Eat Better, Live Longer. Focus : Sugar and a perusal of the forests I am walking in as we fight cancer.

Blog 4/24/2024 – Eat Better, Live Longer: Focus: Sugar + a perusal of the forests I am walking in - re: Fighting Cancer.    

As part of Cathy’s battle, we have often lost ourselves in the plethora of “other than allopathic” approaches to fighting cancer.

There are vast forests of information out there and their corresponding success stories - “I did this and it cured my cancer, so you should do it too.”  Sifting through all this is daunting. But, we are learning creatures and we fight on through the forest in our quest for answers.   

We know that cancer is simply the mutation of a cell type that has grown uncontrollably vs dying and being replaced like it’s supposed to.  We also know that the mutation occurred in the body largely because the conditions were right. Ok, sure, there could have been a carcinogen introduced that freaked out a cell type – but, by and in large the environment created was of our own doing – our habits, our rituals, and what we eat and drink. 

These lifestyle choices we made were either conducive to cancer occurring in the body or they were not – they were hostile to cancer cells. I.e. “eat lots of antioxidants in your diet because they kill off free radicals, so you are less likely to get cancer”. (as an example)  

The first forest. I bought this great book called Foods and Their Healing power that went into detail about different diseases we suffer from and the healing power of different whole foods appropriate to each disease. I.e. – if you suffer from digestion issues and gallbladder problems – Belgian Endive is for you.

Anyway, the thing that sticks in my head about this book is the pie chart that broke down the contributing factors of cancer.

So, diet is the #1 contributing factor. Ok – that’s not really a surprise I suppose - If you eat a lot of junk, junk can build up over time and you are more likely to die prematurely.  

Another forest I stumbled into was the Chris Wark (chrisbeatcancer.com) Doctrine which essentially says – your body created cancer and your body can heal cancer if you give it the raw nutrients it needs and a great way to get those nutrients is to juice.

Ok there is goodness there – juice and smoothie all the anti-cancer power foods from the book I bought, and you will be healthier. That makes sense, there is logic there.   

The one take away I took from Chris Wark is – “Whatever you decide to do – keep it simple. Simple is sustainable. That makes a ton of sense.

The example he gave was: “I wanted to be the king of raw fruit and veggies. but in the end, I just decided to juice and eat one salad every day. There is a lot of value there --- if you make it too complicated, you won’t stick with it.

Another forest I have walked in …... and am still there really - The Truth about Cancer. This website’s lead magnet is an E book called “Remove cancers favorite food from your diet”. A well written 17-page document that walks the dog on sugar and how sugars (some more than others) help promote not just cancer, but the plethora of diseases that plague the human condition. There is also a CD and Book documentary you can still find called the Truth About Cancer.

Simple Read out: Remove it from your diet if you want to be healthier – or at least be aware of the type and amount of sugar you are taking on so that you can make better choices along the way.

I don’t know about you, but when I want to get my sugar fix on with that double Hot fudge sundae, I want to do it deliberately …. Not accidentally throughout the day because I wasn’t paying attention. For example, the average soda exceeds the recommended daily dose of sugar.  Ps – Diet soda is no better for you & often worse than straight soda.   

John Rankin, in his book Healed by Farm, also spends a lot of time on the evils of sugar and how it contributes to dying too early.  John is a good fella and customer of ours at Knoxville Market and I enjoy our chats about eating better.    

I had a hard time letting go of this sugar thread, so I spent some time on You tube and found a remarkable talk (The bitter truth about sugar) made about 15 ago by Dr. Robert Lustig, a pediatrician from the University of California at San Francisco. Dr. Lustig’s talk takes us through the last 50 years in this country and how sugar (HFCS) came on the scene and how it is largely responsible for a significant portion of our health issues.  

In addition to the intriguing history lesson, Dr. Lustig walks through each sugar’s biochemistry process in the body. This was fascinating and I now know a lot more about sugar(s), why they make you fat, give you diabetes, high blood pressure and set conditions for cancer and other disorders.  

I will not attempt to even summarize Dr Lustig’s talk, but will give you my very high-level Clint Eastwood characterization:

Glucose – The Good. Body needs it.

Ethanol- The Bad. It’s a toxin that we love to hate.

Fructose (and Sucrose) – the Ugly & a poison that plagues the human condition.    

So, if we know sugar is bad for us – so why do we keep eating more and more of it? In sum, there are two main reasons.

1) Sugar is addictive. As addictive as Cocaine according to John Rankin’s book, and

2) It is in literally everything – which is the real problem. It’s one thing to consciously blow your sugar allowance for the day (about 6 teaspoons a day. 1 teaspoon = 4 grams) with that double Hot fudge sundae - it’s totally another, to do the same thing the next day and not even know it – because you were not paying attention.

The next time you’re at the supermarket, read a label and ask yourself how many teaspoons of sugar is really in that serving. You will be surprised.  

Yesterday, I was being deliberate & had a bowl of ice cream with Cathy on the back porch… it was awesome. It tasted great, facilitated a moment…and I knew what I was doing. That felt pretty good.

Ok, I think I see the edge of this forest …. I wonder what new woodlot awaits me down the road.

Peace to you. And healthy (deliberate) eating.

Kevin and Cathy

Land Basket Farm

www.landbasketfarm@gmail.com

423.202.4924