A cancer diagnosis can be devastating, and the prospect of chemotherapy can be extremely off-putting to those who are concerned about its ravaging effects on the body and its questionable efficacy. Some people are taking their health into their own hands, and stories abound of people who have found success with natural treatments.
After undergoing surgery for colon cancer, Ann Cameron declined chemotherapy. When the cancer subsequently spread to her lungs, her doctor said her life expectancy was just two or three years, and once again recommended chemotherapy to help extend her life just a bit. A reluctant Cameron took it upon herself to research alternative treatments in the hopes of avoiding chemotherapy.
“I read everything I could find on the internet about alternatives to chemotherapy and radiation. I already had a list of twenty or so recommended substances that didn’t work, that my husband had tried for six months before dying of lung cancer in 2005.”
She discovered a story about Ralph Cole, who said that he killed some small cancer cells in his neck by drinking five pounds of juiced carrots every day. She was taken by his story, and felt she had nothing to lose. He wasn’t selling anything and seemed sincere, so she decided to start drinking five pounds of carrot juice on November 17, 2012.
Just ten days later, she got the disheartening news that the tumors in her lung were growing rapidly. Nevertheless, she continued to decline chemotherapy and drank her carrot juice.
After another CT scan on January 7, she got the news that the cancer in her lungs had stopped growing. Other tumors in her body were shrinking, and she had fewer swollen lymph nodes. After just eight weeks of carrot juice, she appeared to be heading into remission. Interestingly eight weeks was also the amount of time it took Cole to get rid of his neck cancer.
Things continued to look up for her. Another CT scan at the end of March showed that her cancer had not grown, and that her tumors continued to shrink. By August, she was told her cancer was gone, and her lymph nodes had returned to normal.
Falcarinol in carrots has cancer treatment potential
The compound in carrots that is believed to be responsible for this effect is falcarinol, and there are calls for more research into its potential as a cancer treatment. Cameron said that her doctor told her she couldn’t recommend anything besides chemotherapy due to a lack of research into alternative options.
She said: “My understanding is that M.D.’s must rigidly conform to recommending chemotherapy or radiation, and nothing else, lest they fly in the face of proven published research and cause a patient’s injury or death with unorthodox advice–which could get them a big medical negligence law suit. So you can bring up carrots, or cabbage, or curcumin with your doctor, but even if they are interested, they are not free to recommend these substances to you.”
While Cameron’s experience is anecdotal, the many benefits of carrots are well-documented.
Carrots full of health benefits
Research from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, for example, has shown that falcarinol from carrots can destroy pre-cancerous cells found in tumors. In the study, which was published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, this phytonutrient was found to reduce the risk of cancer by one third, and the doctor who led the study, Dr. Kirsten Brandt, suggests that people eat at least one carrot each day along with other fruits and vegetables for maximum health.
Juicing carrots increases the assimilation of the cancer-fighting compound falcarinol. It is also believed to increase the availability of carotenoids, which provide anti-aging and heart health benefits, by as much as 600 percent. Of course, you’ll want to use organic carrots or you could be introducing toxic substances into your body.
Thankfully, carrots are one superfood that is relatively easy to grow at home. Many people turn to home growing for healthier living so that they can rest assured that their produce was not treated with any pesticides. The Health Ranger’s Mini-Farm Grow Box can help people grow their own organic food and save money over the long run, making it an integral part of leading a healthy and sustainable lifestyle.
