I remembered that whenever anyone in my family had tummy upset, my mother would recommend ginger . She staunchly believes that the ginger effectively purged out the “ wind “ and enhances the digestion as well . On the other hand my mother in law maintained that there was little that garlic soup with pepper could not cure . I remembered poignantly, when I was about ten years old and having high fever that did not subside even after medication, my grandmother brewed a bowl of medicine for me . She came into the room beckoning me to get up and insisted that I drank the medicine. As I raised the bowl to my lips I let out a loud scream . There floating on the “ yellowish soup of leaves“ was the head of a cockroach with its horrendous eyes looking at me . I rebelled. She coaxed. I protested she cajoled . Closing my eyes, I drank the soup with grandma’s arms caressing me. Being the first grandson I was the apple of her eyes and she would do anything to protect and love me. If there is a Fear Factor for kids I believe I would have won it.
Of course, I do not give this cockroach broth to my kids but I do swear by another broth –the “yellow ginger/pandan/lemon grass “ broth which is not only cheap but also very palatable and potently high in antioxidant. Like my mum and my mother in law these "ginger /garlic/lemon grass" therapy has become the panacea to life’s upsets and illnesses.
Below is a testimony taken from a blog of a cancer survivor ( sockkim.blogspot.com".) . We too have asked ourselves the same questions.
I am one who strongly believes & faithfully practises good nutrition in the years before cancer. I have a whole library of books on health & nutrition. I even invested $1000 on a good fruit juicer from the USA. I exercised daily & did everything the books say to avoid getting cancer but in the end, I still get cancer. So what went wrong? I had always been healthy, never fell sick, never on MC. Even my siblings used to laugh at the way I eat (this cannot eat, that cannot eat), but guess who has the last laugh? They eat anything without controlling their diet, yet they don’t get cancer. I practise what the books say & I am the one who gets cancer. The conclusion I draw from all the talks this year is, “Eat everything in moderation.” This seems to be what most of the speakers said in their talks.
You know, on a scale of 0 to 50,000+, my antioxidant score was 48,000, which is considered VERY HIGH. I took this test after I completed my treatment, at a time when I was still unable to eat well. Most books say that people with low antioxidant level are more prone to getting cancer. But my case proves this theory wrong. If my antioxidant level is so high, how come I still get cancer? I remember my oncologist once told me that the cause of cancer is genetics, environment, lifestyle, in this order. I tend to agree with him.
With the above in mind, I would like to pose the following questions to the nutritionist :
(1) To what extent does nutrition play in the prevention & recurrence of cancer?
(2) Should we eat EVERYTHING in moderation? Or are there foods that cancer survivors should avoid?
(3) What role do free radicals & antioxidants play in cancer prevention? Is it possible for a person with a high level of antioxidants to get cancer?
(4) If genetics & the environment play a major role in causing cancer, how can nutrition help in avoiding the occurrence of cancer?
(5) Are food supplements necessary?
Dear members I am happy to announce that for the coming talk in July I have invited a Herbalist Max Liao JM to speak on a topic that is close to our hearts : Can we eat to starve cancer cells? During the talk, Max will be bringing his own organic herbs and vegetables for live demonstration and sampling. There will be a small charge of $2/pax for registration of the talk to cover the costs of the herbs and vegetables for all to share.
His CV and working experience is in the attachment above.
Details of the Talk :
Date : 20th July Saturday
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Time : 130-5pm
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Venue : NUHS Tower Block Level 7
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Seminar Room T07-03/04
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Topic : Starving Cancer Cells with Good Nutrition – Myth or Fact
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Speaker : Herbalist Max JM
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If you have any questions about nutrition please email them to me so that I can forward them to the speaker. Please register with me early .
Let me end on a personal note :
After grandma’s broth the fever subsided. I am always thankful for her.
Grandma if you are looking down and see your grandson volunteering this cancer work I believe you would be be proud of him right ? :)
I missed you grandma !
Peter Tang
