With the rising costs of healthcare and the unwanted side-effects of traditional medications, many cancer sufferers are turning to alternative medicine as a cancer treatment. Are they worthwhile? Although such treatments haven't undergone the rigorous testing of traditional medications, their advocates claim that they're useful. Here are some of the most common types of alternative medicine treatments for cancer:
1. Detoxification
Several cancer patients, who choose alternative cancer treatments, use detoxification as part of their regime. Detoxification can include several types of treatments, including colon cleansing, fasting, heat therapy, herbal methods, and water therapy.
Modern life constantly bombards our bodies and minds with toxins. This happens through the air we breathe, the foods and beverages we consume, and so on. These basic yet effective detoxification methods help to cleanse your body of those unwanted toxins.
2. Nutritional Therapy
There are two basic approaches have become popular. One method is a universal approach that helps to improve the patient's strength and health. This includes sticking to that old "Food Pyramid" that we learned in elementary school, using a raw foods diet (such as juicing), and so on. While diet fads come and go, research continues to prove that fresh, organic food best feeds your body the fuel that it needs to function effectively.
Another type of nutritional therapy uses a special blend of nutrients to meet the nutritional needs of the patient. For instance, cancer patients may need special quantities of amino acids, carbohydrates, or glucose in their diets. A dietician and other health experts will have the expertise to determine the nutritional needs for individual cancer patients.
Researchers have discovered that certain foods are particularly useful when battling cancer. Here are some of them:
- avocados: contains a powerful antioxidant
- broccoli: breast and prostate cancer
- cabbage: breast and prostate cancer
- carrots: high in beta carotene/effective for several types of cancer
- cauliflower: breast cancer
- chili peppers: may neutralize particular substances that cause cancer
- figs: could shrink tumors
- garlic: may boost immune cells that battle cancer
- grapes (red): contain powerful antioxidants
- grapefruit: may be effective against breast cancer
- kale: may prevent the conversion of lesions into cancerous cells
- mushrooms: some types may battle cancer
- raspberries: may contain vitamins and minerals that prevent cancer
- tomatoes: contain various antioxidants
Some cancer experts believe that a traumatic experience can cause cancer to appear in a person one or two years following the event. Certain methods included in this type of cancer treatment include counseling, meditation, music, psychotherapy, relaxation techniques, stress reduction, and support groups.
The goal of using these techniques is to boost the cancer patient's immune system. Another common method is biofeedback. This is a method in which people control particular physical processes that usually happen involuntarily-- in order to enhance their health. In this case, the cancer patient visualizes the body's immune cells striking the cancer cells.
If you are suffering from cancer, you can battle back by using some basic alternative treatments. As always-consult your doctor beforehand!
