Super Immunity (9 page)

By adopting a protective lifestyle and diet, and making changes to improve our health and lower our risks of serious disease, we can reap substantial benefits. Only serious effort begets real and positive change, however. The same is true with anything in life. When we eat for Super Immunity, we protect ourselves not just from diseases, but also from the harmful effects of medications. Great health can be yours, but you can't buy it; you must earn it.

In May 2003, I was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. My physician at Sloan Kettering discussed with me the possible courses of action in treating my “chronic” and deadly disease. At that moment, one option was “wait and see,” since I was not in immediate mortal danger. Somewhere up the road, it was suggested, I would probably need to take active measures, such as chemotherapy, to “manage” the disease. During the first panic-stricken days, my sister took me straight to Dr. Fuhrman. I believe the lessons I learned from the doctor over these past years have literally saved my life.

The first thing Dr. Fuhrman did was to explain to me how toxins that are linked to cancers such as mine are often lodged in people's fat tissues. He taught me how important it would be to lose weight and, with it, many of the toxins that might be causing cell dysfunction. In addition, he taught me what foods to avoid and what I needed to eat for optimal nutrition, what foods could help my body best to fight disease … and how to prepare them. When first I tasted a “blended salad,” I lost my interest in eating altogether. But, now I love my high-nutrition meals. In addition to prescribing this new way of eating, Dr. Fuhrman also recommended certain supplements that would best complement my eating regimen.

I lost about forty pounds in the first three months of eating for life. My cholesterol level dropped from 238 to 164. My other blood readings were excellent as well and have remained so. And, in visit after visit to the oncologist, it did not seem that my disease was advancing beyond the original tumor that was located in my groin. After two and a half years of discussion about the possibility of undergoing systemic chemotherapy, the tumor melted away, and has not returned. In fact, no signs of the disease have been detected since. And let's hope they won't be.

I don't think my energy levels were ever higher than they are now, even as a youngster. And, at sixty-three years old, I am a walking advertisement in support of Dr. Fuhrman's brilliant approach to fighting disease and achieving optimal health. I still report to my oncologist for periodic checkups, and they are now pleasant enough. Tests regularly indicate that my body chemistry is normal and that there are no tumors to be found. I consider myself a healthy woman enjoying life to the max. And, although I wish no one harm, I would not be surprised if I outlived the traditional oncologists I have met (unless of course they take the hint from me, and begin attending to their nutrition!).

—Irene Zabransky

C
ertain plant foods contain significant amounts of substances that enhance human immune function and defenses against acute illness and chronic disease. Creating delicious recipes and menus to utilize these super foods is the eventual goal (see the final chapter); however, learning why I include the foods I do, and why I mix and match certain foods together, is critical to your long-term success.

It has only been within the last ten years, more than thirty years after we landed the first man on the moon, that scientists have begun to identify certain compounds in plants that have powerful anticancer effects in humans.

More recently, the powerful anticancer and immune system–enhancing effects of greens, mushrooms, onions, pomegranates/berries, and seeds has been specifically noted by scientists. This new attention has led to testing in human studies. To date, in every study outcome, even a moderate amount of these foods offered significant benefits. For example, adding mushrooms to the diet lowers cancer rates, adding onions to the diet lowers cancer rates, adding greens to the diet lowers cancer rates, and adding blackberries to the diet lowers cancer rates.

However, my argument and recommendations are for people not just to eat these foods, but to eat these foods
in significant amounts and simultaneously
. The inevitable consequence of this shift to a diet with a range of immune system–strengthening and cancer-fighting foods is Super Immunity—immunity that can help you age in confidence, not fear, and in excellent health. We have to learn that illness and disease are not the inevitable consequences of aging, and that it is in our control
not
to get sick.

The line of research testing a combination of super foods in humans must continue, and certainly much more funding and support are needed. As we move forward with further studies and documented benefits of super foods, we don't want to miss the boat that is already pulling away from the dock right now, as a result of the preponderance of evidence available today. To stagnate in the muck, thinking that we don't have
sufficient
evidence yet, is a costly decision, and part of the reason why this book is so important.

My experience treating over ten thousand patients over the last twenty years using micronutrient-dense diets has demonstrated extra-ordinary therapeutic potential over a wide range of serious health conditions. I have seen the remarkable clinical response in a diverse patient population with diseases ranging from asthma and allergies, to heart disease and cancers, and have seen thousands of individuals improve and lengthen their lives. I strongly encourage you to start right now; don't wait until a health tragedy occurs that could have been averted.

The following case study reveals the incredible benefits of Super Immunity. I am
not
claiming that all or even most cases of advanced cancer can be reversed; however, I have had the fortunate experience to see dramatic cases like Pam's occur—cases demonstrating the power that superior nutrition has to enhance long-term survival.

C
HILDREN'S BOOK AUTHOR
P
AMELA
S
WALLOW
sought my help in December 1997 when she learned that she had metastatic ovarian cancer that had spread into her lungs and abdomen. Her lungs had to be drained of fluid so she could breathe. Pam knew that she had to do everything possible to fight this normally deadly disease. The statistics for this type of cancer in stage 4 (which is where she was when I met her) show a five-year survival rate of only 10 percent and an even smaller ten-year survival rate.
¹
This is because stage 4 ovarian cancer is difficult to completely remove with surgery, and the available chemotherapy is unable to eradicate all the remaining cancer.

Pam had been told by several physicians that the only option for her in her difficult battle was chemotherapy and more surgery. Pam thought that nurturing and strengthening her immune system would be essential to her healing, so she investigated further; and soon she was referred to me.

After we spent time discussing all the ways the immune system has to fight cancer and attack isolated cancer cells as they recur, Pam began to feel more hopeful that she might live. Pam did go through chemotherapy for ovarian cancer, but when the treatments made her feel ill, she made green shakes, loaded with micronutrients. She and her husband began growing organic vegetables, and they bought an extra freezer so that they could keep for winter the produce that they weren't able to consume right away. What happened next is that Pam beat the statistics!

Today Pam still follows the immune-strengthening protocol I made for her fifteen years ago; she has not had any recurrence of cancer and has remained in excellent health. She says, “Dr. Fuhrman's approach to health is so sensible and rewarding, I can't imagine living any other way.”

The process of “methylation” involves the addition of a simple four-atom molecule (one carbon and three hydrogen atoms, known as a “methyl group”) to a gene.

Modification of human DNA by adding (or removing) these methyl groups on genes is associated with increased risk of cancer. In the science of cancer causation, it is well observed that methylation and demethylation create changes on the DNA molecule, and these changes occur early and ubiquitously in cancer development. When a gene is methylated or demethylated, it works differently than was intended—the methylation having turned either on or off certain parts of the DNA. As a result, methylation changes interfere with normal cell division, allowing some cells to grow wildly—which is cancer.

Consider the following interesting study conducted using over a thousand smokers or ex-smokers. They coughed up sputum from deep in their lungs to harvest lung tissue cells. The lung cells were analyzed for methylation in eight key genes, selected because those genes had been associated with cancer risk. Researchers counted cells with high methylation and used that as a marker for cancer risk. Then the researchers looked at the subjects' diets. They found that cancer risk, as defined by methylation in the cells, was lower in those who ate more leafy green vegetables.

It is very unusual to be born with DNA damage. That sort of damage builds up over time from exposure to toxins or a lack of micronutrients. The micronutrients in greens not only prevent such damage; they also repair and rebuild any damage that may have occurred.

The changes to a cell's DNA that lead to cancer are called “epigenetic.” They are gradual changes that occur over time and accumulate until there is sufficient change to overcome normal cell control mechanisms. Cancer doesn't just pop up; it occurs after many years of self-abuse, and along this trail to carcinogenesis the changes can be stopped and repaired long before cells become cancerous.
²

People who eat more leafy green vegetables have what we might call less risky DNA—less aberrant methylation—the studies find. The methylation phenomenon, its link with cancer, and the prevention of aberrant methylation by green vegetables has been noted in various studies as well.
³
The phytochemical compounds in green vegetables—remember our earlier discussion?—not only prevent aberrant methylation and demethylation but actually enable cell repair mechanisms to repair improperly methylated segments of the DNA.

Here's how the proposed model works:

More Green Vegetables → Less DNA Methylation → Lower Risk of Cancer

This can also be expressed in an opposite model:

Less Green Vegetables → More DNA Methylation → Higher Risk of Cancer

Green vegetables such as kale, cabbage, collards, and broccoli, plus some nongreen vegetables such as cauliflower and turnips, are called “cruciferous” vegetables. They are named for their flowers, which have four equally spaced petals in the shape of a cross—hence the Latin word
crucifer,
meaning “cross-bearer.”
All
vegetables contain protective micronutrients and phytochemicals, but cruciferous vegetables have a unique chemical composition: they have sulfur-containing compounds that are responsible for their pungent or bitter flavors. When their cell walls are broken by blending or chopping, a chemical reaction occurs that converts these sulfur-containing compounds into isothiocyanates (ITCs)—an array of compounds with proven and powerful immune-boosting effects and anticancer activity.

Over 120 ITCs have been identified, and the various ITCs have different mechanisms of action. Because different ITCs work in different locations in the cell, and on different molecules, they can have combined additive effects, working synergistically to remove carcinogens and kill cancer cells. Furthermore, some ITCs have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, or even immunologic effects. ITCs can inhibit angiogenesis, the process by which a tumor promotes blood vessel growth to feed its multiplying and growing cancer cells with nourishment. Cancer-prone and malignant cells secrete factors that stimulate new blood vessel growth, thus promoting their own survival and spread. A fundamental step in the transition to cancer is the successful promotion of blood vessels, so foods that inhibit angiogenesis are well-recognized and powerful cancer fighters. (We'll talk more about this when we get to mushrooms!)

Certain ITCs detoxify and/or remove carcinogenic compounds—especially the green cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli and brussels sprouts, which are rich sources of the ITC sulforaphane.
⁴
Sulforaphane prevents carcinogens from binding to the DNA and being able to initiate cancerous changes in the cell, and it activates enzymes that protect cells from any DNA damage that has occurred.
⁵
ITCs give each cell its own protective shield, isolating destructive toxins and neutralizing or compartmentalizing them so that they cannot do damage. But if DNA does indeed become damaged, the growth of a damaged cell can be stopped to allow for DNA repair, or the cell can be programmed for cell death (again, “apoptosis”).

The processes that protect the inside of cells from damage can only be fueled by these compounds in green vegetables. Several ITCs, including sulforaphane, indole-3-carbinol, and diindolylmethane, have been studied for their purported ability to stop growth or induce death in cancer cells such as those involved in breast and colon cancer.
⁶
Other ITCs with strong anticancer activity include phenylethyl-isothiocyanate (PEITC) and allyl isothiocyanate (AITC).