Book Review: Chris Beat Cancer by Chris Wark

First let me say, EVERYONE needs to read this book: Chris Beat Cancer. Seems we all hear of a friend, family or acquaintance just diagnosed with cancer every month—even every week. You have to ask, "Am I next."

Then you hear of so many dying of the disease... or is it the disease? I had two family members recently tell me that their loved one died from the treatment—notably the chemotherapy. One actually heard this from the oncologist.

So what does one do? Answer: Be informed and ready to take massive action if the diagnosis hits home. I did and many of you know my story. I'm a living testament to the information in this book. Information that Chris so expertly lays out. His direct, yet folksy style makes reading the book an easy exercise.

Chris' Cancer Story
Chapter 1 covers Chris' story in detail not previously told. If you've ever heard Chris speak (listen to the many great video interviews of cancer conquerers on his site Chris Beat Cancer) you'll "hear" his voice throughout the book, but especially when telling about his personal experience. Chris followed his gut and paid attention to things placed in his path as he went against the normal treatment direction and his doctor's warning. His story might be summed up by this quote from the book:

"I eliminated everything in my life that may have contributed to my disease, and changed the internal terrain of my body—making it a place where cancer could not thrive." 

Current Standard Treatment
Chapter 2 addresses the history of disease and the contributing factors, such as poor quality food stripped of nutrition and pumped with artificial ingredients, added to our lack of activity. The sad facts about treatments that result in death because of mistakes, communication errors and over diagnosis are looked at in Chapter 3. Plus, studies show that treating cancer with chemotherapy does not extend life any significant amount, but can do permanent damage to the patient.

Throughout the book, information is marked with references to copious endnotes that back up Chris' points and facts. There are 34 pages of endnotes!

Chapters 4, 5 and 6 cover the dirty details of our overmedicated population enriching the pharmaceutical industry, which creates new drugs that cost more yet do not affect the patient outcome. The drug Avastin was fast tracked to treat metastatic breast cancer, but later clinical trials revealed the drug maker could not back up its claims. Despite its dismal record, Avastin is still being used. Cancer screening and cancer treatment can cause cancer—yep. Cancer is big business and despite insurance, costly to the patient. The cost of creating new drugs is enormous and safety studies are conducted/funded by the drug companies—not an independent third party. Stats for cancer are skewed and twisted to make you think things are getting better. What you'll read should help you decide if what you hear about cancer treatment results is meaningful or deceptive.

"Endless rounds of radiation and chemo treatments may keep the cancer under control for a while, but destroy the patient in the process." 

The Plan to Heal
Chapter 7 sets the stage for healing by deciding to live—yes, LIVE! Okay? Once you decide to live, there are 5 steps Chris lays out that require action on your part. Cancer is your body's warning light. Don't believe you can smash the light, remove it or poison it (and your body) and you'll be all better. You must:

1. Accept total responsibility for your health.
2. Be willing to do whatever it takes.
3. Take massive action.
4. Make plans for the future.
5. Enjoy your life and the process.

The blueprint to rebuild your body begins in Chapter 8, 9 and 10. There is so much great information here including key foods that are anti-cancer, super foods that build your immune system and prevent damage, warnings about eating foods sprayed with pesticides (HINT: eat organic) and reminders that real food is your medicine. You'll get recipes for Chris' basic juices and his Giant Cancer-Fighting Salad. All to give your body concentrated nutrition so it can heal. He emphasizes simplicity, a feature I need, which makes it achievable for all. What you're doing for the next year is building a new body—cell by cell. While doing this, there are warnings to limit or eliminate meat. Learn why and how meat is harmful to our bodies and why if you eat meat it must be "clean" (pasture-raised or wild caught).

A word here... Chris goes into some technical talk about certain things. I love reading and knowing that kind of stuff, but you don't need to know it to get better. Follow the food protocol Chris puts out and get nutrition in your body. That's your job.

Chapter 11 addresses the issue of toxicity from various sources, the importance of water, the assault toxins make on the liver and what to clear out of your life, home, and body. The importance of exercise, rest, sunlight and sleep are covered in Chapter 12. Chris zeros in on the problems with stress and how it can affect your healing (Chapter 13). He gives you helpful ideas to neutralize stress, but in the end, being a person of faith, what's out of our control are things God can handle.

Speaking of faith, the final Chapter (14) is about spiritual healing, dealing with fear and doubt, attitude and forgiveness. I saw what unforgiveness does to a person. It eats you alive until you die. Harsh words, but true. Dealing with these things is just as important as feeding your body concentrated good nutrition to heal.

The Bottom Line
I believe this book is the best and most comprehensive book on cancer. If you or a loved one is dealing with cancer, this book is a must read. Learn the truth about current treatments with citations and studies to back it up. Plus you'll be armed with information to help you take massive action to heal your body and restore your health. If you have been passive about your health, Chris Beat Cancer will educate you and help you change your life and launch you into action.

Buy it! Read it! Give it!

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My Take on Meal Delivery Services

It is my experience that you come to a point in your life when cooking and all that goes with it (coming up with a recipe, making a list, shopping, measuring, chopping, cooking and then plating your creation) is a burden. A necessary burden none the less. We need to eat. And since I'm all about eating healthy, I eat to live.

Entrepreneur chefs to the rescue. You might see a commercial for Hello Fresh or Blue Apron while watching your favorite tv show. There are lots of services to choose from today in the meal delivery services arena. And they are constantly changing aspects of their business to attract you to their service.

If eating healthy is a priority for you, why not try a Meal Delivery Service?

I was first motivated to try a service early last summer when I noticed a colorful box for Sun Basket on a neighbor's porch. I checked them out online and found they used organic and sustainable produce—a must for me and it should be for you. I decided to give it a try. At the time they only had a vegetarian option in addition to Lean & Clean, Paleo and more. Sun Basket now offers a vegan meal choice and a pescatarian meal choice.

Since I eat organic eggs, the vegetarian option kinda worked until I found I was throwing away too much cheese or yogurt. Not all recipes had dairy, but overall I also found some of the meals not very flavorful.

After reading a comparison of other meal delivery services, I discovered Green Chef. 100% organic with a vegan meal choice. I signed up for Green Chef and so far I like the recipes. The portions are large enough that we always have left-overs and the meals are a bit easier to put together than my experience with Sun Basket.

Sun Basket packages their recipe ingredients in paper bags that make it convenient to stash in the refrigerator, however you can't see the ingredients inside without opening the bags. Whereas Green Chef has color-coded labels on each menu ingredient. I spend a few minutes gathering the three menu ingredients together—separating the refrigerated ingredients from pantry ingredients (e.g., spices, cans, potatoes, etc). I purchased some containers at the Dollar Store and put each menu's ingredients in a container and store it in the refrigerator or pantry.

The menu cards that come with the services are all very pretty with step by step instructions and pictures to make the cooking go smoothly. Sun Basket includes a cook book each week of all their recipes because they offer the flexibility of ordering a meal (out of your 3 meals/week option) from any of their meal choices. For example, you can order two vegan meals and one pescatarian meal for your three meals.

So far I'm happy with Green Chef's vegan meals and their easy to follow menu cards. I've gotten so used to the process that I don't need to read the menu ahead of time. I can cook the meal and have it plated and ready to eat in the time indicated on the menu card.

Oh... the cost for those three delivered vegan meals is $81. It comes out of my grocery budget. I end up shopping less and wasting less. The beauty of the delivered meals is that the ingredients come as pre-measured spices, finished sauces, many cut-up ingredients (like julienned carrots)—only what you'll need to make the dish. No waste. Consider the service a sous chef for your meals.

I would grimace with envy when watching a recipe video. Wouldn't you love to have someone pre-measure and prepare the ingredients for a recipe you were making? Every ingredient in nice little bowls ready to be thrown into the pot. The recipe looks so easy because someone spent all that time ahead chopping and measuring everything.

Yup... Well you can have that too!

So here are my take-away points for subscribing to a Meal Delivery Service:

1. Great way to stick to a healthy diet
2. Reduces grocery shopping
3. Reduces food thrown away due to spoilage
4. No stress cooking
5. What's for dinner is a no-brainer
6. Save on monthly grocery budget
7. More time in your life
8. Flexible delivery and skipping weeks
9. You now have your very own sous chef...

I think there's more that can be added to this list. Are their any you can think of?

If you want to give any of these two services a try, here are links to sign up:

Sun Basket *

Green Chef **

*First-time users get $40 off their first order and I get $40 credit on my meals.

**First-time users get 4 free meals. If you order another week, I get $25 credit on my meals.

If you like any of these services, you can refer your friends for bonus credit too. Think of it as Yelp with a $$ bonus.

I am currently using both Sun Basket and Green Chef services. I skip one service while I get meals from the other. I usually do it for several weeks at a time so I can stay on top of it. I also skip meal delivery all together on some weeks if I'm going away or I just want a break from delivery. You can make it fit your style.

If you have any questions, leave a comment below.

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Food Companies Respond to Consumer Pressure

In the short time I've been writing this blog, I'm thrilled to say the tide is turning. Manufacturers have seen a shrinking of their bottom line because YOU have voted with your shopping dollars and shunned foods that contain artificial ingredients (preservatives, coloring, etc) and too much sugar.

Last month an article in the New York Times reported that a seismic shift in how people eat has caused big food companies to scramble. Manufacturers are responding by changing their ingredients to reflect the demand for healthier food.

I originally wrote about the dangers of manufactured food, particularly in breakfast cereals, back in 2011 called The (Mad) Science of Food Packaging.

Let's look at what is coming out of the research labs of the food companies and celebrate the victories consumers have achieved.

In Food Makers Try to Paint With Nature's Palette, the Wall Street Journal reported how food companies were replacing artificial ingredients with real food alternatives in response to consumer demands for ingredients they might "find in their own pantries." The article sites General Mills' experience to change the artificial colors in Trix, a kid's breakfast cereal. The final color palette is minus two colors and looks very different from the un-natural colors of the artificially colored version, but now appears wholesome and natural. A step in the right direction.

Next we'd like to see them labeling any genetically modified ingredients, such as corn in the Trix. Or better yet, replacing with non-GMO sourced ingredients and getting verified by the non-GMO project.

In my blog The (Mad) Science of Food Packaging, I focussed on Kellogg's Froot Loops. Unfortunately Kellogg's is one year behind the progress of General Mills. They still show the same artificial ingredients. Oh wait... I see they changed Blue #2 to Blue #1. You can see the difference between artificial (Froot Loops in the title image) and natural (above in the Trix image and labeling).

I've copied the ingredients below:

Froot Loops Ingredients: Sugar, corn flour blend (whole grain yellow corn flour, degerminated yellow corn flour), wheat flour, whole grain oat flour, oat fiber, modified food starch, soluble corn fiber, contains 2% or less of hydrogenated vegetable oil (coconut, soybean and/or cottonseed), salt, natural flavor, red 40, turmeric extract color, yellow 6, blue 1, annatto extract color, BHT for freshness.

At any rate, we have made a difference. These changes are because of YOU! Give yourself a pat on the back and continue to vote with your wallet.

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Kudos to Chipotle for Dumping GMOs

Recently we stopped for lunch at Chipotle. I knew Chipotle has healthy choices AND they were the first food chain to announce they had GMOs in some menu items, but were busily trying to source all non-GMO ingredients.

Well, I'm happy to say, they have achieved what they said they would do. I give them huge props for sticking out their necks and listening to consumers who know what GMO foods are and their danger to health.

What Did I Eat at Chipotle?
I had a bowl (a burrito without the wrap) with the following ingredients:

• Sofritas—cooked organic, crumpled and seasoned tofu
• Cilantro-Lime Brown Rice (half of normal serving)
• Black Beans
• Fajita Veggies (lots of them)
• Topped with—
• Mild Fresh Tomato Salsa
• Medium Hot Tomatillo Green Chili Salsa
• Medium Hot Roasted Chili-Corn Salsa
• Lettuce

It was YUM. What do you think?

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Wisdom Wednesday

Tip:
The Environmental Working Group (ewg.org) recently released their Dirty Dozen(TM)—fruits and vegetables tested to contain unacceptable amounts of pesticides. One the other end of the scale, the Clean 15(TM) lists produce having the least amount of detected pesticides that would be considered acceptable for your family to eat. Make a note.

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Get a Vitamix Under Your Christmas Tree

When mentioning a wonderful smoothie I just blended using my Vitamix, I might hear a sigh from someone who doesn't have a Vitamix of their own. I've had one for about thirty years now. It's that good and well-built. I think everyone should have one. It's an investment in your health. The Vitamix makes it easy to mix up a fresh veggie and fruit smoothie chock full of nutrients (vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, enzymes and more).

Now is a good time to get a Vitamix blender on your Christmas list. Wouldn't you like to wake up on Christmas Day, unwrap it then put it to work making a Pumpkin Pie Smoothie? Yum!

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Giveaway & Movie Review

Movie Review
Joe Cross had a successful career and everything going for him... except his weight had ballooned, his cholesterol was heading higher and he had chronic nagging illnesses that required medication. Could be almost anybody in America today. Even children are experiencing theses issues at an alarming rate.

Originally debuting in 2011, the documentary Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead follows Joe on a trek across America. Accompanying him on the journey was a juicer for prepping the vegetables and fruit he consumed as his only food for 60 days. Encountering people "on the street" along his way, he proudly drank his liquid meals while highlighting the typical processed food that most ate.

If it isn't enough to witness the whittling down of Joe before our eyes in the film, wait until Joe meets Phil, a truck driver with the same autoimmune disease, and begins to help him turn his health around. At 420 pounds, Phil's story becomes the emotional grabber of the movie. You will not believe the transformation that occurs. The movie leaves you with a sense of hope, wellness, friendship and our ability to change.

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Hungry For Change Review

Need a bit of motivation to make some changes in your diet that at least will make you feel better and at most save your life? From the creators of the best-selling documentary Food Matters comes another hard-hitting film certain to rock your world. Hungry For Change includes interviews with health professionals and medical doctors telling you why you are what you eat and how eating the right foods can be a life-changing experience. The movie (released spring 2012) offers striking testimonials by people who were very sick, then made changes in their diets that brought permanent weight loss and rid them of many disease issues.

If you need some inspiration to kick-start a diet change, I recommend seeing Hungry For Change. You can purchase the DVD and the recipe book (only $74.95) to help you begin your journey to optimum health at the Hungry for Change website. I get nothing by recommending these products. I just know you will get a dose of reality about the food you eat.

Fans of Healthy Journey Cafe have read much of what the movie exposes, such as the truth about diet programs, and fat-free and sugar-free food.


Watch the first 20 minutes of the movie and you'll be hooked. If you think it's too late for you, think again. People make life-altering changes that are 180 degrees from their current path... and so can you.

What's keeping you from getting healthy?

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Restaurant Review: Flora's Field Kitchen

A trip to Los Cabos Mexico means a perfect get-away during the cold and rainy Northern California winter (and spring this year... okay, I admit we don't know what cold is in California). Exploring new beaches, side roads and taco joints is a favorite pastime while we warm-up in the sunshine of Mexico. On our most recent trip to Cabo, we discovered a wonderful place to eat outside of San Jose Del Cabo called Flora Farms. The organic working farm provides food for the restaurant Flora's Field Kitchen and a small farmer's market setup next to the al fresco dining area.

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The (Mad) Science of Food Packaging

Notice how food packaging touts the benefits and good things they put in the product in big bold print on the front of the package?

• Good Source of FIBER
• Made with WHOLE GRAIN

Like putting it in BOLD CAPS makes it good. Most people get sucked in thinking they're getting a healthy product. Don't fall for the mad science.

It's a calculated ploy to convince you that junk food is healthy for you. Put the package down, step back and walk away... no, run!

Yes, these cereals are junk food!

Let's look at Froot (nothing close to fruit) Loops:

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What? I'm Having a Baby?

That's news to me!

A couple of months ago I started getting spam for mothers and mothers-to-be. I shook my head, marked it as Junk and went on my merry way.

Then last week I opened up my mail box and found a box of Similac samples. Wha? I wondered, How did they get my address? And, What made them think this grandmother of three was having a baby? For the record, that would be a miracle... and then I got an American Baby magazine in my mailbox.

I'm gonna chock this up to two things:

• There is no privacy—everything about you is known by anybody who wants to know
• Can anybody get anything right today?

So, dear blog readers, I'm taking this opportunity to do an evaluation of infant formula.

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Keep Your Vegetables and Fruit Fresher Longer

Now that you've been buying more vegetables to get healthy, how do you keep them from going bad before you can eat them? When I started my diet, eating lots more vegetables, I needed a way to keep them fresh as long as possible. Proper food storage is important. I threw out lots of vegetables in the past and I didn't want that to happen—it gets expensive. Wondering if the Debbie Meyer Green Bags I'd seen on TV were any good, I picked up a box when I saw them in the grocery produce section.

Time to put the green bags to the test.

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