Why I Wrote Cancer-Free with Food, My Story

“The literal meaning of healing is ‘becoming whole.’”
—Andrew Weil, M.D
 

In 2009, I had a major wakeup call. Although I was only 21, I ended up in the hospital with a golf ball-sized lump sticking out of the right side of my neck. Looking for appropriate guidance, I saw three doctors in all. After doing a biopsy of this solid mass, the first doctor told me I had a stage 1 cancer. The second said I had stage 0 cancer. Both doctors offered me conventional medical treatment, beginning with surgery. The third doctor told me the lump was precancerous and benign, and suggested it was the symptom of a cat allergy—even though I’ve never been allergic to cats before or since—and she offered me a prescription for pills to take for that supposed allergy. The whole diagnostic experience was confusing. From undergoing these visits, I became skeptical about the medical industry; it seemed as if the job of the doctors I was meeting was to sell me on surgery, chemotherapy, vaccinations, and pharmaceutical drugs. But I was not disheartened, as something in my background gave me confidence that I could heal the tumor on my own.

​I had grown up in Alice Springs, Australia, an area that’s home to a large community of Aboriginals who eat in a manner that’s unlike the modern American diet: with more plants, less meat, and very little processed food. Largely because of what they eat, these indigenous people enjoy excellent health. They taught me that food is medicine. Knowing it was possible for food to be used as medicine, even as the medical doctors were giving me conflicting opinions, my mind was on the lookout for an alternative approach.

Following the third doctor visit, I made a bold decision about my course of action. None of the doctors’ proposed treatments for the lump in my neck sounded appealing. In fact, to me they sounded like torture. I had already put my body through five years of agony by engaging in a self-destructive cycle of binge eating toxic junk food followed by starvation. I had no doubt that my sickness was related to my disordered eating, which had spiraled out of control when I left home. So, I decided to opt out of conventional treatments—at least for several months. Instead I would heal myself using all-natural methods because that was what intuitively felt right for me to do. I met with a naturopath and she also had confidence that I could heal the lump by detoxifying my body. And that is just what I did. I learned how to turn my kitchen into a pharmacy.

Let me be clear, in my book, I am not suggesting that you refuse conventional treatments for cancer if they are warranted, only that you eat healthily and are proactive in deciding what is right for your body and condition. As a health and nutrition coach, my aim is to help people improve their eating habits. On many occasions, the people I’ve counseled about food have undergone surgery for cancer or done rounds of chemotherapy or radiation. I’ve also worked with people like me, who took an exclusively natural approach to healing cancer. What you decide to do is really up to you and should be based on your physical condition, your personal beliefs, the advice you get, and your intuition about what is the right protocol for you.
No matter what you decide to do, you should think of food as your original medicine. If you choose to undergo one or more conventional treatments for cancer, the recipes in Cancer-Free with Food can be a great adjunct to those treatments. It will complement them. Good nutrition is the foundation of good health. Science is constantly revealing incredible insights on this.
In Cancer-Free with Food, I am not promising you a “miracle cure” for a serious health issue. My goal is to offer you comfort, inspiration, and hope that you can reverse the progression of cancer in your body or prevent cancer from taking root in the first place.

The delicious recipes in the book are so nutrient rich and wholesome that you’ll boost your immunity and resilience, as well as reduce your exposure to toxins, steering your body toward optimal health.

Frequently, I am asked exactly how I healed my body. People want to know everything that was involved in my recovery. In a nutshell, I did:
·      No chemo.
·      No radiation.
·      No surgery.
·      No pharmaceutical medication.
 
This strategy was my choice because I wanted to address the deeper causes of my tumor, not just react to the surface-level symptoms. I saw the illness as an opportunity to heal myself and become healthy on every level—mind, body, and spirit—in a way I had forgotten or lost.
Instead of conventional treatment, I:
·      Changed my diet and consumed a lot of nutrients.
·      Juiced up to six times a day.
·      Bathed in bentonite clay and used it as a poultice to draw out toxins—also drank it.
·      Had sessions of alternative therapies, like reflexology and massage.
·      Received a colonic or a coffee enema every day for two months.
·      Rested, relaxed, and did everything I could to reduce stress.
 
The lump started to get smaller and smaller, and within three months of commencing this regimen, it had completely disappeared from my neck. It entirely dissolved. I have been cancer free for ten years, since then.

One of the things I did to create accountability for my new lifestyle was to start a daily blog. At the end of a year, I collected recipes from the blog and published them in a book, The Earth Diet. This opened doors for me with thought leaders—doctors, nutritionists, healers, natural food purveyors, restauranteurs, and authors—who welcomed me as a fellow traveler and were generous in sharing their expertise. I’ve interviewed these cutting-edge thinkers. I’ve done research. I wrote a second recipe book, 10-Minute Recipes. I’ve lectured and done cooking demonstrations at conferences around the world. And I’ve coached many, many people on their eating plans. The best of what I learned and know as it pertains to cellular health, disease prevention, healing, and supporting the body to cope with the side effects of cancer treatment is included in this book.
 
How The Book Is Organized
The book is structured in a super simple way so that you could read the sections of it relevant to your situation and learn what food you need to eat and what to avoid in a day if you wanted—just in case you got diagnosed with cancer today. My heart goes out to you, if that’s the case. But you should know, I have confidence in you and your ability to heal. You are powerful!
In Part One, “Food as Medicine,” I will teach you the exact things to eat to strengthen your immune system, foods like vibrantly colored plants with antioxidant properties and cold-water fish high in omega-3 fatty acids. Also, I’ll explain what not to eat because it could weaken your immune system.

In Chapter 1, “Ten Key Principles for Overcoming Cancer,” I sum up the ten principles that every single expert, doctor, naturopath, and nutritionist are saying will increase our chances of beating cancer. One extremely important way to prevent and/or treat cancer is nutritionally, through eating a nutrient-dense diet. Another is avoiding things that are known to increase our cancer risk, like sugar, alcohol, and cigarettes. Unfortunately, until food manufacturers are forced to clean up the ingredients they use in their products, it’s up to us to avoid the worst kinds and to choose cancer-fighting foods. It’s up to us to reduce our exposure to chemicals.

To relieve some of the confusion you may feel about what to eat, in Chapter 2, “Top 15 Cancer-Healing Foods,” I’ll give you a breakdown of the science behind my recommendations for the most healing ingredients—everything from broccoli sprouts and turmeric, to blueberries, quinoa, cacao, and flaxseed. I had no idea before starting my research how potent broccoli sprouts are! And I have long eaten cacao pretty much every day, but I didn’t know there had been countless studies on their positive health effects and for exactly what until recently. The science is overwhelming! You’ll learn how much and how often to eat each ingredient and the types of cancer it is especially useful for. One of the things you’ll hear me repeat time and again is that you want to make your body inhospitable to cancer. These foods will help with that.

In Chapter 3, “Anticancer Supplements,” I sum up the top supplements you could get and always keep on hand to prevent cancer or even kill cancer cells. Some are concentrated forms of the foods you were introduced to in Chapter 1. For instance, you could eat turmeric in a curry recipe you prepare, or you could take a turmeric or curcumin capsule. You have options.

In Chapter 4, “The Most Toxic Foods on the Planet,” You’ll learn which crazily toxic foods and substances to cut out of your life beginning today—and why they can drain your energy and affect your nervous system, leaving you feeling anxious.

In Chapter 5, “Foods Upgrades and Cancer Hacks,” I’ll teach you the mindset I adopted that changed everything for me. You will learn how to fulfill every single craving you have.

In Chapter 6, “Nutrition for Cancer—Advice from Some Experts,” we’ll take a look at what doctors on the forefront of nutritional medicine are saying causes cancer and heals it.

In Chapter 7, “Nutrition-Focused and Alternative Cancer Therapies,” I put together an A-Z list of all the treatments available to you, so that you never feel stuck! If you have cancer, these are options that may complement the conventional medical protocol of surgery followed by chemo and/or radiation, or which you might consider as an alternative. This chapter also explains alternative treatments to prevent cancer—everything from detoxification strategies like chelation, to stress reduction and vitamin IV drips.

In Chapter 8, “Nutritional Support for Side Effects of Chemotherapy, Radiation, and Surgery,” I provide helpful tips and tools for overcoming negative side effects of conventional medical treatments, such as nausea, fatigue, insomnia, among other things. I interviewed many cancer survivors who told me these are things they wish they’d known during treatment.

Then, in Chapter 9, “Healing Guide for Specific Cancers,” I’ll give you quick tips on what foods are best to eat when you have one of the ten most prevalent cancers (for instance, breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer). Beyond the nutritional science, we’ll look at a few complementary treatments you might want to consider.

Chapter 10, “Mental, Emotional, and Spiritual Nourishment,” is dedicated to healing tips and tools to detoxify the mind, soothe the emotions, and deepen your connection to God. Healing must be done physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Reducing stress is imperative.
And this is all easier than you think, so don’t be overwhelmed, you are in the right place right now to receive the support you need! If you ever feel overwhelmed as you read this book, repeat the following affirmation to help bring you back to peace immediately: “I am peaceful. I feel peaceful. All is well in my world. All is well with my soul.”

In Part Two, “Cancer Free with Food Recipes,” you’ll find over 200 recipes for immune-boosting juices, brain-protecting smoothies, life-extending lunches and dinners, comforting soups and broths, alkalizing vegetable dishes, nutrient-rich desserts and sweet snacks (my favorite), strength-building meals, delicious sides, sauces, and condiments, and much more.

At the end of the book, to make things super simple for you if a health-care practitioner advises you, for example, to emphasize protein or fat in your diet, or you decide on your own that you want to bump up your consumption of fiber or ingredients that reduce inflammation, you’ll find a series of Quick Guides that will help you chart your way to the appropriate recipes for your objectives. There is even a list of the recipes highest in vitamin C—because if you have cancer, the immune system is compromised and needs every possible boost it can get. The “Quick Guide for Preparing Your Weekly Menu” will help you devise an ideal shopping list.

Get the book here or check out the Cancer-Free with Food Video Course which also includes a copy of the book with purchase.

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