Can Onions To Prevent Cancer

Hi,

I lost my mom to Bile duct C 2 weeks ago. She put up a very brave fight, smiling and laughing all the way.

God was there for her and us, because she never had to go through the sufferings that this disease brings and had a very happy time with her family, living life to the fullest.

 My question and concern is, my mom ate a very good and healthy diet of home cooked simple food, she had yogurt 3 times a day and never ate her meals without onion.She never ate out.

 From what I have read, yogurt and onion together with garlic prevent cancers, then what went wrong in my mom's case ?

 Her elder brother has also been diagnosed with cancer but of the throat, and he too has always believed in eating healthy food.

 How do we prevent this disease....shouldn't diet provide an answer ?

 

On 9/8/2008 my moms memory wrote:

Hi,

I lost my mom to Bile duct C 2 weeks ago. She put up a very brave fight, smiling and laughing all the way.

God was there for her and us, because she never had to go through the sufferings that this disease brings and had a very happy time with her family, living life to the fullest.

 My question and concern is, my mom ate a very good and healthy diet of home cooked simple food, she had yogurt 3 times a day and never ate her meals without onion.She never ate out.

 From what I have read, yogurt and onion together with garlic prevent cancers, then what went wrong in my mom's case ?

 Her elder brother has also been diagnosed with cancer but of the throat, and he too has always believed in eating healthy food.

 How do we prevent this disease....shouldn't diet provide an answer ?

Hi

I know there are many people who strongly advocate that poor diet is the sole cause of cancer and others that stress is the cause, while others advocate that genetics play a heavy role in developing cancer.  I believe it is all of the above.  I also was closely observant as to my diet and never drank or smoked but yet I was diagnosed with cancer of the left tonsil - which is primarily a cancer found in men who are or have been smokers/drinkers.  I beat all the odds!  It is just the luck of the draw - one person can abuse every rule and still never have cancer while others like your mother and myself (and many others) do every thing by the book and still wind up with it.  I know God has a purpose for everything so I don't question "why me" - I just look for the purpose. 

Diana

Poor nutrition as one possible cause of cancer has been of interest to me as well since I too felt my diet on the whole was a healthy one. Here's a link that offers some information why what we felt was "healthy" may not have been after all. http://www.communicationagents.com/emma_holister/2004/12/12/ This gave me a better understanding of why supplements are such an important part of our healing process. _____________________________________________________________

On 9/8/2008 Dlynn1210 wrote:

 

On 9/8/2008 my moms memory wrote:

Hi,

I lost my mom to Bile duct C 2 weeks ago. She put up a very brave fight, smiling and laughing all the way.

God was there for her and us, because she never had to go through the sufferings that this disease brings and had a very happy time with her family, living life to the fullest.

 My question and concern is, my mom ate a very good and healthy diet of home cooked simple food, she had yogurt 3 times a day and never ate her meals without onion.She never ate out.

 From what I have read, yogurt and onion together with garlic prevent cancers, then what went wrong in my mom's case ?

 Her elder brother has also been diagnosed with cancer but of the throat, and he too has always believed in eating healthy food.

 How do we prevent this disease....shouldn't diet provide an answer ?

Hi

I know there are many people who strongly advocate that poor diet is the sole cause of cancer and others that stress is the cause, while others advocate that genetics play a heavy role in developing cancer.  I believe it is all of the above.  I also was closely observant as to my diet and never drank or smoked but yet I was diagnosed with cancer of the left tonsil - which is primarily a cancer found in men who are or have been smokers/drinkers.  I beat all the odds!  It is just the luck of the draw - one person can abuse every rule and still never have cancer while others like your mother and myself (and many others) do every thing by the book and still wind up with it.  I know God has a purpose for everything so I don't question "why me" - I just look for the purpose. 

Diana

Shemay

I have heavily researched on the internet and listened to others on this site - including you and Tre - about proper diet.  While I have changed my diet somewhat (and added certain vitamins at Tre's suggestion) I found out that I had been eating the right foods for most of my life.  Now look at my grandmother who lived to be 92 yrs young.  She was from Kentucky (which in the U.S. eqates to good old southern fried foods) and ate what she wantever she wanted.  She never thought of taking any supplements and probably never heard of many of the ones you all talk about on this forum.  She never gave a second thought to sugars or pastas - just whatever sounded good to her she ate.  She never had cancer, never had heart trouble of any kind, and was basically very healthy until shortly before her death at 92 yrs young.  My mother's side of the family are known for longevity - living long healthy lives (80s and 90s are common) while my dad's side of the family is a different story - same lifestyles in general - same types of diet - but none have lived to see 70 yrs until my dad (who was diagnosed with cancer at 56 and a serious heart condition at 57).  There are many out there like my grandmother - who defy all the rules and still never have cancer.  I believe diet is very important but to say that eating the wrong foods is the (only) reason one has cancer is absurd.  Your friend on this forum that advocates how our lifestyle is filled with stress and causes our cancer is also partly right.  It is an inclusive picture.  As I said - poor diet, lack of exercise, stress, and poor genetics all play a part in cancer running awry.  You can cut down on the factors where you can but you can't run from genetics. 

Diana  

You are absolutely right Diana I'm sure it is a combination of many many factors that we don't understand completely at this point. I do know though just from my own experience that since I was tested and had my own deficiencies identified and take the supplements that were recommended to counteract those deficiencies, I am stronger and healthier and have never felt better in my life. I thought I was strong and pretty healthy before my cancer diagnosis, but there is no comparison as to how well I feel now. Now my friend Mo....the man who had his terminal prostate cancer "cured"........has gone back to all his old habits eating whatever appeals to him. He's of Polish background and is a big meat, fat and carb eater. He too is feeling strong and healthy while he gives up nothing and mostly forgets to take his supplements.......(well I'm pretty well jealous of the whole thing...:0) ) but it just goes to prove your point. We just all need to do what makes us feel confident that we're on the right path. Take care......Sheila

 

On 9/8/2008 Shemay wrote:

You are absolutely right Diana I'm sure it is a combination of many many factors that we don't understand completely at this point. I do know though just from my own experience that since I was tested and had my own deficiencies identified and take the supplements that were recommended to counteract those deficiencies, I am stronger and healthier and have never felt better in my life. I thought I was strong and pretty healthy before my cancer diagnosis, but there is no comparison as to how well I feel now. Now my friend Mo....the man who had his terminal prostate cancer "cured"........has gone back to all his old habits eating whatever appeals to him. He's of Polish background and is a big meat, fat and carb eater. He too is feeling strong and healthy while he gives up nothing and mostly forgets to take his supplements.......(well I'm pretty well jealous of the whole thing...:0) ) but it just goes to prove your point. We just all need to do what makes us feel confident that we're on the right path. Take care......Sheila

Are there any tests that can help identify certain genes responsible for this dreadful disease. You wrote about being tested for some deficiencies and taking supplements ?

 

 

On 9/8/2008 my moms memory wrote:

Hi,

I lost my mom to Bile duct C 2 weeks ago. She put up a very brave fight, smiling and laughing all the way.

God was there for her and us, because she never had to go through the sufferings that this disease brings and had a very happy time with her family, living life to the fullest.

 My question and concern is, my mom ate a very good and healthy diet of home cooked simple food, she had yogurt 3 times a day and never ate her meals without onion.She never ate out.

 From what I have read, yogurt and onion together with garlic prevent cancers, then what went wrong in my mom's case ?

 Her elder brother has also been diagnosed with cancer but of the throat, and he too has always believed in eating healthy food.

 How do we prevent this disease....shouldn't diet provide an answer ?

Dear "My Mom's Memory",

I'm so sorry about your mom. I will keep you in my heart in the coming days and weeks. 

OK, to try to answer some of yours and Diana's and Shemay's questions:

I'm getting ready to mix a metaphor - I hope you all will understand what I mean when I do.  

There are so many discussions and theories about what causes cancer, how to prevent it and how to treat it: many of them hit a lot of nails squarely on the head, but still miss the boat. A good example is the new information released by Johns Hopkins (I have a copy, but I want to finish reading thru it and digesting it before I post it on the board):  Johns Hopkins is finally admitting that cancer cannot be cured or even effectively treated with chemotherapy and conventional treatment alone, but that alternatives such as nutrition and herbs are necessary also.  This is a wonderful statement for them to make - they hit a lot of nails on the head.  But in the statement they make some broad sweeping generalizations  that do not take into account all types of cancer and the fact that everybody's body chemistry is different - what works for one person may not work for another with the exact same disease in the exact same location at the exact same stage - therefore they miss the boat.

Last evening I responded to a message by a lady just diagnosed with breast cancer - she doesn't yet know what kind of breast cancer, how involved, anything yet - she however was very scared because she's been a heavy smoker all her life and is afraid they'll find cancer everywhere.  Yet as I told her, some people smoke heavily all their lives and never are diagnosed with cancer, while some other heavy smokers get it but just have a spot or two when it's found and they have surgery and chemo and never another bit of problem.  On the other hand, people like an aunt of mine who never smoked a day in their lives, who were never much around people who did smoke, have severe lung cancer and die.  And we still don't know why this happens.

I think these mysteries and paradoxes happen because just as every human's body chemistry and genetic patterning is different, perhaps every incidence of cancer might be different, or might become different in its effort to survive.  I know that the nodule that was removed from my lung and biopsied in February this year showed some different characteristics than the primary tumor that was removed from my breast in 2002.  Could chemo have caused the changes, or my diet, of having moved from one town to another and now living along a major street and breathing in more carbon dioxide and drinking water higher in lime content?

As for mom that ate yogurt and onion and garlic - yes these are certainly healthy foods - or should be healthy foods.  I'm not so certain about the yogurt as being a cancer fighter - there is some indication that dairy may cause more harm than good - cow's milk is the LEAST digestible of all milk proteins that form a standard part of the industrialized world's diet. It's also highly mucogenic - which means it causes production of mucus, which traps bacteria, which cause infection, which stresses the immune system. If milk products DO contribute to disease, it's not your mom's fault for eating so much - she was just following traditional wisdom and thought she was doing a good thing.  Maybe she was, maybe she wasn't.  Until the more of the conventional medical world is willing to go the same was as Johns Hopkins, we may never have the answer.

Garlic and onion have been shown many times over to be extremely powerful cancer fighters.  But when we rely on these foods as we buy them from the supermarket, we take an extreme risk:  what might they have been contaminated with? Onions have one of the lowest pesticide risks of most produce but if mom always bought her onions from a grocery store rather than farm fresh organic, she still could have been getting ingesting a lot of pesticides. Onions have a lot of oil content - that means heavy duty work for the liver and gall bladder, which is where she had her cancer. Garlic also is very oily - more work for those organs and the structures associated with them. 

Just conjecture on my part, but perhaps for mom, too much of a good thing? (please do not misunderstand me - I am not trying to assign blame, but rather offer one possible explanation of how her disease might have come about.

Research has shown that cancers can become chemo resistant - we have people posting to the board who  have fought this and are fighting this - it's a huge challenge.  But it shows that cancer is just like any other living organism - all it wants to do is survive, and it does what it has to do to accomplish that.  Maybe  exposure to small or moderate amount of cancer unfriendly nutrients over  a prolonged period of time contributes to mutation and nutrient resistance. The only things I really mega-boosted when I started my own herbal regimen were grape seed extract and conjugated linoleic acid.  I couldn't afford the more exotic stuff, or the more formally incorporated regimens like DMSO, so I hit the GSE and CLA really hard, and tried to back it up with moderate amounts of lesser cost known cancer fighters. It seemed to work, but we caught my metastasis pretty early so I wasn't trying to conquer huge areas of cancer. I wonder if the cancer had been more widespread if my regimen would have been strong enough - could maybe worse cancer have required much higher mega doses and on the lesser amounts just over time become resistant to what I was taking.

Who knows - maybe I will someday find that out.  I hope not, but it is a possibility I must realistically acknowledge.  In the meantime, I'm going to keep researching, keep doing the best I know to do, and enjoy the gift of every day that I'm given. 

How do we prevent this horrible disease?  The same way we live our lives: one day at a time, one effort at a time.  No guarantee we can do it, but no reason why we shouldn't try (and EVERY reason why we SHOULD try.)

So few people have access to TRULY nutritious and healthy foods in today's highly industrialized and processed world. Very few places that have truly clean air and water. So we need to do our individual best to avoid pollution that may contribute to a weakened immune system. For the person who lives in a city, that is hard. If you or I can't avoid it, then we need to do our best to detoxify.  that means not just fruits and cruciferous veggies, but also things like green tea made with pure fresh water, frequent gentle kidney, liver, and colon cleansing, or more concentrated cleansing every 4 - 6 months, or at the very least, once a year. 

It means buying organic whenever and wherever we can.  And it means thoroughly washing and rinsing all produce, whether it's labeled as organic or not.  It means cooking it with pure water rather than tap water.  It means forsaking the convenience of the microwave, and also staying away from the barbecue or charbroiler.  It means not letting animal protein be more than 30% of the diet. It means purchasing the very best supplements you can afford to buy (and hoping that they've been made with pure uncontaminated products.)

It means exercising - both our bodies, spirits, souls, emotions, and minds. We have to use not only all the natural resources, but ALL the personal faculties the universe provided us. It means eating a certain food or using a certain supplement of doing a certain exercise not just because one person says it's good for us, but checking it out and then adopting it because we find a "preponderance of evidence" that it's good for us - MORE than just one or two people recommending it.  That's why I recommend two specific web sites often - I've repeatedly seen the nutrients, supplements, herbs, therapies detailed on these two sites recommended on numerous other sites over and over and over, and I've seen evidence that many other people vouch for the quality of these choices.   

I think the best answer to cancer prevention and cancer treatment is honest self-evaluation and change. We have to constantly be asking ourselves "what am I doing, and what could I be doing better?"  I'm not talking about running willy-nilly from one thing to the other, never dwelling on any one thing.  Not at all - in fact I am recommending just the opposite.  If I believe that vitamin D-3 is a powerful cancer fighter (which I actually do,) then I should do my best to make sure I not only get adequate intake of vitamin D, but that I also get adequate intake of the other nutrients I need to utilize the vitamin D (specifically vitamin C and calcium.)  How can I tell if I'm getting enough?  Ask my doc to order a simple blood test  - AFTER I've done a little internet research or talked to a knowledgable person to learn which blood test(s) is appropriate. Not saying go to the doc and say "I want this, this, this and that", but rather tell the doc "I'm concerned that I may not be getting enough ______.  I read on the internet that ______ levels can be determined with tests A, B, C, and D.  Do you think I need any or all of those tests and could your order them for me, and work with me on getting my levels up if I'm deficient?"

Most vitamin and mineral levels can be checked this way. Doesn't mean they should all be checked.  If your concerned about something, look up the signs and symptoms of deficiency, as well as toxicity.  Be careful - self-diagnosis can be a very dangerous thing.  But if you're getting the recommended daily value of something, yet exhibiting signs of not having enough, then maybe something is interfering with absorption and/or metabolism, and it needs to be checked out rather than just boosting/mega-dosing with supplements.

That's another consideration:  mega-dosing with stuff to prevent or treat cancer.  With some stuff it's ok, with some stuff it is very potentially dangerous.  That's why I recommend that people seek the help of a certified or licensed naturopath, homeopath, or other type holistic practitioner.  Those people have experience with mega-boosting nutrients and have criteria they use to help determine who will benefit best from what. I'm not saying they're always right - certainly NO ONE is always right -but it's on the whole a lot safer than trying to do it on your own.  I basically designed my own herbal therapy, but I have a lot of nursing and herbal experience to call upon, and I'm fairly well able to read a scientific extract and understand what it says. Doesn't mean I'm always right either, but it's probably less of a risk for me to try it on my own than for the average bear. For any one who has the availability of a professional and the means to pay for their services, I very highly recommend going that route.  For those who don't have the availablility and means, I recommend that they read, read, read.  Verify everything as much as possible before choosing it.  And don't put all your eggs in one basket.  Paw paw (graviola), yew bark extract, gumby gumby, curcumin, etc, may well be wonderful cancer fighters, but there is no guarantee that they will work equally well for every person.  Pick a main avenue of attack, then back it up with as much of the more common and known remedies as possible. 

(That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!)

I hope at least something I've said in this long ramble has helped.

Again, for "My Mom's Memory",  Hang in there, keep taking it one day at a time, and do indeed be thankful that your mom's passing was quiet and gentle. That surely is a testament to the excellent and loving care she received from both you and your family. 

Now it's time to take good care of yourself, with the same kindness and gentleness you took care of your mom.

Sincerely,

Tre

 

P.S. a very important point I neglected, especially as concerns mom and diet:

Life is a paradox.  The more I research and learn about alternatives for cancer, the more I find that is a paradox. e.g. Thiamin, vitamin B-1 has long been used to promote healing after surgery.  B1 is not being tested by the medical community as an adjunct to chemotherapy. They're finding that for some cancers, especially colon cancer, Thiamine inhibits tumor cell growth. BUT, too much thiamine enhances tumor cell growth.  No agreement yet on how much is enough and how much is too much.

So, mom's diet may have been a paradox.  While it's possible a lot of dairy and high oil foods may have stressed her digestive tract, the otherwise wholesomeness of those very same foods may have signigicantly contributed to her ability to bravely fight the disease, laughing and smiling to the end.

So how are we to know the best things to do? That's perhaps the greatest paradox of life: we know a lot but really we don't know much. So we do the best we can and enjoy the gift of every day as best we can!

Sincerely,

Tre

Are there any tests that can help identify certain genes responsible for this dreadful disease. You wrote about being tested for some deficiencies and taking supplements ? ____________________________________________________________ Hi My Moms Memory I'm sure Tre would be the best person to ask about tests that would identify genetic markers for cancers. I do know there is a lot research taking place in this field but am not aware of conclusions....... The tests I had done to identify my body's deficiencies were done by my naturopath and my alternative/medical doctor. Here is a list of some of the tests they do. I did not have all of them but did the BTA........Dark Field Microscopy.........Hair Analysis.... ...........Cardiovascular Risk Panel-1 .........Vitamin And Mineral Panel -1 _____________________________________________________________ Vitamin And Mineral Panel -1......... This Includes levels of Vitamin B12, Thiamine, Folic Acid, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin D, Magnesium, Calcium, Phosphorous, Zinc, Ferritin ______________________________________________________________ Cardiovascular Risk Panel-1 ......... This includes the traditional risk factors of cholesterol (HDL/LDL) and triglycerides as well as lesser known risk factors such as Lipoprotein (a),high sensitivity C Reactive Protein, Homocysteine, Bioavailable Testosterone ______________________________________________________________ BTA Testing http://www.chiroweb.com/mpacms/dc/article.php?id=36339 ______________________________________________________________ Dark Field Microscopy............. This is an experimental tool for assessing immune system stress ______________________________________________________________ Hair Analysis............ This is a screening test for detection of elevated levels of toxic metals such as Aluminum, Arsenic, Cadmium, Lead, Mercury, as well as an experimental screening test for nutritional minerals . _____________________________________________________________ Infectious Disease Testing by PCR ......... Bacteria, Viruses and Fungi are being implicated in chronic degenerative disease states such as certain cancers, cardiovascular disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, infectious arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) is a highly sensitive laboratory method for detecting infectious disease agents such as Chlamydia, Mycoplasma, Nanobacteria, Borrelia, Herpes, Human Papiloma Virus, Epstein Barr Virus ---------------------------------------------------- Antioxidants, Amino Acids and Essential Fatty Acids This sophisticated test panel tests for free radical oxidative stress which is at the source of many degenerative diseases. It tests for oxidative stress biomarkers, levels of Vitamin E, Coenzyme Q10, and other antioxidants, and levels of essential amino acids and essential fatty acids. The Amino Acids are building blocks for protein and polypeptides which includes the brain's neurotransmitters. This test can detect an individuals need for specific amino acids and essential fatty acids. Cardiovascular Disease, Cancer, Depression, Attention Deficit Disorders and Schizophrenia are a few of the conditions which are affected by deficits in these molecules. .. _____________________________________________________________ Hair Analysis This is a screening test for detection of elevated levels of toxic metals such as Aluminum, Arsenic, Cadmium, Lead, Mercury, as well as an experimental screening test for nutritional minerals . ______________________________________________________________ Spectracell Intracellular Nutrient Analysis This highly innovative test measures how vitamins, minerals, antioxidant systems and other essential micronutrients actually function within your white blood cells. This test uncovers deficiencies in vitamins and essential micronutrients that the standard static tests may miss and if not corrected may impair your health and contribute to long term disease processes ______________________________________________________________ After testing supplements were recommended for my own particular deficiencies. Some of them though are recommended generally to strengthen one's immune system. If you would like me to send you a list of them for you to research let me know. Take care .........Sheila

Dear Tre,

Thank you so much for your wonderful words. They have come at a time when I need them the most.  

I have entered this web site after my loss, and don't feel alone any more.

I agree,too much of a good thing is equally bad, maybe or maybe not as you say. In my mom's case she wasn't eating yogurt and onion because they were supposedly good foods, but because she liked them.

In fact, many of us end up eating more of something we like, whether good or bad, and thats where the confusion begins and ends. 

So I guess I have a lot of reading to do, because till date I have only believed in eating good healthy food(which is what I like too)...never took supplements just an occasional dose of multivitamins. Have been recently taking black strap molasses and have been thinking  about flax seed oil too.

But I feel apart from eating,knowing our body patterns and watching for tell tale signs is equally important. The more you know yourself the more you can spot changes.

Thanks once again, and do share any information you would want with me.