In 2003, Chris Wark faced a life-altering diagnosis: stage IIIc colon cancer. Instead of following the conventional chemotherapy route after surgery, he chose to focus on nutrition and natural therapies to heal his body. His journey led him to develop dietary and lifestyle strategies that he credits with his recovery and continued health. Chris Beat Cancer is a platform where he shares his experiences, interviews with other holistic cancer survivors, and insights from doctors and experts, all with the goal of empowering others to take control of their health.
The Foundation: Nutrition and Natural Therapies
Chris Wark's approach centers around the idea that the body has an innate ability to heal itself when given the right tools. Nutrition plays a vital role in this process, providing the body with the necessary building blocks to repair and regenerate. Natural therapies complement nutrition by supporting detoxification, boosting the immune system, and addressing underlying imbalances.
The Importance of Fruits and Vegetables
A cornerstone of the Chris Beat Cancer diet is the emphasis on consuming a high volume of fruits and vegetables. The Centers for Disease Control and the National Cancer Institute recommend at least five servings per day, but Wark advocates for an optimal intake of ten or more servings daily. This can be challenging to achieve through traditional meals, which is where juicing comes in.
Juicing for Nutrient Density
Juicing is an efficient way to extract a concentrated amount of nutrients from vegetables, making it easier to reach the recommended daily intake. Wark shares a recipe given to him by his naturopath as part of his anti-cancer diet, which he consumed almost daily as an afternoon snack.
Chris's Recipes
Mushroom Burger Recipe
*Anticancer Food Fact: Aromatase is an enzyme that converts testosterone into estrogen in the body. Excess estrogen is harmful and can fuel cancer growth. White button mushrooms have been found to suppress aromatase by 60%, better than any other vegetable or mushrooms tested.
Read also: Hemsworth Diet and Fitness
Ingredients:
- 1 pound white button mushrooms, stemmed
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1.5 tablespoons olive oil
- Whole-grain buns or lettuce for serving
- Burger fixings of your choice
Instructions:
- Pulse the mushrooms in a food processor until finely chopped but not blended.
- Combine the chopped mushrooms and salt in a large mixing bowl. Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes.
- Add the vinegar, oats, and pepper. Knead the ingredients together until well incorporated.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- Knead the mixture once more.
- Divide the mixture into 6 equal balls and press each ball into 4-inch patties on parchment or wax paper, ensuring smooth, rounded edges.
- Heat olive oil in a large cast-iron skillet or frying pan over medium heat. Pan-fry the burgers in batches of 3 for about 4 minutes per side.
- Serve hot on a toasted whole-grain bun or over lettuce, topped with your favorite burger fixings.
Simple Meal Example
- Cooked squash in the skins with sauce.
Instructions:
- Place the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over high heat.
- Divide the sauce among the cooked squash in the skins.
The Giant Salad: A Staple Meal
Wark emphasizes the importance of incorporating a "Giant Salad" into one's daily diet. This salad served as his staple meal during his healing journey, and he estimates having consumed it over a thousand times. The beauty of the Giant Salad lies in its simplicity, quick preparation, and adaptability to individual needs.
Building Your Own Giant Salad
While the name suggests a large quantity, the size of the salad can be adjusted to suit individual appetites. The key is to include a variety of vegetables to maximize nutrient intake. Wark recommends incorporating a wide range of vegetables, even if it means using a small amount of each.
Additions to the Salad
- Kimchi: A spicy Korean version of sauerkraut made with fermented cabbage, onions, garlic, and pepper. Kimchi is rich in vitamins, minerals, and beneficial lactic acid bacteria, earning it recognition as one of the "World's Healthiest Foods."
- Brazil Nuts: Add BRAZIL NUTS to your salad too, for the selenium content, which is known to reduce cancers too, google it.
- Garlic: I would add chopped up garlic too.
- Spinich, and kale: I would toss in some spinich, and kale into my salad as well.
Salad Dressing
Kimchi can be used to spice up the salad dressing by blending it in a blender.
Other Considerations
- Protein: To enhance the protein content of the salad, some individuals choose to add a boiled egg. However, it's important to note that some sources suggest that animal protein may be cancer-promoting.
- Healthy Fats: Instead of using olive oil, coconut oil can be used since it cures candida as its a FIERCE antiinflammatory, and some say candida is the precursor to cancer. Walnut oil is said to be a natural ALA, cancer fighting tool that is all natural so a little drizzle of that would be great along w/ coconut oil, and yes, coconut oil is a very healthy oil.
Addressing Digestive Issues
Some individuals may experience bloating or gas after consuming large quantities of raw vegetables, particularly broccoli. Chewing food thoroughly and eating slowly can aid digestion.
Oxalic Acid Content
Raw vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage contain oxalic acid, which some sources recommend steaming or boiling to reduce its concentration.
Read also: Bulking Like Chris Bumstead
Additional Tips and Considerations
Supplements
- Mushroom Supplements: There is a mushroom supplement I took copious amounts of called Garden of Life RM-10.
- EPICOR: Look into EPICOR too, its a kind of fermented yeast type product that was accidentally found to keep people amazingly healthy that worked at the plant making it for YEARS….so when people stopped calling in sick, they looked into it.
- Vitamin D: Vitamin D is known to keep cancers down, most americans are deficient in that.
- Pancreatic Enzymes: You should really check out pancreatic enzymes which are known to be the cleaning agent that goes into our bodies and gets rid of foreign matter like scarring, and tumors.
- Chlorella and Blue Green Algae, and Spirulina: I use chlorella and blue green algae, and spirulina in my daily shakes too with natural vitamin C like AMLA or CAMU-CAMU…i dont use synthetic anymore.
- Vitamin E: Also try Vitamin E to build your immune system up strongly.
- Cayenne: Cayenne is amazing. Take a pepper with turmeric to make is more than 10x stronger than when taken alone.
pH Balance
Keep your PH over 7.5 also, since cancer is found in most cases with high acid people wiht PH under 7.0.
Detoxification
Hi Liz, what my diet does is it puts massive amounts of raw nutrients into your body that it can use to detox, repair and regenerate. The body can heal any cancer. The goal is to give your body what it needs to heal.
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