I don't really have a pony in the race of the vegetarians vs. the Paleo style meat eaters. Whatever keeps me cancer free will work for me. I did thoroughly read and enjoy the book "The China Study", which has a very convincing theory that cancer was correlated to increased animal protein intake. However, there was one big question left unanswered, which I proceeded to go out and answer for myself.
Why have there been some tribes and cultures, namely the Native American "Inuit", Inuit being the correct word, and the word they call themselves, as well as Navajo and others, who were [supposedly] cancer free before contact with Europeans in spite of, the high intake of animal protein in their diet?
In the case of the Inuit people, their diet was quite near 100% meat depending on time of year, consuming, whale blubber, seal, salmon, caribou, fermented birds, and even bear (yum yum). The supposedly cancer free Navajo seemed to have more variety, being from a more southerly climate, but still enjoyed elk, deer, prairie dogs, rabbit, and others.
I don't think it is too hard for a logical thinker [who is all up into nutrition science] to understand why this is. Look at the Inuit, who ate a lot of caribou. As I keep mentioning in this blog, vitamin B17, also called nitrilosides, or Laetrille, occurs naturally in about 1800 plants. It is most highly available in apricot seeds, of which I eat 7 or 8 a day for cancer prevention.
My theory on why the meat eaters such as the Intuit had historically low rates of cancer. Grass is very high in cancer fighting nitrilosides, (I think higher than most plants that are consumed by humans) which explains why grass fed beef is so much better for you. Anyway, the caribou eat the grass and tundra, the Inuit people eat the Caribou (not just the meat but other organs rich in nutrients), and since "you are what you eat" the bio-mass of the caribou is transferred to the Inuit, thus allowing them to get these nutrients from meat, and thus allowing them to supposedly have very low instances of cancer and other "Western Diseases".
I think this will always be a controversial subject, with contradictory evidence back and forth, but I think we can look at valid evidence such as the Hopi Indians have had cancer rates of 1 in 1000 as opposed to 1 in 4 for the typical American, facts such as these can't be argued, just the confusion to why.
Although many cultures and tribes around the world are "rumored" to be cancer free such as the Hunzas in Pakistan, this "low rates of cancer" phenomenon is EASILY verifiable in Native American Tribes, since extensive studies have been conducted, documented, and archived in a realm that we all can accept as a reliable method of science, that is via College University and Medical studies.
I don't feel personally the above point can be argued……unless you like to argue and/or you are with the American Cancer Society, or American Medical Association, both of which would go out of business if we found the answers to all this. That's a cheap shot, but I had to say it!!!
In the end I know I can't prove everything to everyone in one blog article, but I have researched all this thoroughly and extensively enough to know that quality animal protein is not a deterrent to good health, and often contributes to good health, as in getting critical Vitamin D from Wild Caught Alaskan Salmon. So far as plants are concerned, I eat a ton of them because I think we all know they are healthy, back from when we tried to avoid them as kids. Often, we are eating plants high in nitrilosides without knowing it.
AS AN AMMENDMENT TO THIS WELL RECIEVED ARTICLE, NOTE THAT I SAY "QUALITY ANIMAL PROTEIN', WHICH MEANS TO ME, GRASS FED BEEF, BISON, GOAT, LAMB, AND SUCH, AS WELL AS PASTURE RAISED BIRDS. I AM NOT COMFORTABLE WITH CONVENTIONAL BEEF AND CHICKEN AND I AVOID THEM LIKE THE PLAGUE. I PERSONALLY THINK THERE IS SOMETHING IN THIS MODERN WAY OF RAISING LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY THAT IS CONTRIBUTING TO THE CANCER.
I'M MAKING THIS POINT EMPHATICALLY BECAUSE LAST TIME THIS MEAT EATING THEORY TRIED TO TAKE ROOT WAS WITH THE ATKINS CRAZE, AND I SAW PEOPLE AT WORK PUTTING 10 STRIPS OF BACON IN THE MICROWAVE, NO WAY THAT CAN CONTRIBUTE TO ANYTHING BUT A QUICK DEATH. I WOULDN'T WANT THIS POST TO BE SOMEONE'S EXCUSE TO RUN TO McDONALDS………
……….we have to dig in and find truth for ourselves, our lives depend on it.
……….foods high in B17 nitrilosides can be found here
Below is a segment of the Nitrilosides/Vitamin B17 and cancer Video from the original Movie and Book "A World Without Cancer", a theory brought out by Edward Griffin. The video might be a little dry and unexciting for non-scientific types, but if it changes, helps, or heals someone's life, then it's well worth the 10 seconds out of my life that it takes for me to post it.
~stay healthy~
click here or photo below for all my articles in "Eat Smart"
39 Responses
Your Comments. Yes the ancient Inuit were cancer free, but did not have a long life, they generally died of old age about ten years younger than other races (my guess is because of no anti-oxidants in their diet) I believe their good health was due to the healthy fats high in omega 3 and other good nutrients, from their seafood diet (not the caribou) Yes grass is healtyy but even cattle get cancer sometimes.
These days however healthy fats are not available, even whale and seal meat/fat is contaminated from pollutants.
All valid points, like i said in the article, this is just my theory. When we consider the Hopi and Navajo Indians who were documented also to have had very little cancer, they were not consuming salmon and seafood as much since they were geographically in the interior of what is now the USA. I’m not convince that cattle in their natural state get cancer, but I have no idea one way or the other. I guess these are all “micro-points”, the “macro-point” I’m really trying to get at is so cultures were cancer free because of their diet. As I said in the article, the specifics are arguable as to why.
I find it interesting how brainwashed people are that have responded above. The author shows a people group eating a meat diet that have a 25000% improvement in cancer rates. The proud commenters are quick to effectively say “yeah but I know better than to eat what they did”. One commenter says high fat should be avoided. Here is a wake up call… a carnivore’s diet is high in fat. Lose your pride and understand there is a significant difference with this population. Quit running to the food pyramid and open your ears to a tribe that is too evolutionarily beneath your sophisticated ignorance. They are healthy. You are probably not.
I find the statement on b17 interesting. When I search the nutrition of organ meats, none of them list b17. I’ve heard in the past carnivores like lions have low cancer rates. If there is not b17 in the organ meats, there must be something else in their diets preventing cancer growth.
Hey Faux,
Interesting point. My first reaction is that “who knows” what that B17 is doing in the animal’s body. It may only be there to process and metabolize (if that’s the word) other nutrients, and then it is excreted from the body.
And keep in mind my perspective on B17 is something I truly believe but at the end of the day, it’s just a “theory”. B17 may be one of 37 other things working together to keep people disease free, who knows.
Doug at GAIA Health Blog
Hey Faux,
If there is one thing I’ve learned about blogging for health, especially for someone like myself who is “self taught”, and not licensed, certified, or college educated in this arena is that by nature, new ideas provoke a lot of opposition.
It comes with the territory, the challenge is to actually get people to think about a thing. Not just take the world as it is. Do people really think those Pharmaceutical drugs they advertise on TV will cure anything? The human body is a self regulating, self healing interconnected group or processes and systems, and perhaps if we tapped into its inner workings perhaps only 5% we could save a heck of a lot of lives.
Since I wrote this article, my mother and 2 of my best friends from college died of Cancer (colon and lung), neither friend made it to 60. This thing is no joke!!
Just like in medieval times, when they were blood-letting and using leeches and other “barbaric” methods of curing people, I think we are in the same boat today. All we got going for is is that there is more knowledge available, I just fear we’re are ignoring it.
So far as the people above, I’ve learned people, in many things, be it nutrition, spirituality, or whatever, people are often hurting and searching and seeking truth, and everyone may not be at a certain level or even know where to start. Others may be brilliant, but just have a different perspective. Others may have “Money Driven” objectives in their thought process. So for me, I always cut them some slack, I try to never call people any names.
At least, with all the back and forth of these comments, we’re doing what the web was intended to do…..that being, just throwing back and forth different ideas.
One good thing is none of the dialog in these comments has got hostile or inappropriate, what I call people who love to “Write and Fight” on Social Media and the Web, “Write and Fight” is what I see all over the web and social media in 2020, so I’m cool with whatever people have to chime in on. I’m also cool with people disagreeing with me, all I say is “just bring something to the table, I’m still learning too…ENLIGHTEN ME!!! I’m not so arrogant or so much of a ‘mister know it all’ that I can’t digest another perspective”. But I take pride in that I got a lot of people thinking about the subject though.
When we’re not fighting with commenters, I kinda like the back and forth, it stretches and challenges my mind.
Sometimes, it doesn’t even take a lot of thought. I wrote an article on how Japanese have 50-70% lower rates of cancer than Americans, UNTIL they come to live in America, and their cancer rates are about the same as any other American within a generation. If that doesn’t tell you it is diet, I don’t know what can.
But thanks for getting my back on this whole general subject !!!
Doug at GAIA Health Blog
Just a thought re Stuart's question of the possible lack of anti-oxidents in the Inuit diet, do eggs, with their sulfer, not contain antioxidents? The Inuit, and of course all native peoples, ate eggs stolen from geese or ducks, frequently. There are also berries, even that far north.
The interesting aspect, to me, is that unlike our modern ideas of a healthy diet wherein we think of daily requirements for every nutrient, they ate seasonally. When your body is that much a part of the environment your requirements will change along with temperature and daylight hours, and of course whether you're tracking game or gathering fruit that day.
It's almost an apples/oranges game when we compare ourselves with our indoor lives to traditional peoples – but I agree with you clean food is a very good start to avoiding cancer and other "industrial diseases"
Great comments. I didn’t mention in the article that the Inuit’s ate foods such as Salmon berries. The thing about salmon berries is that plant is also high in B17/Nitrilosides. Salmon berries are basically red to orange looking blackberries. I did try to say that AT TIMES their diet was almost 100% meat ,which was implying seasonal and other factors. And I do agree, that it’s apples to oranges in that we can’t just go out and eat whale blubber and expect to remain healthy, because their particulars of their diet are specific for them, their climate, their bio-chemistry, their weather, and countless other factors that perhaps could never be organized into any understandable concept. In the end, the “macro point” an I keep calling it is that it seems some cultures were [supposedly] free of our modern degenerative diseases and I think it’s due to their dietary habits. Note in my article, I frequently use the word “supposedly”. Of course, they were getting other diseases, but my focus here is on those diseases associated with Civilization, and the so called Western Diet. The good Book “The China Study” breaks it down in an interesting way in that he separates diseases as “Diseases of the Poor” and “Diseases of the Rich”. It’s well known that the Aborigines were not getting diabetes until the ate the British/Australian diet. There were experiments when Aborigines were taken back into the Bush to live and eat, and they were able to eliminate Diabetes and other sicknesses. Countless records of explorers such as Captain Cook and others state that the native populations that ran across had very little disease amongst them. It should not be our objective to eat the Inuit diet, or Aborigine diet, but find that “cancer Free” diet that can be had with the foods we have available here. I actually don’t think twice about cancer anymore (I guess as much as I don’t think twice about dying in plane crash, long odds but it could happen I guess), since I think it is a nutrition disease. Thanks for the comments, I’m not saying I know everything about the Inuits or any other tribe, and I love to get additional tidbits of info. I did run across an article where someone claimed Inuit Eskimo mummies were found to have tumors, but it didn’t go into any detail or evidence to present a contrarian point of view, which I have no problem doing. Like I say in my Bio for this blog “I don’t get off on being right, I get off on finding truth”.
Your Comments If you google "Vihjalmur Stefansson inuit diet" you will get some insight into a meat only diet, he and a collegue ate meat only for 1 year under scientific scrutiny, he also lived and ate with Inuit for more than 5 years, he also wrote a series of articles (which I cant find now) about it.
Yeah I ran across a couple of his documents in my research and I have them on file….
Like the Masai, whose average age is 43 years, Eskimos died earlier from causes not related to diet.
Have you read the story of the whalers starnded on Edge Island? After six years of just caribou and polar bear, they were found in excellent health.
Never heard of the Edge Island Story. When we talk about age and cancer, I’m not convinced that the absence of cancer is because of short life span. Some of my main reasons are 1) In the United States, kids are now getting and dying of cancer, it [arguably] appears that is a relatively new phenomenon 2) diets also affect other diseases that are not so age dependent like Diabetes, as I mentioned in one of my earlier comments 3) life spans in the USA are not that much higher than decades and centuries past in the USA {STATEMENT RETRACTED, IT DOES SEEM LIFE EXPECTANCY WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER IN COLONIAL TIMES THAN NOW}, but cancer, say in colonial times, was not a very common cause of death relative to current times, from what I understand, fever, tuberculosis, influenza, and other diseases were causing death in the 1800’s. 4) cancer rates in other modern countries and in various tribes and sub-cultures in present day have substantially lower rates of cancer than the USA, many of which have longer average life spans. Japan being a general example, and the Hunzas in Pakistan being another. I’ve never been convinced that the life span of the US is the reason so many are getting cancer. There is a substantial amount of cancer that is diagnoses while people are in their 30’s and 40’s (my mother being and example) to show that all cancer is not diagnosed when someone is in their 70’s or 80’s. Cancer, at a general glance, does not appear to be a disease of the elderly in the USA, as opposed to say Altizmers. Whenever I hear of someone getting breast cancer she always seems to me a non-elderly woman. So even it it were a “disease of the elderly” why is it that in some countries the elderly are not as vulnerable as others? The China Study book went into detail with this subject in China, studying thousands upon thousands of people of the same race and similar age brackets. That’s how they came up with the term “Diseases of the Rich” and “Diseases of the Poor” in that the cancer was more prevalent in the more well to do samples of people, who could afford more animal protein. Henceforth came my question for this article, “why isn’t animal protein killing all tribes and cultures equally”. Furthermore, if the Explorers such as Captain Cook, Columbus and all the others were saying that native populations were in “perfect health”, is it possible that those cultures were dropping dead in their 40’s probably not (that is, before the inability to defend against the diseases of these very same explorers, having no immunities) One of the doctors that made the comments about Inuits showing no cancer said that there were plenty of old people around, enough for him to make his observations. Another classic example is prostate cancer, where men are screened in their 40’s, and it is around that age where they are diagnosed. As mentioned in the article, the reason why may be discussed forever, but cancer doesn’t seem to hit every group of people indiscriminately and equally, the trick is to find the factors that make some races countries, and cultures more vulnerable. I am convinced it is diet, and the concept of cultures with diets high in B17/Nitrilosides, having very low rates of cancer is not that difficult to verify…………………
Let me retract a statement. Like I say in my Bio, “I don’t get my kicks on being right, I get my kicks on finding truth”. As I look into it, id does seem like the death rates in Colonial America was relatively young, whereas I said that “It was not that much different than today”. However I don’t think that is the reason people get so much cancer today, that is, because they live longer. As mentioned in my other comment, if that were true, then a culture such as the Japanese, who have a longer expected life span that in the USA, would be getting more cancer, but the chances of getting cancer in Japan are over 50% less than the USA.
Thanks for this interesting article and FYI it is Inuit not InTuit . I used to live in Alaska and am well familiar with the Inuits.
My bad I’ll change that………………
I love your wit! AMA and ACA would definitely disappear if we found the answers, wouldn't they. I'm sure they love the fact that we are all so confused by it. (BIG SIGH), meanwhile the sheep keep listening to modern medicine to save them. 🙁 Great post!
There are thousands upon thousands of archived documents on the fact that these tribes were “almost” cancer free, I just can’t figure out why there has not been a massive investigation to figure out why. But I don’t think my life can wait on the American Cancer Association. They only stay in business if I get cancer, not if I figure out the puzzle…………..
There's another possible reason that the Inuit, Navajo, and plenty of other cultures lived largely free of cancer, as did most of the rest of the world up until recently: they eat varied, nutritious food, plant and animal alike. It's not "in spite of" animal protein that this is true. The China Study, data-rich as it is, is a classic example of science twisted by ideology. Campbell's conclusions are not consistent with his own data, but because many in academia scorn the idea of publishing books for the layperson, he is loudly heard while sadly many of his critics are not.
I think your first point is dead on, and it is the real point I’m trying to get at here. Keep in mind I try to keep the articles short as possible and link them together in the blog. You can see very near the bottom, before the video imbed, that I have a link that list foods rich in B17. That’s what I’m really trying to get at, is to understand these nutrients and get them into the diet. Sometimes its directly through plants, sometimes it’s “third party” through animals that eat them, sometimes a combination. We can’t do it with whale blubber and seals, but we can easily get nutrients to keep us cancer free. So far as the China Study, I just stayed neutral as I read the book, I have heard people called it a masterpiece and others call it junk. As a matter of fact, so far as eating styles, when people ask me am I vegan, paleo, or whatever the latest craze is, I tell them that I’m a “Hybrid” I will eat healthy meats plants, fruits, herbs, and so forth, as I try to note in my very first sentence. But yeah, in the end I had to write something because I think people were thinking after the China Study, the solution is to simply eliminate meat and you’ll be disease free. My blogpost hints at some logical “holes” in the China Study. Thanks for the comments, like I said I just have a theory on all this, which is firstly important for me to take control of my health…………………
Thank you for this post. I'm fascinated with finding out which is the healthiest diet. After going on a raw food diet I was convinced this was the right path, but after reading about so many healthy tribes who live to 100 with hardly any ill health, I tend to think that basically an unprocessed diet which is available locally consisting of a lot of raw fruit and vegetables is the optimum diet.
I think this is part of the point I am trying to get at, but I am writing it in separate articles and will eventually link them all together. MY MAIN POINT IN ALL THIS IS THAT PLANTS HAVE CERTAIN NUTRIENTS, INCLUDING B17/NITRILOSISES, THAT PREVENT CANCER AND ALSO ENHANCE LONG LIFE. SOME TRIBES AND PEOPLE GET THEM STRAIGHT FROM PLANTS, OTHERS GET THEM SECOND HAND THROUGH THE ANIMALS THAT CONSUME THEM. Once we are aware of that, we can proceed to “do what we gotta do” to get those nutrients into our diet. I’m basically a “hybrid” in that I eat mostly raw, and I will have “quality proteins”, mainly salmon and pasture raised eggs on a daily basis, and a little pasture raised chicken once a week or two, some grains but not a lot. So, the point is that The Eskimos and the Hunzas in Pakistan were total opposites, but both [supposedly] were cancer free, it’s just that the Eskimos consume mostly meat and the Hunzas consume mostly vegetables. In the end this theory brought out by Edward Griffin a shamefully long time ago to not even be worldly recognized or even looked into, especially if it is the answer to all this “disease madness”, is that both tribes were getting the same nutrients into their systems in abundance, and other cultures that get high amounts had very low or no cancer. That’s why I eat 7-8 apricot seeds a day, to get the daily required B17 into my system. I don’t think eating whale blubber and seals is very practical. Keep in mind anything can provoke cancer, this B17/nitrilosides nutrient is like a “suicide bomber” that kills the a cancer cells that come into the body. We all put our lives on the for something, and I’m banking mine on the fact that this is true.
Good point. Yes if it were a choice between getting my nutrients second hand through animals or first hand through my fruit and veg I know which one I'd choose! But these days you can't get everything you need from fruit and veg unfortunately due to the low soil quality so I'd still rather supplement than eat meat.
That's interesting about the B17. I've never heard that before.
Thank you,
A class example of what you are saying is Vitamin D. Deficiency of this vitamin is correlated to these diseases, and it is very hard to get it from plant based sources in enough volume to bring up your vitamin D levels. I am African American and live in northern climate, so I can’t get it from the sun, as can be done by lighter skinned people. The most practical way to get it is from Wild Caught Alaskan salmon (another reason the Eskimos were able to sustain themselves in such harsh conditions). There are very few other other options, such as Cod Liver Oil, Eggs, thus, mostly we have to extract it from animal protein. Thus I can become a vegan and have that “badge of honor” to give my eating style a name, but then I could become vulnerable to being Vitamin D deficient, putting me at higher risk for prostate cancer, diabetes, and all the rest, or I can enjoy some honey-dijon pecan encrusted salmon. My vitamin D scores are optimal BTW, at 46.5, where African Americans can often score in the teens or even single digits, and white Americans can score in the low twenties (in general with Vitamin D, below 20 is the “danger zone”). Actually I know someone whose kid is vitamin D deficient, but the father is a vegan, and won’t let the kid eat meat. So unless it’s religious reasons, why are you forcing the kid to be a vegan and be vulnerable to a host of disease…..SIGH. So, I’m not a believer in that the vegan and vegetarians diets are by default healthier, especially because you’re so vulnerable to consuming a lot of GMO Soy. Conversely, as I mentioned in the article, when the Atkins craze was hot, I say people at work microwaving a half back of bacon, eating all garbage meat, just as ridiculous. Just saying this thing takes a little (or a lot) of thought, but it is not this “black hole” of mystery that can never be solved, and thus we just accept 1 in 4 of us will get the “Big C”. I ain’t going out like that.
Just to be clear, are you saying you manage to keep your Vit D levels optimal just through food? No supplements?
Yes mam, I’m quite sure it is from the Wild Caught Alaskan Salmon, unfortunately I didn’t get a test before I started eating salmon. The thing is that, no exaggeration, I eat salmon every day of the week, on occasion I may miss a day. And once again keep in mind I’m African American in northerly climates, work indoors all day, so there is no way I could be getting it from the sun. Everything I eat daily has been sculpted by me for health and wellness and taste, so I supposed Vitamin D could come from other sources of my whole foods as well, but I’m convinced it’s the salmon. You sound like my doctor, because he couldn’t believe it either. The only things I take in supplement/pill form are, Jarrow Brand Cucurmin, Eggshell Membrane (for joint health), Digestive enzymes (don’t take these anymore since I got into papaya for digestion), off and on I will take herbs in pill form like He She Wu, and that’s it. I have never taken vitamins in pill form, and I don’t drink Vitamin D fortified milk (or any milk for that matter) although I eat a little cheese. But like I said I eat salmon almost every day, I was lucky because I ate it for taste then learned about Vitamin D a year or so after I started (been on that eating regiment . for about 5 years now) I wrote a post on it here’s the link https://www.gaiahealthblog.com/2012/03/06/a-case-for-quality-animal-protein-optimal-vitamin-d-levels-from-salmon/
I wasn't being skeptical, believe me! I'm a fellow salmon freak 🙂
I have no idea what my levels would be (small town Canadian docs don't test for that sort of thing, and besides, I never go…) but as I eat salmon (or sardines or sometimes trout) a LOT, then I will take it from your levels that mine won't be far behind. I get to spend a lot of time outdoors in summer, that helps, too. No supplements here either, of any form, grow my own herbs, forage for wild foods and take them as infusions or tinctures over the winter months as needed.
What about fermented foods? You didn't mention them above, but they are a big part of most traditional diets. I can't help wonder if they're cancer-protective to us moderns in our polluted life – colon cancer in particular. And I haven't seen anything about it yet but wonder if keeping the gut bugs happy will assist the body to make/use Vit D? Just a theory.
Thoughts?
When you’re a blogger, you can’t help but become aware of fermented foods. Fermented foods is of the few things in “next level” of stuff to get into. Haven’t got in the past because it’s all bout what I can do most consistently. It’s when I start eating something consistently is when I will go research it thoroughly. But obvious from a glance that fermented foods have some very powerful qualities. I think if you eat salmon all the time then you’re in great shape. From what I understand, you have to think of that shiny silver salmon skin as solar panels, in they absorb a lot of vitamin D from the sun. We consume the salmon and extract the nutrient.
"Shiny silvery skin as solar panels" – Ha! Love that. Just love it. Can't wait to tell my fish skin-phobic husband that one!
Yep, fermented foods are definitely all they are cracked up to be. I research first, then do. Ended up fermenting most of the cabbage-y things from my garden this year to have them for winter – amazing improvement in oral health among other things.
My thoughts are cancer, diabetes, arthritis and a most of all diseases are caused by low grade inflammation, so eating anti-inflammatory foods is what I concentrate on, ie omega 6 is inflammatory omega3 anti-inflammatory, sugar and grain flour are inflammatory, google "cancer cells accelerate aging and inflammation in the body" it's a vicious circle, breaking the inflammation cycle will help avoid disease and slow down the aging process.
Omega three is part of my anti-cancer routine also. I still have an article in my queue to write pertaining to the imbalances in O6 vs. O3’s. I may or may not have mentioned somewhere in the article or for sure in one of the comments that B17 is considered the body’s last like of defense against cancer. Obviously there is a web of interconnected processes and systems that work together to keep us cancer free. So I would not want to imply B17 is the only thing that prevents cancer. I did want to imply that cultures, tribes and races that got the nutrient consistently were cancer free. That nutrient may activate other nutrients like omega-3, or a myriad of other actions and reactions working together. Also looking to write an article on all the supposedly cancer-fighting nutritional techniques, because I have run across 6 or 7 at this point. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
perhaps the answer to a proper and effective diet lies not so much in the “ideal” one but rather in the notion that one stays away from “bad” foods-processed,high sugar, high fat ones. And certainly our meat has fundamentally changed because of the hormones used along with high grain consumption and violence. Oh yeah, and gmo’s too. Our food system is so corrupted and has been for decades. Even the fruits and vegetables are inferior to what they used to be-less nutritious with handling and storage problems. Food companies follow the capitalist way which is to first and foremost think about profit and our health as a consideration comes in dead last. There are plenty of food companies who start out small but then get bought out by the larger ones and then the quality will suffer. Another part of the problem is overpopulation. The food system is done on such a large scale of course it is going to lose quality.
Hi Linda,
WOW!! Very Very well said!!! I’m putting together notes on the very thing you just wrote about, but so many articles in my backlog, so little time. All your points are true, even to the point where researchers say that even eating pork, though I eat very little, is not such the pork itself, but all the processing and chemicals that go into it to make commercial pork products. They say that if you have to eat stuff like port, to go back to cooking as was done in the 1700’s. It’s also a known fact that fruit and veggies are losing their nutritional value compared to centuries past.
In the end, we have to think a bit, keep learning, if we feel even that is something we must do. You can be a meatless vegan or vegetarian and not be getting certain nutrients that your body needs, so I’m bot the biggest fan of having a label tied to me alike vegetarian, or meat eater, it’s all just words. As an African American, wild caught Salmon is the only abundant source of natural Whole Food Vitamin D, which is important for African American health, because we don’t get as much healing Vitamin D from the sun. That being the case, I’m not going to become a vegetarian just because the word sounds politically correct. Vitamin D deficiency is the one major source of a host of diseases like cancer and diabetes.
No matter what you race, sex or even religious eating preference, you gotta think it through a little more that I think the average American is doing, and make some sound educated choices.
I was really trying to make the point that just becoming a vegetarian does not mean you will be healthier.
Great comments…..
~stay healthy~
Doug at Gaia Health Blog
Nicely put together, however, my only complaint is the word ‘Eskimo’. It’s a racist and offensive word that the pioneers dubbed to the Inuit, because of what enemy tribes called them. It means cannibal, or dog eater. I understand that you’re not trying to be racist, as the term has been commonly used (for example, Eskimo bars, another name for ice cream bars), so I’ll just tell you that the proper name is Inuit. Nicely done all together, very informative post. ✌️✌️✌️
Hey Dorothea,
Your point is totally valid, so I welcome your comments. If you look down in my comments, someone actually told me I was spelling the name “Inuit” wrong in my comments (from Beth on 11/28/12) and I went in and changed it (I think I was thinking of the “Intuit” software at the time). Anyway, at that time, I was supposed to go in and change all the names to “Inuit”. I’m gonna go in and make that change right now, and my sincerest apologies to any of my Native American brothers and sisters who had to look at that word for four years. I’ve always admired and had high regard and respect for all Native American cultures (My mother’s mother was at least partial Cherokee, though much of the family lineage and family tree has been lost to history, I’ve always felt some connection to Native American Culture in general, but no means to trace my roots), and perhaps ignorance is no excuse, but one philosopher said that out the of recognition of ignorance is the beginning of wisdom.
I’m African, and of course, African Americans often have to spend a whole lifetime dealing with all these cultural nuances and lack of understandings. I think in these situations, I only want (and I’m sure it applies to Inuits and anyone else) to simply acknowledge the lack of proper cultural education, and let’s [try to] move on. I had moved away from using the word “Indian” three decades ago, and only use the words “Native American”, mainly because the general public has got a lot of education on that specific word “Indian”. But so far as this word as pertains to this conversation, I didn’t know it was an offensive word, only a word that is different than the word than they use for themselves. I think when I tried to change the word before in the article, I think I walked away from my computer without hitting the save button…..but that’s is nether here nor there.
So, I’m going and making that change right now……
Thanks for the comment and Stay Healthy…..
Doug at Gaia Health Blog
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Hi Doug, I love your blog! I found your blog by accident, while searching for “Cancer rate in Eskimos”. Well, they are still Eskimos to me, because I lived in Alaska for 15 years; and I never heard anyone calling themselves Inuit. I don’t think the Eskimos there even know the term. my cousin asked me if I thought an all meat diet would prevent cancer; because as is commonly known, cancer cells can only eat glucose (sugar); the more glucose the cancer cells can get; the faster they grow. Then my cousin told me he had read that a person would be dead in 2 days time, if he ate nothing but meat. That sounded crazy to me; anyone can live for 2 days without anything at all to eat. So I pointed out that the Eskimo diet was all meat for at least 6 months out of the year, before the White man got there. That is when I went looking for the cancer rate in Eskimos (which I did not find); but l left my computer running and searching, only to come back to find your blog up on my screen saying Eskimos were cancer free. I have also read that it is a good idea for people with cancer to eat mostly meat. Anyway, I pointed out to my cousin that the body can convert amino acids from meat into glucose. After thinking about it, I realized that a good cell can convert amino acids into glucose but a cancer cell can not. It should be noted that German doctors use 3-bromopyruvate (an amino acid) to fight cancer; because it prevents cancer cells from using glucose for food. The cancer cells die in about a week or two. I have noticed when ever I find a cancer graph, that the caner rate goes up very slowly the first half of the century from about 1900 until 1945. Then it starts going up geometrically! I wonder what happened in 1945? I was just a little kid at the time; but I remember some things about that year. My father came home from the War, after he and his fellow military men conquered Japan. It seems they had nuked a couple of cities; but that was not the first nuclear weapon. About a month earlier, they had nuked the state of New Mexico in a test shot. When a nuke explodes, it vaporizes everything it touches, sending a fireball high into the stratosphere. Eventually the fireball cools off and a fine radioactive dust is blown clear around the world, finally settling down where we can breathe it. I suspect that is the primary cause of the increased cancer rate. A diet rich in vitamin C reduces the cancer rate; probably because vitamin C is an antioxidant, and neutralizes a lot of radioactive ions. Most animals make vitamin C in their livers. Humans cannot do that. Our gene for converting glucose into vitamin C was badly mutated some 40 million years ago, when our ancestors (Lemurs) were still living in trees in Africa and eating fruit all day long; so we got enough C to get by. (Or we can say God did it 6,000 years ago). Good sources of vitamin C are fruits, vegetables AND MEAT! Meat is a good source of vitamin C because most animals make C in their livers in large amounts. An animal the size of a human, like a sheep, will make a thousand mgs or more of C everyday; even more when sick or injured. I have read that you do not take vitamin pills yourself; but the most C you can get from eating fruit, vegetables and or meat is about 500 mgs or less per day. This would certainly put you up there with the best of humanity; but it is far less than you would get if your gene for making vitamin C actually worked. It does not work, nada, zilch, zero! Fortunately vitamin C is cheap and readily available at walmart for 5 cents per per pill per day. Buy a bottle of 100 pills, 1000 mgs, timed release for $5, over a 3 month supply. You are welcome to take more; because no amount of vitamin C is poisonous; however, about 3000 mgs will give a person diarrhea. Nobel prize winning scientist Linus Pauling and his fellow scientist Dr. Rath worked out the biochemistry involved way back in about the year 2000; but somehow, neither Linus, Dr. Rath, nor me have been able to get the word out to the rest of the world. I cannot even convince my own family; but they are not interested in such things as diet and vitamins. I don’t expect you to take my word for it. All I ask is that you take the time to do a google search on the Internet “Why animals don’t get heart attacks; but people do.” All the information is there; and Dr. Rath wants you to read it. Needless to say, I believe it would greatly increase life expectancy, if everyone took a thousand mgs of vitamin C everyday. As for sunlight and vitamin D, keep in mind that ultraviolet light does not penetrate the skin very deeply. Even light clothing will stop it. If you took off your shirt and spent a half hour in the sunshine in the summertime, I suspect you would get all the vitamin D you want. It is made from the human oils secreted onto the surface of the skin, and is then reabsorbed. A white man will simply get badly sunburned if he were to get out into the summer sunshine without his shirt for more than about 15 minutes or so. Well, I hope you consider my comments seriously; because like you, I study such things. Keep up your good work. I am going to study up on B17. It has been 50 years since I read anything about it.
Inuit
Hi Jerry Collins,
You had a lot to say LOL!!!
Yeah the whole thing became fascinating the more I go into it. Never thought about the uke angle after 1945, pretty interesting.
Another point, speaking of soldiers coming back from WWII, is that the oils changed after world war II, and now we re into Canola, Safflower, Cottonseed oil, and others that are not natural.
Like I always tell people, folks have been eating meat for millinea but cancer rates only shot up in the past 50 years, so meat cannot be the issue. If you wanna not eat meat for animal rights reasons or other reasons, that’s your choice, but I’m not from the came that you should avoid it it for health reasons. I actually eat little meat, a lot of chicken though, but when I do eat a burger, I just go for it, try to find grass fed beef, which fortunately, I’m able to afford now
Doug at Gaia Health Blog
Hi Doug , Thanks for the response and suggestion that other things also changed after the war. I will look around and see what else has changed. In the meantime; be sure to get your vitamin C up. If you can’t eat vitamin pills, probably orange juice is your next best bet. Otherwise, you don’t need to worry about cancer; because you will die from a heart attack.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge! Jerry
You’re looking for an explanation in what they eat, whereas I think the true explanation lies in what they DON’T eat. Traditionally, theyre not eating processed foods, and they’re not eating SUGAR. Sugar is what really fuels cancer growth.
And in a reality where the simplest explanation is probably the right one, I’d say a diet with no sugar whatsoever is probably the answer.
Hi Revy,
I think it’s a combination of these things and many others.
Anyone could argue and/or discuss back and forth, but for sure, it comes down to nutrition and food.
That’s that the real point I’m trying to make here
Doug at GAIA Health Blog