Today is World Cancer Day. And while we all look at the extreme suffering every single cancer patient goes through, there is hope. Over 50% of those afflicted with cancer survive it and this statistic can increase if the mind and body can be supported by holistic nutrition from the date of the diagnosis.
While we all know this to be true, why are the rates rising? It’s because there is cancer within us.
The cancer of unkindness. The cancer of holding in. The cancer of insomnia. The cancer of not letting go. Nutrition can help you if you are willing to change your response to stress. The biggest killer and the biggest trigger for inflammation is stress. And inflammation is the biggest trigger for cancer. So how do you let go? It’s not easy, I understand. The three things below will help you release your stress, get better sleep and hence reduce inflammation levels.
Take out time for self. Running from one task to the other makes us feel overwhelmed and brain fogged. When we pause, our breath becomes calmer. A calmer breath calms down the immune system, repairs the gut and decreases inflammation levels. So for 30 minutes a day, every day, take time out to self-nurture. Choose what you love: it could be a walk in the garden, listening to music of your choice which you haven’t heard probably since your college days, or just writing some musings. Anything that releases your stress levels and gets you back in touch with who you are, works. The key is to do it every day, day after day to release anxiety and stress, which hold cancer and toxins inside you.
Do the child’s pose. Poor or disturbed sleep is a risk factor for cancer. Every single time I have had patients who have had disturbed sleep or insomnia, doing child’s pose just before you sleep really helps. So how do you do it? Ensure that you have finished your dinner by 7:30 PM so that you can do the child’s pose at 10:30 PM just before you sleep. Lie down in the position given in the graphic. You can use cushions, pillows, blankets under your knees – I usually do it on my bed so that my knees were cushioned, my face is resting on my pillow and my bum is pointing towards the ceiling. Put on your headphones and listen to some soothing music and lie in this position for 10 minutes. Do this daily for two weeks. You will be amazed at how quickly your sleep issues will get resolved. After your sleep issues are resolved, continue doing it for five minutes before sleeping every night.
Eat 20% less. Every single research has evidenced that if we eat 20% fewer calories than our bodily requirements, we turn on SIRT1, our anti-ageing gene. For example, if as per any height weight calculator, your calorific input on a daily basis should be 2000 calories, eating 1600 calories will activate your anti-ageing gene, thus reducing inflammation levels and risk for cancer. Good ways to do this is to increase the quantities of vegetables, since vegetables are naturally low in calories and full of antioxidants, you will drastically reduce your calorific intake. Swap snacks with fruits. Both vegetables and fruits also increase nutrient status and antioxidants in the body, which kill cancer cells. So you fulfil the purpose of activating your anti-ageing gene as well as killing the present cancer cells in your body by doing just these two swaps.
We are all born with cancer cells. When they grow to the proportion of being detectable under a microscope, we are diagnosed with cancer.
Whether you have cancer or you want to prevent cancer, doing the above three things is going to help you reduce the cancer activity inside you and prevent or reduce the chances of secondary cancers and metastasis.
Today, pledge. Live an unhurried life to reduce your risk of getting cancer.
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