A Doctor's Quest To Heal His Own Cancer With Food

November 16, 2011
Edible Healing

I was diagnosed with brain cancer about 16 years ago. I received chemotherapy and went into remission, but the cancer came back and I endured two surgeries and 13 months of chemotherapy. I asked my oncologist if I ought to change my diet to avoid another recurrence. His answer was perfectly stereotypical: "Eat what you like. It won't make much difference."

He was wrong.


The extensive research published in the last decade alone proves that what you eat can have a profound effect on your protection against cancer. But my doctor's answer was hardly surprising. It's a little-known fact that nutrition is barely taught in med schools, where the solution to most problems is a drug. And doctors don't trust patients to make lifestyle changes. I recall a conversation with a fellow physician at a conference after I spoke on the importance of a healthy diet in fighting disease. "You may be right, David, but people don't want to change," he said. "They just want to take a pill and forget about it." I don't know whether he's right, but after all the study I've done, I know it isn't true for me.

Discovering cancer-fighting foods

I spent months researching the healing powers of food before I fully grasped my own natural cancer-fighting potential. I met with a variety of researchers, scoured medical databases, and combed scientific publications. I traveled all over the world and consulted experts from nearly every continent.

In my quest, I discovered that the list of cancer-fighting foods is actually quite long. Some foods block natural bodily processes such as inflammation that fuels cancer growth. Others force cancer cells to die through a process that specialists call apoptosis. Still other foods assist the body in detoxifying cancer-causing toxins or protecting against free radicals. But most of them attack the disease on a variety of fronts. And they do it every day, three times a day, without provoking any side effects. To avoid the disease, it's essential to take advantage of this natural protection, and nurture it.

I've learned that the anticancer diet is the exact opposite of the typical American meal: mostly colorful vegetables and legumes, plus unsaturated fats (olive, canola, or flaxseed oils), garlic, herbs, and spices. Meat and eggs are optional. Through extensive research, I devised a list of the most promising cancer fighters, along with recommendations on how to make the most of their potential. Include at least one, and preferably two, at every meal, to maximize your protection.

Disease-proof your life


Best drinks for bettering your body


How to drink it: Sip 2 to 3 cups a day within an hour of brewing. Green tea must be steeped for at least 5 to 8 minutes—ideally 10—to release its catechins, but it loses its beneficial polyphenols after an hour or two.

Pomegranate Juice This juice, which tastes like raspberries, has been used in Persian medicine for thousands of years. Its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties are well confirmed; studies show it can substantially reduce the development of even the most aggressive prostate cancers (among others). In addition, drinking it daily slows the spread of an established prostate cancer by more than 50%.
How to drink it: Have 8 ounces daily with breakfast.

Season liberally for anti-inflammatory benefits



Stock a cancer-fighting shopping cart


Garlic, Onions, Leeks, Shallots, Chives The sulfur compounds found in this group (the alliaceous family) promote the death of colon, breast, lung, and prostate cancer cells. Epidemiological studies also suggest a lower risk of kidney and prostate cancer in people who consume the most garlic.

Sub out chicken and meat to prevent disease



Fresh and frozen fruit varieties provide year-round protection

Oranges, tangerines, lemons, and grapefruit contain anti-inflammatory compounds called flavonoids that stimulate the detoxification of carcinogens by the liver. Certain flavonoids in the skin of tangerines—tangeritin and nobiletin—can also help promote the death of brain cancer cells.

Berries Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, and cranberries contain ellagic acid and a large number of polyphenols, which inhibit tumor growth. Two polyphenols found in berries, anthocyanidins and proanthocyanidins, promote cancer cell death.

Enjoy antioxidant-rich dark chocolate

How to eat it: Enjoy about one-fifth of a dark chocolate bar a day guilt free. Milk chocolate isn't a good alternative because dairy cancels out the cancer protection of the polyphenol compounds.

To date, there is no alternative approach that can cure cancer, and I believe that the best of conventional medicine—surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, and soon, molecular genetics—must be used to treat this disease. But to neglect your own natural cancer-fighting capacity is folly. I've kept cancer at bay for 8 years now, and I attribute my survival largely to the changes I've made in my diet and lifestyle. I exercise and meditate more and eat wholesome anticancer foods on a daily basis. Still, the medical establishment is slow to embrace this approach. After my last screening at the university's cancer center, I stopped at the cafeteria and discovered eight different types of tea: Darjeeling, Earl Grey, chamomile, and several fruit-flavored herbal teas. Sadly, there was not a single packet of green tea in the lot.

Adapted by arrangement with Viking, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. From ANTICANCER, A NEW WAY OF LIFE by David Servan-Schreiber, MD, PhD.