Seven or so years ago I was taking a course from one of my most highly esteemed and well-loved mentors about working with cases of diabetes and blood sugar dysregulation. As one tool, my instructor had suggested that we have our clients utilize dietary tracking along with a glucometer to test both fasting and post-prandial (after meals) blood sugars in order to see how different foods affect their own personal blood sugar. This mentor also taught me that if I’m going to ask my clients to do something, it’s better if I’ve done it myself, so I know how much it costs, what a royal pain in the rear it is, how much time it takes, and so forth.
As the conscientious student I am, I took on the experiment. I did not expect to learn that I was dipping into pre-diabetic territory. But finding this out may have saved my life because I took it seriously and made changes. On the death certificates of my predecessors, there is a preponderance of cause of death listed as cancer. From my training as a homeopathic practitioner, I know to look in family histories and see that if diabetes has been visiting, cancer is not so far behind.
What I found was that carbohydrates were killing me. Every time I had any kind of grain, even in very small amounts, my blood sugar went into pre-diabetic territory and stayed there for a good long while. Thankfully a small amount of dark chocolate was a safe zone, not all was lost. I had been eating gluten free for years after having been practically incapacitated by joint pain, but cutting out the rest of the grains and all forms of sugar, including natural ones and most fruits, was a whole other level. I’m not saying you would need to do this, I’m saying I needed to because my system was dysregulated by these foods.
Later when I bemoaned to my naturopathic oncologist that this shouldn’t be happening, that I had taken every possible action I knew of to prevent cancer, she helped me reframe. She pointed out that given the pathology report and the timeframe, my tumor should have doubled at a rate more than 10x what it did, which I have come to understand means that the things I had been doing had been life-saving. Turns out that I was a cancer prevention rock star!
The first book that came into my life as I was asking questions and deciding about what my first step would be was suggested to me by my colleague, dear friend and classical Chinese medicine practitioner. As a result of reading “Keto for Cancer” by Miriam Kalamian, I dove in head first at calorie restriction and macronutrient balancing for myself, and, more importantly, I learned about the book “The Metabolic Approach to Cancer.”
This book introduced me to the existence of naturopathic oncologists, Doctors of Naturopathic Medicine who have done 2 years of extra training and residency in working with cancer patients. This was a gold mine for me in terms of having someone on my team who would discuss all of the various aspects of every option fully and straightforwardly, both conventional and integrative, so I could make great choices.
This book also further helped me understand the nature of cancer as a metabolic disease. It aligned with my understanding of disease in general as an issue of susceptibility of the person’s terrain. If the terrain is strengthened, healing can occur. Knowledge and appropriate action can effect change.
Cancer is a disease of energy metabolism caused by damage to the mitochondria, the power house of the cell. Cancer cells grow and spread using sugars as their main fuel. Elevated glucose and insulin levels promote proliferation of cancer cells, anti-apoptotic signaling (apoptosis is the auto-suicide of cells that are going awry, it keeps us healthy), cell cycle progression and angiogensis. Lots of big terms that are all also factors consistent with cancer.
What’s happening with glucose in our systems is not just about what we are eating, it is also about our level of muscle use and muscle mass. Active muscles help keep our glucose and insulin in check. It’s also about our cortisol levels (sleep, stress) as they can greatly affect blood sugar even with ideal eating.
Homeopathy has value to add when it comes to helping the system get back onto the rails with blood sugar balance. These strategies do need to be individualized to the situation at hand, but there are organ support therapeutic, endocrine support, adaptive, and miasmatic strategies that can help an individual to achieve improved glucose and insulin management.
Mitochondrial damage happens in about 5% of cases due to something genetic, and in about 95% of cases due to something that has to do with environmental and/or lifestyle factors. Hmmm, 95% ENVIRONMENTAL and LIFESTYLE factors. This is preventable most of the time. With the appropriate education, commitment and societal change, we could stop losing so many people to cancer. Let’s do it!
This is not just about individual lifestyle choices, this is a societal issue as well. For a short sampling of the extent to which we are affected by the current state of pollution, check out Breast Cancer Action Network and also, we can look to the European Environment Agency to be the voice of caution that we seem to ignore here in the US.
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with cancer or is being evaluated for cancer, if you or someone you love has a family history of diabetes or cancer and you want to learn how to best prevent it, or if you or they want to effect a change in the process of existing cancer, I suggest beginning by reading “The Metabolic Approach to Cancer“.*
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with cancer or is being evaluated for cancer, I strongly recommend considering all of your options, including having a skilled Naturopathic or Integrative Oncologist on your team from the very start. Homeopathy, chiropractic, craniosacral therapy, Chinese medicine and mind-body based practices were also key therapies that were included in my experience.