Healthy food, healthy you

When they hear the word 'cancer', women get very overwhelmed. Let me share with you some insights which will ease your mind when you hear this dreaded word. Understand the disease and how it is treated with the help of good nutrition. Follow my tips and it will surely make any woman feel empowered.

For women, hope, faith, positive attitude and good nutrition is the best way to prevent, retard and reverse cancer. Over the years of working with cancer patients I realised all bodies have cancer cells and a nutrient malnourished woman's body generates even more cancer cells.

A well-nourished woman is the key to nip cancer. It is not one solitary ingredient to triumph over but a synergy of different antioxidants available from different food groups.

I have to tell you the abundance of foods that I prescribe to my woman clients suffering from cancer. It boosts her immunity making her strong mentally and physically.

Cancer cells feed and grow on sugar; natural or processed. The first thing I do is completely cut out sugar from her diet and pile on her plate with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fibers and seasonal, local and organic foods.

Let me explain to you how these changes can help a woman. It may block or stop free radicals from reproducing cancer cells in her body or block the free radicals from reaching its target or reacting with the target.

If cancer cells are produced in her body, they help in doing a cleanup job acting as suppressing agents and immunity boosters. So, I am constantly adding on Beta-carotene, lycopene, vitamin e, vitamin c, selenium, allium and cruciferous group of vegetables; the most powerful antioxidants in your war against cancer.

Prevention is better than cure and the wonderful ingredients that I have found in our Indian diets have all of these. That is the reason that Indian women have a lower rate of cancer when compared to women from other western countries.

Beta-carotene: Pumpkin is a must daily and tons of coriander. Sip on saffron water as well.

Lycopene: Cooked tomatoes have the most amount of lycopene. One can easily make soups or gravies or toss it in your dals.

Vitamin C: A powerful and well-known antioxidant, vitamin C is found in the tiny awala followed by a guava. A little bit of awala can be added to your vegetable juice or salad daily.

Vitamin E and selenium: Some of the richest sources are the grain barley followed by brown rice. If tossed in with garlic then it just boosts your selenium and yet gives you just the right amount of vitamin E.

Allium: These can make you cry but there is a possibility that it may speed the body's elimination of carcinogens. These vegetables are onion and garlic.

Cruciferous vegetables: Women add mustard leaves (sarso), cabbage, and cauliflower as they help detoxifying cancer-causing chemical.

Every Indian woman is familiar with the Indian spice box which let me tell you are your medicines for cancer. Turmeric helps fight all cancers. Combine that with pepper and cow's ghee to make its potency even higher.

Cinnamon helps to cut sugar cravings and reduces blood sugar levels. Cumin, fenugreek, cloves, Tulsi, black pepper and cardamom have a wide range of health-promoting phytochemicals which help protect you against cancer.

So let all women add these wonderful drugs into their daily diets and reduce the risk and even the progression of cancer. Let me tell you that this is a 100 per cent fad-free guide that will boost your overall health and help build your family and your own resistance to diseases.

- Specialist at Health For You