The Kitchen

Hippocrates once said, "Let medicine be thy food and food be thy medicine," and I've found that food really is and should be used as medicine. You'll find helpful information about food to include in your regimen, items to swap out of your pantry, medicine cabinet and cosmetic vanity. Use this as a starting point for your journey of healing and discoveries.

DO: Lemon Water

The perfect cleanse and way to start your morning. Drinking a cup of warm water with one whole lemon helps to cleanse the system. I love to have a cup before a glass of celery water. I imagine the citrus stripping the gunk in my system and the celery juice soothing everything over.

DO: Celery Juice

Did you know that celery was used as medicine before it was used as food? Yes! In early history, celery was grown and used to heal various ailments. Is it a wonder that so many have jumped on the celery juice/water phenomenon in the past years? Drinking a glass of this every morning (especially after lemon water) is sure to cleanse the system and heal your cells. (Bonus tip: Next time you buy a bunch of celery save those roots and grow your own stalks. Visit Scrappy Hoe Productions for more info.)

DO: Green Apples

We've all heard the saying, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." Well, during my journey, I learned an apple a day can also keep the oncologist away. Sugar feeds cancer and fruit had to be eliminated from my diet. Studies have proven that eating apples, specifically green since they contain the lowest sugar content, can lower cancer risk.

DON'T: Dairy

I know it's good. I know its addictive but just as much as you love it, so do cancer cells. According to a study done in the 70s and quoted in "What the Health," over half of the world's population is lactose intolerant. Dairy stimulates hormone growths causing an increased risk for breast cancer.

DON'T: Sugar

Cancer lives off sugar. While on my journey, I realized how similar cancer and diabetes were. And coming from a family history of both issues, it was a must that I eliminated this from my diet. A study done at UCLA found that starving cancer cells of sugar and glucose activated metabolic pathways that lead to cancer cell death. Avoid the sugar and let the cancer die.

DON'T: Nightshades

You can still wear your sunglasses at night, you should just eliminate this food group. What is that? Same thing I said. Nightshades are a food group of probably some of your favorite items that cause inflammation in the body. Some side effects include heartburn, bloating, nausea, and joint pain. This group includes, but is not limited to, potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, and tobacco.