Cleansing and Detoxification: Spring Cleansing Strategies
Spring is the season of renewal and rebirth.
The earth comes to life again after a long winter off.
Flowers begin to bloom; trees begin to get leaves.
Your body begins to come alive and awake again after a winter of slow-down.
A great way to shed the sluggishness of winter and add some spring to your step is by doing a spring cleaning of your insides.
Reducing the Toxic Load
An effective cleansing plan must start with what I call “reducing the toxic load”. No matter how many special detox teas you drink or potions or pills you take, if you don’t reduce the toxic load, both during the cleanse and afterward, your success will be short lived.
During a cleanse, you need to eliminate toxic chemicals in food, water and in the air. If you decide to follow a cleanse regime that does not involve cleaning up your diet and environment, you are unlikely to see lasting results. Once you stop the cleansing supplements, your body will soon return to the toxic state it was in when you started.
Foods to avoid while cleansing include all processed foods (just about everything that comes in a box, can, or bag); oils (with the exceptions perhaps of cold pressed olive, coconut, or flax oil); plus wheat, gluten, sugar, dairy, eggs, soy, corn, and peanuts. These last foods are all potential allergens or digestive irritants and thus can thwart the cleansing process.
An effective detox diet plan must also eliminate foods that are difficult to digest like high fat foods, starches, and complex recipes containing a combination of starch or sugar and fat.
Choose the Cleanse That’s Right For You
There as many effective cleansing plans as there are cleansers. That’s why on my Energy Recharge Green Cleanse I offer guidelines and ways to customize. Those who are ready to dive in head first follow Option A, which is the most rigorous plan, while others opt for some variation of B and C, which allow for more flexibility in meal planning.
When I first started my Energy Recharge Green Cleanse (ERGC) back in January 2008, there were very few online cleanses.
Now there are dozens, each one with its own special twist on the cleansing process. Some are food only; many involve a variety of products. A few, like my ERGC, are fully supported and include several support calls and a forum. My ERCG is one of the very few that includes daily journals that allow you to get feedback and support.
Regardless of how you get supported, I feel it’s critical to the success of your cleanse to have a support system in place. It’s a rare person that’s so dedicated and disciplined as to be able to engage successfully in a cleanse and see it through to the end with its emotional ups and downs, temptations to quit, and unpredictable effects in terms of detoxification symptoms.
Learning More About Detox Symptoms
On my blog talk radio show episode, Cleansing and Detoxification Strategies for Spring I discuss the concept of “detox symptoms” — what they are, and why they happen.
I also talk about the pros and cons of a variety of cleansing methods, including fasting, juicing, blending, potions and pills, and just eating whole fresh foods for cleansing so you can determine what’s right for you.
There are some foods that are especially good for cleansing. On the show, I went into detail about my top 5 favorite detox foods. These are described below.
There are many cleanses on the market today. There are potions and pills and herbal remedies. While these sorts of cleanses can be very effective, they can also be complicated and expensive.
I personally prefer food based cleanses.
On my blog talk radio show episode, Cleansing and Detoxification Strategies for Spring I discuss the concept of “detox symptoms”, what they are and why they happen.
I also talk about the pros and cons of a variety of cleansing methods, including fasting, juicing, blending, potions and pills and just eating whole fresh foods for cleansing so you can determine what’s right for you. There are some foods that are especially good for cleansing. On the show, I went into detail about my top 5 favorites. These are also described below.
There are many cleanses on the market today. There are potions and pills and herbal remedies. While these sorts of cleanses can be very effective, they can also be complicated and expensive.
I personally prefer food based cleanses.
My Top 5 Cleansing Foods
Dandelion
Dandelion is a common “weed” that grows abundantly on lawns, in fields and along highways. It’s known for the wispy sprays that top the stem after the flower dies away. As I kid, I loved to blow on them. It was said to be good luck if you could blow all the wisps away with one breath.
I later came to discover that dandelions are one of nature’s most powerful plants. They are part of the sunflower family, another of my favorite plants growing up.
There are about 100 species of dandelion. The entire plant is an effective cleanser.
The root is a common ingredient in detox teas and it stimulates the bile and liver. It also acts as a diuretic and stimulates the release of toxins via your urine.
The leaves are cleansing and nourishing additions to salads, smoothies and soups. A little goes a long way. The bitter flavor stimulates the release of stomach acid and bile, which is why herbalists call dandelion a hepatic.
It’s also considered an aperient (gently moves the bowels), diuretic (makes you pee), tonic, and stomachic. It is useful with all kinds of conditions involving kidney, liver, gallbladder and inflammation of the bowels. The fresh root is good for helping with gallstones, jaundice, alcoholism, hepatitis, scurvy, and especially enlargement of the liver and spleen. Dandelion is also a tonic for female reproductive congestion.
Burdock Root (Arctium lappa)
Burdock is a powerful detoxifier. It’s also a delicious food that can be added to soups, salads, stews, smoothies and stir-fries.
It’s considered by herbalists to be a deep cleaner for it stimulates the release of toxins through sweat, urine and feces. It can also help lower your blood pressure. In Healing with Whole Foods Paul Pitchford writes, “(Burdock) is a virtual cure-all for conditions of excess, and significantly purifies the blood while reducing fat and regulating blood sugar.”
In the West, burdock is known to cleanse the blood, and is useful in situations such as exposure to environmental toxins such as cigarette smoke or air pollution, heavy metals such as mercury, lead or arsenic, and chronic bacterial or viral infections.
In macrobiotic tradition, a popular way to use burdock is cut into match stick sized pieces with equal parts carrot and sautéed in sesame oil. The resulting dish, called kinpura, is considered a deeply cleansing food.
Avocados
We rarely think of avocados as a cleansing food but these nutritional powerhouses lower cholesterol and dilate blood vessels while blocking artery-destroying toxicity.
Avocados contain a nutrient called “glutathione”, a potent antioxidant enzyme that is used by your liver in phase 2 detoxification reactions.
According to the human genome project research, glutathione tends to be low due to genetics in almost 50% of the population due to a single nucleotide polymorphism (an alteration in a gene). The enzyme glutathione-S-transferase, responsible for making glutathione, is missing or deficient in close to 50% of the population.
Glutathione is a master antioxidant that’s important for detoxification of synthetic chemicals, for blocking at least thirty different carcinogens and for increasing the activity of the most important aspect of liver detoxification, the phase 2 cytochrome P450 system.
Cruciferous Vegetables and Leafy Greens
The foods in this detox category include kale, collard greens, dandelion, arugula, spinach, chard, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, broccoli sprouts and Brussels sprouts and many more.
Green foods are powerful allies in cleansing your liver by providing a plethora of minerals, antioxidants and cofactors that support liver detox pathways. Greens are abundant in chlorophyll which has the ability to suck up environmental toxins from your blood stream and neutralize heavy metals, chemicals and pesticides. They are also cleansing to your colon as they provide an abundance of fiber to “sweep” your digestive tract clean.
Crucifers and leafy greens can be eaten raw, cooked or juiced. They can be blended to make smoothies, soups and salad dressings, marinated, processed with nuts and seeds to make crackers and bread, and eaten whole, dipped in guacamole or a healthy dip. Leafy greens make tasty wraps, a cleansing alternative to tortillas, pita bread, sandwich bread and other popular grain based processed wraps and tortilla shells.
Bitter greens like arugula, dandelion greens, mustard greens and chicory help increase the creation and flow of bile and aid in the removal of waste from your organs and blood.
Turmeric
Turmeric is a bitter spice used extensively in East Indian cooking. It contains a chemical constituent called “curcumin” that helps cleanse your liver, purify your blood, and promote good digestion and elimination. It stimulates your gallbladder to produce bile and scavenges free radicals. The spice is aromatic and has a bitter taste. The plant, which grows five to six feet tall, is found in tropical regions throughout Southern Asia; its fingerlike stalk contains the spice’s healing agents.
Turmeric has been shown to be a potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer agent. It has been shown to increase two very important liver detoxification enzymes, UDP glucuronyl transferase and glutathione-S-transferase. Turmeric has also been found to inhibit free radical damage of fats and, prevent the formation of the inflammatory chemical cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2).
When rats were fed curcumin, the active constituent of turmeric, for 14 days, glutathione-S-transferase production increased by 16%, and a marker of free radical damage called malondialdehyde decreased by 36%.
Turmeric looks similar to ginger, except that it’s bright orange and the roots are smaller. It’s what gives curry its characteristic bright yellow color.
The Energy Recharge Green Cleanse
My Energy Recharge Green Cleanse is a food based cleanse, although you can supplement with detox herbs and formulas if desired, but it’s not required.
Whether you live in a small town in the Midwest or a bustling metropolitan area, you have access to grocery stores and can get an abundance of fresh produce. That’s all you need, along with a blender, to do my Energy Recharge Green Cleanse.
We currently have over 100 people ready to begin their cleanse on Monday. They’ve been busily preparing by simplifying their food choices and increasing their green foods.
It’s not too late to join!
The spring 2012 Energy Recharge Green Cleanse begins on Monday, April 23rd.
It includes recipes, menu plans, recordings and support calls for guidance and detailed instructions. There’s a community forum to provide support and accountability, as well as a sharing of recipes and resources.
Click HERE for details and to decide if the Energy Recharge Green Cleanse is just what you need to sweep out the cobwebs and jumpstart your body into vibrant health. And a side benefit is a flatter belly, a clearer mind and enough energy for all the things you love.
I look forward to getting to know you during the next Energy Recharge Green Cleanse.
Love, Health and Joy,
Dr. Ritamarie
P.S. As a bonus when you register for the Energy Recharge Green Cleanse you’ll also get three months of ongoing support from me through our Eat Green be Lean Community.
Click HERE to get details and join in.
Super Cleanse Smoothie
Ingredients:
- 3/4 bunch of parsley with some stems
- 1 handful arugula
- 1 handful kale
- 1 handful broccoli sprouts
- 3 leaves dandelion greens
- 1/4-inch slice turmeric
- 1/2-inch slice ginger
- 1-inch slice burdock root
- 1/2 – 1 avocado, peeled and pitted
- 1 green apple, cored (optional)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 stalks celery
- 1 teaspoon milk thistle seed powder (optional)
- enough water to blend
Directions:
Blend and enjoy.
Hot and Cleansing Liver Juice
Ingredients:
- 1 bunch kale
- 3 leaves dandelion
- 1 cucumber
- 1 small sliver of fresh turmeric (or 1/4 teaspoon dried)
- 1 lemon, juice of
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 green onions (scallions)
- 1 handful broccoli sprouts
- 1 pinch cayenne
- 3-inch piece of burdock root
Directions:
Run all the ingredients above through a juicer.
Benefits to the Body:
This juice is the ideal liver cleanser. It’s stimulating and does powerful work to keep your liver functioning at its best.
Tags: 7 day cleanse, 7 day detox, burdock root, cleansing, cruciferous, dandelion, detox, detox foods, detox recipe, detoxification, Dr. Ritamarie, Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo, energy recharge, Energy Recharge Green Cleanse, Green Cleanse, green leafy vegetables, green smoothie, green smoothie green cleanse, green smoothie recipe, spring cleanse, toxicity, turmeric
Posted in Cleansing Programs, Detox Program, Raw Food Recipes
39 Quick and Easy Ways to Reduce Your Risk of Getting Cancer
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
Living Foods that Protect You from Cancer: BROCCOLI SPROUTS
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
