No discussion of natural, integrative, or functional medicine approach to preventing or helping to treat cancer would be complete without talking about nutrition. I’m not simply talking about supplements, herbs, and vitamins (although those are needed). I’m talking about good old fashioned healthy eating to reduce cancer rates and get rid of it. Without good — NO! excellent — nutrition, you are just spinning your wheels. Doomed to go nowhere fast.

Without going into too much exhausting detail, nutrition is one of the most effective ways to prevent and to help recover from cancer. It can also be one of the hardest things to conquer. Good nutrition is an all-encompassing aspect of one’s health. It involves obtaining optimal levels of certain key nutrients to help battle cancer in a natural and effective way.

Having excellent nutrition is the foundation of any cancer prevention or recovery program. The reason it is so hard is that it involves a true lifestyle change. It’s not simply popping a few extra pills or vitamins and thinking you’re going to make a change. While supplementation may help prevent or slow the progression of some cancers, in my opinion, taking a bunch of supplements is like plugging a hole in a dam that is about to break.

You have to start at ground zero and build a foundation of health.