In a healthy internal ecosystem, cells are created and destroyed all the time. They live so long as they fulfill their mission within the greater cooperative of the human organism, then die on their own or are killed by the immune system. A cell becomes cancerous when it is diseased or malfunctioning, but refuses to die. If cancerous cells begin reproducing themselves, they can eventually take over the body.

Conventional allopathic medicine treats most types of cancer with radiation and toxic chemicals. This can kill the cancer in many cases, but it also can create deep imbalances and other types of disease in the body.

While there is currently little scientific evidence to back it up, many alternative health practitioners believe that most types of cancer can be healed with appropriate food and lifestyle changes. One of the most popular treatments in the alternative health community is an alkaline diet.

What Is an Alkaline Diet?

The theory behind alkaline diets is the idea that the acid-alkaline balance of the body is affected by the foods we eat. Certain foods are more acid forming, lowering the bodys pH, while other foods are alkaline forming and raise the bodys pH. An alkaline diet is one in which the majority of the food we eat is alkaline-forming.

How an Alkaline Diet Helps Prevent Cancer

Disease thrives in acidic environments. When the digestive tract and blood are more acidic, there is less oxygen present in the cells, and more toxins. Increasing the pH of the body should in theory make it easier to remove toxins and have more oxygen available, which would kick cancer to the curb.

But alkalinity is not a cut-and-dry solution to ending disease. Yes, it has been proven that cancer can only proliferate (reproduce) within the range of 6.5 to 7.5 pH. If you can raise the pH of cancer cells beyond this range, then the cancer will not be able to grow. Research has shown that cancer cells will return to normal cellular apoptosis (dying when cells are supposed to) when they are pushed above a 7.5 pH.

The challenge here is actually affecting the cancer cells. Once a tumor develops, it makes the environment around it acidic by decreasing circulation and manipulating the process of metabolizing glucose. This makes it much more challenging to alkalinize the cancer cells.

And a healthy bodys normal pH 7.4, which is still within the range needed for cancer to proliferate. Actually killing cancer through alkalinization would then require both an alkaline diet and a program of alkaline therapy. Alkaline therapy can neutralize the acid waste of cancer cells and interfere with the glucose processing cycle that feeds cancer cells.

Alkaline therapy includes taking specific doses of particular minerals combined with a medium like MSM (Methylsulfonylmethane) to transport the minerals to all cells in the body. These minerals must then be balanced by the appropriate electrolytes to avoid any potential side effects. Discovering the precise mineral balance needed for your body requires an in-depth analysis of your blood, which can only be done by a health care provider who specializes in mineral therapy and alternative healing.

Building an Alkaline Diet

An alkaline diet is very close to what we usually recommend for people committed to health. It consists of primarily fresh vegetables, with some fruit, lightly cooked veggies, sprouts, sea vegetables, soaked raw almonds, miso, ginger, garlic, organic cold-pressed oils like olive and coconut, organic raw apple cider vinegar, chia seeds, flax seeds, and hemp seeds. The most alkalinizing foods are dark leafy green vegetables, lemons, limes, grapefruit, chlorella, spirulina, and green sprouts.

Acid-forming foods are to restricted or avoided altogether. These include meat, dairy, gluten, most other grains, sodas, alcohol, chocolate, sugar, overcooked foods, fried foods, leftovers, processed foods, and very sweet fruit.

Some slightly acidic foods can be included occasionally, such as yams, sprouted non-glutinous grains like millet, buckwheat, and quinoa, and pre-soaked legumes.

It is important to get organic food grown in mineral-rich soil. It is partly the high mineral content of these foods that make them beneficial.

Whether or not alkalinizing the diet is sufficient to kill cancer, the foods on the alkaline diet list are nearly all ones that have been proven to help prevent or end cancer. For example, citrus fruit and berries are high in phytochemicals known to protect healthy cells from inflammation and oxidation. Leafy green veggies and garlic have many nutrients that have been shown to protect the body from cancer in multiple studies.

An alkalinizing diet is an excellent way to support the body by creating the healthiest internal environment possible. And it may help free us from cancer. Eating an alkaline diet can help prevent cancer, and when combined with alkaline therapy, it may be capable of eradicating cancer that already exists in the body.