Eat to Prevent and Maybe Reverse Cancer
“For example, three hours after eating a cup of broccoli sprouts, the enzyme that cancers use to help silence our defenses is suppressed in our bloodstream to an extent equal to or greater than the chemotherapy agent specifically designed for that purpose, without the toxic side effects.” ~Dr. Michael Greger, Nutritionfacts.org
When I lived in Beirut, Lebanon in 1983, I ate the best food of my life even though I was right in the middle of an international conflict and a civil war. It was there that I first ate microgreens, like purslane, in salads and almonds when they were green.
I discovered foods that I had never even seen in a grocery store. Now those very foods are being touted as the healthiest foods on earth. What I observed is that foods were being consumed in varying stages of maturity. People absolutely went wild when green almonds came in season. Families sat by the Mediterranean on summer evenings tossing the green casings into a large pile while children ran around with sparklers.
What has happened when it comes to the plant kingdom, which may be our salvation when it comes to a healthy body and mind, is we made it boring. Somewhere along the way meat became the king of foods, and the diversity of the plant kingdom slowly faded into oblivion, only to be revived by elite chefs charging big bucks for a salad the size of a tea cup.
These foods were the staples of the working class and villagers, who enjoyed vibrant health, while the wealthy fell to diseases of excess. In Beirut, we were often cut off from the rest of the world because of the Civil War, but the fertile Bekaa Valley provided a cornucopia of fresh fruits and vegetables, and they were cheap.
What was lost has now been found, and the small tub of broccoli sprouts in the photo above cost me $4 at Whole Foods. They came from a relatively local farm, but I was discouraged by the plastic packaging. I am now looking for a way to grow my own.
The truth is that cancer has been on the rise since the end of World War II, and many elements of our lives have changed since that time, none more than our diet, however. Even Lebanon’s cuisine has become meat-centric since the war ended and prosperity returned to the region.
Plants are on their way back, and that is an exciting development when it comes to our health. What many have referred to disparagingly as “rabbit food” may just be the food that will help us regain the health that is our birthright and reduce rates of diseases like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.
Now that is something to look forward to.