best cancer fighting foods

[Monica]

One thing to keep in mind when discussing blood pH is that it is very tightly regulated between 7.35 and 7.45 (which is actually all in the alkaline range, which is why it is a misnomer to claim the blood is too "acidic"). If it goes out of that range, on either side, somebody has a serious issue going on and could die.

I'm not discussing blood pH. I'm discussing urine/saliva pH. The body steals minerals from the bones, organs and tissues in order to buffer the blood from excess acidity and keep it within that narrow range. You're right; outside that range is an extremely acute condition that could result in death. This is why the body protects the blood.

So whenever I mention pH, I'm never ever referring to blood pH, which isn't much affected by diet or water (if at all).

This is an important distinction which I encounter quite frequently with doctors, so I'm glad you brought it up. Those advocating alkalizing aren't referring to blood pH.

theoretically speaking, one could conjecture a similar effect if a given person is consistently trending toward the higher end of the range. I suppose that could happen if somebody was chronically protein deficient, for example.

I suppose yes, theoretically, it could happen. The doctors I work with, who advocate drinking high amounts (1 to 1.5 gallons per day) of high alkaline water (9.5 pH) say they never see that happen. They say the person would have to drink several gallons for that to happen, which of course they aren't going to do. I personally can see a definite drop in pH if I eat something acidifying like cheese - my pH will drop 1/2 point the next morning - but bounce right back up after a couple of quarts of alkaline water. But I've never gone over 7.5, no matter how much alkaline water or fresh veggie juice I drink. Just hasn't happened.

[As a side note, earlier I was listening to a YouTube video by a guy identifying himself as "Dan the Man with the Master Plan" who is a hardcore juicer making some very odd claims.

Oh I love Dan the Man!!! He's totally not scientific though but operates on spirit and intuition. But he's cool.

He was saying that, if anything, a reason to eat meat is to get essential fatty acids (EFAs), rather than protein. Firstly, it is totally unnecessary to eat animal products to get EFAs as they are plentiful in nuts and seeds. Secondly, with respect to protein, he was saying that bananas and grapefruit are great sources of protein?! Um.. there is about 1-3 grams of protein in a fruit. Again, nuts and seeds (along with legumes) are great vegetable sources of protein, and a person can certainly meet their protein needs by eating nuts, seeds, and legumes. Oddly, he didn't mention any of these in his message. I guess because they can't be juiced? *sigh*

I dunno, other than to say gorillas eat enormous amounts of fruits and greens, and look how strong they are. They eat very little animal protein - mostly bugs - in the wild (though have been known to eat rodents when stressed).

I listen to Dan the Man for inspiration, but not for facts. For facts I'd go to Dr. Gabriel Cousens.

The other thing is that many cancer cells aren't in direct contact with the blood, but with an intermediary called extracellular fluid (ECF). It's quite possible that the cancer cells that alter the pH of the ECF to be more acidic, and resistant to change even if the blood pH is normal. I know that harmful gut bacteria engage in similar shenanigans.

You're talking over my head here so I won't comment.

I just recently learned about aquaporins. (sp?) Do you know anything about that? I read that they allow much more water into the cell if the water's alkaline.

Incidentally, this is the basis for my concerns about pounding too much fruit juice. All that sugar entering the cells and bypassing the body's natural control mechanisms can increase the "leakage" of free radicals when the mitochondria get overwhelmed.

There is some controversy, even amongst the alternative practitioners advocating an alkaline diet, regarding fruit. Dr. Bernardo says 'NO fruit' to cancer patients. But I knew a woman who healed herself of breast cancer by doing only fresh fruits and veggies. She ate lots and lots of fruit and juiced it too. Then again, my friend who was on his deathbed with advanced stage throat cancer and got cancer-free after 6 months of drinking antioxidant, alkaline water, was still eating hamburgers. (shrug)

But again- much gets lost in the oversimplification of concepts. In this case it sounds like some folks may have plucked the pH balance part out of the equation and left the other parts behind.

Maybe so. With diet, I think it can be very tricky. However I've seen some pretty consistent results with the water, so that seems closer to a 1-size-fits-all than diet is. But even then, of course there are no absolutes. And, there are other properties in the water besides the pH.

Oh, I totally agree. It's the oversimplification that is the problem, and the overwillingness to extend oneself beyond their boundaries of knowledge. But this issue is as much a problem among doctors as it is laypeople, albeit in different ways.

IMO- we'd all be better off sticking to the basics like "eat more vegetables" and steer clear of claims of "cure". One of the tenets of naturopathic philosophy is that the body does the healing, not the practitioner or the foods and supplements they recommend.

Absolutely agreed!

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Oh yeah, and here's a kicker: The insert on pH strips says that if the person gets an 8 or higher, it's actually a false positive, and should be read as 4.5!! So I wonder how many people think they're too alkaline when they're actually extremely acidic.