Brian Clement

I recently went to hear Brian Clement speak in London. If you've never heard of him, he's worth a google - this is the man who runs the Hippocrates Health Centre in Florida. Founded by Ann Wigmore in 1961, Hippocrates premise is that disease can be reversed by eating a living (raw), vegan diet. Sprouted grains and wheatgrass (in the form of juice and implants) feature heavily. Other holistic modalities like FIR infrared saunas and psychotherapy are also employed.

The first glorious positive of this seminar was the catering. To be greeted by a raw, vegan, gluten free buffet with fresh young coconuts to drink, was frankly unusual and inspiring. Rarely are these seminars coherent in their message when it comes to food (at a Brandon Bays seminar I attended, we were given Tomato Cuppa-soup in the break....!)

I must admit to finding Brian somewhat preachy. However, his message is powerful, and I'm with him all the way. Considering how many thousands of people he has seen heal in this way, it's maybe unsurprising that he's firm in his delivery.

Hippocrates believes that to reverse disease we must consume only raw, living foods. Cooking at high heat alters the chemistry of food, making it less easily absorbed and creating carcinogenic acrylamide. I have to say, that living in a country like England, which is often damp, and rarely warm for long periods, eating 100% raw would be a real challenge, and almost every nutritionist I have ever met agrees that in the cooler seasons we should eat warming, comforting food. However, incorporating raw in the form of daily salads, sprouted foods and vegetable juice makes a lot of sense. Giving up mucous forming food like dairy, and meat is also a must when reversing diseases like cancer.

These are Hippocrates' recommendations for returning to health (in this order);

1. Affirmative thought

2. Constructive diet

3. Productive movement

4. Pristine environment

5. Emo-spirit (emotional/spiritual)

All five points need to be addressed, but it's interesting, particularly with Bruce Lipton's seminar so clearly in my mind, that affirmative thought comes in at the top of the list.

Hippocrates is vehemently anti sugar, even in the form of carrots and 'foodie' sugars like palm, agave etc. The University of San Francisco states that "Sugar contributes to more that 3.5 million deaths globally each year." All disease is metabolic, so it's easy to see that the meteoric global rise in sugar consumption has a huge effect on our health. Harvard Medical School states that the average person derives between 40% - 70% of their calorific intake from sugar. Historically only the aristocracy ate fruit, and even then only about 1kg a year. Now the poorest amongst us eat the most sugar, and most of that is processed. Children in the western world consume DOUBLE their body weight in sugar annually. A recent report in the UK states that 26,000 children had one or more rotten baby teeth surgically removed under general anaesthetic last year due to sugar consumption. If this is what sugar is doing to our teeth, imagine what it's doing to our overall health. Breast cancer cells metabolise fructose better than ALL other sugars. In short, if you have cancer, viruses, bacteria or fungus, cut out sugar. Pretty much all of us should quit the habit then!

I came away feeling that I need to reassess some aspects of my life, notably the recommendation of at least one hour per day of exercise (incorporating resistance training, aerobic activity and trampolining which is very important for moving the lymph). I no longer juice carrots, and have set up a weekly order of wheatgrass and snowpea shoots, which I drink or implant daily. As a result I am noticeably more alkaline and I feel mentally clearer.

As always, the key lies in finding what works for you as an individual, taking it gently, observing your body, and not being afraid to make changes along the way.

Epigenetics

I've mentioned Bruce Lipton before, but having seen him speak, I would absolutely recommend reading his book 'The Biology of Belief', or getting to one of his lectures. 

Last month I finally got to hear this incredible man speak. I've never seen a lecture hall full of such a diverse group of people. It wasn't the usual cancer crowd, there were people of all ages and races. There were dreadlocks and pashminas, suits and students. There was an air of anticipation and excitement, and he didn't disappoint. This man gave us six hours of his vital energy - he crammed his whole book brilliantly into one day of beautifully-explained education, from the origins of modern day physics to the way our cells work and communicate with each other. By the end I felt excited, and stronger in my belief that epigenetics plays a HUGE part in disease, and more importantly, in the reversal of disease.

Epigenetics is the study of environment on our genes. It's a relatively new idea that our fate is not controlled by our genes (flawed genes are actually responsible for less than 1% of all disease) rather that our cells respond to their environment, and our PERCEPTION of our environment. These are the factors which change our genetic activity.

Each of our 50 trillion cells is a mini version of us. They form a community which works in harmony, communicating and moving as one.

If you change the chemistry of the blood, you change the health of these cells. The brain releases chemistry (in the form of dopamine, oxytocin, cortisol etc) via the nervous system to alter the blood. So, as you change environment or perception, you change the chemistry of the blood. An example; through perception fear creates a surge of inflammatory chemistry in the body. This shuts down the growth of cells. Fear is an interpretation of an external event. It has a purpose; to fill the body with enough adrenaline to 'fight or flee'. This stress response shuts down the gastro/immune system and redirects blood and energy towards the arms and legs. Consider that we no longer use our fight or flight response properly. Even playing computer games creates stress hormones, shutting down the conscious brain and causing the hind brain to predominate. Working from this place of reflex behaviour means that absorption in the gut and the immune system is impaired for much of the time. Consider how that affects health in the long term.

Humans are an energy source. Each thing has it's own vibration. Cancer shows as a different vibration to healthy tissue. Cells move and communicate through the use of signals. In experiments it has been shown that the physical body is 100 times more efficient at using energy signals than chemical (ie drugs). Think about this in relation to energy healing, or simply positive thinking. Our thinking creates a cascade effect. We can either cause harmony and healthy growth within our bodies, or fear, inflammation and chaotic growth.

We are architects of our own experience and destiny. Our belief carries more power than our reality. What does this mean? When I was diagnosed, there was an elderly lady who had also just been told she had breast cancer. We regularly saw each other at the Tuesday breast clinic. She would tell me that she could smell her own fear, that she was living in constant anxiety. Imagine what this was doing (chemically) to her already depleted body and to the systems she needed most to return her to health. 

I left the lecture convinced that diet plays a HUGE role in the reversal of disease. After all, much of what we are spoon fed by the food industry is processed, toxic and inflammatory. Living foods are vital to heal. But I also came away trusting that thoughts, beliefs and positive energy are actually top of the list in healing fully.

Travel

Holidays have proven to be an unexpected measure of my progress. With each passing year I notice that I'm less anxious about flying, more relaxed and more present. What still challenges me though, is how to eat well on a restricted diet in an unfamiliar place. 

Having just spent two blissful weeks in Ibiza, I found myself to be more organised than usual. Depending on where we are going, I usually send a food box ahead, containing dry goods like gluten free flour, corn and oat cakes. This time however I took advantage of British Airway's generous baggage allowance, and packed one whole suitcase full of home-made granola, protein balls, nuts, seeds, coconut oil and my most basic supplements (magnesium, krill oil, B patches, quercetin, Angioblock, Artemix, Dimpro and Kiki's greens). I also took a colloidal silver water filter which meant that we avoided the plastic issue, whilst saving a small fortune on bottled water. 

Flying can be stressful on the body, so prior to leaving I juiced everything in the fridge and took a litre of green juice with me to the airport. I left blueberries and bananas in the freezer for an emergency smoothie on my return. 

I always wear an electro-magnetic protector when I fly (or in busy train stations and built up areas) to protect against radiation, which can be extremely depleting.

On arrival we headed for the supermarket and stocked up on locally grown fruits and vegetables. Organic produce is hard to find in Ibiza, so we sought out health food shops and asked about good local markets.

We eat out a lot on holiday, and I think that attitude is key here. Enjoying a consciously chosen meal beats panicking about it's origins, or worrying which oil it may have been cooked in. Anxiety about food impedes absorption more than the simple act of enjoying a meal which is possibly less than ideal. I generally opted for salads, and in the absence of nuts and seeds allowed myself goats cheese for protein.

I stayed hydrated (drinking up to 2 and a half litres daily), meditated daily and practiced simple yoga stretches by the pool. I avoided toxic sunscreens, instead opting for coconut oil (which needs to be reapplied often as it only has a SPF of around 8).

Most importantly, I concentrated on the positives; a green juice in a local juice bar, a power salad in a beach cafe, a swim in the sea fully present, laughter with my family, a beautiful sunset. These things are just as important to health as diet, and energetically are incredibly healing. 

The cruise ship analogy.

My analogy of a cancer diagnosis is one of having lived my entire life on a cruise liner. I never had to think about steering this ship, or where I was going. I gorged on the buffet laid out before me, without consciousness. It was easy, but unsatisfying.

On diagnosis I felt that I had been cast out of the liner into a small row boat. Attached to the rest of society by a flimsy rope, life became a struggle to keep up. I felt isolated. Friends and family, still aboard the liner, waved at me eating cake, drinking wine, cheering me on. And I looked up longingly, misguidedly thinking that all I wanted was to get back onto that ship. 

Over time I started to look around me, to see the beauty of life inside my boat, the responsibility that I now embraced, and the madness of life on the liner. I began to steer my little boat, and wish that others (cancer free of course) could join me in the beauty of my adventure. 

I cut the rope.

Sometimes the storms down here are rough, but they are never less than exciting. I feel connected to the waves, vibrant and alive. I am constantly learning how to navigate this journey.

And when I look closely, I see a community of little boats, an armada. I am not alone. I never was. I was just in the wrong boat.