The Chemistry Of Life

It would just be too easy for me to say broccoli is good for a cancer diet. Or, you need to eat your veggies because vegetables are good to help fight cancer. For some people that may be enough but I have found that New Hope Unlimited patients seen to be far more intelligent and educated . It seems their favorite question is, “Why?” Why is that horrible tasting green tree-like deal suppose to be so good to fight cancer?

Well, my hopes and intentions are to try to help you understand why the New Hope Unlimited cancer diet is so important, instead of just telling you to do the diet. I have found that most cancer patients feel a little fear, desperation, and listen to a lot of different people telling them what they should and should not do. Let’s face it, that has become the “normal”. With computers in almost all homes now, the first thing people do is look up their diagnosis. Second or third in line seems to be the search for a cancer diet. If you are one of those who have done the search, did you notice how many cancer diets are out there? Sadly to report, most of the online cancer diets are created by people who have never had cancer or never treated cancer. I feel it is important for you to understand why that green little tree called broccoli is so vital to be in your diet. If you have just a little bit of knowledge, it can help you fight many battles.

When we were children, we all heard, “You are what you eat.” That has more truth to it than not. Approximately 97% of body mass is made up of 4 elements. Those elements are : oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon.

Water is very important to drink and is made up of one oxygen element and two hydrogen elements = H2O. Hopefully this helps us to understand why water is essential to life. The oxygen and hydrogen elements are two of the four that makes up approximately 97% of our body mass.

There are over 60 chemical compounds or elements found in the body, however science has not found the true use of them all. Other than the 4 main ones mentioned above, there is also other important elements. I’ll list some and give an explanation because you will find these in your foods. I am only doing a brief generalized explanation of each to which is relevant to what we are talking about – a cancer diet. Please, as you read the list below, try to think about how all these compounds work together in order to keep us healthy and alive.

** Calcium is the most common mineral found in the body and most is found in the bones and teeth. Calcium’s most important role is in performing bodily functions such as protein regulation and muscle contraction. If a person does not get enough calcium in their diet, the body will pull calcium from the bones and teeth. This can help cause tooth decay, soft teeth, and bone osteopenia or osteoporosis.

** Phosphorus is mostly found in bone but is also found in the ATP molecule. Phosphorus and ATP provides the driving energy for reactions for cells in the body.

** Sulfur is found in two amino acids. This is important for giving our proteins their shape.

** Potassium is an important electrolyte that helps regulate the human heartbeat and is essential for the electric signaling in nerve conduction. The meaning of an electrolyte such as potassium means it carries a positive charge in solution.

** Chlorine is an electrolyte that is important for maintaining a normal balance of fluids within the body. This electrolyte carries a negative charge.

** Sodium is another electrolyte that is important for the electrical signaling in nerves. Sodium is also important for regulating the amount of water in the body.  (When the blood sodium on lab blood work shows a decrease, many times patients will begin to get fluid or ascites.)

** Magnesium helps the structure of the skeleton and muscles. It has been proven to be very important in more than 300 essential metabolic reactions.

**Iron is found in the hemoglobin which is the oxygen carrier in the red blood cells.

** Flourine makes up only about 0.0037% in the body and is found in the bones and teeth. Other than maybe helping to prevent tooth decay, there has not been other scientific importance to the body discovered.

**Copper is an electron donor and works in many ways for biological reactions. Copper helps iron work properly.

** Zinc is an essential trace element that helps regulate genes.

**Iodine helps make thyroid hormones which regulate metabolic rate and other cellular functions.

** Selenium is essential for certain enzymes and some anti-oxidants. Selenium has been proven to help fight cancer.

** Chromium helps regulate blood sugar levels.

** Manganese also lends help for some enzymes, especially the ones that help protect the mitochondria. The mitochondria is the place where energy is generated that needs to be used by the cell.

** Cobalt is important in protein formation and DNA regulation.

** Molybdenum is important for transforming suffer into a form that can be used by the body. It is also important for transforming nitrogen into a usable form.

Yes, I know it may sound like a bunch of mumbo-jumbo, but if you know what you are made of its easier to understand how food can become another medicine for you.

A normal diet contains many compounds and elements. Scientists have digested food into six classes: Proteins, Carbohydrates, Fats, Vitamins, Minerals, and Water. Proteins, carbohydrates, and fats are considered macronutrients. Vitamins and minerals are considered micronutrients and water is in a class of its own.

 The human body is made up of approximately 100 trillion cells.  Each cell has a specific purpose and each cell has thousands of different proteins. Foods that contain proteins are very important in our diet. Proteins are broken down as amino acids. Amino acids are used to build and repair muscle tissue. Every tissue in the body is made up of protein and it is important to eat enough from your diet to replenish what the body uses up.  Our body’s nutrition, the regulation of the body’s cells, the body’s functions, tissues, and organs cannot exist without protein.

Carbohydrates give us energy to function properly throughout the day.  Carbohydrates can function as long-term food storage molecules. They act as protective membranes for cells and as the main structural support for the body. Muscle glycogen is an important element in maintaining our energy levels. Carbohydrates are ingested and goes to the pancreas to release a hormone called insulin. Insulin helps the carbohydrates to be stored in the muscles or as fact.  Carbohydrates can be stored and become glycogen which is important because it is an energy supply.

We need fats in the body. Dietary fats are essential to ingest because fats give the body energy and support normal cell growth. Fats help lubricate joints and keeps muscles loose and mobile. Fats helps the body transport, store and absorb the fat-soluble vitamins such as Vitamin A,D,E, and K.  Fats provides insulation and a protective cover for all the vital organs within the body.

Vitamins and minerals are important for our health.  They are a central nutrients because they perform hundreds of roles in the body. Eating a healthy diet remains the best way to get sufficient amounts of the vitamins and minerals you need, however sometimes it’s important to supplement also. Vitamins and minerals allow chemical reactions within the body to occur at a faster rate. There are two classes of vitamins: fat- soluble and water-soluble.

Fat-soluble vitamins are vitamin A, D, E, and vitamin K.  These vitamins are mostly found in fatty foods and animal products such as milk, dairy foods, and, oils, butter and fish. The fat-soluble vitamins are very important  but when the body gets what it needs on a daily basis, the body starts storing what vitamins are not used. If too much is stored then you can become toxic.

Water-soluble vitamins are not stored in the body. If you get more than is needed per day then you will urinate them out or sweat them out. They will not become toxic.  Water soluble vitamins can be found in a lot of foods such as fruits, vegetables, milk, dairy products, grains, and potatoes. Water-soluble vitamins can be destroyed by high heat are being exposed to the air. Water-soluble vitamins are vitamin C, the B vitamins, and folic acid.

Hopefully now you have a better idea why it is so important to eat a good diet. Our good cells need to stay healthy while our abnormal cells need to die off and not be given the chance to replicate.

-Dr Fredda Branyon