http://www.care2.com/greenliving/detox-from-chemo.html
Detox from Chemo
By Nancy Lonsdorf, MD, Natural Solutions
Although most of the effects of chemotherapy are short-term, some–including fatigue, impaired immunity, hormonal imbalances, and temporary problems with memory, attention, and concentration (recently dubbed “chemobrain”) can persist for years. To date, not many researchers have looked at the efficacy of treatments to reverse or prevent these long-term side effects. However, it makes sense that approaches that support detoxification, reduce stress, and rebuild immunity will help speed your recovery from both the cancer and its treatment.
Reducing damage to the body during treatment also may prevent side effects down the line. In laboratory studies, researchers found that one traditional ayurvedic herbal formula called amrit nectar protects normal cells from chemotherapy injury. In another small clinical trial, the formula reduced side effects and improved overall strength and well-being without interfering with chemo’s anti-cancer effects. My clinical experience with traditional detoxification approaches from ayurveda, the traditional health system of India, has convinced me that cleansing the body of toxins and rebalancing the body after cancer treatment can help restore optimum health. This type of ayurvedic detox has two phases.
Phase I: During the first eight weeks when your body is recovering strength and stamina, eat a wholesome diet with immune-boosting herbs and spices, drink plenty of pure water, reduce stress, and get extra sleep to enhance your body’s own healing response.
Follow the tips below for optimal detox and recovery during this time.
- Eat organically grown foods, including whole grains, legumes, unprocessed nuts and seeds, and seven to 10 servings of fresh vegetables, fruits, and freshly squeezed juices each day.
- Avoid alcohol, refined sugar, artificial ingredients, cigarette smoke, chemicals, and pollution.
- Cook with turmeric, coriander, cilantro, basil, oregano, rosemary, ginger, garlic, cinnamon, fennel, clove, and saffron to support immunity, hormonal balance, detoxification, and antioxidant protection.
- Take soluble fiber such as psyllium husks to promote elimination of toxins excreted by the liver via the stool.
- Drink eight glasses of warm, pure springwater daily.
- Lower your stress with effective techniques such as yoga and meditation. Research has shown that Transcendental Meditation enhances quality of life in breast cancer patients, reduces stress hormone levels, promotes longevity, and boosts DNA repair.
- Support liver detox and the production of glutathione, the body’s primary defense against most toxins, with plenty of protein in your diet. Nonvegetarians are advised to favor more easily digestible sources such as organic poultry and wild-caught fish that is low in mercury. Vegetarians may wish to include organic, high-protein vegetable sources such as soaked nuts and seeds, legumes, quinoa, amaranth, spirulina, and hemp-seed nut. Consult your doctor before increasing soy in your diet.
- Drink this simple detox tea to support liver and kidney function: Add 1/4 teaspoon whole cumin seed, 1/2 teaspoon whole coriander, and 1/4 teaspoon whole fennel to two quarts of boiled hot, pure springwater; let steep, and sip throughout the day for two months.
Phase II: After two months, if you still feel in need of detox, consider the intensive level of ayurvedic detox called panchakarma, traditionally done in-residence under professional supervision. Check out The Raj, a health spa offering holistic and natural maharishi ayurveda treatments and massage. Panchakarma includes warm oil massages, gentle heat treatments, and mild elimination therapies to remove both water- and fat-soluble toxins from deep in the tissues. (Other non-ayurvedic detoxification approaches, such as steam baths, saunas, aerobic exercise, and drinking large amounts of water, can also reduce water-soluble toxins substantially.) In one two-month study, five days of panchakarma treatments resulted in a 46 percent drop in blood levels of PCBs and 58 percent drop in beta-HCH, prevalent environmental toxins linked to cancer and other serious disorders. It is always best to detox under professional supervision with methods supported by research and an established safety track record.
Nancy Lonsdorf, MD is dean of faculty for Vedic Medicine at Maharishi College of Vedic Medicine in Fairfield, Iowa. She’s also the author of The Ageless Woman: Natural Health and Beauty After Forty with Maharishi Ayurveda (MCD Century, 2004).
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9 comments
add your comment »My son became violently ill with nausea when he was on chemo. I wish his oncologist could have prescribed medical marijuana. It tore me up to see him suffer.
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Another consideration to managing the side effects of chemotherapy is acupuncture. I went through chemo over two years ago and timed acupuncture treatments to help me manage the fatigue and joint pain that comes with chemo.
For those who think chemo is useless, I am walking example of a survivor with nearly a dozen 'clean' CT scans.
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Blessings To All,
Thank you for the article. It was informative and provides options for those presently involved in, or giving consideration to, Chemo.
Chemo is toxic, very toxic to the system. Why "poison" a body already so ill? My approach would be to boost the immune system and give nurishment to the body,mind and spirit. Let us not forget that dis-ease is an attempt for the physical being to communicate with us. Cancer is "screaming", Lifestyle Change. If you want to be cured from cancer, look at your pre-cancer lifestyle (diet, stressors, etc.) and make the appropriate changes. It is crucial to realize that you didn't just "get" cancer. Personal choices and behaviors are contributing factors. True healing requires a long hard look at self.
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Personaly, I'd skip chemo entirely and, do a diet upgrade if I felt the need, have massage regularly, sauna, and rest alot, walk in nature alot, and as much as possible, keep my focus on how good it feels to be strong and well, and involve myself in some thing that insprires me, whether it be a creative project or serving others in some useful and appreciated way. Above all, I would remind myself daily, that ,tho I share this Earth with others, I am a soveriegn being and I need not sucumb to the beliefs of others. Maybe some feel safe turning their lives and bodys over to the medical profession, but I don't. Nor do I think that the only valid evidence for anything is to be found in western scientific papers. We are all different and our responses vary. Respect your self and the needs of your body.
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Another good detox and addition or alternative to conventional cancer treatment is Essiac tea. Search for Rene Caisse, the Canadian nurse who cured thousands of cancer cases with this simple, natural tonic. I plan to make it if any loved ones or myself contract the dreaded C-word.
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In my understanding, Chemotherapy causes more cancer than it "cures".
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Once again, Care2 is promoting the "detox" notion, and once again the person who wrote the article is promoting/selling something. I think avoiding processed foods is a great idea, but where is the chemistry that describes exactly how a particular diet or substance binds with specific toxic elements or molecules and renders them harmless? What is the chemistry of "supporting" the normal function of your liver and kidneys? Please link to an article published in a respected scientific or medical journal, or present your lab notes for review. Or, read this: http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/detox.html
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I appreciate hearing these healthful suggestions from an MD. However, they do not mention some of the most important things to do/not do. first, probiotics are critical since the drugs deplete the intestines of these necessary organisms in our body. second, vit c in megatherapy doses is critical. actually you can treat cancer with megavitamin intravenous doses of vit C and avoid all the drugs, period! and third, is the use of homeopathy for cure. many cancers are successfully treated by a skilled homeopath. no disease inducing effects from drugs. no surgical invasion. no poisoning from chemo or radiation. and last, is the need to inform yourself of the negative impact of chemo on your life survival rate. chemo has been shown to be useless in almost 95% of cancers and actually shortens lives. why do it at all!
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It is wise to discuss efforts to cleanse with the oncologist.
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