DNA and Genetic Damage and Cancer: Can this be repaired or reversed?

You may have heard that our cells regenerate or remodel. Basically, they heal.

You witness this occur right before your eyes every time you've cut yourself and your body does it's job to repair that. Did you ever pause to consider what is occurring at the cellular level when this process occurs?

Inside the cell are all these little components busy working away without our conscious awareness.

Somewhere deep in our brains most of us remember learning about DNA. Some of us may even remember that it forms a double-helix structure. You may not remember those words, but I bet you can picture what that looks like: bonds linking each strand together...

This is not a dormant structure. It's a moving, living structure - and it gets beaten up over time. Poor diet, pathogens (bacteria, fungi, viruses), toxic exposures - all can damage and mutate these structures. But, yes, these structures can heal. Broken linkages can repair.

What can we do to provide the right environment to promote healthy cellular activity?

Here are some do's and don'ts:

Do: -Get enough Vitamin D. Get out in the sun and/ or take a good quality supplement. Vitamin D is not just for bone health. It is a crucial component to the functioning of our immune system.

-Eat real, whole foods. Organic if possible. Consider that what you're putting into your body is meant to nourish it. If you can grow some of your own veggies, go for it! They can't get any fresher than that! -Cold plunge or shower. The mitochondria are forced to suddenly work extremely hard to maintain our body temperature of 98.6 F. This results in stronger, better functioning mitochondria.

-Intermittent fasting. This induces autophagy, the recycling of old, damaged cells and cell parts and turns them into new ones, generating new mitochondria.

-Add herbs to foods. Garlic, onion, thyme and sage for example contain plant chemicals with cancer-fighting properties.

-Consume folate containing foods. A folate deficiency can cause DNA damage. Eat dark, leafy greens or liver.

-Keto or low carb diet. This will correct insulin resistance. Your body can run on ketones, but cancer can't.

-Consume Omega-3 fatty acids. This can be found in fatty fish or cod liver oil. This will prevent inflammation in the body.

-Consume cold pressed olive oil. It has many anti-cancer properties. Seed oils such as vegetable (which contains NO vegetables), canola oil are highly inflammatory and should be avoided. Beef tallow and grass fed butter are other great options to use for cooking on higher heats.

-Consume cruciferous vegetables. They contain sulforaphane which detoxes poison from your liver. The highest amounts can be found in broccoli sprouts, radishes and cabbage.

-Consume selenium. It is an important component in the immune system's function to make anti-oxidants, particularly glutathione. It can be found in shellfish and Brazil nuts.

-Take magnesium glycinate at bedtime. Your body can't make energy without it. You know you're deficient in magnesium if you get muscle spasms, particularly in the legs, feet, toes or experience restless leg.

-Consider taking colostrum to support your immune system. This can be especially important if you've taken a lot of antibiotics.

-Consume beta glucans. Found in medicinal mushrooms such as reishi and shitake. They trigger the natural killer cells of our immune system and target cancer cells.

-Consume pomegranate. It has a strong anti-inflammatory effect which will support the performance of our mitochondria and inhibit the spread of cancer cells.

-Consume green tea. It reduces the spread of cancer cells.

-Consider supplementing with black seed oil. It is a powerful antioxidant, inhibits certain types of cancer and supports the mitochondria.

-Filter your water. Our water is full of contaminants that we don't want in our body. Keep in mind that well-filtered water will remove a lot of the good components while removing the bad. Replenish lost minerals by using a good quality Celtic sea salt or electrolyte formula.

-Do forest breathing. Pine trees give off a vapor that improves the immune system, increases our immune system's killer T-cells, reduces stress and increases oxygen.

-Exercise. This will increase the capacity of our cells to utilize the oxygen and nutrients that we take into our body. It will also help to detox out poisons by increased cellular respiration. We all know it's good for us. Find a way that works for you and get it done!

Don't:

-Char your food on the BBQ. The charred parts are carcinogenic.

-Expose yourself to harmful EMF's (electromagnetic fields). They cause a lot of oxidative damage to your cells and potential mutations. CAT Scans, X-rays, cell phones, microwave ovens, electric vehicles are all examples.

-Snack between meals. It keeps a steady flow of glucose in the system, making the regular release of insulin necessary. But the body will eventually stop responding to the constant presence of insulin. Then you become "insulin resistant".

-Don't consume refined sugars and carbs. This damages the mitochondria. Dozens of studies on animals have shown GMO and over-processed foods led to cancers, stomach and intestinal damage, severely disrupted metabolic function and even death. Highly processed foods have very little or no nutritional value, leaving our cells starving. It's true; one can be morbidly obese and technically starving because there is no food with nutritional value being consumed.

-Consume alcohol or smoke. These activities create high levels of inflammation in the body and deposit toxic substances; some of which can't be detoxed out.

-Use hormone-disrupting synthetic chemicals in household products or body care products. They are the cause of inflammation, and oxidative damage to our cells.

Conclusion:

The conventional model of treating cancer:

Assumes that cancer occurs from a spontaneous mutation of your DNA. You're a sitting duck, a victim to circumstance. The plan is to kill the cancer cells with radiation and chemo. But this also kills the healthy cells. It obliterates the immune system leaving one susceptible to any pathogen invasion that comes along.

After over 70 years and trillions of dollars the 5 year survival rates haven't budged.

A metabolic viewpoint:

Cancer does not start with a genetic mutation. All the things that contribute to damage our mitochondria and DNA can eventually cause a mutation to the functioning of the cell and possibly cancer. If we don't look after the health of our bodies, our cells, our DNA, things will go wrong.

Do the things to promote healthy cellular activities and don't do the things that harm your cells. Give yourself a better chance to avoid cancer down the road or any illness for that matter. You have more power over your health than you may have thought you did.