Speaking to Dr. Dominic Brandy, I learned a lot about whether a plant-based diet can reverse cancer, what causes cancer, how he beat his incurable cancer diagnosis, and the ways in which we can all try to remain cancer-free. Dr. Brandy is a strong proponent of plant-based whole foods because of the way they are rich in antioxidants, and help fight free radicals so much more efficiently than animal products. In part two of my podcast with Dr. Brandy, I’m picking his brain about ways to transition to a healthier diet, about supplements, and more.
Ways in which food impacts cancer risk.
I had some questions to ask about food including one about whether eggs ought to be a part of a healthy diet, and whether a plant-based diet reverses cancer. Dr. Brandy feels that we should be avoiding eggs because of the way that they impact cholesterol and its link to cancer. Studies have shown how, for every 100-milligram increase in cholesterol, the risk of pancreatic cancer goes up about 8% and endometrial cancer goes up about 6%.
He asks people with prostate cancer to eliminate eggs altogether: because of their high choline levels. He goes on to speak about personalities like Joseph Mercola who promote the kinds of diets high in choline that could be very harmful to a lot of people. According to Dr. Brandy, it is possible to keep cholesterol in check and to prevent heart disease by simple lifestyle changes, chief among them being the shift to a plant-based diet. He stresses how we don’t need to eat cholesterol, and that the body makes all that we need.
Ways to shift to plant-based whole foods.
Dr. Brandy describes his breakfast of cut oats, berries, and soy milk as a healthy and nutritious breakfast. He has other ideas for how to transition to plant-based diets. He suggests trying to tweak some favorite recipes to replace animal products with plant-based products, and ways to include more fruit and vegetables into the diet. Similarly, he suggests ways to include cinnamon and clove in the diet because of the way their antioxidant properties provide protection against cancer.
Extracting juice from fruits means getting rid of a lot of the phytonutrients, so making smoothies is way better than juicing if you’re looking to stay healthy. – Dr. Dominic Brandy
How can a plant-based diet reverse cancer? I ask the doctor about freeze-dried powders and whether they are a good way to get servings of fruit and vegetables each day to help reverse cancer. He recommends these powders as a simple and effective way to do this. For instance, a gram of freeze-dried blueberry powder is like eating 50 grams of the actual fruit and acts as a powerful antioxidant to have anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor impacts on the body. He speaks of turmeric as a disruptor for more than 80 different cancer signalling pathways.
We also speak about fasting and how caloric restriction is a good idea. He recommends this for cancer patients just before they are about to undergo chemotherapy. Something else that Dr. Brandy recommends is for people to have fruit in the form of smoothies rather than juicing because juicing removes much of the goodness of the fruit.
Dr. Dominic Brandy has a lot of other insightful information to share about how can a plant-based diet reverse cancer, how we can remain cancer-free, and be healthier overall. He reminds us that for a lot of cancer patients, it is a cardiovascular event and not the cancer itself that results in death. In the event, he has a lot of important information to share about keeping good cardiovascular health as well. Don’t miss this inspiring episode with Dr. Brandy, author of Beat Back Cancer Naturally.