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There’s a new death this week from one staunch advocate who fought cancer with a totally new way of life. He was the first to talk about the significance of functional foods in France as early as 20 years ago. David Servan-Schreiber died on July 25, 2011 at age 50 after a 20 year battle with brain cancer.

His Life

David Servan-Schreiber was the co-founder of the Centre for Integrative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He was one of the founders of the US branch of Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders) an organization awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999. Dr. Servan-Schreiber was a dedicated volunteer to Iraq in 1991 and other third world countries. He’s a French physician, neuroscientist, psychiatrist, writer and author of books. more…

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Cancer robs our strength, cuts our life prematurely, makes us suffer pain and transforms our life into one of misery. On July 20, 2011 a great lady died. Myra Kraft, the indefatigable American philanthropist and humanitarian succumbed at age 68 to cancer. more…

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Being a rock star doesn’t protect us from Cancer. In 2006, Sheryl Crow, the rock star, was diagnosed with breast cancer at 44 years old. Instead of crying over spilled milk she was determined to get to the bottom of this. Cancer enlightened her on her perception of food.

An Eye Opener

As a rock star, she’d spend most of her days traveling and gobble road food- mostly meat and mashed potatoes. Being lean, eating well wasn’t a concern. Then cancer struck and drastically changed her unhealthy diet and eating habits. Cancer glaringly emphasizes our unhealthy lifestyles. It serves as a wake up call – albeit a rude one! more…

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When we’re diagnosed with cancer, time is of the essence. We don’t have time to waste. We want to have that cure now. So would it be great if we can seize that particular drug that works without too much of a trial and error. more…

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“Get into shape,” that’s what we usually hear all around us. If you’d ask anyone what a healthy lifestyle is, the answer is a proper diet and regular exercise. Exercise is associated as the essence of a healthy lifestyle. It’s advertised and is common knowledge that exercise is a healthy activity. It’s good for the heart. And can also fight cancer! more…

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Knowledge keeps us out trouble. Experience acquired over the years is helpful too. Sometimes, experience offers us painful lessons of the do’s and don’ts of daily living. Cancer can be a wake -up call about our current lifestyle. Like a boxer, we’ve got to give our best when the bell rings to summon us on stage. more…

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There’s been a lot of talk that fiber is good for us. That advert of a breakfast cereal still plays on my mind. It claims to have the highest level of fiber and just a bowl a day is enough. Yet we’re kept in the dark as to why fiber should be good except that it regulates our bowel movement. Picture ourselves sitting on that throne at the bathroom reading that advert in the newspaper or on our tablet. We’d want to know how it works. Is it indeed good? more…

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Eating right to fight cancer can be a long run in a maze. It’s real difficult to fight cancer with food if we don’t know what they are and where to look for them.

Functional Foods

We know that veggies and fruits cut our cancer risks. The American Cancer Association recommends consuming 5-10 servings of vegetables and fruits daily to prevent us from developing cancer. We’ve got scientific studies telling us that veggies and fruits have phytonutrients that are active against cancer. But we’re turned off when we’re served with plain veggies. Those crunchy junk foods give us a minute of nirvana. Sadly, those veggies lose out in the competition. more…

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Who haven’t eaten potato lately? Mashed, French fried or in any which way. Solanum tuverosum, its scientific name, is an edible tuber that originated from southern montagne Andes of South America. The wild species originated from Peru. It’s one of the oldest crop humankind have cultivated, as far back as 7 to 10 thousand years ago. Worldwide, potato is the fourth largest food crop after rice, wheat and corn. Dishes around the world cook this versatile tuber in various ways.

The potato is a functional food. But researches show that the cancer fighting properties of the potato is hidden in the skin. So if we’ve eaten French fries or mashed potatoes lately with the skin stripped off, the cancer fighting phytochemicals are stripped off too. You’d only be eating starch which is a long chain of sugar. more…

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Throughout the ages, humans have cultivated a handful of plants to eat. Some of these plants wonderfully turn out to have a special ability to push back healness. Artichoke, an ancient plant, dates back to the time of the cradle of western civilization around the Mediterranean Sea. The artichoke’s colorful history is part of the Mediterranean diet together with cabbage, extra virgin olive oil and tomatoes. French royalty was very fond of the artichoke. Queen Marie de Medecis and French King Louis XIV loved to eat the flower bud. Was it its ability to help digestion or something else? more…