“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” Hippocrates.

I am fairly certain that everyone reading this article has heard this famous quote from Hippocrates about food being our medicine.  

Gayle and I have certainly experienced this firsthand and believe that cancer prevention starts in the kitchen with the foods we consume. 

If you want to take proactive steps to prevent cancer or you have gone through cancer treatments and want to prevent a recurrence, keep reading.   

In this article I will be sharing information on four cancer fighting herbs and spices that we incorporated into our diet. I invite you to do the same. 

These spices do more than enhance the flavor of food; they can stimulate your immune system and fight cancer. 

Turmeric

Turmeric was the first spice we added to our diet. We included it in fresh carrot juice that we drank every day. It’s a yellow curry powder (the active polyphenol ingredient is curcumin) that is shown to inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells. It is also a potent anti-inflammatory. Inflammation can be the catalyst for many dis-eases in the body so focusing on reducing inflammation is a smart goal. 

Ginger

We also added ginger to our carrot juice.  It has a pleasing taste and it’s a rich antioxidant with anti-inflammatory properties that protect against cancer. 

Garlic

We are big fans of garlic.  My brother once said, “You can never have too much garlic in a dish.”  (We put that to the test and discovered you actually can add too much garlic, but that’s a different story.)  We include fresh garlic into our diet nearly every day.  We include it in our homemade salad dressing (recipe below); we steam it with our vegetables.  Garlic is a powerful anti-cancer spice and is part of the cancer-fighting allium group that includes onions, shallots, scallions, leeks and chives.  Garlic boosts the immune system and it has been shown to decrease the growth of cancer cells.   

Pro Tip:  When including garlic in your diet, you have to chop it and let it rest for 10-15 minutes before using it to allow for the formation of allicin. Allicin (diallylthiosulfinate) is a defense molecule from garlic (Allium sativum L.) with a broad range of biological activities.  Allicin is produced upon tissue damage from the non-proteinogenic amino acid alliin (S-allylcysteine sulfide) in a reaction that is catalyzed by the enzyme alliinase. 

Oregano

Oregano is a rich source of antioxidants; it slows cancer growth and promotes apoptosis (cancer cell death).  Add this wonderful spice to your food as often as possible.  We use it in our salad dressing recipe (see below).  

Pro Tip: Oregano is also a wonderful disinfectant to use in your kitchen.  Clean countertops, sinks, stoves and refrigerators with a cleaning solution containing wild oregano oil.  Simply add 5-10 drops of wild oregano oil to every pint of cleaning solution in order to gain that antiseptic effect.