Discussions

Long ago, when I was maybe 7 or 8, I remember my Mom talking to different people from time to time about what was good for a cold. That struck me as odd back then and I can still remember asking, " wouldn't it make more sense to figure out what is bad for the cold?"  
Over the next 20 or 40 years I thought a lot about what was 'bad' for colds and concluded that sleep, vitamin C, a LOT of water, a cocky attitude and an immune system supplied with every mineral it needed would make my body a very inhospitable place for a cold to attempt an invasion.  
Now, maybe it's plain luck or genetics or all of the above or just plain attitude that has kept me cold and flu free for decades, but something is working in my favour and I don't know what!  
Today, with cancer rampant amongst us and with advancing age I have begun wondering a lot about what is 'bad' for cancer and what I can do to make my body inhospitable to this deadly disease. I know about reactive approaches to it which bring down both our immune system and the cancer simultaneously and I feel that is akin to dropping bombs on enemy lines during a war with hopes the enemy will be obliterated and not us!  
What interests me is those people who take a proactive approach, either intentionally or unintentionally and live to a 100.  
What are they feeding their immune systems that makes them able to provide a healthy body for them while making it an unhealthy environment for cancer.  
One could spend months reading research on line and still be guessing-like half the world is doing. We're told to sleep well, exercise, don't smoke, don't drink much, stay out of too much sun, avoid a 1000 chemicals and toxic containers and I'm confused!! I think we're inundated with what not to do but I am more interested in 'what to do' to make my immune system so powerful that it will kill anything but me!!!!  
My question, which is to older people who have not had a problem with cancer yet or have beat it by boosting their immune system without stem cell transplants is this: what do you eat or not eat or supplement with??? I'm very curious.  
I'll begin with my thinking and hopefully hear others thoughts and maybe, just maybe like we did in grade 5 arithmetic, find some common denominators amongst our personal likes and/or dislikes that give us truly productive bone marrow that produces every cell in abundance that fights cancer. Not likely, most will say!! Reactive is the way to go, I've been told-chemo and such. I figure it's harmless to try being proactive so why not try to figure out using our brains just what it is that our stem cells need to function perfectly and then eat it every day??  
I am over 70 and these are my main things I do to treat potentially harmful cancer cells poorly and my immune system like my life depends on it:  
1) I avoid sugar-cancer eats it like candy!!  
2) I take folate(not folic acid)-for my bone marrow and white blood cells from stem cells made there  
3) I take A-for my bone marrow and white blood cells from stem cells(if I didn't get RDA in food)  
4) I take B12-for my bone marrow and white blood cells from stem cells(if I didn't get RDA in food)  
5) I take iron for healthy red blood cells to carry lots of oxygen everywhere-cancer cells hate that! Hard to get anywhere near enough without red meat! A large egg has only .06 mg of iron. You'd need bowls full trying to get enough from mixed vegetables and kale! Women need even more to have healthy red blood cells that carry oxygen to our cells making us poor hosts for cancer in my opinion. There are different RDA's for different aged women or different sized men and all are on the internet.  
6) I take protein for healthy cells of every kind to fight the cancer- lots of it, but rarely from red meat. Again, RDA for your body is on the internet.  
7) Water- a lot more than the 64 oz. I hear recommended. If my skin turgor test on my hand is poor or if pee is too yellow then I would be leaving myself at a disadvantage for even simple things like colds let alone cancer.  
Anyway, that's my perspective on being proactive. It doesn't matter if I get my 'A' from a pill or a carrot, or a combination, but those are the 7 on my mind 24/7 and I have never seen a multi or a meal that could do them all to my satisfaction every single day, so I have supplements ready for whichever I was short on at day end. I make use of a pill splitter to get as close to whatever upper RDA the Mayo Clinic suggests-I trust their judgement above all other google sites.  
If you are old and healthy or know someone old and healthy, could you please share some details about what you do specifically to support your immune system? I am very interested in knowing! When I meet people in their 90's I am pretty quick to start asking what they eat and my first one is always, " do you eat eggs every day?" People don't mind sharing that information-we all want to be healthy.  
Anyway, I hope to hear some input on this and thanks for the ears.  
Oh ya, last thing, they all eat eggs 6-7 times a week....me too!!(a common denominator)...  
Take care.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
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I read that and had a little chuckle about the what’s “good” vs “bad” when they generally mean the same thing for colds/flu. However suggesting people take vitamin A is not always the best it’s fat soluble and can reach toxic levels, as well as some A’s are bad for reproduction. Also getting cancer is a bit of a crapshoot, and add that things we know are bad for us in general we’re highly used 10,20,30+ years ago.

everyone has cancer cells. It is whether they become active or not. Maybe curlysiter would know the answer.

The more I read on health the more I feel the food industry is killing us. My grandmother lived to be well over 100 yrs old and she did not eat pre-packaged meals - or very rarely. I however had eaten far too many as I now realize how even the foods that are packaged as healthy or good for you, still have too many chemicals and ingredients that are not good for our bodies.  
 
It seems we need to get back to eating less processed food. I notice I feel better when I stick to food that I make. Of course you can get into the whole organic thing, but I think just removing those darned convenient foods from the freezer and returning to homemade foods can do a lot to increase our health

You can be very fit, perfect weight, drink ample water, get enough sleep, live a peaceful stress free life and still get cancer. There is no surefire way to not get it. Genetics and cells do whatever they want to do. The answer should more be along the lines of reducing the risks which it sounds like you are doing and have done so most of your life. Don’t drink, smoke or do drugs, exercise, eat balanced , practice proper hygiene and project yourself against disease. Screening that is in place for certain cancers should become common place testing like colonoscopy, mammograms etc but start doing them at 40. Don’t wait until it’s too late and untreatable in some cases. Unfortunately healthcare in Canada and MB is all about dollars and cents and it doesn’t work in the patients favour! Certain blood tests are being scrapped to cut costs, blood test are the most cost efficient screening tool out there! Fight and advocate for yourself when you don’t feel well, it could save your life! Trust your body.

The skin cancer that I had was not anything that I nor anyone else could have prevented. It was something that was determined before I was born and had an approximate age when it would appear...it was a given in my case. Most people don't understand, but the sun had nothing to do with it.  
 
After being diagnosed & getting it out, I changed a lot of what I ate. I already did a lot of homemade foods and did reduced sugar, but I started eliminating certain additives, improved on my food choices too, eating more real foods (including raw milk & other dairy) and less processed, natural cleaning products, no make up, sunscreen (I & many others believe those chemicals can cause cancer), basically cleaning up everything. I am still cutting down on plastics too and canned goods. It is always a work in progress.  
 
There is so much I can't control, one of them being all the unnecessary agricultural sprays that keep increasing and such. If only...  
 
The best thing that you can do is try your best to stay active (in the sun & in nature...trees give off a chemical that is good for you!) & healthy, be kind to others & keep a happy, positive attitude. Live a life full of purpose and be available for others. Make the years you have count.  
 
Edited by Flutterby, 2018-07-25 19:15:53

Oldest man in the world was just interviewed at 113 yrs young...asked his secret to longevity,his reply...sweets.  
everything in moderation.

While it's beneficial to your health to reduce your added sugar intake, the whole "sugar feeds cancer" myth is just that: a myth.  
 
http://www.cancer.ca/en/prevention-and-screening/reduce-cancer-risk/make-informed-decisions/myths-and-controversies/sugar/?region=on

jimjab said "Oldest man in the world was just interviewed at 113 yrs young...asked his secret to longevity,his reply...sweets.   everything in moderation. "

I saw that!

Brenda.. said "everyone has cancer cells. It is whether they become active or not. Maybe curlysiter would know the answer. "

I believe that too...

I don't know if I can agree with the idea of lifestyle really lessening the occurance of cancer, the reason I mention this has to do with the number of children that do get cancer. As a child the immune system has not really been challenged so that could make it easier for a child to get cancer, but with reasearch not being able to define the actuall trigger for the developement of cancer so many things are speculative.  
Could be wrong on this, but the idea of us all having cancer cell present seems strange to me. My understanding is that something affects the division of cell that results in a mutation of a cell, and the multiplied division of that mutated cell leads to a cancerous growth.  
The fight to defeat cance was to parts to it, one is looking for the triggers, and the second part is trying to kill, or remove a cancerous growth. Triggers seem to be smoewhat relative to the individual, as does treatments, which sort of leans me toward the idea that genetics play a very large part in cancer.  
Do processed food, or ingesting chemicals that are not a part of our diets from the far distant past contribute, I do believe it could be part of it, but one should remember that our body takes in chemicals by more than just eating.

Sorry for a greater degree of mistakes in my post.  
Message to self, "Don learn to proofread".

pinkflamingos said "I agree with the sugar avoidance especially. It has been proven to speed cancer growth so it's smart to avoid. As far as avoiding the sun, it depends on many factors including your skin type and tolerance. Burning is much more damaging than tanning, and I burn so I wear sunscreen year round. But if you are the type of person who spends your whole year indoors and one week unprotected at the beach, that is also considered to be high risk just because it is intermittently intense exposure.     I'm happy to see people taking care of themselves in a world where we often think of the present and forget the future. "

I burn very easily as well (I am truly Canadian...I am either red or white. lol), but have learned how to manage/lessen those chances and can still go out any time of day, and don't have to wear sunscreen. Technically I suppose, I would be one who should wear sunblock. I can tan, but it is light and I have to be careful to build my "tan" slowly.  
 
It is in those times of day when it is said by the system to stay indoors that you get the most vitamin D. This is what people end up missing if they only go out in the early morning & early evening. This vitamin is very important, so is worth trying to obtain naturally...and it is free.

My message was lost I think when I rattle on too long.  
In a nutshell I was saying that red and white blood cells are created from stem cells(as all of our cells are and stem cells are created from bone marrow so I thought it prudent that I take in everything bone marrow needs to keep it, and ultimately me, healthy.  
This says it better:  
White blood cells (WBCs), also called leukocytes or leucocytes, are the cells of the immune system that are involved in protecting the body against both infectious disease and foreign invaders. All white blood cells are produced and derived from multipotent cells in the bone marrow known as hematopoietic stem cells.

All cells including melanin in our skin to protect from cancer come from stem cells which are made in bone marrow so just one more reason to 'feed' my marrow the key ingrédients it needs.  
A light-absorbing pigment called melanin is produced in numerous compartments of each melanocyte. ... Melanin production gives the skin its characteristic pigmentation and increases during sun exposure to protect cells from the DNA-damaging effects of UV light.