We live in a day and age where cancer has become very prevalent in our lives. In the last one year alone, I have heard of no less than ten friends, relatives of friends or friends of friends who have either passed away or have been diagnosed with cancer. Some of these people are only in their 30s! It is quite a tragedy when one meets an untimely end due to the ravages of cancer. In these days, I rarely hear of anyone dying of old age anymore -- it is always due to some form of illness like high blood pressure, heart disease, and the greatest killer of them all being cancer.
Why is cancer so prevalent today? I'm not a medical practitioner so I do not profess to know the actual reasons -- I can only speculate on the causes. Perhaps it is the air we breathe, polluted with chemical waste that spews forth from the bowels of our industrial parks. Perhaps it is the vegetables we eat -- our greens have been treated with large amounts of insecticide (just rub the surface of an apple with your fingers and you will know what I mean) to make them _appear_ fresh and healthy. Perhaps It is the electrical devices that emit forth radiation that our bodies so readily absorb. Perhaps it is our lifestyles. Perhaps it is the diet that is rich in proteins and fatty foods. Perhaps it is due to the day and age where fastfoods like McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken are considered reasonable alternatives to traditional food. When greens are neglected, our livers have to work overtime to expel the toxins that are contained within these foods. As for those toxins that our liver cannot expel, it accumulates. Perhaps these toxins will come back to haunt us one day in the form of cancer. Yet another possibility is that our ancestors did not live long enough to experience cancer (but I highly doubt that, seeing that cancer can strike people in their 20s and 30s).
Well, there are certain things we have no control of, like the air we breathe, the insecticides, the absorption of radiation etc, but we certainly can control our intake of food! For the last two and a half years, I have been keeping a very close watch on my diet. I am still not at the point where I am leading a totally ascetic existence, but at least I've done my best to minimize my intake of the most harmful substances, e.g. meat and fatty foods. I'm currently on a diet that is mostly fish, fruits, greens, wholemeal bread, unsweetened soy milk and oats. I still eat meat every now and then, but I try to keep it to at most one helping every two days (life is meaningless if you cannot enjoy your food once in a while :)). As a side benefit, I've discovered that keeping away from meat really helps you lose weight or keep your weight steady at the very least. So, if you would like to stay in shape, please take some pity on poor Mr Porky Pig as he walks around the mud without half his bottom.
Someone sent me the article below several days ago, which I found summarizes most of the important points concerning the prevention of cancer (at least for a layman like myself). Except for the formatting of the text, I have not modified the document in any way. I would encourage all my friends out there to at least take the time to read it, as it might save yourselves or your loved ones one day. Cancer is no longer something we can feel complacent about.
Why is cancer so prevalent today? I'm not a medical practitioner so I do not profess to know the actual reasons -- I can only speculate on the causes. Perhaps it is the air we breathe, polluted with chemical waste that spews forth from the bowels of our industrial parks. Perhaps it is the vegetables we eat -- our greens have been treated with large amounts of insecticide (just rub the surface of an apple with your fingers and you will know what I mean) to make them _appear_ fresh and healthy. Perhaps It is the electrical devices that emit forth radiation that our bodies so readily absorb. Perhaps it is our lifestyles. Perhaps it is the diet that is rich in proteins and fatty foods. Perhaps it is due to the day and age where fastfoods like McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken are considered reasonable alternatives to traditional food. When greens are neglected, our livers have to work overtime to expel the toxins that are contained within these foods. As for those toxins that our liver cannot expel, it accumulates. Perhaps these toxins will come back to haunt us one day in the form of cancer. Yet another possibility is that our ancestors did not live long enough to experience cancer (but I highly doubt that, seeing that cancer can strike people in their 20s and 30s).
Well, there are certain things we have no control of, like the air we breathe, the insecticides, the absorption of radiation etc, but we certainly can control our intake of food! For the last two and a half years, I have been keeping a very close watch on my diet. I am still not at the point where I am leading a totally ascetic existence, but at least I've done my best to minimize my intake of the most harmful substances, e.g. meat and fatty foods. I'm currently on a diet that is mostly fish, fruits, greens, wholemeal bread, unsweetened soy milk and oats. I still eat meat every now and then, but I try to keep it to at most one helping every two days (life is meaningless if you cannot enjoy your food once in a while :)). As a side benefit, I've discovered that keeping away from meat really helps you lose weight or keep your weight steady at the very least. So, if you would like to stay in shape, please take some pity on poor Mr Porky Pig as he walks around the mud without half his bottom.
Someone sent me the article below several days ago, which I found summarizes most of the important points concerning the prevention of cancer (at least for a layman like myself). Except for the formatting of the text, I have not modified the document in any way. I would encourage all my friends out there to at least take the time to read it, as it might save yourselves or your loved ones one day. Cancer is no longer something we can feel complacent about.
