When people are diagnosed with cancer, most of them go into shock. They hear the doctor give them the diagnosis, tell them what medications and treatments they will be given, and that’s usually pretty much that. Very few people look at ways to change their lives to improve their chances of surviving. Yet there are some extremely simple things you can do to give yourself even more of a fighting chance. One of these is adding certain foods or drink to your diet. These five foods/drink are some of the best things you can do for yourself if you’ve been diagnosed with cancer.
1. Green Tea.
Many doctors and research centers now, including the Mayo Clinic, believe that drinking green tea is one of the best things you can do to improve your health when you have cancer. Green tea contains high levels of antioxidants as well as other cancer fighting agents. Patients who have begun to drink 2-10 cups of green tea a day have seen improvement in their cancer, and some have seen their cancer go into remission.
In Japan, the women who oversee the famous ‘tea ceremonies’ have very low levels of cancer and live to a very old age. This is thought to be because they drink so much tea and green tea is part of their tea consumption.
So try a few cups of green tea every day. It can’t hurt and can certainly help.
2. Garlic.
In World War II, garlic was used by the Russian army as the ‘poor man’s penicillin’ when they ran out of penicillin. Garlic has been shown in numerous studies to boost the immune system and to favorably affect many diseases. The British Journal of Medicine even published a study in 1993 stating it may prevent cancer. It has also been shown to improve cancer of the stomach, breast cancer and throat cancer. Cook kale with some chopped garlic, then drizzle oyster sauce over the dish and serve with rice. Tastes lovely and it’s very low in calories.
3. Tomatoes and Tomato Products.
Tomatoes have been shown to reduce the risk of several forms of cancer because they are high in lycopene, a cancer fighting agent. Tomato products such as ketchup, tomato paste and spaghetti sauce have also been proven to contain a concentrated level of lycopene, so are particularly good cancer fighting agents. They have also been linked to a reduction in prostate cancer in men – a really excellent snack is several toasted slices of whole-wheat bread, with tomatoes sliced on them, drizzled with olive oil (another cancer fighting food) and fresh basil. Absolutely delicious and so healthy.
4. Pumpkin.
Pumpkin is delicious, and is a great food for fighting cancer. It’s loaded with beta-carotene and the seeds have been shown to fight prostate cancer in men. One of my favorite ways to eat pumpkin is simply to bake in the oven for 30 minutes. When it’s all soft and mushy, pour a little honey over it and eat. It tastes lovely and is low in fat and calories as well as very healthy.
5. Papaya.
Papaya has a high Vitamin C content and also contains folic acid, which has minimized cervical dysplasia and other cancers. Some doctors think eating foods like papaya is the reason why some heavy smokers don’t develop lung cancer – this is because of the high levels of Vitamin A and C in papaya.
A wonderful way to eat papaya is chopped up in a fruit salad with other fruits, and covered in plain yoghurt. It will fill you up, so is a wonderful healthy meal, yet the calorie count is only around 300 calories for the yoghurt and a bowl of fruit.
These 5 foods are excellent ways to prevent cancer or make you healthier if you have cancer. Don’t forget though, the best way to improve your health is to combine all these foods with other healthy foods such as nuts, vegetables, juices, seeds etc. Eating a healthy diet will go a long way to making sure you live a long and healthy life.
