Tag: Cancer

Posted on

St. John’s Wort: An Ally Against Cancer

St. John's Wort

With the warm days of summer approaching, I begin to look for the sunny beauty of the humble little flowering plant, St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum). Called St. John’s wort because it blooms around the feast day of John the Baptist (June 24th), the plant grows prolifically in southern Oregon, particularly along roadsides and in meadows. The bright yellow five-petaled flower resembles a halo; when pressed, the flowers release a crimson liquid that symbolized to early Christians the spilled blood of their beloved St. John.

Continue reading “St. John’s Wort: An Ally Against Cancer”

Posted on

Can A Ketogenic Diet Cure Cancer?

Ketogenic Diet

I’ve recently received a number of queries from patients and practitioners who are curious about a handful of studies and anecdotal reports that indicate a ketogenic diet may help to curtail cancer growth. For those not familiar with the ketogenic diet, it’s a very low carbohydrate diet that contains moderate amounts of protein and a high percentage of fats.

I prefer to think of foods in their whole, natural forms (for example, almonds, apples, asparagus, blueberries, oatmeal, olives, potatoes, rye, and salmon) instead of in reductionist terms of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Keeping this in mind, the primary purpose of dietary carbohydrates is for fuel—the body converts carbohydrates via the liver into glucose, which is used for everything from powering muscles to brain function. When confronted with a lack of carbohydrates, the body switches to burning fats for energy by converting fats (again via the liver) into ketone bodies.

Continue reading “Can A Ketogenic Diet Cure Cancer?”

Posted on

The ETMS Toolbox

ETMS Toolbox

At the Mederi Centre for Natural Healing, the foundation of our healing approach is rooted in traditional medical philosophies and practices, infused by the latest modern scientific research. Over the past twenty-five years, I’ve combined these complimentary modalities into a unique healing protocol that I call the Eclectic Triphasic Medical System (ETMS).

The main tools of the ETMS toolbox are botanical, nutritional, dietary, lifestyle, and pharmaceutical. The six general objectives of the ETMS tools are to:

  • Enhance Vitality (The Vital Force)
  • Increase Efficiency and Restore Harmony and Rhythm
  • Increase Movement
  • Correct Nutritional Deficiencies and Excesses
  • Remove Toxins
  • Target the Cancer (or other disease)

Continue reading “The ETMS Toolbox”

Posted on

Improve Your Health With Black Pepper

Although it’s often said, “You are what you eat,” it’s more accurate to say, “You are what you absorb.” You may be eating a perfect diet and taking handfuls of supplements, but if you aren’t absorbing what you’re consuming, your body won’t have the raw materials needed for energy, maintenance, and repair. Without proper absorption and assimilation of nutrients, health problems inevitably arise.

One of my favorite botanicals for improving digestion and absorption is black pepper (Piper nigrum), which is the dried fruit of a flowering tropical vine. I find it interesting that black pepper plays such a prominent role in our cuisine, and that so many of us enjoy grinding fresh black pepper onto our food at the table. Along with adding flavor to our plate, we’re taking advantage (perhaps intuitively) of the health promoting benefits of this ancient spice, which include the ability to enhance the absorption of many of the medicinal nutrients in food. Although black pepper is well established in Western cuisine, the use of the spice originates in south India, where it has been appreciated for thousands of years not only for its culinary appeal, but also for its myriad health benefits.

Continue reading “Improve Your Health With Black Pepper”

Posted on

You Can Reduce Your Risk of Cancer

Nutrition to Treat Cancer

The recent detailed U. S. national report on cancer (released every two years) revealed that despite the billions of dollars poured into cancer research and innovative treatments, current approaches are not delivering on their promise of a cure. In fact, progress against the disease is excruciatingly slow, and much of the decline in cancer deaths in the U. S. is the result of decreases in smoking, not cutting-edge technological treatments.

After 25 years of research and working with thousands of people with cancer, I am convinced that the search for a “magic bullet” that will cure or eradicate cancer is misguided. As long as we continue to focus primarily on eradicating cancer, we are missing the bigger picture—the terrain in which cancer evolves.

Continue reading “You Can Reduce Your Risk of Cancer”

Posted on

Does Surgery Spread Cancer?

When someone is confronted with a diagnosis of cancer, in the vast majority of cases doctors recommend surgery — often, as quickly as possible. The goal is to remove the cancer, with the hope that the person can go on to live a normal, cancer-free life. But unfortunately, the reality is often otherwise. For far too many people, cancer recurs; either at the primary site, or the cancer metastasizes, arising at sites distant from where the cancer originated, often in life-threatening areas, such as the lung, liver, brain, or bone.

Continue reading “Does Surgery Spread Cancer?”