Using the Health of Your Mitochondria to Prevent and Survive Cancer

Our mitochondria are the battery packs of our cells that convert nutrients into energy. When it comes to cancer, Dr. Robert Elliot told me unequivocally, “It’s all about the mitochondria.” These power stations play a role in your immune function and prevent cancer in the first place. We’ll also see that keeping these power stations in mind is important in the cancer journey and preventing its recurrence. In two previous videos, we’ve looked at “Ten Causes of Mitochondrial Dysfunction” and “Ten Research-backed Ways to Boost Your Mitochondria.” Both videos will be referenced below. But today, we’re going to look at how we can use the health of your mitochondria to prevent and survive cancer.

Let’s start with cancer prevention:

How many of you want to prevent cancer in the first place? Everyone, I’m sure. It’s important to keep our mitochondria strong and healthy to prevent cancer. It’s no secret that smoking, drinking too much alcohol, obesity, being sedentary, and eating a highly processed diet are among the top risk factors for all cancers. And according to research, chronic sleep disruption and stress also raises our risk for cancer.

So what can we do? We can do the opposite. If we eat a nutrient-dense, mainly organic diet, keep our weight within normal BMI limits, exercise daily including aerobic exercise several times a week, engage in deep sleep nightly, and manage stress, we’ve just dramatically reduced our risk of cancer while at the same time boosting our mitochondria. If we wean off of smoking and limit alcohol to minimal amounts or abstain, again, we’ve lowered our risk of being diagnosed with cancer.

Before I was diagnosed with cancer, I did exercise daily, ate a reasonably healthy diet as compared to the average American, and did not smoke or drink. I thought I was doing enough to prevent cancer, but here’s what I didn’t do. I didn’t eat organic foods and I didn’t drink clean filtered water. After working full-time while helping to care for all four elderly parents, my stress levels were off the charts, and my sleep cycle often got disrupted. In looking back, I’d missed the boat in several ways.

What about using your mitochondria in the cancer journey?

Hearing the words, “You have cancer,” was a shock to my body as a whole. But then hearing the words,” We need to bring out every weapon to save your life,” was far worse! We’ve learned in a previous video that anti-cancer drugs cause mitochondrial dysfunction. I’m talking about chemotherapy drugs which directly damage the mitochondria and estrogen-blocking drugs. And that’s not even mentioning all the drugs used in surgery including anesthesia, radiation, and the drugs used before chemotherapy to help you tolerate it. Needless to say, the cancer journey is a huge assault on your mitochondria. The roller coaster ride is a high-stress ride which also has an impact on these already struggling mitochondria.

It was this overwhelming weight of stress that motivated me to exercise daily after surgery, before and after chemotherapy, and every day in between. At the time I did not know it, but my commitment to exercise did far more than relieve my stress. It also continuously boosted my mitochondria at a time when I needed it the most. Later research in Australia and at MD Anderson would later prove that “exercise is one of the best things a cancer patient can do.” I was able to do it every day, but you do what you can when you can. I worked with one cancer patient who jogged five miles a day during his chemotherapy! But keep in mind that this was a normal habit for him and he benefitted greatly from being able to continue it.

All of the drugs used in the cancer journey negatively impact your sleep cycle. I remember my naturopathic doctor telling me that I must make sleep a priority if I wanted to recover from what all these drugs were doing to me. Remember, I said in a previous video that deep sleep is when our body heals and repairs itself and that includes our all-important mitochondria. My naturopathic doctor also gave me supplements to support my body and mitochondria during chemotherapy. I was given a strong B-vitamin complex, L-Carnitine, vitamin C, and she helped me to optimize my vitamin D levels. It was clear to other oncologists, that I was thriving far more than most cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

Now, let’s look at using the mitochondria to prevent the recurrence of cancer:

It was a great day when I finally rang that bell and was able to stop the onslaught of chemicals on my body. But little did I realize that I was a toxic dump of heavy metals, anti-cancer drugs, and many other drugs. My mitochondria had been under assault and my fight to end my cancer was not over. I now had to get up on my horse and do battle again—this time against all the onslaught of toxic chemicals which had accumulated in my body. My toxic bucket was more than full, it was overloaded.

I had no choice but to begin an active detox program. Although hydration, exercise, antioxidants, and fiber helped me during the cancer journey, I was determined to get my toxic levels back to a more acceptable level to prevent my cancer from coming back. After chemotherapy is over, no one tells you this, but one of the best things you can do to prevent your cancer from coming back is to actively detox the cells in your body AND YOUR MITOCHONDRIA WITHIN THOSE CELLS THAT POWER THE CELLS!

I start each day with my detox drink which includes apple cider vinegar and fresh lemon which stimulates my liver to detox. I also do intermittent fasting 2-3 mornings a week to extend the time my body stays in autophagy which is my body’s natural processing of cleaning out damaged cells and regenerating new cells. This is a great strategy for a cancer survivor provided you don’t have type 1 diabetes.

I used my infrared sauna three times a week after chemotherapy which also helped my body to detox. Now that my toxic levels are down, I still use my sauna one to two times a week to prevent those toxic levels from building back up and to boost my mitochondria.

A whole food, organic diet filled with nutrients, fiber, and 3 probiotic foods each day goes a long way in nourishing both my gut lining which must be restored after chemotherapy and my body. I eat many plants that contain antioxidants and phytochemicals which boost my mitochondria. I also take a vitamin/mineral supplement each day along with CoQ10, high potency B complex, vitamin C, and magnesium.

The lifestyle changes that I made in the cancer journey like eating a high nutrient-dense, organic diet, engaging in consistent deep sleep, increased hydration, managing stress, and daily exercise are now permanent changes in my lifestyle. I can never go back to the way I lived before. After making these changes permanent and continual detox, I am improving my chances that my cancer won’t return.

Did you know that the health of our mitochondria can help you to prevent cancer, survive the treatments, and prevent its return?

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Using the Health of Your Mitochondria to Prevent and Survive Cancer

Related videos:

Ten Causes of Mitochondrial Dysfunction

Ten Research-backed Ways to Boost Your Mitochondria

For Your Heath,

Ginny

Ginny Dent Brant is a speaker and writer who grew up in the halls of power in Washington, DC. She has battled cancer, ministered around the world, and served on the front lines of American culture as a counselor, educator, wellness advocate, and adjunct professor. Brant’s award-winning book, Finding True Freedom: From the White House to the World, was endorsed by Chuck Colson and featured in many TV and media interviews. Unleash Your God-Given Healing: Eight Steps to Prevent and Survive Cancer was released in May 2020 after her journey with cancer and was recently awarded the First Place Golden Scrolls Award for Memoirs, a finalist in Serious Writers Book of the Decade, and Second Place in both Selah Awards for Memoirs and Director’s Choice Award for Nonfiction at the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writer’s Conference. It recently received the Christian Authors Network’s (CAN) Gold Award for Excellence in Marketing for reaching 62.5 million people with a message of cancer prevention and survival. It was written with commentary from an oncologist and was featured on CBN’s Healthy Living Show, Atlanta Live, and CTN’s Homekeepers along with over 75 media outlets. Learn more and cancer and wellness prevention blog and book information at www.ginnybrant.com. Ginny is on YouTube