Whole

When we and other mammals consume plants, we also consume the antioxidants in those plants. And they serve us just as faithfully and effectively as they serve the plants, protecting us from free radicals and slowing down the aging process in our cells.

ideal human diet looks like this: Consume plant-based foods in forms as close to their natural state as possible (“whole” foods). Eat a variety of vegetables, fruits, raw nuts and seeds, beans and legumes, and whole grains. Avoid heavily processed foods and animal products. Stay away from added salt, oil, and sugar. Aim to get 80 percent of your calories from carbohydrates, 10 percent from fat, and 10 percent from protein.

The report provided detailed evidence that a plant-based diet had considerable potential to inhibit the progression of melanoma, but it also mentioned a similar effect on other cancers. The patient cases in this study were provided with a diet of mostly whole, plant-based foods prescribed by the famous (or, if you prefer, infamous2) Gerson Institute in Tijuana, Mexico

And like any group that “knows best,” doctors can be blind to other options that might be more viable than their own skills and tools. Some of them, out of twin desires to cure and to remain blameless, use their power advantage to bully and silence skeptics who might want to explore wholistic methods of healing. As a result, even the bravest and most open-minded patients usually feel that drugs and surgery are their best bet.

I therefore sought and found a very recent review on interferon and related treatments for melanoma stage II and III patients.3 It concluded that “at present there is no single therapy [including interferon] that prolongs overall survival in stage II and III melanoma.

This kind of pressure from a medically informed superior given to an emotionally vulnerable and uninformed patient concerned for her survival is not a level playing field. It undoubtedly leads to acceptance of the physician’s recommendation. Cancer patients intensely want to believe in their oncologist, whom they see as holding the key to their recovery.

On one level, the interaction between Karen and her doctor is simply a story of an arrogant professional pressuring a vulnerable patient to do what he believes to be in her best interest. He knows what standard care is. She doesn’t. Period.

So you see, treating the symptom of the brown lawn by addressing just that symptom—brownness—in isolation from its wholistic environment not only doesn’t solve the problem, it makes it much worse.

When Chinese doctors counsel patients, they traditionally consider the whole person: physically, mentally, socially, and environmentally. Their practice of “medicine” also considers the wholistic effects of whole plants, usually multiple plants, in their preparation of herbal remedies (plants comprise about 95 percent of remedies in traditional Chinese medicine).

that natural antioxidants from fresh fruit could be more effective than a dietary supplement [of vitamin C].”