[Extract} Eat to Beat Cancer One of the most critical tools integrative practitioners use to quell inflammation and boost immunity is also the simplest: basic nutrition. In addition to increasing our consumption of anti-cancer foods such as cruciferous veggies, garlic and onions, one of the most important dietary changes any of us can make, notes Wallace, is to drastically cut down on refined sugars and refined carbohydrates which directly fuel the cancer growth. Dozens of herbs and spices also have anti-cancer potential (for a full list, see the online version of this piece at ELmag/integrativeoncology), but the science around curcumin — a component of the spice turmeric — is the most advanced. In a study published in the March 2012 issue of Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, Bharat Aggarwal and his colleagues established that turmeric can block cancer-causing metabolic pathways, stopping tumor proliferation. As a bonus, the spice also sensitized tumor cells to the chemotherapeutic agents capecitabine and taxol. In his latest book, Inflammation, Lifestyle, and Chronic Disease: The Silent Link (CRC Press, 2011), Aggarwal highlights other dietary recommendations, including consuming fresh orange juice (not from concentrate), which has “profound anti-inflammatory effects.” Other studies point to the potent anti-inflammatory power of resveratrol, found in red wine and grapes, which suppresses dangerous inflammatory biochemicals called cytokines. One of the hallmarks of integrative oncology is that each cancer patient is unique and needs a specific botanical-nutritional plan for success. DeAnne Salmon sought the counsel of Mark Bricca, ND, LAC, a Chinese medicine expert and naturopath from the Mederi Centre, who has recently moved his practice to nearby Portland, Ore. He recommended a regimen of supplements and smoothies containing, among other things, turmeric; isothiocyanates (chemical compounds found in high concentrations in cruciferous vegetables); green-tea extract, resveratrol, grape seed and quercetin; anti-inflammatory botanicals, like frankincense; and immunomodulators, including turkey tail mushroom. When Salmon’s mainstream oncologist prescribed hormone therapy for her estrogen-positive breast cancer, Bricca treated her with a series of synergistic herbs, including asparagus tuber and wild yam to mitigate the side effects. “At every visit, tests were done and the protocols were changed,” she explains. Wallace honed her approach to the terrain in the face of a looming tragedy: One day in October 1997, her partner, Cheryl Clark, collapsed and was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme, the most aggressive form of brain cancer. Doctors removed a tumor the size of a lemon, but when it began to rapidly regrow, Clark was given between three and six months to live. Wallace hit the medical literature, reading everything she could about the metabolic pathways and prognostic biomarkers associated with the disease, reasoning that nutritional strategies to alter these pathways could help improve the chance of survival. She had Clark reduce sugar and carbohydrate intake, both of which contribute to insulin resistance, which promotes inflammation and can foster tumor progression. She also gave Clark anti-inflammatory agents, including omega-3 fatty acids, boswellia and bromelain. Another crucial part of the protocol was berberine, a natural chemical found in the Chinese herb coptis, which can help normalize blood sugar and act as a radiosensitizer — a drug or natural food compound that makes tumor cells more sensitive to radiation therapy. Thus fortified, Clark went for radiation therapy. She also took supplements, including melatonin and vitamin E, to both magnify the therapeutic force of the treatments and protect the health of the brain. Defying her deadly prognosis, Clark remains well, and Wallace, who today is considered an expert in integrative care for malignant brain tumors, brought her strategies to the wider world of cancer, where, she says, no two patients are ever the same. “People ask if I can give them a nutrient to cure cancer, and I tell them no,” Wallace says. “But I can teach them how to create an anti-inflammatory environment within their bodies so it’s less of a conductive host to tumor growth and production.”
Posted on: Wed, 06 Nov 2013 23:25:56 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015