What you need to start healing breast cancer naturally right now

Broccoli and Other Cruciferous Vegetables

Broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables are amazing cancer-fighting foods. Whether you are trying to heal breast cancer or prevent breast cancer this is a high priority food group to add to as many meals a day as possible. 

The reason cruciferous veggies are so important to the fight again cancer is that they contain phytonutrients that stop the spread of cancer and halt cancer cells from forming. Phyto means “plant” and you can only get these nutrients from plants. These phytonutrients also shift estrogen metabolism so your body produces a form of estrogen that doesn’t drive breast cancer.

For these cruciferous vegetables, the power is in the sulforaphane amongst indoles, especially indole 3 carbinol which, along with its metabolite DIM, modifies and diminishes the aggressive estrogen effects, can modify cellular estrogen receptor sites, and aids in healing from breast cancer as well as other cancers.

To reap the rewards of this powerful food group, load your diet with a wide variety of choices from broccoli, brussels sprouts, and rapini, to red, green, savoy, Chinese cabbage, and the list goes on. As a side note, 1 tablespoon of Broccoli sprouts has as much sulforaphane as 1 pound of broccoli.

Kale and Other Dark Leafy Greens

Most leafy greens are loaded with vitamins, minerals, thousands of phytonutrients (so many that there hasn’t even been time to study them all), antioxidants, and so much more. You really can’t go wrong with lettuces. Make it dark leafy greens and power up your nutrient intake as these are even more nutrient dense than their lighter counterparts and fall under the same category as cruciferous vegetables.

These dark lettuces are full of folate, which is a B vitamin that strengthens your DNA, sulforaphanes, that have strong cancer correcting benefits, as well as fiber and tons of other important nutrients that work together synergistically to rebalance the body and keep it that way. Low levels of folate have been directly linked to increased cancer risk.

To reap the rewards of this powerful food group, load your diet with a wide variety of choice from spinach, kale, chard, arugula, watercress, the darker the leaves, the better! With these healing tools, our bodies can reverse illness, prevent disease, and we can witness the amazing powers our bodies really have. As a side note, just a 6 ounce serving of watercress has been shown to retard the growth of breast cancer cells along with 2 other benefits to note; it’s a great diuretic and weight loss food.

Did you know that arugula is a sulforaphane-rich lettuce that’s easy to find at restaurants? Who says you have to hibernate at home to eat healthily and heal from cancer?!?!

The red clover plant and sprouting seeds, also known as genistein, is another powerful option showing improved survival rates in breast cancer patients.

Turmeric and Other Fresh Spices and Herbs

Turmeric is a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory due to its powerful Curcumin chemistry. Research shows a variety of health benefits including a strong role in a number of anti-cancer pathways. Prof. Aggarwal of MD Anderson claims he does not know a cancer it does not have a positive effect against.

Curcumin can form a number of gene-controlling functions with both breast cancer and triple negative breast cancer. It wakes up tumor suppressor genes and inhibits metastases.

To reap the rewards of this powerful spice, take it with olive oil and black pepper for maximum absorption. As a side note, the active ingredient in black pepper is piperine and been shown to enhance the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer, and gastroprotective properties of other ingredients such as curcumin (found in Turmeric), Boswellia, and Ginger.

There are many healing benefits from eating fresh herbs and spices with every meal making your food taste wonderful!

Raw Nuts and Seeds

Fat has been given a bad reputation but this misunderstood macronutrient is turning out to be quite vital to the inner workings of the human body. What is meant by healthy fat is uncooked plant-based fats. Uncooked fats retain their original design that the body recognizes. Once cooked the chemical structure changes and these new fats are not recognized by the body, can trigger the immune system, as well as wreak havoc on many structures within the body.

The most important fat for one with cancer is the omega-3 group. This is an essential fatty acid that your body needs. Essential means that your body can’t produce it so it must come from food. We were once told that we can only get the proper omega-3’s from animal sources like fish. Now we know that we can get these same long chain omega-3’s from combining coconut oil and freshly ground flax seeds.

However, there is another group of essential fatty acids that compete with omega-3s. They are omega-6 fatty acids, and while you do need them, most of us get way more than enough since they are plentiful in our modern diet. Omega-3’s are anti-inflammatory while Omega-6’s create inflammation. Why would you need inflammation, you might ask, there are processes in the body that require it. For example, if you cut yourself, inflammation comes to ‘swell’ the area and cut off bleeding so the wound can heal. The trouble with omega-6’s and the modern diet is that the more omega-6s you absorb from your diet, the less omega-3s you can take in (and vice-versa). While it’s important to focus your energy on eating more foods rich in omega-3s, it’s also good to be limiting your intake of omega-6s.

As far as breast health is concerned, well-regarded research suggests that omega-3s enhance overall well-being and are particularly important for breast health. As mentioned, omega-3s reduce inflammation and out of control inflammation causes damage to healthy tissue and can encourage cancer cells to grow.

There are many additional nutrients and healthy oils such as vitamin E and fiber to strengthen your gut flora and support a strong immune system. According to Cancer Watch research, people who eat nuts every day live longer. Eat them raw for a super healthy snack option several times a day. Roasted nuts and seeds contain damaged omega-3’s which means lower omega-3s and higher omega-6’s.

To reap the benefits of this vital nutrient choose healthy plants sources for fat such as flax & chia seeds, walnuts, and their oils. Even spinach is a good source of Omega-3’s! Another side note, mixing 1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds with a teaspoon of coconut oil will give those long chain omega-3’s that we are told we can only get from fish. Simply not true.

Additional information on healthy seeds to support healing breast cancer: Sunflower Seeds are high in zinc and natural vitamin E. Zinc helps vitamin C do its work and accelerates healing time. They also contain a small amount of selenium, an essential trace mineral, that supports the immune system and breast health. Enjoy a half cup of sunflower seeds daily which will give you 20 mgs of vitamin E along with zinc and selenium.

Pumpkin Seeds can be mixed with the sunflower seeds in your morning muesli. 5 tablespoons will each provide 20 mgs of vitamin E, the ultimate cancer buster, which inhibits cancer cell growth and protects immune cells from free radicals. Vitamin E boosts your immune systems fighting abilities. Research suggests that 300-600 mgs daily which can be difficult to achieve without supplements if you don’t take advantage of enough raw nuts and seed sources. Both sesame seed and flax seed lignans are converted to compounds that can arrest estrogen cancers.

Green Juices

Drinking juices greens, such as cucumber, spinach, celery, and parsley,  serve two purposes. It provides an easily digestible, nutrient dense, super hydrating food source. It also allows you to give your digestive system a break if you choose to just consume these alkalizing liquids for a few days or weeks during a green juice fast.

When cancer is a dominant force in your body, consider fasting with green juice to support your body’s natural detoxification process. Taking this time to allow your body to catch up on removing toxins will help boost your immune system function allowing it to reset. Allowing your digestive system to rest will divert all the energy you would use to digest food (about 60% of your daily energy) to your immune system functioning meaning there will be more energy to perform maintenance repairs, cleaning, removing toxins, and protection activities.

Recipes and additional information on how to make your own green juice and how much to consume.

 Wheatgrass Juice

In addition to green juice, the addition of wheat or barley grass is another very nutrient dense alkalizing practice. However, you will not need as much of these juices as just a few ounces is very power packed. Consuming more than 1 to 4 ounces can cause the body to release toxins too quickly leading to discomfort in the form of headaches, nausea, possibly vomiting and diarrhea. Many people confuse a cleansing reaction with the belief that this type of food is not for them. In actuality, having these reactions just means too much was consumed at once so the body was able to release a large amount of toxins at once which is very uncomfortable to experience. Cleansing is very important when the body is so out of balance that cancer cells have dominated to such an extent.

One of the top private hospitals in South East Asia extols the benefits of freshly juiced wheatgrass. One shot gives you the chlorophyll of some 12 or more kilograms of broccoli. It acts as a blood purifier and liver and kidney cleansing agent. In research, after two weeks of daily use, blood and tissue oxygen levels improve, as does circulation. As far as what this means for healing breast cancer? Cancer doesn’t thrive in an oxygen and nutrient-rich environment. They will die off.

To reap the benefits of green juices and grasses, consume 8 to 16 ounces of green juice and 1 to 2 ounces of wheat or barley grass on an empty stomach each morning. To take benefit from fasting, drink 8 to 16 ounces of green juice 4 to 6 times a day either straight or diluted with an equal amount of water. Do not consume any food during this time. Add in 1 to 2 ounces of juiced wheat or barley grass before each green juice. Wait 15 minutes before consuming the green juice. Continue doing this for 1 to 3 days. As you begin experimenting with fasting you might find it easier to have an experienced guide or program to support you.

Recipes and additional information on exactly how to do a green juice fast.

Black Beans and Other Pulses

According to a new report, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, increasing your fiber intake may help lower your risk of breast cancer. The more fiber you eat, the more your risk decreases. The researchers found that for every 10 grams of fiber a woman added to her daily diet, her risk of breast cancer decreased by 7 percent. That’s about a 1/2 to one cup of beans, depending on the variety.

Pulses include all varieties of beans such as lentils, chickpeas, adzuki beans, peas, and kidney beans. Pulses are a great source of protein and are very high in fiber which allows for a slow release of their carbohydrate fuel. This means reduced blood glucose which in turn means cancer cells will not get fed so readily. Cancer cells will eat first leaving you with less nutrients.

Within the fiber is another excellent nutrient called lignans. They help neutralize free radicals in the digestive system and bloodstream. In other words, these lignans are like antioxidants protecting healthy cells.

Pulses also contain isoflavones that are called phytoestrogens (plant estrogens). The cells of your body have estrogen receptor sites. When one form of human estrogen, estradiol, binds to them, the result is trouble inside your cells. The human estrogen, estrone, is about 40 times less potent and about 40 to 50 times less potent still are plant estrogens. Having these less potent estrogens sitting on your receptor sites mean the troublesome estradiol can not thus creating healthier cells. Eating plant estrogens (phytoestrogens) daily will help protect your cells from getting blocked up with damaging estrogens that lead to or exacerbate breast cancer.

To reap the benefits of pulses explore a variety enjoying your favorites more frequently. Slowly work up from a 1/4 cup per day to 1/2 cup per meal. Choose from barley, bulgur, lentils, peas, black beans, chickpeas, kidney beans, adzuki, cannellini beans, butter beans, and so many more. Be sure to soak them overnight before cooking to remove less digestible parts of the pulses.

Low Glycemic Fruits Like Berries

Berries, such as blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries, contain an especially high amount of an antioxidant called proanthocyanidin. This antioxidant has been observed to have anti-aging effects in several animal studies as well as the capability to lower free radical damage which causes damage to our cells.  Additional antioxidants berries contain are high amounts of phenols, cryptoxanthin, lutein, lycopene, polysaccharides, and zeaxanthin. Berries have been used for thousands of years for healing in Chinese medicine and other healing modalities. Mulberries, Goji berries, Camu Camu berries, and many more have been used to increase immunity and energy. With their high vitamin C, vitamin A, and gallic acid, a powerful antifungal/antiviral agent that increases immunity, we can enjoy delicious natural breast cancer healing.

Squash and Other Orange Colored Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits and vegetables, such as pumpkin, sweet potato, carrots, and oranges, contain powerful phytonutrients that support many healing processes of the body. The most well known is beta-carotene.  Extensive research has been done on beta-carotene and it is known to support immune function, detoxification, liver health, and fighting cancer. Lutein and zeaxanthin are also phytonutrients that give the orange color and support skin and eye health. Studies show that eating these foods and avoiding high glycemic foods and refined grains reduces the risk of breast and colon cancers. Choosing to eat a rainbow of colors in your fruits and vegetables will provide you with a large variety of phytonutrients that can only be found in fresh uncooked fruits and vegetables and support your body with its natural healing abilities.

Coconut Oil and Other Healthy Unrefined Oils

There are many important reasons to eat healthy fats. While we are told that fat is not healthy there actually is healthy fat. Replacing refined vegetable oils, hydrogenated oils, and trans fats with coconut oil, flax oil, extra virgin olive oil, and other high-quality oils will support the body in the production of hormones, omega-3’s, and fatty acids which make up more than 60% of your nervous system. Flaxseed oil is high in omega-3 fatty acids, olive oil helps reduce inflammation, and coconut oil supports immune function and is antimicrobial. Eating healthy oils regularly and in the amounts that are right for your unique body type can support healthy weight, energize your cells, and reduce your risk of breast and colorectal cancer. Our modern diet is filled with the wrong type of oil as well as heavily cooked oils which increase inflammation, weight, and risk of cancer. The best way to use oils is after you have cooked your food.

Let us help you get

Remember that creation always begins with destruction.  We must begin to destroy our unhealthy tendencies in order to build optimal health.  Gradually increase the number of healthy foods in each meal and you will have more success at making healthy habits stick resulting in a healthier body. The longer you can avoid the toxic foods and habits, the better you will feel and a healthy lifestyle tailored to YOU will emerge. The entire Breast Cancer Answer team and I are here to support you.  If you need any ideas for food preparation, have any questions about health or what you’ve read here, or even need support in making these habits stick, please email us at syncrawnicity@gmail.com.

Blissings!

Andrea