A short message of truth inspired by an email. - Headway

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A short message of truth inspired by an email.

Matt2584 profile image
22 Replies

"Your lifestyle causes cancer NOT your genetics".

I find it very, very hard to believe that cancer could be a 'genetic' thing. That is like saying "I had lung cancer cos my uncle did". Utter tripe.

Your uncle had lung cancer cos he was a chain smoker or did other things in his life that gave him lung cancer.

Think about it. Cigarettes did not exist many years ago and cancer didn't was not a problem.

I believe the reason for my BI is due to a poor diet. It is not a poor diet now, thankfully, but was when I was younger, which was when I had my problems.

So if I were you, I'd watch what you consume.

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Matt2584 profile image
Matt2584
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22 Replies
MXman profile image
MXman

Hi Matt,

What was in your diet that cured you your brain injury?

Matt2584 profile image
Matt2584 in reply toMXman

Hi MX,

Sorry if what I said confused you in anyway but I haven't actually cured my injury.

The thing is, like most kids, I had a junk food diet and rarely ate fruits and veg. I would drink a lot of diet coke and other diet drinks.

When I was 11, almost 12, I was then diagnosed with a brain tumour.

I went back to school after and virtually picked up where I left off with the diet sides of things. I had further operations during my time of school including a second brain tumour!

It wasn't until my late teens when I slowly came off the more sugary foods and started eating more naturally and keeping myself more hydrated. This helped greatly but even later in life, about two years ago, is when I really started to up my diet with more natural foods.

I am much more closer to nature these days. I'm not a nature freak or anything but most food and drink made by man are bad for you.

I will just add, and I have mentioned before about aspartame, but aspartame is an additional ingredient in most diet drinks. Aspartame is a silent killer and can cause brain cancer.

I totally blame aspartame for my tumours. Aspartame is a chemical owned by biochemical giant Monsanto. One of the most hated chemical companies in the world.

MXman profile image
MXman in reply toMatt2584

Hi Matt, Sorry that should have said Caused not Cured.... Bloody self checking spelling. Yes I do remember reading that about you before in another post and that diet can play a big part in causing problems in the body.

Its funny because the junk food thing is a massive problem and we see it a lot at MX with the burger vans and stuff, we usually take our own and eat healthy with loads of water and fruit and decent sarnies through out the day O and a decent helping of coffee for me as bad food especially greasy food can really slow your stamina and fitness down. I even see it in the kids.

Have a great day tomorrow matey. N

Matt2584 profile image
Matt2584 in reply toMXman

Oh, what do I think CAUSED my brain tumour to grow?

Like I said, I would bet it was all the Diet coke I consumed. A mix of diet coke and all other sugary foods.

Sugar is classed as a poison.

At this time of year, I can't really escape sugar but I am also trying to eat/drink naturally too.

Hope you are enjoying yourself :).

Take care,

MJ

cat3 profile image
cat3

I can't agree on this one Matt. Genetics are responsible for the passing on of physical and mental characteristics and, according to world-wide extensive research and trials, many types of disease, including cancer..

As for smoking, this dates back to the 1st century AD among American Indians who used wood and stone to make pipes for the purpose.

Naturally what we eat and how we treat our bodies is a major factor in our general wellbeing and might well help in preventing certain conditions, but there are so many instances where sticking to a 'clean' diet hasn't prevented a serious disease, and others, where a lifetime of abuse and junk food has had no adverse effects.

My friend had breast cancer, as did her mother, and now her daughter has the gene which proves she's also at risk and is considering a double mastectomy. My friend and her daughter are vegetarians and drink only fresh juice; no coffee or alcohol, which for me is just more proof that genetics plays a dominant role in health issues.

I'd say eat and live healthily and, as well as improving your general wellbeing, should you be unfortunate in contracting a serious disease, it will stand you in good stead for fighting and recovering from that disease.

Keep doing what you're doing Matt because there's also a well respected theory that self belief is a powerful life-tool.

Have a brilliant Christmas !! XX

paxo05 profile image
paxo05 in reply tocat3

Have to agree with you Cat. U have always tried to be healthy although I did smoke ( gave up about 10 years ago) and drink( now cant).

I also rode a cycle where possible......unfortunately this lead to my bi.....so even keeping healthy is no gaurantee.

I worked in the food industry so have had a good idea what goes into some foods and how to eat well.

I must admit I am rather partial to the odd cake or three. Well it is Christmas.

Pax.

Matt2584 profile image
Matt2584 in reply tocat3

Hi Cat,

That is completely fine if you do not agree with what I have said but all I shall add to that is that there is a lot of misinformation out there, what we have been told and what we are being told.

Hope you had a fantastic day and may you continue to enjoy the christmas period :).

cat3 profile image
cat3

Yes well moderation might take a slight dive on Christmas day but when it's turkey & veg and fruit pudding it isn't so bad. And it's a short-lived regression anyway ; not to mention a little bit of what you fancy ....................... Have a great Christmas Pax. XXX

malalatete profile image
malalatete

I think there are far too many hereditary genes (such as the BRA clusters which are linked to certain forms of breast cancer) to be able to rule out genetics completely Matt. Now that doesn't mean that there wasn't an environmental trigger which caused the gene to mutate in the first place, many years ago, possibly before the science was available to make the connection.

But if you were to go to a breast cancer forum you would find families where the women have been affected in each generation for generations... notwithstanding very different lifestyles as a result of history, economics and choice.

I agree though that some forms of cancer can be caused by lifestyle (and like you think aspartame is evil), but again as an over-riding statement as put in that headline, think that is difficult to defend or rationalise, even from family experience: my paternal grandmother smoked 20 fags a day and died of...old age at 86. My maternal grandmother never touched a cigarette in her life and died of lung cancer at 32, a rare early death from that particular form.

I think at a macro level the statement has value: the higher incidence of cancers in Western society has been linked with our higher levels of obesity which is of course diet related. But on a micro level it often falls down because life, and health in particular, is more fractured, random, and complex than such a statement can account for.

Hoping you are having a fab Christmas!

MXman profile image
MXman

Now lets throw a spanner in the works, So is Alcoholism hereditary then?

Are you born with it?

Do you develop it?

Is that obsessive gene already in there?

I personally think its a bit of both.

Have a fantastic day people. XX N

the gene thing means that people are just more susceptible not that they will necessarily develop the cancer, introducing free radicals into the body via smoking and drinking can then turn the switches on that causes tumour growth. its like saying fast cars are all deathtraps, but its the way you drive them that ultimately determines that outcome.

RogerCMerriman profile image
RogerCMerriman

Like nature vs nurture it's all about probabilities.

As has been touched on some folks will have a higher risk due to genetics, see Angelina Jolie for one such example faced with such a high risk almost 90% of getting breast cancer she opted for surgery.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ang...

But equally what you eat and lifestyle can seem to have effects.

Matt2584 profile image
Matt2584 in reply toRogerCMerriman

If I were Angelina and had breast cancer, I would have been consuming a lot of fruit and veg and I mean lots.

I would especially be consuming lemons and kale for one and even if I don't quite like/enjoy the taste/texture of many fruit and veg, I would blend them up in a smoothie maker or other type of blender.

With all the foods now, man-made foods or FAKE foods as I now call them, the ones loaded with chemicals. More and more people turn to those kinds of food and neglect or forget about real food, natural foods.

They were put on this Earth for a reason.

I believe that humanitiy is the reason cancer exists.

2stroke profile image
2stroke

a write up on line.

Aspartame has been subject to more scare stories than any other sweetener, ranging from allergies and premature births to liver damage and cancer.

It is low calorie and up to 200 times sweeter than sugar. Aspartame is used all over the world as a sugar substitute in thousands of foods and drinks, including cereals, sugar-free chewing gum, low-calorie (diet) soft drinks and table-top sweeteners.

Aspartame has been extremely controversial since its approval for use by several European countries in the 1980s. A 1996 report suggested a link between aspartame and an increase in the number of diagnosed brain tumours. However, the study had very little scientific basis and later studies showed that aspartame was in fact safe to consume.

The European Ramazzini Foundation of Oncology and Environmental Sciences published several long-term studies in 2006 and 2007 linking the consumption of aspartame with an increase in cancers – namely lymphomas and leukaemias – in rats.

Following these studies, the US National Cancer Institute conducted a study of nearly half a million people, comparing those who consumed drinks containing aspartame with those who did not. Results of the 2006 study (PDF, 87kb) found aspartame did not increase the risk of leukaemia, lymphoma or brain cancer.

In 2013 the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) conducted a comprehensive review of the evidence (PDF, 2.25Mb) and concluded that aspartame was safe for human consumption, including pregnant women and children.

In digestion, aspartame is quickly and completely broken down into by-products – including phenylalanine, aspartic acid and methanol – which then enter our system through normal routes. Hardly any aspartame enters the bloodstream.

However, the EFSA said the acceptable daily intake recommendations did not apply to people with phenylketonuria (PKU), a rare genetic disorder where the body cannot break down phenylalanine. People with this condition need to closely monitor their phenylalanine intake.

The EFSA report stated that, "PKU mothers with poorly controlled phenylalanine intake in their diet during pregnancy may give birth to babies with congenital heart diseases, microcephalus and impaired neurological function."

It is worth noting that phenylalanine occurs naturally in many protein-rich foods, such as milk, eggs and meat. Table-top sweeteners containing aspartame or aspartame-acesulfame K must be marked with "contains a source of phenylalanine".

Acceptable daily intake: 40mg per kg of body weight

Find out what the latest scientific evidence says about these other common artificial sweeteners:

acesulfame K

saccharin

sucralose

steviol glycosides (stevia plant extracts)

sorbitol

xylitol

2stroke profile image
2stroke

Healthline : Power of Intelligent Health. good advice on good and bad foods and drink

Matt2584 profile image
Matt2584 in reply to2stroke

Thanks for that stroke :).

I knew a lot of that, the government od and the bad, not every bit of it as I don’t bother researching so hard, for me there’s no real need.

I have read the controversial comments/articles before, is it safe or is it bad? A lot of people who work for coca cola willtell youhow “safe” it is... if only they knew.

I would not be surprised at all if the big reason for the yes/no thing is because people are paid off to make blatent lies. Patrick Moore has done it before. Patrick Moore used to belong to Greenpeace until he was bought out by mega chemical company, Monsanto, and is now saying how glyphosate, main ingredient in weed killer Round Up, is completely safe to drink. It’s far from that though. Glyphosate causes cancer and yet glyphosate is sprayed all over our crops.

I say that aspartame is bad because I used to consume loads of the stuff and ended up having 2 brain tumours. It was only later down the line when I had the knowledge to read up more on these things. I read up about aspartame, saw the number of health probs it can cause including brain cancer and made my decision there and then. For me it was pretty simple and I know a lot of people will not find it that simple but I do, that is just who I am and what I believe.

I believe that life should be simple but corruption makes things much more complicated.

2stroke profile image
2stroke

If theres money and power involved -then theres corruption, politicians are a case in mind.

Nose in the trough.. we are all in it together,yes, dont we all claim for second homes, overpay our wives and family, give our ducks new pond houses, get private health.get subsidised food and drink.where else would you get a bar in your workplace, parliament of course !!.

they get it ,we just pay for it.. Gets me down,when they say WE CANT AFFORD IT!!

--Not in a good mind today-up too early, lost sleep.--

Matt2584 profile image
Matt2584 in reply to2stroke

Yes, exactly right. If money and power is involved then there is corruption.

"The love for money is the root of all evil"

Some people will say "Money isn't evil". They are right, money isn't evil but the love for it, the want, the need which brings power is what is evil. In other words, the greed is evil.

The government take away money from virtually everything so it's no wonder at all when you see so many homeless people on the street.

Sorry to hear you lost sleep. It's not good when you don't get enough sleep.

2stroke profile image
2stroke

thanks for your reply Matt2584.

always nice to know someone taking an interest in my ramblings,can only apologise if anything upsets anyone,( B.I.we are all in it together).

always, best wishes to everyone.

Matt2584 profile image
Matt2584 in reply to2stroke

No problem :). When your ramblings make a lot of sense then it is hard to not take interest :).

Ever since I was little I had never been interested in talking politics and parliament and the royal family and so on, I'm still not interested really, I would rather get on with my own life as normal really but the government get in the way. When the latest queen's battleship sailed into Portsmouth harbour, they was a massive crowd of people, or sheep, went to go see it, I however could not care less. A boat is a boat at the end of the day but a warship... To me that is like 'is it really needed?'

I know quite little about political agendas and so on but I just think that it's mainly going to turn sour what ever way it goes, either that or whatever the decision on brexit will be is that the government fat cats will get their cream (money) and the people will have to scrape by as usual.

2stroke profile image
2stroke

Whats the comments on BREXIT.

if BORIS is right and theres more money available. Whos going to be the first to get salary rises--MPs of course--40 to50%if they can.

2stroke profile image
2stroke

Bad news about our NHS, over worked again.Winter on the way.

Stay safe and well everyone..

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