A Dietary And Lifestyle Approach To Cancer

This is a message that can't be repeated enough: Certain foods help your body, and others hurt your body.

After being diagnosed with bone cancer, and later breast cancer, I asked my doctors if there was any link between cancer and diet. All but two (I had lots) dismissed the idea. In fact, though, scientists have found that certain kinds of diets are clearly linked to an increased risk of cancer. And (!)... diet can influence how long a person survives after he or she is diagnosed with cancer.

Scientific study after scientific study — and consequently now many doctors — confirm that eating a plant-based diet, one primarily made up of whole grains, fresh vegetables, beans and fruit, is associated with longer life in people diagnosed with cancer, especially breast cancer.

There are seven reasons why a diet such as the macrobiotic regimen can help people with cancer, especially those with breast cancer. I go into more detail in my book, Becoming Whole, The Story of My Complete Recovery From Breast Cancer, but here's the bottom line ... a macrobiotic diet helps because it:

1. Is extremely low in fat and cholesterol

2. Is low in calories

3. Advocates the elimination of milk products

4. Is rich in fiber.

5. Rich in plant-based compounds that boost the immune and cancer-fighting forces in the body.

6. Contains many specialty foods, such as miso and other soy foods, shiitake mushrooms, and sea vegetables, all of which directly fight cancer

7. Stresses organic foods and the elimination of synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, and herbicides, all of which can contribute to breast cancer

When someone gets breast cancer, he/she faces so many questions, but none more important than this: Do people who eat a diet made up largely of plant foods live longer? The answer is an unequivocal yes.