-term disconnection from what really matters?
Making choices consistent with your higher good takes some effort on your part. You’ll need to educate yourself, learn to make different foods and risk being “different” .
As one of my potluck participants said when asked about his food choices and whether he felt deprived, “Nothing tastes as good as being healthy feels.”
For more in-depth coverage of the food choice and health connection, particularly when it comes to cancer and other serious illnesses, join me and my very special guest speaker, Dr. Brian Clement, director of the world renowned Hippocrates Institute. He’ll be speaking in Austin and we’ll broadcast it over the internet.
www.drritamarie.com/cancertalk
Dr. Clement has been working with people with cancer and other serious illnesses for over 30 years, and he’s seen more than his share of miracles.
I hope you can join us. Every time I hear Dr. Clement speak, I learn something new. He’s charismatic, informative and very inspiring. And he walks his talk. He’s a living example of the power of food to heal.
We are very fortunate that he’s taking time out of his busy schedule to talk to us. He travels and speaks world-wide.
Those that show up live will receive a complementary copy of the Hippocrates Institute’s beautiful, full color glossy magazine “Healing Our World’.
Www.drritamarie.com/cancertalk
If you live in or near Austin, come on by to my house Saturday evening to share a meal and connect with some amazing health minded souls.
For information about the events, go to www.drritamarie.com/potluck and see for yourself by watching our video. To sign-up for the meet-up and get all the details you need to participate, go to www.drritamarie.com/meetup
Love, health and Joy to You!
Dr. Ritamarie
Creating Vibrant Health…One Bite at a Time.’
Tags: Cancer, chronic fatigue, diet, Dr. Brian Clement, heart disease, Hippocrates Institute, hydrogenated oils, Living Foods, raw foods diet for cancer
Posted in Adrenal Fatigue, Cancer Nutrition, Detox Program, Raw and Living Foods | No Comments »
Detoxification and Health: Overcoming Chronic Disease by Unburdening your Body
Written by Ritamarie Loscalzo on May 15, 2010 – -What would the world be like if we all felt good… all the time?
Its a wonderful fantasy.
War…gone
theft…gone
poverty…gone
We’d be left with joy, generosity, love, caring, beauty…..
If everyone felt good, there would be no need to hurt others, feel less than or engage in activities that are self destructive, other destructive or planet destructive. Everyone would be too busy enjoying life to bother with hurtful activities.
When was the last time you felt really good? I mean REALLY good…as in jumping for joy, full of energy, bursting with love?
It’s easy to get caught up in the stress of the moment and lose track of whats really important.
The Cancer Toxicity Connection
A recent guest on my Blog Talk Radio Show was Dr. Brian Clement of Hippocrates Health Institute. We talked about cancer, and the primary cause of cancer, namely a breakdown of the immune system as a result of exposure to toxic elements in food, water, environment and emotions. If you missed the show, you can listen in here: http://www.drritamarie.com/go/ClementInterview
Less than half an hour later, I was interviewed by Tera Warner of the Raw Divas on the subject of detoxification. The calls tied in so well together.
All effective cancer management needs to include detoxification. According to oncologist Thomas Lodi in Arizona, the first step in cancer management needs to be “Stop Making Cancer” by stopping the activities, foods, exposures and thoughts that cause cancer to get out of control. The next step is “killing” the cancer cells.
Western medicine has a distorted approach. The therapies that are aimed at killing the cancer with no attention to building up your body’s natural defenses are doomed to failure. It’s like a race to see if they can destroy the cancer before the treatment destroys you.
Regular detoxification is a great way to cleanse and restore immune function and thus can help prevent cancer. In addition, regular cleansing programs lead to more energy and overall health improvement.
Most health complaints that I come across in clinical practice result from a body out of balance. Your inborn detoxification systems are designed to handle the “normal” toxic exposure – from your metabolic processes and a few environmental things that sneak in. Our modern world has become so overwhelmed with toxic exposure. The food supply is poisened with pesticides and fungicides and other toxins that are damaging to your immune and nervous systems. Drinking water is treated with chlorine. The air is filled with car exhaust, factory fumes, and outgassing from the myriad of plastics and chemicals used in paints, cleaning products and a long list of other “modern conveniences”
With all the exposures, your natural detoxification mecahnisms become overloaded, and the chemicals that should be neutralized and eliminated get caught in the backlog and are recycled and stored in your precious cells. The result? You don’t feel so good!
Symptoms of Toxicity
Symptoms of body toxicity include skin rashes, depression, difficulty focusing, digestive problems, sinus congestion, headaches, “brain fog”, hormone imbalances, autoimmune disease and persistant weight gain that doesn’t seem to respond to calorie restriction.
When I was in my 20′s I suffered from many of these symptoms. You can read my full story at www.sixweekdetox.com
After my first cleanse, I was on cloud nine. Symptoms I’d experienced for decades began to melt away and I became more clear headed and energetic than I’d ever dreamed possible.
To learn more about the benefits of detox, listen in on my interview with Tera Warner .
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If you’d like to experience the profound changes that detox can bring, join us for the next 6 week detox program. You’ll be guided step by step through the process of reduciing toxic exposure, restoringn and rebuilding digestive function, and enhancing your liver’s ability to neutralize and eliminate stored toxins. The result? You’ll feel lighter, more energetic and emotionally balanced than you ever thought possible. We’re startign the preparatory phase of our 6-Week Deep Tissue Detox on Monday!
http://www.sixweekdetox.com
As a special bonus for new members
4 audio recordings and e-book transcripts
1- Candida and Leaky Gut
2- Unlocking the Gut-Brain Connection Behind Brain Fog, ADHD, Autism, Depression and more
3- Hormones, Thyroid Imbalances, Weight Gain & Water Retention
4- Understanding Environmental Sensitivities & Allergies
The special bonuses we’re offering on this call are for new registrations only. After May 17th, they will no longer be offered again for fr.ee.
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Join the Six Week Detox Program: www.sixweekdetox.com
Love, health and Joy to you,
Dr. Ritamarie
Tags: Adrenal Fatigue, Cancer, chronic fatigue, Cleansing Programs, detoxification programs, Dr. Ritamarie, DrRitamarie, fatigue, Hormone Imbalance, immune system, thyroid problems
Posted in Cancer Nutrition, Detox Program, Vibrant Health | No Comments »
Healing From Cancer with Living Food: An Interview with Dr. Brian Clement
Written by Ritamarie Loscalzo on May 13, 2010 – -
Cancer strikes 46% of our population! You likely know someone who has cancer and maybe even know one or more persons who’ve died of it. I do. I’ve lost many loved ones to this devastating disease.
Listen to Dr. Ritamarie’s interview with Dr. Brian Clement
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Billions of dollars are being poured into cancer research, yet the alarming statistics tell us that little progress is being made. Cancer can strike anyone at anytime. The “war on cancer” rages on. Cancer is winning!
Studies show that it’s possible to create within your body an environment that suffocates cancer cells. There are pioneers using “innovative” methods like fresh food, exercise and positive emotions to win by supporting natural immune mechanisms. The big guns just aren’t working. More people are dying from the treatment than the disease itself.
Dr. Brian Clement is a renowned leader in helping people with cancer and other serious diseases to reclaim their health through nutrition and lifestyle intervention. He’s the director of the Hippocrates Inst
itute in Florida, where he has been working with people with cancer and other serious diseases for over 3 decades. The Institute has helped hundreds of thousands of guests realize that good health is every person’s birthright, and that a life free of disease and pain is our human legacy.
In the interview, Dr. Clement shares his insights and wisdom based on decades of research and clinical experience with hundreds of thousands of people whose lives have been completely transformed.
One of the bits of information that impressed me was concerning the effects of living foods on the immune system.
What his research shows is that there is no significant changes in immune system function between eating a diet that’s 75 – 80% by weight raw foods and a 70% raw diet is a drop in immune function of 15 and a further drop in the percentage of raw from 70% to 65% is a 48% decrease in immune function.
It’s a known fact that you need a strong immune system to prevent and overcome cancer.
Dr. Brian Clement Live In Austin (and Broadcast worldwide)
If you like what you hear, join us for a 3 hour experience , live in Austin Texas, and broadcast live over the internet.
Replays will be available if you can’t make the live event. The advantage of being there live or on the live broadcast is the ability to ask questions.
Reserve your seat now, while they are still available.
http://www.DrRitamarie.com/cancertalk
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Dr. Clement (C.N., N.M.D., Ph.D.) has spearheaded the international progressive health movement for more than three decades. By conducting daily clinical research as the director of the renowned Hippocrates Health Institute, the world’s foremost complementary residential health center, he and his team have developed a state of the art program for health maintenance and recovery. His Florida institute has pioneered a program and established training in active aging and disease prevention that will raise your level of health and happiness.
In addition to daily counseling and research studies, Dr. Clement conducts conferences worldwide on attaining health and creating longevity. He has also authored many well-known books including LifeForce: Superior Health and Longevity and, most recently, Supplements Exposed.
Dr. Brian Clement has spent more than 30 years studying nutrition and natural healthcare. He has graduate degrees in both naturopathic medicine and nutritional science.
Visit Dr. Clement on the web at www.hippocratesinst.org
Books Dr. Clement recommends
Tags: Cancer, Dr. Ritamarie, Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo, immune system, Living Foods, Raw Foods
Posted in Cancer Nutrition, Holistic Nutrition, Raw and Living Foods | 2 Comments »
Sure- Fire Prescription for Dying of Cancer
Written by Ritamarie Loscalzo on May 11, 2010 – -
As you may remember, if you’ve been reading my posts for a while, I lost my younger sister Cathy to cancer almost 2 years ago. It was a tragic loss. She was diagnosed in March and gone by late June.
Watching her die and observing the western medicine approach to cancer in action was a sobering experience for me. As a result, my commitment to guiding others to reclaiming health has become so much stronger.
Cancer has touched my life in close proximity over and over during the past several years as I watched 4 relatives and 3 friends succumb to our nation’s number 2 killer.
Statistics say that 46% of us will get cancer.
Here’s a Five Step Prescription for Getting Cancer.
- Get stressed out a lot. The biochemical soup created by stress dulls your immune system, floods your cells
with free radicals, damages your mitochondria and blood vessels, imbalances your hormones, depletes your antioxidants and leaves you prone to cancer. - Eat processed foods. These foods contain oxidized fats,which damage healthy cells, refined grains, devoid of the nutrients required to energize your cells, and sugar, which was shown back in the 1930′s by Nobel prize winner Otto Warburg to be a leading cause of cancer. Avoid fresh fruits and vegetables because there are chemicals in them that have been shown to kill cancer cells.
- Become a Couch Potato. Don’t exercise. All that extra oxygen and improved circulation can kill cancer cells.
- Stay Indoors. When you do go outdoors, avoid exposure to sunlight. Ultraviolet rays will improve your Vitamin D status, and Vitamin D has been shown to prevent cancer, particularly cancer of the breast, colon and prostate. Avoid fresh air. It improves your lungs, your circulation and your immune system, so be sure to spend as much time as possible inside, breathing recycled air filled with toxins released from the materials your home or office are made from. Indoor air pollution and the chemicals in your carpets, paints and wall board have been shown to decrease your detoxification capacity and leave you prone to cancer.
Complain a lot and avoid expressing appreciation. By doing so, you”ll keep your immune system sluggish, and cancer will be able to grow more easily. Especially avoid things such as meditation and yoga, which put you in a relaxed state and help you to sleep better. Melatonin, a hormone that helps you to sleep has been shown to be protective against cancer, especially breast cancer.
There are a number of other sure-fire ways to create cancer, but start with these. And if these don’t work, comment below and I’ll tell you more.
If you’d like to learn how your day to day choices can help you to prevent cancer, and how to build your body to effectively eradicate it if it’s already taken hold, I have some upcoming events for you to attend.
To answer your burning cancer questions, I’ve arranged events with an expert in the field with several decades of experience assisting people back to health through diet and lifestyle choices combined with nature; therapies and herbs that strengthen your immune system against cancer.
1- On my Blog talk radio Show Wednesday May 12, 2010 at 12:30 PM Central time, join me and my very special guest Dr. Brian Clement, director of the Hippocrates Institute, as we discuss cancer and its relationship to your diet and lifestyle choices.
2- Dr. Brian Clement is coming to Austin to talk about what’s causing the cancer epidemic and what you can do to keep it at a distance.
We have seating capacity for 100 guests plus we’ll be simulcasting it over the web, so you can ask questions in real-time from across the globe.
Dr. Clement has been working with people with cancer and other serious diseases for over 3 decades. He’s the director of the renowned Hippocrates Health Center in Florida.
Over the past 50 years, the Institute has helped hundreds of thousands of guests realize that good health is every person’s birthright, and that a life free of disease and pain is our human legacy. The Hippocrates philosophy is founded on the belief that a living, enzyme-rich diet—complemented by exercise, positive thinking and non-invasive therapies—are integral to optimum health.
Dr. Clement will explain how a change in lifestyle and the introduction of living foods can offer abundant energy and promote life extension and healing.
Dr. Clement’s extensive clinical research as Director of Hippocrates Health Institute affords him a profound understanding of how all people can prevent premature aging, disease and the resulting unhappiness.
To sign up for the event with Dr. Clement, go to www.drritamarie.com/cancertalk
Are you ready to protect against cancer and other diseases?
Join Hippocrates health Institute Director Dr. Brian Clement as he shares his research and clinical experience with recovering from cancer through living foods and healthy lifestyle habits.
The class is available as a live event in Austin, Texas and viewable over the internet.
Do you know anyone who’s life has been touched by cancer? Do you have a story to share? Would you like to hear success stories of how others have conquered cancer? If you have any stories to share or questions to ask, please post a comment below.
Love, Health and Joy,
Dr. Ritamarie
Tags: Brian Clement, Cancer, detoxification, Dr. Ritamarie, Hippocrates Institute
Posted in Cancer Nutrition, Raw and Living Foods, Vibrant Health | 2 Comments »
Fatigue and Burnout: Strategies for Adrenal Exhaustion and Just Plain Tiredness
Written by Ritamarie Loscalzo on March 23, 2010 – -Are you suffering from adrenal burnout and fatigue? Low thyroid function? Chronic fatigue or Fibromyalgia?
Do you have as much energy as you’d like to have?
What would you do if you had more energy? Think about what it would be like to pop out of bed in the morning, bright, cheery and ready for the day.
As you go through your day, you feel energized by your food, your conversations, your work and your activities. When asked by a friend or family member to participate in a fun evening activity , you always say yes,
without fear of losing steam at the end of the day, and being too tired to to do much more than flop on the couch.
You participate in activities you love, eat healthy meals, exercise and are fully present for your relationships. You never hear yourself utter the words, “I’m too tired.” Instead you say, “I feel so energized.”
Sound like a romantic fiction novel? This life is possible for you.
Fatigue, exhaustion, tiredness, weariness, low energy…whatever you choose to call it, it’s a real problem and it 
happens to real people like you. There are many causes. Some are obvious, others not so obvious. When I asked at one of my workshops for a show of hands of people who felt that were fatigued, or had low energy, all but 1 or 2 people raised their hands.
Then I proceeded to give one of my favorite definitions of fatigue. The definition goes something like this:
The decreased capacity or complete inability of an organism, an organ, or a part to function normally because of excessive stimulation or prolonged exertion.
I talked about how you may feel like you have plenty of energy (caffeine and other stimulants can give you that illusion), yes parts of you are operating sub par. Maybe your neurotransmitters are sluggish and you have difficulties with focus, or your digestion and you’re constipated, or your hormones, and you have menstrual irregularities.
It takes all of your parts working in harmony to achieve vibrant energy.
At the end of the presentation, one of the women who’d not considered herself fatigued, thanked me and said that she didn’t associate the sluggishness in her digestive tract with fatigue. She just figured it was “normal” for her. My talk inspired her to look at ways she could energize her digestion and thus improve her overall experience of vibrant health and high energy.
There are many causes of fatigue. Here are five:
- Underfed and toxic mitochondria
- Hormone imbalances – especially thyroid, adrenal, insulin and leptin
- Digestive Inefficiencies
- Autoimmune Processes
- Serious diseases, like cancer, heart disease and diabetes
I’ll be exploring the topic of fatigue and its underlying causes and strategies for identifying and removing them on my Creating a Vibrant Life Blog Talk Radio Show on Wednesday, March 24 at 12:30 PM central time.
We’ll demystify adrenal fatigue, and distinguish it from thyroid fatigue. We’ll share strategies, stories and inspiration, to help move you from exhausted to energized.
Submit your questions for me pertaining to fatigue and regaining energy in the comment box below so we can address your concerns on the show.
The shows are all recorded and you can access the recording and download to iTunes by going back to the show link afterward. There are archives of past shows there as well.
http://www.drritamarie.com/go/RadioShow
And watch for my article called Running on Empty in the spring edition of Purely Delicious Magazine, due out in April.
http://www.drritamarie.com/go/PurelyDelicious
I look forward to connecting with you soon.
Love, Health and Joy to You,
Dr. Ritamarie
P.S. Comment below: What are you committing to for your health? Today is day 22 of the 30 Day Sleep and Fun Challenge. I am happy to report that I have gotten more than 6 hours of sleep for 3 days straight. Over the weekend, I actually managed to get 9 hours! And my exercise is consistent again – almost everyday!
How about you? Commit below and make it happen.
Tags: Adrenal Fatigue, BlogTalkRadio, Cancer, chronic fatigue, Cleansing Programs, energy, Exhaustion, fatigue, fatigue symptoms, fibromyalgia, hormonal imbalance, Hormone Imbalance, sleep, thyroid fatigue
Posted in Adrenal Fatigue, Holistic Nutrition, Vibrant Health | 3 Comments »
Taking Care of YOU – Slow Down and Enjoy Each Moment to Protect Yourself from Cancer
Written by Ritamarie Loscalzo on February 7, 2010 – -
It’s been a week to remember and all the messages I’ve received all week were “slow down” and “take care of yourself”.
A couple were obvious…others more subtle.
I don’t consider myself a tired person; quite the contrary. My energy seems almost without limit. I sleep very little, am constantly on the move and I get a lot accomplished. Yet a nagging voice in the back of my mind has been wondering if I may be causing some hidden damage to myself by sleeping so little.
On Wednesday evening I ran into to technical challenges with the teleconference for Week 3 of my Balance My Body Blueprint course. I had a slide presentation ready to go, and was all set to launch into new territory. The technical challenges prevented participation on the web, where more than half my students participate. So I decided to do a question and answer segment. It was just the right thing to do. I was able to answer lots of questions, and even helped a few people to determine the probable cause of long standing health challenges. Wow. Slow down. Most people were not ready to jump into what I had planned. They were perfectly fine with slowing down and getting their questions answered.
On Thursday, I was moving quickly through my kitchen, and caught my slipper on a door stop. It sent me flying through the air and I landed hard on the tile floor. My left arm hit first, and it hurt so badly that I immediately thought it was broken. While I had lots of plans for the rest of the day and the next, I spent most of the time in bed, icing my arm and resting. Slow down. It took an injury to get me to get a good night’s sleep. It’s recovering nicely now, as evidenced by the fact that I can type today. Yesterday I could barely hunt and peck with one hand.
I’m getting small messages, and I’m taking them to heart. Better listen to the soft calls than to wait for a big one.
Earlier this week I received the sad news that a dear friend had died of cancer. She was a young woman, in her forties, and she’s survived by her husband and four children. The children are young. Her oldest is about the same age as my youngest. And now they are without their Mommy, and the world will no longer experience the joy of Anna’s sweet, kind heart and loving and giving nature.
I’ve experienced the loss of a loved to cancer several times over the past 5 years. And while the importance of diet and detoxification are high on my list of cancer prevention techniques, Anna’s death forces me to really look at the bigger picture.
Anna was a raw food enthusiast. I met her at an Alissa Cohen Teacher training. She was the founder of Purely Delicious magazine. She was excited about sharing what she learned about the health benefits of raw and living foods with the world. Still, she got breast cancer. Sure, her diet wasn’t perfect, and we can point fingers at her imperfections, and blame them for her cancer. Yet others, many of my family members included, eat way less “perfectly” than Anna did, and use toxic home and body care products and drink tap water, and they don’t have cancer…yet.
The sad truth is that almost 50% of us will get cancer. Perhaps not all will die as a result, yet it’s an alarming statistic nonetheless.
While it may be easy for skeptics and critics of the living foods lifestyle to use Anna’s story as an excuse to just let it all go and eat whatever they want, it’s important to look beyond, and continue to hold the utmost respect for the value of high antioxidant, unrefined, whole fresh plants as a vital element in keeping you healthy.
I could quote from all sorts of research right about now, and try to convince you from an intellectual level of the importance of diet in protecting you from cancer, yet I’d rather speak to you from my heart. It’s easy to hear Anna’s story and become fearful, and doubt your choice to lead a healthy life and eat a healthy diet. The truth is, there’s a big picture here. And many of its parts are a somewhat mysterious.
Cancer is always caused by exceeding your body’s ability to detoxify and repair. Cancer starts almost daily in just about everyone, and is quickly thwarted by an intact immune system and a working detoxification system.
The choices you make daily effect your ability to detoxify and thwart cancer before it takes over. Those include the quality and quantity of the water you drink, how much sunshine you get on bare skin, your movement, your thoughts, your feelings – fear and judgment create a breeding ground for cancer–how much fun you have, how much deep restful sleep you get, the quality of the air you breathe and of course, your diet.
There are so many elements that determine your cancer risk…and your ability to be healthy. Some may appear to be beyond your control:
- Genetics: some of us were born with genetic variations, called single neucleotide polymorphisms, aka SNPs (pronounced snips), that make it difficult to detoxify our environment without a little extra help.
- Your Mom’s Emotional State when she was pregnant with you. You may have been born with worn out adrenals and low cellular energy as a result, making you prone to cancer and other illnesses.
- Your Mom’s nutritional status and toxic exposures while she was pregnant with you. If she was depleted, you were born with nutritional imbalances.
- Early feeding:Whether you were breast or bottle fed and what your early solid foods were determine the state of your digestive tract and immune system. Leaky gut and immune system problems can increase your risk of cancer and other illnesses.
Many people embark on a health journey and address a single aspect. I see many living foods diet followers who don’t exercise, or stay indoors all the time, or push themselves hard and don’t sleep enough (like me). It’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that the good food can compensate for shortcomings in the others, but very often it cannot.
It’s time to look at the big picture. Sometimes just eating a healthy diet isn’t enough.
As a mother of 4 and editor and chief cook and bottle washer for a quarterly publication, Anna had no time left for herself. Even after she found out she had breast cancer, she continued to put others first, until she had to slow down. Unfortunately, it was too late for Anna. She opted for chemotherapy and radiation out of fear and perhaps desperation.
Most likely one or more of the early factors were at play with Anna. Yet, in spite of your genetics, early exposures and maternal environment, you can do what it takes to give yourself the best possible healthy and happy life. Once you identify the early factors that may be at play, through a combination of family history and genetic testing, there are steps you can take to correct for the inborn and early deficits.
It’s important to take inventory of your life and self correct where you can. If you’re not sleeping enough because you’re not going to bed at a reasonable hour (guilty as charged) then make a different choice. If you’re not sleeping enough because you have difficulty falling or staying asleep, you might have a hormonal imbalance. Adrenal imbalance and insulin dysfunction are the most likely culprits and they are both correctable.
If you have a lot of stress in your life (who doesn’t) you owe it to yourself to master te
chniques for transforming the negative impact on your body to positive.
Enhance your body’s detoxification systems, harness the power of blended greens and drink your greens at least once a day. Look for the positive and practice appreciation. Get in touch with really matters to you, and make daily choices that are consistent with your highest good.
Take care of others, but not at the expense of yourself. It’s important to take time for fun and pleasure each day, even for just a few moments.
No one can predict the length of your life – that’s out of your control. You can effect the quality of your life and decrease the likelihood of suffering as Anna did by making conscious and consistent choices to put your self first. Yes, you need to put yourself first. It is only by taking care of your needs that you have the energy and ability to take care of others. And if we all took better care of ourselves, there would be a lot less need to take care of others.
Love yourself. Slow down and have fun daily. Choose happiness daily and allow good health to follow.
In memory of Anna Tipps, friend, Mom wife, daughter, teacher and kind hearted loving soul. You will be missed.
Love, Health and Joy,
Dr. Ritamarie
Tags: Adrenal Fatigue, Cancer, Cleansing Programs, detoxification programs, Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo, livingfoods, Raw Foods, raw foods recipes, whole foods
Posted in Articles, Immune System Support | 1 Comment »
Raw and Living Foods For Optimal Health: Meeting of the minds at Raw Spirit Fest
Written by Ritamarie Loscalzo on June 9, 2009 – -As I write these words, I’m sitting in “food court” area at Raw Spirit Fest getting ready to make my departure. The “food court” is a dream come true. My vision is for each and every mall in America to have such a food court, filled with delicious foods that enhance health rather than detract from it as typical food court fare does.
It’s been an inspiring and fun weekend.
I’ve met some amazing souls…united with a common mission.
Everyone who came together here is dedicated to improving their own health, the health and the planet an the health of all with whom they come in contact.
We hear of health practitioners referred to as healers. When you
refer to another as a healer, you are giving over your power to that person, when, in fact, the true healer is inside you.
There are all sorts of opinions, opinions stated as fact and myths related to healing and wellness. The truth is that health comes from healthy living. What does healthy living consist of? There in often lies the confusion. I contest that it is easier than you think.
At the festival, practitioners and teachers from many disciplines came together with “ordinary people” to discuss their approach, beliefs and practices.
It would be easy to become confused. Some touted the amazing health benefits of raw chocolate. Others proclaimed it a health hazard. Fruit is good for you. Fruit promotes cancer. Fermented foods are full of health benefits. Fermented foods are rotting decay. Who do you believe? What do you believe?
As I said above, true health follows as a result of healthful living.
I’ll be starting a series of articles on my blog to discuss the controversy about what constitutes healthy living. I’ll lend not yet another opinion (mine) but a way for you to sort through it all and make the decisions that are best for you in each and every moment.
Subscribe to the blog, Okay? That way you won’t miss the a single life changing post.
Love, Health and Joy,
Dr. Ritamarie
P.S. Please comment below . Tell me one thing you do EVERY day to promote your health. Thanks
Tags: Cancer, Living Foods, livingfoods, lRaw Spirit Fest, raw and living foods holiday recipes, Raw Foods
Posted in Articles, Cancer, Raw Foods, Raw and Living Foods | 2 Comments »
