Unbeatable Silent Killer within You “Stress” - Don’t Just Cope With It, Beat It.

Dr Leow Chee Seng
Certified Stress Consultant Professional (US)
Fellow of British Institute of Homeopathy (UK)

If you were to browse through any newspapers or magazines prior to 1970, you would be hard-pressed to find the word stress in text or the headline. The stress phenomenon becomes an epidemic that the word “stress” now is used as commonly as the term “health” and “medicine”. Current estimation shows that 70 and 80 percents of all visits to physicians are for stress related disorders which the most notably chronic diseases such as coronary heart-disease and hypertension. Besides, common cold, migraine, warts, female infertility, ulcers and insomnia is directly associated to stress because stress affects our immune system.

Unfortunately, not many people understand the concept of stress. Most of us have wrong concept towards stress. We assume all stress are bad for us. In fact, there are three types of stress, eustress, neustress and distress. Eustress is good stress that motivates us to complete a task or work. Getting married might be an example of eustress; meeting our prime minister to get an award may also be a type of eustress. I would relate eustress situation with enjoyable and not threatening. Neustress is a type of stimuli that does not have consequences effect where it is not catagorised as good or bad. News of an earthquake in China might fall into this category especially who are not staying in that area. Turning to third type of stress distress, is considered as bad and often is abbreviated as stress.

In fact, we are facing with stress each day, acute stress and chronic stress. Acute stress is quite intense and disappears quickly. Chronic stress is not so intense but prolong for a long period of time. Let’s share with you one example. I was using cell phone to send messages (SMS) to my brother, there was a police car pulled up behind me and flashed blue lights. My heart was racing, palms were sweating. In fact, they were trying to tell me my tire was flat. After that, my heart was calm, palms dried and started to sing the song on the radio. The threat is over. The intensity of the acute stress may seem cataclysmic, but it is just short period of time. Chronic stressors are not so intense but unbearably long. For example, being stuck with the “team mates from hell,” a credit card bills that seems to grow despite monthly payment, maintaining a relationship with wife, husband that seems bad to stay in but worse to leave.

Learning to enjoy challenge of stress will take practice. It can be fun, as you have the ability to cope and enjoy life. In fact, stress management is very much like learning to ride a bicycle. At first you need training wheels or someone to guide you. Later, after practice, you are able to take the training hells off and ride the bicycle alone. However, remember that stress management training is not a cure-all. Instead, it is a change in lifestyle and a new way of viewing the world. In this article, I will share with you the basic concept of stress management including body awareness, effective breathing techniques, visualization, and rational emotive behavior therapy. In fact, there are many other methods to control stress like thought stopping, meditation, worry control, panic attacks, stress inoculation techniques, learned optimism and others. In fact, during clinical session and training, I would use combination of methods instead of one depending on the severity, personality and behavior of the person.

Body awareness is the first step toward acknowledging and reducing stress. The ability to recognize how your body reacts to the stressors in our can be a powerful skill. Most of us more aware of weather, time of day, bank balance, children education than they are of the tension in their own bodies or their personal stress response. Your body registers stress long before the conscious mind does. In this session, I recommend them to do body inventory, stress awareness diary and record of general tension. In body inventory, we will use body awareness method to identify areas of tension. The following steps to conduct body inventory. First, we have to focus on external world. For example, “I am aware of radio is on, fan is moving, dark brown sofa next to me and there are a lot of books on the table.” Then, shift to focus on your body and physical sensation which is known as internal world. “I can feel my bladder is full, eyes are tired and neck muscle is tensed”. Relate the internal and external environment. “I am aware the wind is blowing my hair”. Through this method, you would appreciate between inner and outer worlds. In this exercise, I would always encourage participant to conduct “body scanning” exercise. This exercise is rather simple. You just have to close your eyes. Starting with your roes and moving up body, then ask myself, where am I tense. When we have discovered a tense area, exaggerate it slightly so you can become aware of it. Then say to yourself, “I am tensing my leg muscle … I am hurting myself … I am creating tension in my body.” Turning to stress awareness diary, we would like participants to record time, stress event and symptoms during the event. Through this method, we will be able to identify and keep track on stress event.

Effective breathing techniques help to reduce stress. Breathing awareness and good breathing habits enhance your psychological and physical well-being. To practice it, you have to sit or lay down. Make sure the place is comfortable. Breathe in deeply into your abdomen. Let yourself pause before you exhale. You may count “One … Two… Three….. “ when you inhale and exhale. Notice your breathing gradually slowing, your body relaxing and you mind calming as you practice this breathing technique. In stress clinics, I always advice my patient to use alternative breathing especially for those who are suffering from tension or sinus headaches. This can be done through sitting in a comfortable place with a good posture. Then, place your index and second figure of your right hand on your forehead and close your right nostril with your thumb. Inhale slowly and soundlessly through your left nostril. After that, close your left nostril with your ring finger and simultaneously open you right nostril by removing your thumb. Exhale slowly and soundlessly through your right nostril. Close your right nostril with your thumb and open your left nostril. Exhale through your left nostril. Finally inhale through your left nostril and repeat the exercise. Try it out and you will get unbelievable result!

Besides, you can use the enormously powerful gift by our creator – visualization. Usually we will combine this technique with rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT). Several researches have been conducted among cancer patients through visualization. From the research, the researcher found that the imagination for exceed that of the will. Sometimes, it is difficult to let yourselves in a relaxed state, but you can imagine relaxation spreading through your body, and you can visualize yourself in a beautiful beach or a waterfall. In clinical psychology session, this technique is used for pain management among cancer patients. This method stimulates our subconscious mind and our body becomes more energetic. For example, I have a patient who has phobia towards smell of fish. Every time when he visits a wet market, he would bath and continue to wash his hands until sometimes he hurt his hands and. I would associate this behavior with obsessive-compulsive behavior. During psychotherapy session, I asked him to imagine that he visited a wet market. Then, encouraged him slowly and gradually to move to the fish stalls. He was so hesitate to move there. After a support and encouragement, he imaged to walk forward the stall. Then, I requested him to pick a fish. Subsequently, I explained to him the rationale not to be afraid of fish and the smell and I requested him to notice how he did that. Finally, he has to change his self-talk in their imagination.

Remember, you have a choice to stress or not to stress. It is good if you are able to detect and overcome the stress before this silent killer attacks you. Let’s create a stress free environment and build up authentic happiness within us.

What Doctor Wound Not Tell You About Anti Aging

Dr. Leow Chee Seng
Fellow of British Institute Homeopathy (UK)
Certified Stress Management Professional (US)
MMIM, MIMM, MIM-CPT, CAHRP

Since the dawn of time, mankind has searched for a mythological fountain of youth. Anti aging secrets are spoken of in the very earliest myths and legends. Pretty much every culture has myths about immortal heroes who found some sort of rejuvenating herb, device or potion that allow them to stay young forever – or at least for a very long time. For example, a Chinese legend described the emperor of Qing Dynasty, Shih Huang Ti who ordered his warriors to hunt for longevity potions for him but failed. In this universe, no one wants to die, and no one wants to grow old. It is no wonder that ideas about anti aging secrets are so widespread all over the world.

Sorting out the real anti aging secrets from all the myths, however, can be quite a task. For all we know, the secrets to anti aging could be well guarded so that they don't fall into the wrong hands. Who knows if somewhere, in an isolated village up in the mountains, a whole tribe of people have learned how to live for hundreds, or even thousands of years? If they knew how to do that, would they share the anti aging secret with the rest of us? Or would they keep their precious anti aging treatment to themselves?

I have visited several places in Mediterranean; I observed that, the life expectancy of the people there is higher than other countries. A qualitative research is conducted on their lifestyle and eating habits and I found that people who eat Mediterranean diets tend to live longer, healthier lives. It is not because they are necessarily wiser or smarter, but because they live in an area where certain foods grow, and have developed a specific lifestyle that contributes to longevity. Olive oil, grapes, a diet high in vegetables and fish, and many other aspects of the Mediterranean diet contribute to good health and long life.
When I was conducting a public seminar, a participant asked me how we could identify if a person has undergone degenerative process or getting old. The traditional designation for old age is 65 years old. Even a judge retires at the age of 65. (Constitutional Law, Article 125). In fact, many people are vigorous and active at 65. Some researchers refer aging in the area of biological age. Biological age refers to changes in the body that commonly occur as people age. For example, vision and hearing ability reduces as we age. Nowadays, we can observe that people biologically old at 40. Turning to psychological age, I would describe it as how a person would feel and at his emotional stage. For example, a 75-year-old who works, participates in different activities are considered as psychologically young.

As we age, hormonal levels diminish and our skin, muscles and bones begin to deteriorate. A good anti aging diet should stimulate hormone production and promote strength and flexibility. Many of the studies and research done lately about anti-aging and anti disease nutrition has focused on the nutrients known as antioxidants. Antioxidant helps to reverse the oxidation process or slow down the oxidation process to the cells. Scientists are beginning to understand the preventive qualities of antioxidants but the average person have not yet understand what antioxidants do or what they are.

Before further discussion on antioxidants, it is a good idea to expose the concept of aging. Aging starts when a person is born. An infant develops and matures into an adult. During human development, the aging process changes and decline in function that ultimately leads to death. There are several factors which lead to degeneration of cells including chemicals, radiation, environment, drugs and toxins, emotional stages, stress and other factors. In the area of histology, many cells die or undergo apoptosis due to the replacing old cells with new ones and eliminating excess cells. The cells die because they can only divide for a limited number of times. When a cell stops dividing, the cells enlarge and die. Hence, aging process starts.

The oxidation process contributes to aging. In a chemistry perspective, oxidation is a process where chemical releases or donate electrons to form cathions. Several researches have been conducted on oxygen gas as an oxidation agent. Oxygen gas releases by plants through photosynthesis and we need them for survival. However, oxygen gas produces by-product that is harmful to our health. Now, many clinical researches are conducted in order to overcome the effect of oxidation process to cells. These researches include methods to slow down oxidation process or eliminate oxidation process acts on the cells. For example, Dr. Musalmah Mazlan a lecturer from medical faculty, UKM and Associate Prof Maznah Ismail from medical faculty, UPM are actively involved in research on antioxidant.

The role of antioxidant towards our health is justified. When you walk into a pharmacy, you can buy different brands of supplement. However, how effective is the role of a supplement with antioxidant is questionable. Some of us have misunderstood on the importance of balanced diet. Supplements can never be used to substitute balanced diet. Besides, beware that we can "over- supplement" our bodies by taking more than the recommended daily dosage of certain vitamins and minerals. For example, excessive of vitamin A and E (a type of fat soluble vitamins) is stored in liver and fatty tissues that derive to toxicity and diseases. However, I strongly believe in natural therapy where nutrients should be obtained from natural food.

In practical, we should eat high quantity of fruits and vegetables in order to obtain high level of antioxidant. Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of United States has identified twenty types of food with high antioxidant level.
1. Red beans
2. Wild blueberries
3. Red kidney beans
4. Pinto beans
5. Cultivated blueberries
6. Cranberries
7. Artichokes
8. Blackberries
9. Prunes
10. Raspberries
11. Strawberries
12. Red Delicious apples
13. Granny Smith apples
14. Pecans
15. Sweet cherries
16. Black plums
17. Russet potatoes
18. Black beans
19. Plums
20. Gala apples
However, in nutrition therapy session, I always encourage my clients to take diet rich in fruits, veggies, and whole grains. Since sweet potatoes, carrots, spinach, cantaloupe and mangoes are great sources of antioxidants, it is recommended to consume them in the form of half cooked or even raw. Through this method, enzymes would not be destroyed by the heat during preparation process and the level of antioxidant remains at optimum level. According to Dr Charles Silverman, a natural therapist, we should take at least two types of food with high antioxidant to maintain our health and reduce aging process.

Psychological Stress accelerates aging process. Prof Dennis H. Novack, who studies the link between emotions and health at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, found that during stress hypothalamus excretes adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH). The hormone shortens the telomere and the cells start to degenerate and aging starts. Stress management techniques such as breathing, progressive relaxation, mediation, visualisation should be used when there is an indicator of stress.

What is the relationship between exercise and anti-aging? Studies have shown that nothing works better to attain anti-aging effects than a regular exercise program. ‘Regular’ is the key word – unless your exercise routine is consistent, the process won’t have the same effect. Flexibility exercise is the important exercises to beat the aging process. It increases blood circulation and releases serotonin which is a chemical produced by the brain and is necessary for overall health and well-being. Flexibility exercises are also safe and easy to perform. Besides, strength Building exercise helps build sturdiness and sustain bone mass. Your chances of having a debilitating injury are lessened as you build your muscle strength. Exercises to improve the muscles in your shoulders, back and legs will also help with hormone production. Lastly I would recommend them for cardiovascular exercise. This aerobic exercise also helps fight depression and keep your weight down. Running, brisk walking and any other exercise that will increase your heart rate for a sustained period of time release brain chemicals that produce hormones.
The importance of good nutrition in order to keep away the early signs of aging, but the truth is that this is only the first step. Without a doubt antioxidants are a vital in our fight against diseases. We all agree that sometimes eating the right thing is difficult but when compared with pain and suffering that we can bring to ourselves by getting cancer, arthritis or arteriosclerosis, a bowl of salad and an orange seems like a very tasty choice. Don’t forget that the key element to be incorporated to our life-styles if we want to live longer and look younger is to reduce the amounts of chemicals, synthetics and over the counter drugs that we expose our bodies to.

The need for Market Research in Malaysia

The need for Market Research in Malaysia
By
Dr Leow Chee Seng
FBIH (UK), MMIM, MIMM, MIHRM, CAHRP, CPT-MIM,
MBA (UPM), PhD (USM), DBA (UBI)
Certified E-Commerce Professional (Mal),Certified Professional Trainer (MIM, PSNB),Certified Stress
Management (IACT, USA),Certificate Qualitative Research (Georgia, USA),
Certificate in Homeopathy Medicine (Mal)

Market research is an essential part of any business that offers products or services that are
focussed and well targeted. It views the entire business from the customer's viewpoint taking
into account every aspect of the marketing mix from the product to price, distribution
channels and marketing communications. All these factors affect the customer's response to a
product or service. Business decisions that are based on good judgement and good market
research can minimise risk and pay dividends when market research is part and parcel of the
business process. In general, businesses that invest in market research increase their chances
of succeeding both locally and internationally.
“Why do I need to invest in market research? I am just running a small enterprise!” This
statement is extremely common when consultants approach SMIs or SMEs to conduct
market research to enhance their efficiency and effectiveness in running a business.
Unfortunately, the awareness on the importance of market research is limited among
Malaysians. Hence, effort and resources are wasted on trials and errors. (Hair et. al., 2003).
A company may begin exporting without having carried out any market research and this
may have disastrous consequences. In fact, it will be able to find even more promising
markets if it conducts a systematic research.
Market research is imperative for a company to know type of products or services would be
profitable to be introduced into the market. Penetrating a new market without a complete
market research could lead to time and resources wastage. One of the major scopes of
marketing research is to manage the current products and new products through product
management research. Some entrepreneurs act based on their gut feel to determine market
segmentation, promotional and price strategies. These methods obstruct the growth of the
organisation. Besides that, with respect to its existing products in the market, good market
research enables a company to know if it has been able to satisfy customer needs and whether
any changes need to be made in the packaging, delivery or the product itself.
A competitive intelligence research is important to understand the competitive product
strategy to enable a company to formulate a viable marketing plan or measure the success of
its existing plan. On the other hand, test marketing research helps monitor the performance of
a brand by launching in a select area and then taking it across the country. In other words, it
is a small-scale product launch used to determine the likely acceptance of the product when it
is introduced into a wider market. After launching the new product, concept testing research
could identify and test the acceptance of a concept by target consumers. In short, market
research will minimise risk when doing business. Market research can help shape a new
product or service, identifying what is needed and ensuring that the development of a product
is highly focused towards demand.
Market research helps better communicate and understanding of success in business. I have
conducted a research to compare customer satisfaction among patients from private and
public hospitals. From the research, we have identified elements that could boost up their
2
customer satisfaction to gear up key performance index (KPI) of the organisation.
Consequently, current customers’ experiences are valuable information source, as not only
will this allow you to gauge how well you currently meet their expectations but it can also tell
you what you are doing right and more importantly what you are doing wrong. By asking for
customer feedback, not only are you showing them that you care but you are also taking the
guess work out of customer services. Indirectly, the organisation has implemented a branding
strategy to increase the market share.
Consumer behaviour plays a vital role if you are planning to operate a new service. We need
to know the preconceived attitudes people have and market research can help, not only in
evaluating the potential for a new idea, but also in identifying the areas where a marketing
message needs to honed. Market research helps you identify opportunities. By understanding
consumer behaviour, we could deliver convincing sales presentations, shorten the sales cycle,
create effective marketing strategies, boost revenue and profits, radically improve the ability
to influence others and close more deals. Hence, understanding consumers through market
research stimulates an organisation to create a “wow” marketing plan.
Nevertheless, market research creates benchmarks and helps an organisation measure their
progress and analyse the corporate effectiveness through corporate research. Among some
research that can be proposed in an organisation is assessing the image of the company
(brand audit research). In advertising research, readership feedback and advertising recall are
common to assess the effectiveness of advertisements. Early research may highlight glaring
holes in your service or shortcomings in your product. Regular market research will
definitely help motivate a company if improvements are being made and more so if they are
positive.
Sales analysis is also a type of market research. In sales analysis, sales trends and suitable
strategies are planned and applied to ensure the optimum growth of the organisation. In sales
analysis, we would assess market potential, estimation of demand for a product and market
share estimation. In addition to that, we would also study seasonal variation for a product,
conduct market segmentation studies, estimate the size of the market and carry out a needs
analysis to find out where the product fits in. Through effective marketing research, time,
effort and resources can be utilized at optimum state to benefit the organisation.
To sum up, market research consists of a plan that charts how relevant data is to be collected
and analyzed so that the results are useful and relevant for making marketing decisions. Once
the research and the related analysis are completed, the results are communicated to
management. This provides management with in-depth information regarding crucial factors
that have an impact on the targeted market and existing marketing mix. Market research
allows management to make the changes necessary for better results through adopting a
proactive approach. There is no doubt that market research is crucial and therefore, SMIs and
SMEs should include such research in their business plan.

Understanding Relationship

THE THREE LEVELS OF RELATIONSHIP
A major purpose of relationship is to meet your and your partner’s needs in an expanded way. There are three levels of relationship, that is, three ways that people in a relationship meet their needs. These are selfish love (level one), conditional love(level two), and unconditional love (level three).

Level One: Selfish Love (My needs come first.)
This is the least mature level. At this level, one or both of the partners are focused on meeting their own needs first. When partners have this focus, the relationship is fragile. If you put your needs first, what happens to your partner? Eventually there will be an erosion of trust and togetherness, and there may even be a conflict or dispute about who gets personal needs met first. Do you ever find yourself with your partner in a situation where you are arguing about who is right, who goes first, who gets their way? All of us do sometimes—and when we do, we are playing at relationship level one. At this level, you are rarely together; one of you comes first. Occasionally there may be some way that you can meet your needs together in the same way, but this cannot be sustained. Life doesn’t work that way—there are always points of choice where if you put yourself first, the other person will suffer. Putting the other first is the essence of trust. When two partners fail to understand each other or put each other’s needs first, then trust is being undermined by individual self-interest.

Level Two: Conditional Love (I’ll give you yours if you give me mine.)

We call level two “horse trading.” At this level, every gesture, every gift, every concession or compromise has strings attached. Nothing is given out of free will, only out of a wish for barter, fairness, or personal gain. We call a level two player by the shocking term “whore,” because what does a prostitute do? He or she gives “love” in exchange for money; without money, no “love” is given. In a relationship in which love is exchanged for favors, nothing is simple. Everything is a ploy, a calculation, an advance payment creating debt. It is difficult to accept love because we never know what the price might be. Everything is purchased. In order to avoid debt, both parties insist on creating fairness, that is, a model of even exchange.
However, plans of even exchange will never create the spontaneous self-expression that leads to a passionate relationship. Trust comes not only from following a prescribed plan but also from feeling that if you should suddenly find yourself in need, your partner will come and serve you. Trust comes from the belief that the relationship is always bigger than any individual exchange or temporary advantage or debt of one partner or the other. Again, all relationships devolve to the level once in a while where it seems that things are not equal or fair. When we are at level two, we fall into blaming, suspicion, cautious truces, and exchanges. We hesitate before giving while the other person is waiting for us, in need. When that happens, do not stay at that level: It is crucial to communicate, to make needs understood, and to give to each other.

Level Three: Unconditional Love (The other’s needs come first.)
This is the level where passion and emotional juice flow. Both partners put each other first. When a partner discovers the other’s need, he or she serves that need spontaneously in the best way possible, without calculating a payback. In fact, the partners are constantly studying each other in order to understand how to serve each other better. They become experts at knowing each other’s needs. Both partners recognize that, at a deep level, they love each other unconditionally and that nothing is needed for the love to be expressed. At this level, it is easy to please each other and to share, because even if you don’t experience the same needs as your partner, you can love what he or she loves. You don’t have to worry about your needs
remaining unmet because your partner habitually puts you first—all you have to do is to
give your partner a clue about what you need. At the level of passion, there is enough safety for you to serve each other not only by giving gifts but by penetrating each other emotionally. When there is a foundation of trust, you can express yourselves in darker and naughtier ways to give your relationship a suspenseful edge. Of course, all relationships devolve occasionally. We all have panic moments when we think that we will not be loved or that we will fall short of expectations; in those moments, we will ask for “fair exchange” or will even focus on getting our individual needs met first. However, if the “center of gravity” of your relationship is at level three, you are enjoying one of the rare experiences of life.

HOW DO I CHANGE MY RELATIONSHIP?

By

Dr Leow Chee Seng

MBA (UPM), DBA (UBI), MMIM, MIHRM,MIM-CPT, CAHRP (Consultant),Certified E-Commerce Professional (Mal),Certified Professional Trainer (MIM, PSNB),Certified Stress Management (IACT, USA),Certificate Qualitative Research (Georgia, USA)Certificate in Homeopathy Medicine (Mal)Practising Cognitive, Behavioural Therapist

Relationship is important—it may be the single greatest factor in your happiness throughout your life. It is the way that our emotions become magnified through sharing and interchange. It is the way that we build our histories with others,share memories, and taste our experiences. However, it is not always easy. Why? Because there is another person involved—a person with his or her own experiences, preferences, values, and levels of commitment. This can be frustrating at times, no matter how deep, powerful, intense, and passionate the relationship is.

In fact, you may say, frustration is often a sign of passion waiting to break free—if you can learn how to harness it. As Tony puts it, there are areas in your life where you may enjoy a great deal of control; in other areas of life, you may even have mastery. In relationship, you have neither mastery nor control—you have influence at best. If you think you can control your partner, you will be frustrated. If you simply expect your partner to be or do things in a certain way, your partner will feel judged and stop cooperating. And if you try to coerce your partner to do things in a way that doesn’t reflect his or her free will, you cannot have a happy relationship. So you have influence at best, and you have much less control than you may have thought. Is this bad news? On the contrary, this is the path to the excitement, spontaneity, and interaction that are at the bottom of every truly successful relationship. There is a way to harness the uncertainty of relationship and to let it light up your life. So let’s get started.

FUNDAMENTALS: THE SIX HUMAN NEEDS

The concept of the six human needs is at the core of human needs psychology. We believe that human motivation is driven by the need to fulfill six basic human needs. These needs are our constant and in some ways our closest companions. They never stop driving us and they never go away. You cannot simply resolve a need—it will be back tomorrow or even in five minutes. Our needs are the primal forces that shape all of our choices. The good news is that there are only six needs and there are millions of ways of satisfying your needs. By understanding how your needs work, you can set yourself up for lasting fulfillment in life.

The First Human Need: Certainty/Comfort

The first need is for certainty that we can be comfortable—to have pleasure and to avoid pain. For some of us, this means a secure environment, consistency in our relationships. You can also get certainty through physical habits—eating, for instance, can make you feel comfortable and certain—or even through certain beliefs—for instance, you can have faith that your problems will be resolved. What is necessary for someone to feel certain varies from individual to individual. For one person knowing where the next meal will come from is sufficient certainty, while for another person the need for certainty may be satisfied only by having a million dollars in the bank. Code words for certainty are comfort, security, safety, stability, predictability. When things get rough, what are some things that you do to feel
certain?

The Second Human Need: Uncertainty/Variety

Once we feel certain, however, our second need is for uncertainty—for variety and challenges that will exercise our emotional and physical range. Our bodies, our minds, our emotional being all require uncertainty, exercise, suspense, variety, surprise. Even if you have a lifetime supply of your favorite food, at some point you will want to eat something else. Your emotional and physical state will change. We all value uncertainty/variety to different degrees, but we all need it. You may get variety by pursuing changes, diversions, and pleasures or by undertaking risky projects or challenging commitments. Some people satisfy their need for uncertainty/variety by watching a movie, while others need to race cars or climb mountains. And don’t forget a major source of variety for all of us: problems. When
things don’t go as you planned, when expectations are foiled and things go in a different direction, that’s uncertainty/variety as well. What kind of variety/uncertainty do you experience on a regular basis? Code words for uncertainty are fear, instability, change, variety, chaos, refreshment, craving, release, suspense, exertion, surprise, problem, crisis. Are there ways in which the feeling of uncertainty actually serves to give you variety?

The Third Human Need: Significance

The third need is for significance. Every person needs to feel important, needed, wanted. When we were babies, we all needed to feel that we were number one. If you had siblings, you competed with them for love and attention—you found your niche, whether as the smart one or the scrappy one or the loving one or the obedient one. This need is still with you: Needing to feel special and important in some way has helped shape who you are today. You can feel significant by building or achieving something, or you can feel significant by tearing something or somebody down. In all cases, significance comes from comparing yourself to others— hierarchical pecking orders and superiority/inferiority. In its positive sense, significance leads you to raise your standards. If you overfocus on significance, you will have trouble feeling connected with people, because the comparison game marks out our differences rather than what we have in common. Some people focus on significance in a self-deprecating way—having low self-esteem, doubting whether they are good enough, expecting others to raise them up. How do you get significance? Code words for significance are pride, importance, standards, achievement, performance, perfection, evaluation, discipline, competition, plus any words connected with being “rejected” or being “good enough.”

The Fourth Human Need: Love/Connection

The fourth need is for love and connection. Everyone strives for and hopes for love, and everyone needs connection with other human beings. If you are alive today, you were loved. You needed to feel loved and touched in order to survive, and that need is still at your core. In this sense, love is the ultimate survival instinct, and it comes before the baby can take care of its own basic bodily needs. So love is a big part of who you already are, no matter who you are. The obstacles to love lie in your belief system about how to get the feeling of love, your rules about how to recognize and appreciate love, and your ability to learn to give love as well as receive it. Some people rarely experience love, but they have many ways of feeling connection with others—in the community or in the workplace. Do you experience love in your life, or do you focus on connection with others, a less threatening form of love? When in
your life have you felt really loved? Code words for love and connection are togetherness, unified, connected, passionate, “on the same page.” These first four human needs are the needs of the personality and must be met at some level by everyone. The last two needs are the needs of the spirit, which are essential to human fulfillment. These are growth and contribution.

The Fifth Human Need: Growth
When we stop growing, we die. We need to constantly develop emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. There is a universal law about growth: Everything is either growing or dying—there is no middle ground. Anything that you want to remain in your life—your money, your body, your relationship, your happiness or love—must be cultivated, developed, expanded. Otherwise it will degenerate. What does this mean for us? There is no “retirement,” a terminal point where we simply get to keep and enjoy what we have. If your body, your finances, or your relationships are in a good state, be prepared to continue to care for and expand them. If you let them flatline, they will deteriorate.

The Sixth Human Need: Contribution

Contribution requires you to go beyond your own needs and give to others. Most emotional problems and sources of pain disappear when you focus on serving someone other than yourself. Therefore, contribution is the human need that effectively regulates your other five needs: If you are focused on contribution, you have the certainty of being able to contribute (there is always a way); you have variety in the number of things that can go right and wrong (contribution is highly interactive); you have significance because the commitment to contribution is rare and is the sign of an extraordinary person; you have connection because there is a spiritual connection in helping others; and you have to experience growth because
contribution requires you to go beyond your own needs. From this perspective, the purpose of human needs psychology is not only to take care of your own needs but to expand and serve others in an attitude of leadership and contribution. If you are focused on growth and contribution, it is difficult to get bored or depressed. Everyone creates their own system of beliefs and actions for satisfying their needs. We call this system their “model of the world.” One person may give himself or herself the feeling of certainty by always controlling the environment, a second person may feel certain by not trusting anyone, and a third person may get the feeling of certainty by holding a spiritual belief. Everyone can meet their own needs in sustainable ways that serve the greater good of themselves and others, or they can meet their own needs in ways that sooner or later harm themselves or others. When someone loses his or her habitual ways of meeting personal needs, he or she experiences a crisis. For instance, when financial failure comes to a businessperson who gets the feeling of significance from being financially successful, he or she will experience a loss of significance. When someone who gets the feeling of importance from taking care of others suddenly becomes unable to help others, he or she will also experience a loss of significance. When people lose their usual ability to meet their needs, they react by trying to find other ways of regaining their sense of significance, at least temporarily. Sometimes these temporary solutions lead to long-term solutions; other times they lead to harm. The purpose of human needs psychology is to understand a person’s model of the world, to bring about a conscious understanding of personal choices, and to assist the person in finding new ways to meet personal needs in ways that will serve him or her and others in the long term.

THE IMPORTANCE OF NUTRITION BEFORE SURGERY AMONG CANCER PATIENTS

Most cancer patients have as their primary treatment the surgical removal of the tumor. Sometimes this can be a relatively minor procedure, as with a skin cancer, but more often it is complicated, entailing the surgical removal of the cancer and any surrounding lymph nodes. The more complicated and prolonged surgeries can be extremely stressful, both physically and psychologically.

For more than forty years, we have known that malnutrition greatly increases surgical mortality, with malnourished patients being ten times more likely to die soon after surgery.
Most of us think of a malnourished person as looking like someone from Ethiopia. In fact, you can be malnourished and obese at the same time. The new term is undernutritous. It has been shown that people with even a single vitamin deficiency can have a poorly functioning immune system. Looks, indeed, can be deceiving.

A most enlightening study was done some years ago. The study included a careful survey of surgical patients admitted to the hospital and found that 44 percent of the patients had general malnutrition on admission. This means that the patients were malnutritous long before coming to the hospital. Even worse, 75 percent of the patients admitted to an intensive care unit were malnutritous. This put them at an even greater danger because they were under much greater stress. Stress is a tremendous drain on nutrition, and survival depends on nutritional status. Yet even more shocking was the finding that 69 percent of the patients underwent a deterioration in nutritional status while in the hospital, which is an indictment of hospital nutrition.

Another study involving a number of hospitals found that 38 percent of patients had obvious vitamin deficiencies and even a larger percentage were marginally deficient. Patients with mar ginal deficiencies are at a significantly higher risk of complications, especially of poor wound healing and infections.

For cancer patients, not only is wound healing and avoiding all the complications associated with surgery important, but so is making sure the immune system is functioning at peak activity. The status of a person's nutrition is critical to the immune system. Again, I emphasize that even a single nutrient deficiency can severely impair the immune system. For example, a vitamin B6 deficiency alone can lower immunity, even when the levels of all the other vitamins are perfectly normal.

Most bleeding tendencies following surgery are minimal two days after the operation. This means you can safely resume taking your nutritional supplements. The only contraindication would be if you were receiving blood-thinning medications. In that case, I would avoid using vitamin E in doses over 200 in ternational units, even though blood-thinning effects are rare below 1,000 international units. Several supplements can thin the blood (affect coagulation). They include ginkgo, garlic ex tract, quercetin, curcumin, and high-dose vitamin E (greater than 1,000 international units). In general, the blood-thinning effect of these supplements is no more than that of taking one aspirin a day.

Maintaining adequate magnesium levels is especially important in preventing surgical and postsurgical complications. Magnesium is one of those nutrients that seem to have an un limited list of benefits. In addition to playing a role in more than 300 enzymes, it regulates blood flow, protects brain cells, protects the heart muscle, reduces the risk of cardiac arrhythmia, improves lung function, improves kidney function, and prevents one of the most frightening complications of major surgery: blood clots.

I have used magnesium in my neurosurgical patients for more than fifteen years and have never had a patient develop postoperative blood clots in the legs or lungs. In most cases, the blood clot forms in the veins of the legs or pelvis, where it can suddenly enter the bloodstream, producing a fatal clot in the lungs called a pulmonary embolism.

Sudden cardiac arrest can be another catastrophic event during surgery, leaving the patient with a stroke or myocardial in farction (heart attack). Magnesium significantly protects against these complications as well. Several studies have shown that magnesium infusions can reduce the severity of a stroke or heart attack by 50 percent. What is important is that your tissue magnesium level be normal before surgery. An ounce of prevention is truly worth more than a pound of cure.
People who take diuretics or birth control pills, or whose diet is low in fruits and vegetables, are at a very high risk of magnesium depletion. Teenagers often drink large amounts of carbonated soft drinks throughout the day. These drinks significantly lower the tissue magnesium levels. All of these individuals have a higher risk of surgical complications. Magnesium is also essential for normal immune function.

The bottom line is that the better your nutrition is before surgery, the less likely it is that you will have a major complication and the faster, and more completely, you will recover from surgery. Over the years, I have noticed that patients who take these supplements regularly have significantly less pain and fatigue after surgery as well. Postoperative fatigue has always been a problem for patients and one for which surgeons usually have little to offer.


We are becoming increasingly aware of the fact that even nutrient deficiencies too small to be recognized by clinical examination can impair the body's functioning. We call these deficiencies subclinical. A large number of people living in industrialized countries suffer from these subclinical deficiencies, and the number is continuing to grow.

VITAMIN BLOOD LEVELS VERSUS REAL DEFICIENCIES

When doctors want to know if you have adequate amounts of a certain vitamin in your body, they usually draw your blood and have it tested for the vitamin in question. When they want to assess the adequacy of your nutrition in general, they frequently have your blood tested for your folate and vitamin B12 levels. Newer studies, however, have shown this method to be very in accurate. In one study, doctors compared the usual blood levels of the vitamins folate, B6, and B12 to the actual levels in the tissues as measured biochemically. What they discovered was quite shocking.
When they measured the conventional vitamin levels in a group of healthy elderly, they found that approximately 19 per cent of the study subjects had deficiencies. Yet, when they used the more accurate biochemical method, they found that 63 per cent of these same individuals were significantly deficient in one or more of these critical vitamins. A similar comparison of sick elderly subjects found that 60 percent were deficient using conventional measurement and a whopping 83 percent were deficient when the biochemical method was used.

This study clearly demonstrates that measuring vitamin blood levels by the conventional method can result in a false assurance that all is well, when in fact severe deficiencies may exist. This is especially true for the chronically ill.

It is well known that surgery and especially anesthesia are powerful suppressors of immune function. This is especially so for surgeries lasting longer than two hours and in cases where more than a unit of blood is lost during the procedure. This immune suppression can last for several weeks and can be made even worse if the patient has to receive blood during or after the surgery. Immune suppression caused by blood transfusion, especially multiple transfusions, can equal that caused by acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).

This profound level of immune suppression can give cancer a chance to invade and spread. A combination of poor nutrition, the trauma of surgery, blood transfusion, and anesthesia can temporarily wipe out the immune system. It also puts you at a much higher risk of postoperative wound infection and pneumonia.

It has been shown that this immune suppression caused by surgery, anesthesia, and blood transfusion can be reversed or even prevented by proper nutrition. It will, of course, require special immune stimulants, but it can easily be done.

Of special concern are patients who undergo preoperative chemotherapy-that is, who receive a dose of chemotherapy be fore surgery. It is well recognized that most chemotherapy drugs cause significant immune suppression and interfere with wound healing, thereby significantly increasing the risk of infections after surgery.

Several studies have shown that nutritional immune enhancement can significantly reduce complications, especially infections, following major surgeries. In one study, almost 70 percent of immune-deficient cancer patients undergoing surgery developed postoperative complications as compared to 25 per cent with functioning immune systems. This is a dramatic difference. It should be appreciated that the patients in the group with a functioning immune system did not have specific nutritional immune stimulation. My experience, as well as that of others, is that immunity not only can be restored in patients, but can also be maximized with special supplements.

Food preparation techniques for cancer

Many people have heard that searing meats-that is, cooking meats over an open flame or allowing them to burn-increases the risk of cancer. The presence of powerfully carcinogenic com pounds in seared meat was first discovered in 1977 when mate rial was extracted from the charred surfaces of fish and beef and tested for its ability to mutate genes. The mutagenic compounds are called heterocyclic amines.

When analyzed, these carcinogenic compounds were found to be formed from several chemicals in meat (creatine, certain amino acids, and sugar)." When exposed to high temperatures, these chemicals can form a series of compounds that can dam age the DNA, eventually resulting in cancer.

In one report, high consumption of hot dogs was associated with an almost tenfold increase in the risk of childhood leukemia when compared with low consumption. In another report, maternal consumption of hot dogs and childhood consumption of hamburgers or hot dogs at least once per week were associated with a doubling of the risk of cancers in children. A review of nine studies found an association between consumption by pregnant women of cured meat and the risk of brain cancer in their offspring. These associations do not yet constitute proof that eating hot dogs or hamburgers causes cancer in children, and evidence linking cured meat consumption to childhood cancers remains somewhat inconsistent. In the report studying the effects of eating hot dogs and hamburgers, the association between meat eating and leukemia was weakest among children who took vitamin supplements. Processed meats, such as hot dogs, contain nitrates and nitrites— precursors to carcinogens. Antioxidants found in multivitamins keep nitrates and nitrites from converting into those carcinogens. Therefore, the association between vitamin consumption in children and protection against childhood cancers remains plausible, though unproven.

In general, grilling and panfrying (but not broiling) at high temperatures can produce significant amounts of heterocyclic amines in meats and fish.13 Deep-frying, baking, and roasting meats and fish also produce carcinogens, but in general the amounts are low. Barbecuing produces among the highest levels of heterocyclic amines, especially when done over a grill. Exactly how many of these dangerous compounds are produced depends on the degree of the heat, the cooking time, and if the cooking is done over wood, the type of wood used. The worst type of wood to use is mesquite, which produces large amounts of these carcinogens during cooking. Hardwoods burn cleaner and are less likely to cause a problem.
Heterocyclic amines have been shown to cause cancer in a large number of animal species. While most of the cancers they cause involve the gastrointestinal tract and liver, they can also increase the incidence of tumors in the lungs, breast, and blood vessels, and can produce lymphomas as well. One particularly frightening finding was that even the children of mothers who eat diets containing high levels of these compounds during pregnancy suffer a high risk of cancer later in life.
In one study, researchers found a strong association between a mother's prenatal vitamin C intake and a lower risk of brain tumors in the child.1s In addition, they found that the women in the study who took high doses of folate, multivitamins, and vitamin C and ate the most fruits and vegetables, especially during the first six weeks of pregnancy, had the lowest incidence of brain cancers in their children. Especially frightening was the finding that the children who did not eat any fruit in the first year of life had a 430 percent increased risk of developing a brain cancer, especially of the neuroectodermal type, such as the horrifying medulloblastoma.
There is also evidence that searing the fats in vegetables, such as when panfrying, can increase the production of these cancer causing chemicals. Fortunately, vegetables contain many com pounds that block these carcinogens. For example, green tea, consumed as either a tea or a supplement, has been shown to dramatically reduce the cancer-causing ability of heterocyclic amines.

Another set of compounds found in foods that can increase cancer risk are the nitrite food additives, used as food preservatives. When ingested, they are converted into nitrosamine com pounds, which have been shown to produce cancer in animals and are suspected to do so in humans as well. A diet high in foods containing these preservatives has been recognized as a major risk of stomach cancer and possibly also of other cancers, including brain tumors. The artificial sweetener aspartame is also converted into a mutagen in the stomach by this process. 16
So, what can you do to reduce the danger from seared meats and fish? Most important is to give up eating meats and fish pre pared over an open flame, grilled, or panfried. People from the Deep South may find it difficult to completely give up barbecue. For those times when you may be
tempted to break ranks and sneak a little seared meat or fish, there are a few things you can do to greatly reduce your risk.

Edible plants contain complex chemicals called flavonoids that have been shown to be very efficient at blocking these cancer promoting chemicals. In fact, one way to reduce your risk from nitrites is to take vitamin C with the seared food. The vitamin C will prevent their conversion to nitrosamines.17 Unfortunately, as we shall see, vitamin C also greatly increases iron absorption, something we do not want in the face of cancer.

Fortunately, there is an alternative. Two flavonoids com monly found in vegetables, caffeic acid and ferulic acid, have been shown to powerfully block nitrosamine formation. Caffeic acid is found in plums, apples, and blueberries, while ferulic acid is commonly found in all fruits. Ellagic acid, another flavonoid, is even more powerful-in fact, it is some 80 to 300 times more potent than vitamin C. Ellagic acid is commonly found in straw berries, raspberries, and blackberries.

Sometimes, we like to break the boredom of eating all our meats broiled. Frying can be made much safer through the use of extra virgin olive oil, which contains some powerful antioxidant, anticancer flavonoids. To boost your protection even more, add turmeric to the oil. Several pinches will go a long way toward making your mealtless of a cancer risk. Many spices, such as sage and rosemary, have antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer effects.

PREPARING YOUR FOOD

Another problem faced by cancer patients is how to prepare their fruits and vegetables. Some authorities insist that all fruits and vegetables be eaten raw, mainly to preserve the enzymes and prevent a loss of nutrients by heating. While there is some validity to this, I am not an absolutist. Instead, I think you should mix raw and cooked vegetables in your diet.
As I have stated previously, eating raw vegetables limits the amount of the nutritional components you can absorb. This is because they are locked within the cells of the plant by tough cell walls that we can't digest. To unlock the nutrients, you need to chew your vegetables until they are mush, cook them, or liquefy them in a blender.
The problem with the first option-chewing to a fine mush is that most people are not that patient. Most people chew a few times and then swallow. Furthermore, some studies have shown that chewing vegetables allows only 30 percent of the nutrients to he absorbed. This means you have to eat a lot more vegetables to get the full amount of the nutrients. Using a blender or juicer releases about 90 percent of the nutrients. The other advantage is that you are consuming raw fruits and vegetables.

So, what about cooking? Will it destroy all the nutrients? Careful studies have shown that it varies with the food type. A considerable loss of anticancer (antimutagenic) activity was seen when the following foods were heated: apples, apricots, kiwi, pineapple, beets, cabbage, cauliflower, leafy lettuce, cucumber, onions, radishes, and rubarb.

Foods that maintained their anticancer power when cooked included blackberries, blueberries, sweet and sour cherries, honey dew melons, plums, strawberries, Brussels sprouts, chicory greens, eggplant, garden cress, pumpkin, and spinach.

Cooking vegetables in tap water has two disadvantages. First, most of a vegetable's water-soluble nutrients-such as its minerals, B vitamins, and ascorbate-are lost in water. Second, if the water is fluoridated, the amount of fluoride in the water becomes more and more concentrated as the water evaporates until a very concentrated solution of fluoride remains. The fluoride, being a very reactive chemical, will then bind with the vegetable and cannot be washed off. Fluoride is a carcinogenic compound.

When cooking vegetables, either steam them or cook them in extra virgin olive oil. I say cook, but actually you should just heat them in a pan for a few minutes. This will break down some of the plant cells, but not as thoroughly as when you fully cook the vegetable. If you use distilled water to cook your vegetables, you can drink the juices, since they will contain a high concentration of nutrients. Southerners call this pot liquor.

When it comes to fruits and vegetables, keep the following important points in mind:
● Eat a mixture of raw and cooked vegetables based on the above heat stability information.
● Always eat vegetables when you eat meat. The flavonoids in the vegetables will neutralize the carcinogens in the meat, especially in seared meats. They will also reduce the absorp tion of iron, so that you absorb only enough to maintain your body's needs.
● Eat only a small amount of fruit a day, preferably no more than half a cup. Eat the fruit only after you have finished a meal. This prevents hypoglycemia, a sudden drop in blood sugar, which can be quite severe in some people. (Until your cancer is under control, I would recommend avoiding fruits altogether.)
● If you cook your vegetables in water, use only distilled water or water purified by a reverse osmosis filter.
Keep the following points in mind about food in general:
● Avoid red meats such as beef and pork, which are high in two powerful cancer promoters. Choose chicken orr turkey that has been minimally processed and has not been painted or injected with broth, hydrolyzed protein, or other mono sodium glutamate (MSG)-containing products. Also, if using chicken, remove the skin and wash the meat thoroughly, since most chicken is sprayed with chlorine bleach at the processing plant.
● Avoid all commercially prepared foods. Try to make all your foods from fresh ingredients. Do not use commercial sauces, mixes, or seasonings unless they are made with pure herbs or spices.
● Avoid cow's milk, cheese, and other milk-based products, especially if low in fat. Low-fat milk products have a higher concentration of glutamate (an excitotoxin). In addition, milk allergies, which can be subtle, will impair your immune system. Allergies to milk are some of the most common food allergies.
● Avoid foods containing aspartame, MSG, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, soy protein, or the additive carrageenan. Carrageenan, commonly used in ice cream and baked goods, is an especially powerful promoter of cancer growth and spread. The name will be listed on the product label. Also, avoid all of the newer sweeteners, since they have not been adequately tested for safety. Sweet'N Low can be used, but only in limited amounts. Stevia can also be used
● While in today's world this can be very difficult, try to avoid all foods and drinks in plastic containers, especially if the plastic has a pungent odor. Plastic releases estrogenic-like compounds, which can promote estrogen-sensitive cancers such as breast cancer, colon cancer, some brain tumors, renal cancers, and possibly prostate cancer. If possible, use only glass containers. Granted, these are harder and harder to come by.
● Avoid sugar, no matter what the source. Honey is sugar. Sure, there are a few flavonoids included, but it is still sugar and can be used by the cancer. Fructose, while it does not promote insulin release, is not a good choice. For one thing, it increases the free radical damage to cells, thereby increasing the risk of cancer.
● Avoid fruit juices. While fruit juices contain many anti cancer flavonoids and vitamins, especially folate, they also are high in sugar and many have high levels of fluoride. This is especially true for most commercial grape juices.
Excitotoxins, such as MSG and hydrolyzed protein, can cause nausea, diarrhea, and stomach cramping, especially in people who are undergoing, or who have undergone, chemotherapy or radiation treatments." In addition, they can cause irregularities of the heart beat (arrhythmia). This is important when taking chemotherapy drugs that are known to damage the heart, such as adriamycin, daunorubicin, Ara-C, Doxorubicin, Mitoxantrone, cyclophosphamide, and Taxol.

JUICING AND BLENDERIZING YOUR FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

As I discussed previously, one of the best ways to release the 10,000 phytonutrients in fruits and vegetables is to mechanically break open the cells.
Most people have heard of juicing. Juicing entails loading fruits and vegetables into a machine that grinds them up, sepa rating the juice from the pulp, which is usually discarded. As many people who have tried juicing know, it takes a countertop of vegetables to make one 10-ounce glass of juice. I always feel that by throwing away all that vegetable bulk, we discard im portant nutrients and phytochemicals-which, in fact, we do. In addition, there is the cleanup. With many juicing ma chines, this is a daunting task, to say the least. After each use, you have to take the machine apart, clean it thoroughly, lubricate its parts, and reassemble it. To do that even twice a day usually discourages most people, especially if they have busy lives. Shop around when looking for a juicing machine. Some are much easier to use and maintain than others.

Despite the cleanup necessitated by many juicing machines, however, it has been obvious to me that this process of mechanically breaking down fruits and vegetables is responsible for more miraculous cures of advanced cancers than any other thing people can do. But if you truly do not have the time to de vote to cleaning up a juicing machine, there is a wonderful alternative: the vegetable blender.

Vegetable blenders have two real advantages over juicers. First, they do not waste anything. In addition to the thousands of nutrients inside them., plants contain numerous, often powerful phytochemicals on the outside of their leaves and stems. Among these phytochemicals are glycoproteins and polysaccha rides, which regulate immunity. Furthermore, plant pulp contains a lot of fiber. Second, vegetable blenders are a snap to clean. Not any blender will do, however. Rather, the machine must be powerful enough to turn vegetables and fruits into liquids. The vegetable blender that I have in my kitchen is the Vita-Mix 5000.
When juicing or blenderizing fruits or vegetables, of even more importance than using the right machine is choosing the right ingredients. In addition, you need to thoroughly clean the fruits and vegetables with a vegetable wash before putting them in the machine.

One of the common mistakes people make when preparing juice is using only their favorite vegetables or fruits, usually based on taste. For example, many people use only carrots. They will drink carrot juice until they turn orange-not that turning or ange is bad, even though it may attract rabbits.

Using only one vegetable, such as carrots, is wrong for two reasons. First, some vegetables are very high in sugar, which, as we have seen, can stimulate tumor growth. Second, you miss important phytochemicals found in other plants. Some special anticancer flavonoids are found only in certain vegetables and not others. Only by mixing various types of vegetables can you take full advantage of these potent anticancer chemicals.

For example, onions, teas, and apples contain a powerful cancer inhibitor called quercetin. Parsley and celery contain an anticancer flavonoid called apigenin, while green tea has a series of chemicals, including epigallocatechin gallate, catechin, and epicatechin, that not only suppress tumors, but also protect the heart and blood vessels. The more of these vegetables you mix together, the more likely your cancer will be either suppressed or eliminated, especially if you combine this dietary therapy with conventional treatments.

Something I often do personally is to make myself a salad with a large variety of vegetables, but instead of eating it, I throw it into my vegetable blender, blenderize it, and drink it. That way, I get a much higher intake of the salad's healthful phytochemicals than if I simply ate it. I find I can juice my salad and drink it quicker than I could just eat it in the normal way.

To blenderize or juice vegetables, first clean them thoroughly with a vegetable wash, then put them in the machine. Add a cup of distilled water and process on a low setting. Slowly increase the speed to full. Most machines have a special power switch that significantly boosts the speed; turn this switch on for a few seconds several times during the mixing procedure. You can keep adding water until the mixture is a consistency you can drink.

When preparing your own salad to drink, choose at least five vegetables from the list below. If possible, use all the vegetables on the list. In general, especially when first starting your conventional therapy, avoid fruits, or at least use just a mini mum amount. If you wish, empty the contents of a multivitamin capsule into the blender as well and mix with the juice. Some vitamins are bitter and can affect the taste; experiment until you find a good balance.

For people who do not eat enough fiber, drinking vegetables may cause diarrhea or bloating. To avoid these effects, first start off with a dilute solution of vegetable juice-a good combination is half vegetable juice and half distilled water. Drink this for a week. Slowly increase the percentage of vegetable juice and decrease the percentage of water, until you are drinking almost 100 percent juice. (You may still need water just for consistency's sake.) Drink one 10-ounce glass of vegetable juice twice a day. What to Include in Your Fresh Juice
Vegetables
Beets Kale
Broccoli Parsley
Brussels sprouts Purple cabbage
Carrots Spinach
Cauliflower Tomatoes
Celery Turnip greens

FRESH VERSUS FROZEN JUICE

One of the major controversies regarding juicing or blenderizing fruits and vegetables is whether the juice needs to be consumed right away or can be stored in the refrigerator. Both sides have good arguments. Purists say that only freshly made juice is effective, since it preserves the enzymes. This means you would have to make juice twice daily.

The problem is that some people just don't have the time or desire to prepare fresh juice twice a day. Over time, they stop doing it altogether. In reality, many enzymes are preserved if the juice is kept cold in the refrigerator. Enzyme survival and activity are temperature dependent. Add heat, and they will quickly be destroyed.

For cancer patients who are unable to make juice daily, I suggest preparing a large batch over the weekend, when most people have more time. Freeze half of the juice and keep about a three-day supply available in the refrigerator for immediate use. Another option is to divide the prepared juice into daily amounts and keep all but a day's supply in the freezer. You just have to remember to thaw out your day's supply every morning. When juice is frozen, all of its phytonutrients and enzymes are pre served.