8 Steps to Good Health
It’s ALL About Detoxing the Mind and Body – And Maintaining It!
Since my own brush with ill health, many people have asked me for tips and advice about the changes I have made in my life in order to facilitate wellness and the road to recovery.
I was diagnosed with cancer in 2006 and subsequently, underwent surgery and chemotherapy, the disastrous effects of which have taken years to recover from. For me, it's a classic case of 'if I knew then what I know now', I would never, ever have gone down the 'modern' medicine road. It's barbaric.
Instead I would have made the same fundamental lifestyle changes that I have since made, only much, much earlier.
Aah... hindsight...
I remember laughing at a colleague from work once, when she said to me that I should not be dying my hair punk-rock red, and that I should make peace with my inner demons and adopt an organic, vegan lifestyle when it came to food.
She was suggesting that I meditate the cancer away! I thought she was nuts - turns out, she was right.
She knew, because she had also been there, as sadly, many of us will at some point in our lives, given currently, 1 in 2 people will get some form of the disease at some point in their lives...
But the good news is, that it doesn't have to be this way!
We are all in control of our lives and the things we put in our bodies.
The following information is basically a summary of all of the information that I have read since 2006, and the one thing that consistently comes up is that we need to limit and restrict the amount of carcinogens we put in and on our bodies - it's not rocket science and it's pretty obvious when you think about it. I can't really take credit for that bit of advice, but the reality is, even when we know something is bad for us, we often tend to dismiss it saying 'but it's only a little bit' or 'just this once won't hurt', but the reality is, that chemicals and toxins have a cumulative effect, and this builds up over a lifetime, ultimately resulting in statistics such as the one above.
Much of the knowledge I have gained has been from the following excellent sources:
Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips by Kris Carr
The pH Miracle by Robert Young
Rainbow Green Live Food Cuisine by Dr Gabriel Cousins
Raw Food Life Force Energy by Natalia Rose
1. Acid/Alkaline pH diet
It's all about balance. On a pH scale of 1 to 14, 7 is considered neutral. Below 7 is acid and above 7 is alkaline. The optimum pH level you should strive for is 7.365. Basically, acidity lowers the pH of the body and this creates the perfect environment for cancer cells to thrive, and the number one cause of cancer is a lack of oxygen in the cellular environment.
By eating alkaline foods you are ensuring that your body is supplied with oxygen.
Cancer cells, or free radicals as they are also known, are anaerobic - they thrive in oxygen depleted environment, meaning that they can't survive in an oxygen rich environment. Therefore, when the body and blood is too acidic, it creates an anaerobic environment, the perfect breeding ground for any number of ailments to fester.
When the body is in an alkaline state, it makes it difficult for disease to manifest, and so by following a diet rich in alkalising foods, you are reducing the possibility for bad cells to exist.
The pH Miracle by Robert Young is an excellent book for this. It explains this in great detail and it makes perfect sense. There is also myriad websites with lists acid forming and alkalising food.
2. Go vegan
Animal products are acidic and you want an alkaline body. Meat and dairy create mucus in the body and mucus acts like glue, resulting in clogged elimination organs (more on this below at point 6).
Aflaxtoxins are carcinogenic - they are fungi found in peanuts, cashews, peanut butter and stored grains - and stored grains are sadly what is fed to cows (and most farmed animals). Sadly, the elusive happy cow is just that: elusive. Agriculture has slowly turned into agribusiness in this day and age of factory farmed animals. They do not graze happily on green grass pastures as they would outside of an industrial setting. Instead, they are fed grain, which in addition, is usually GM, which comes out in their milk. The problem with GM grain is that the grains have been genetically engineered to be pesticide resistant, meaning that they can withstand the pesticides which are sprayed onto the crops (yet another reason to avoid GM foods!).
You can think of factory farms as giant concentration camps for animals. They know what's coming! Furthermore, in order to keep the animals in such close confines in the factory farm setting, they are vaccinated and often receive growth hormones and antibiotics in order to prevent the spread of disease. All of this ultimately comes out in their milk, which of course when consumed by humans, also ends up in our bloodstreams. You are what you eat... and what the animal that you eat, eats!
There's many other reasons aside from the ill effects that it can have on your health, to abstain from meat and dairy products, such as the cruelty of the dairy industry, and the impact that cattle farms have on the environment.
The same goes for chickens, aside from the cruelty of caged animals, chickens are often fed growth hormones to speed up their growth which remains in their bodies and comes out in their eggs, and the chicken that people eat. This is, quite literally foul - excuse the pun! As you can well imagine, the fast food industry is the absolute worst offender - minimum care for maximum profit.
3. Eat 80% raw and living food, 20% cooked - cooking at boiling point for 3 minutes kills ALL enzymes
Enzymes are essential for the proper functioning of every living thing, including the human body. They are required for everything we do, from blinking to DNA repair. We could not function without them. Vitamins, minerals nor hormones can do their work without enzymes, yet whenever we cook food above 50C, we destroy them.
Raw and living foods (such as sprouts - alfalfa, mung beans, lentils etc) are full of enzymes and are so, so, so good for you. Just soak 'em 12 - 24 hours depending on the grain, drain and rinse and in a few days, hey presto, sprout city.
Unfortunately in this day and age, illness is a business run by pharmaceutical companies. I for one do not believe that that these businesses are interested in curing anything - they are more interested in selling drugs.
Also check Dr Norman Walker - this dude lived till he was 116 and ate primarily only raw and living foods and juices.
4. Start each day with a green juice
I cannot stress the importance of this one. Chlorophyll is the substance in plants that allows them to absorb light from the sun and convert that light into usable energy - when we drink green vegetable juice, be it from wheatgrass or any other green vegetable, we are quite literally drinking liquid sunshine!
Every living thing depends on sunlight for its existence, including us!
Plants take in the carbon dioxide that we give off, and in return, they give us oxygen - it's a really cool cycle. In addition to this, chlorophyll is related chemically to blood, with the main difference being that the main atom in hemoglobin (bloods oxygen transporter) is iron, while in chlorophyll it's magnesium. Chlorophyll contains a powerful blood builder that's said to increase red blood cells, improve circulation, ease inflammation, oxygenate the body and counteract free radicals. Not only is a daily green juice liquid sunshine, it is also quite literally liquid oxygen!
Wheatgrass is the Grand Daddy of the green juice, containing vitamins A, C and E, as well as a compound called Laetrile which is believed to also have anti-tumour properties. Is better than a cup of coffee (which incidentally is hugely acidic - a no, no)
I have championed spirulina for ages and take this regularly, either in powder or pill form, however there is controversy as to whether or not it's alkaline. According to Robert Young, author of The pH Miracle, because it is an algae, it is very acidic... but life is all about balance...
Along with most fruits, beetroot and carrots are very sugary and are to be avoided by anyone recovering from the big C - sugar suppresses the immune system and feeds cancer cells by causing blood sugar levels to spike. Once that happens the body releases insulin to bring blood sugar levels back to normal. One of insulin's many functions is to promote cell growth - it doesn't discriminate between good and bad cells.
5. Drink pure spring water, if not spring then filtered
Tap water is heavily treated and full of chlorine and heavy metals - You can still drink it and your body will filter it, however this puts unnecessary stress on your liver. Spring water is by far the best option as it contains natural minerals, but unfortunately, unless you live close to a natural spring, drinking 2 litres of Evian everyday could ruin you financially!
Alternatively, you should drink filtered water where possible. We are made up of 70% water and 30% mass - essential for every bodily function. Proper hydration is required for cells, tissues and organs. You can re-mineralize water by adding a pinch of celtic sea salt or Himalayan salt.
6. Colonics and detoxing
Yep. I'm afraid so. Not just for celebrities and the posh! It doesn't matter how healthy your diet is, if your intestines are impacted with rotting fecal matter, bacteria will seep back into your blood stream, resulting in fatigue and a general feeling of being run down. It'a called toxemia. As discussed above in point one, it makes the blood environment once again acidic.
Most people, no matter how healthy their diet is, are carrying around impacted fecal waste which when the pipes get backed up, the stagnant food (dairy, wheat, meat, fish, processed food) hardens and rots which inevitable will make us sick and tired - it is the same principle as leaving an empty rubbish bin overflowing - you wouldn't do it, because it begins to rot, and it stinks!
An unhealthy colon impacted with built up fecal waste also means that the good, essential nutrients are unable to be adequately absorbed and reduces the production of good bacteria. The walls of the small intestine are lined with nutrient absorbing type hairs known as villi. Basically as food makes its way through the digestive system through the colon, the villi draws in the nutrients as food is passed through, and so if the intestine is clogged with rotting waste, the nutrients of the food you have eaten are unable to be absorbed as optimally as they should be.
The state of your colon really does have a lot to do with your health generally, and in fact Dr Norman Walker, one of the pioneers regarding colon health attributes 80% of disease in people results from an unhealthy colon. This explains why people get run down and tired, suffering from all sorts of ailments – fatigue, eczema, etc… The shit (excuse the pun) quite literally continues to decompose and rot, and ultimately seeps back into the blood stream. Yuk.
Check the book on Colon Health by Norman Walker - very well known and respected.
7. Fasting
Much research has been done into the benefits of giving the body a break from digestion and allowing cells to regenerate by having one to three day vegetable juice fasts. I did a 7 day fast earlier in the year at a retreat in Thailand, and I am not kidding, it was the best thing I have ever done for my body in my life – and after experiencing how fantastic and healthy I felt after that, I made a pact to myself that if I ever get any secondary cancer, I will be checking myself right back in!
I would recommend this to everyone for an annual body tune up – hey, we book our cars in once or twice a year, but how often do we take care of our own health?
Having said that, you don’t need to go to a retreat to not eat, although it is much easier with the guidance of experienced staff, and the support of fellow fasters! You could do it at home, however it does require a lot of discipline.
Fasting and colonics are talked about at length in the pH Miracle book, as well as many books on juicing and de-toxing.
DO NOT put anything on your skin that you wouldn't eat.
There's a reason why most products have warnings about skin irritations and getting shit in your eye - because they are incredibly toxic – if it has a warning on it that it might irritate, it’s probably not really wise to use it.
As a general rule, you shouldn't put anything on your skin that you wouldn't actually eat yourself. This includes most sunscreens (petroleum based!) as well as hair dyes! There are so many natural alternatives you can use which are environmentally friendly, as well as friendly for you - in the long term.
I have found that moisturising with coconut or almond oil works really well. Almond oil in particular is an excellent emollient for the skin - it's actually used in a lot of beauty products, but I just apply it in its concentrated form to my skin, straight from the bottle. I've also found that when I have had bouts of eczema, almond oil is one of the only moisturisers that doesn't actually irritate my skin further.
If you have dry hair or a dry scalp, you could also massage coconut oil into your hair to help replenish lost moisture. I discovered this little trick when I lived in India - there's a reason why the women there (and also in Sri Lanka) have such thick, shiny, healthy looking hair - apparently every Indian mother sits down once a week in the evening with her daughters to give her a head massage using coconut oil. It stimulates the hair follicles which promotes growth, as well as moisturises the hair. I love this idea, and I love coconut oil and have been doing it ever since.
Mashed up avocados also makes an excellent mask for dry skin. Apply to any dry areas, leave on for a few minutes and then rinse off. Your skin will feel amazing after this!
Made whilst listening to Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan - Hawk
