Cancer Part 7 - Health Food Works

Two months after the operation, my father-in-law went back to the clinic for a blood test to check his PSA level. We were also anxious, as we were not sure of the impact of natural food. After three days, the doctor informed that the patient’s PSA had dropped to 18.9 μg/l. What a relief! It was joyful news for us. It simply meant, that switching to natural health food, had an impact on cancer. 26 July 1996, was a historical day. We found health food, as a solution to overcome cancer. We realized, that it was the unhealthy food caused cancer, and healthy food, that reclaimed health. To switch over to health food, is the most important thing, one needs to do, to be healthy.

Unhealthy food: Meat, egg & dairy products, white rice, fragrant rice, white bread, white sugar, white salt, mono sodium glutamate, ordinary soy sauce, ordinary oil

Health food:Vegetables and fruits, brown rice, whole grain cereals, whole meal (wheat) bread, grain-based sweeteners, sea salt, miso, organic soy sauce, olive oil for cold vegetable, walnut oil for hot dishes

Later, we learned that miso, to be explained in Chapter 5, is an excellent alternative to Mono Sodium Glutamate (MSG), which makes our dishes tasty and healthy. The use of miso transformed our food culture. It is used for making soup and enhancing taste of all forms of vegetables. Miso was initiated by the Chinese in the past; it was further developed into a health food in Japan. It is now part of the Japanese food culture. I never missed the miso soup, during my three visits to Japan, between 1993 and 2003.

Will a vegetarian diet lead to inadequate protein intake? Are you sure, you do not need to take food supplements? These are the frequently asked questions. Some of our relatives, even tried to persuade us to switch back to the ordinary food, as they felt that a vegetarian diet, was not suitable for growing children. To them, children cannot grow healthily, without consuming dairy products, egg and meat. My wife faced the most pressure, during her second pregnancy in 2000 and 2001. She continued with her vegetarian diet. Even during maternity leave, this health food remained. It did not matter, what others thought of us. The reality is, all of us in the family, are healthier than before. Is there a reason, for us to switch back to the normal diet, which is tasty but unhealthy? No.

I strongly believe, that the path to healthy living, involves consuming vegetarian food and raw food, as well as fasting. Switching to a vegetarian diet, has given my family, the fullest confidence. In the process, we faced various challenges and social pressures from the elders. Despite all these, we are not retreating from the way to good health. Simply, modern and traditional medicines, are not part of our family life. Since my wife, two children and I are healthy, we need no medicines.

Traditional perception of food and new perception on health food often stand at opposite ends. Most of our friends and relatives, are sceptical of our choice of natural, health food. How could a vegetarian diet, help to reclaim health, when even modern surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy cannot cure cancer? It was simply unacceptable to them. The doctors are regarded as the best persons, to prescribe medicines. All patients must listen to the doctors’ advice on cancer treatment. Yet, we took a totally different path. Would this alternative path, work in the long run?

29 October, 1996 was the time for my father-in-law to have a blood test again. We were hopeful. When the result was known three days later, his dropped further to 10.63 μg/l. Such a result, was not the achievement of natural vegetarian diet alone. In the last few months, the patient had practised “Tai-Chi 18 strokes”, a type of Qi Gong. He learned that, in China, patients practising Qi Gong, did not lose their hair or their appetite, after they underwent chemotherapy. The reason behind this, is that Qi Gong raises one’s energy level, and assists a person to change from a diseased state to a healthy one. My father-in-law believed that one has to practise Qi Gong, to reclaim health.

Walking the natural vegetarian diet path enabled us to learn more about food. What particularly needs mentioning is the potassium and sodium content in food in cancer treatment. If one’s normal meals contain more sodium than potassium, it may lead to many diseases and illnesses, including cancer in the later part of one’s life. Most processed food in the market contains salt, preservatives and colourings which are high in sodium. Avoiding these foods could prevent diseases in future.

By early 1997, our persistence in practising the vegetarian diet began to bring more encouraging result. On 3 March 1997, my father-in-law went for the fourth blood test and his PSA was 3.3 μg/l. It meant that his PSA has returned to the level of a normal person. His cancer cells were under control. The process of recovery took nine months.

The doctor was surprised by the cancer patient’s declining PSA and reversion of cancer cells to normal cells without taking his medicine. For one who is trained in western medicine, it was rather incredible. For those who understand food, its functions and impacts, reclaiming health is not merely a dream but can become a reality. What one needs is to understand more about food and change one’s diet gradually for health improvement.

We told the urologist that we had adopted the vegetarian diet approach in tackling cancer cells. He did understand that there is a possibility that other methods could assist in controlling cancer cells from spreading to other parts of the body. From then on, he did not advise my father-in-law to take western drugs to control cancer cells. The subsequent blood tests on 13 May and 12 August 1997 further confirmed the cancer cells were under control. My father-in-law’s PSA was 3.1 μg/l on both occasions. He was a normal healthy person by this blood test results. However, this did not mean that he could revert to his previous diet pattern, which was rich in sodium. He realized that a vegetarian diet is the only method to control cancer cells if he did not wish to take medicines. To continue living, he had to continue walking the vegetarian diet path with us.