best cancer fighting foods

[Tenet Nosce]

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.

Yup. Which is why I think it is important for people to understand the nuances, even if it takes more time and effort. If somebody goes in to their MD and starts talking about "alkalinizing the blood" they are going to raise some eyebrows, and for good reason. Then, there is the fallout/backlash from conventional practitioners getting concerned about people propagating pseudoscience. Of course- most of those docs don't take the time or effort themselves to really look into the concept themselves.

I tend to focus on getting the most nutrition per calorie. I guess the closest ideology to my beliefs would be "nutritarianism" ala Dr. Joel Fuhrman. The way I look at it- if we focus on getting the most nutrition from our food then we are automatically eating more alkanizing foods, less meat, less refined foods, etc. So it is kind of like a big umbrella under which a lot of other approaches fit pretty well- yet without all of the confusion and controversy. Eat foods that are nutritious. Simple, straightforward, and not much there for the "establishment" to argue and nitpick at.

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.

Ya- I don't know what it would take for that to happen. For practical purposes, I wouldn't consider it a concern.

Say, while we're on the topic, I'm curious to know about the effects of alkaline water on the stomach pH. I know that is one of the regions that actually should be really acidic, and seeing as how the water hits it first... ? Is it a good idea to drink a bunch of alkaline water before a meal? Or...?

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 found this resource on seaworld.org about gorilla diets. It says an adult male gorilla can eat up to 40 pounds of vegetation a day! Of course- they weigh about twice as much as humans.

Now if a person ate 20 pounds of veggies a day- they would definitely be getting enough protein! I'm not sure how most could afford to pay for it though. Plus- that's a lotta poop!

The other thing I think is interesting here is how much diets vary for different species of gorillas. From 2 - 67% fruit. It looks like insect eating is pretty consistent though, about 2 - 3%. I dunno whether that is by weight, or by calorie though.

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

I will admit, I have a hard time being inspired when the facts are befuddled. Pesky mind!

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.

A bit- What I do know is they are water channels in the cell membrane, and being made of protein themselves, they are definitely affected by pH

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)

Every body is different! It's hard to make general rules. I have heard of many people who have "miraculous" turnarounds attributed to bone broth. IMO- the common denominator is getting a lot more nutrition into the body. It's more about getting the right stuff in than getting the wrong stuff out.

I actually just got an email from a patient who has experienced a severe downturn after going back on a "healthy vegan" diet. Her skin is breaking out in pustules and her hair has started falling out! I put that in quotes, because it seemed to me she was assuming just because it was vegan, it was healthy. It sounds to me like she got taken in by the hype, and is now paying the price. This kind of thing is why I tend to get my feathers ruffled with all these laypeople spewing misinformation out on the Internet.

I never tell people they "must" eat meat. What I am concerned about is the nutrition, not so much the delivery system. But what some people don't seem to understand is that it isn't enough to simply "go vegan" we need to make sure that the body is getting the right nutrition. Iron and zinc are two nutrients in particular which come to mind.

Sesame seed is a great source of iron which I think is most easily consumed as tahini. We make fresh hummous or put it into shakes. Pumpkin seeds are an excellent source of zinc, so we try to have those around a lot. Bottom line is- people need to educate themselves about these things, which takes some time and effort.

Watching a YouTube video of a guy who is "high on life" and deciding to run off half-baked and make major changes to one's diet could turn out just fine. Or it couldn't. Which is what these folks making all these videos and websites don't seem to understand, or care about.

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.

Oh jeez!