Cancer Prevention with Inspire Health

On April 11^th 2012 Bentall Kennedy’s Fitness month hosted Dr. Janice Wright to tell us about evidence based cancer care and prevention. Dr. Wright is a physician with Inspire Health which is a non-profit society established in 1997 which is recognized as a national leader in Cancer care. Here is a summary of the principles at Inspire Health which they use as a platform for wellness promotion and cancer prevention & treatment.

•         Person empowerment and the right to choose

•         Whole-person approach – Not just the sum of the parts

•         Self-efficacy and engagement vs. passive and dependent

•         Belief in our body’s ability to heal

•         Focus on prevention

•         Healthy role modeling by health care professionals

•         Transforming fear associated with a cancer diagnosis into inspired action

•         The optimal time-frame to engage and be inspired is during the ‘window of opportunity’ soon after diagnosis

•         Ripple effect to family, friends and community

•         Group work provides support for this shift

•         Evidence based, wisdom-informed: 7,000+ research abstracts

For more information regarding Inspire Health’s unique life-changing cancer care and recovery programs they can be reached online at www.inspirehealth.ca or by calling 604 734 7125. There office is located at 200-1330 West 8^th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, V6H 4A6.

So, here’s a summary of 5 interesting points regarding cancer care that Dr. Wright addressed in her talk. *** This (of course) is in conjunction to participation in regular vigorous physical activity and stretching!!

1) Don’t eat Peanuts or Peanut butter. Period.

Aflatoxins clearly linked to liver cancer

Recommendations: avoid peanuts or peanut butter.

*Safe, healthy tree nut butter options: almond butter, cashew butter

2) Broccoli and Green tea

Not necessarily to be eaten together, but they have been shown to be cancer reducing for both men and women by regularly including them in your diet. 

3) Sleep

Lack of sleep and stress are some of the leading causes of immune- suppression. Try to get as much undisturbed, high quality sleep, with uninterrupted darkness... It is an unappreciated endogenous mechanism of cancer prevention. ( That means if your body is adequately rested your immune system can fight illness better)

4) Laughter
Sing, Dance, Laugh. Basically have some fun.

5) Minimize Toxin Exposure

This is a no brainer: Don’t Smoke Tobacco.

Another underappreciated way to minimize toxin exposure is to watch what you put on your skin. The average person uses 12 products a day on their skin from hand soap, body soap to shampoo & conditioner, shaving cream and cosmetics. In this stuff is a cesspool of mineral oil and nasty chemicals that end up directly in your bloodstream through contact with your skin and can directly affect your body’s health. To find out more about the worlds healthiest skin care products from Arbonne click: http://welcomeyourwellness.myarbonne.ca/ or contact johanna@myarbonne.ca (ID:115531483) 

                                    

Dirty Dozen:

Here is a list of the common fruits containing the most pesticides and harmful residues. Y’know… the ones at the supermarket that don’t have the organic label! Additionally,  Dr. Wright mentioned imported grapes are some of the worst culprits for holding chemicals with in due to the thinness of the skin. Wash them all before you eat them, and avoid the ones listed below if you are unsure of its origins or farming practice.

1.  Peach
2. Apple
3. Bell Pepper
4. Celery
5. Nectarine
6. Strawberries
7. Cherries
8. Kale
9. Lettuce
10. Grapes (Imported)
11. Carrot
12. Pear

That’s about it for now. Thanks to Inspire Health and Dr. Janice Wright for speaking to us about how we can stay healthy and live longer.

CH