Mrs Lisa Ng, 41, had lymphoma in 1997. She was given just six months to live. But she beat the odds. Last July, she was declared cancer-free. She believes this is because she changed her diet. "I had regular chemotherapy, but the cancer had spread to my spine. My body couldn't take (stronger doses of chemo) - my heart and lungs were swollen and I was semi-conscious. My husband was told I would die or slip into a coma. "I stopped the chemo...I had no alternative but to try the Gerson diet, which is raw organic fruits and vegetables." No salt, no meat, no oil. Each day, she drank nine coffee cups of fresh juices, ate steamed potatoes and a blended soup of vegetables. She said: "As my cancer markers kept going down, my doctor told me to continue what I was doing." Mrs Ng still eats this diet for its protective effects. She also believes in having the right altitude. "I have two young children. I wanted to live. So I never gave up," she said.

From: The New Paper 25th Aug 99

Thursday, 28 June, 2001, 15:04 GMT 16:04 UK - Fruit and vegetables contain the key chemical The presence of a key chemical in fruits and vegetables may explain why vegetarians are protected against heart disease. The foods contain called salicylic acid which is a key ingredient in aspirin. Aspirin is prescribed to reduce the risk of heart attacks. It is also thought to help prevent bowel, breast and lung cancers, and perhaps Alzheimer's disease. Vegetarians are already known to have less heart disease and bowel cancer than meat-eaters. But this study, carried out by scientists at Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, in Dumfries, looked at whether salicylic acid was the key.

Comparisons

The researchers looked at blood samples from 37 vegetarians and 39 meat and fish-eaters, all in their early 40s, from a Buddhist monastery and the community who were not taking aspirin. They also examined samples taken from 14 diabetic patients in their late 50s who were taking 75mg of aspirin every day. They found levels of salicylic acid were up to 12 times higher in vegetarians than in non-vegetarians. But the average level for vegetarians was still significantly lower than that of the diabetic patients. However, the scientists did find an overlap between the two groups, with eight vegetarians having higher concentrations of salicylic acid than the lowest found in the aspirin-taking group. Six of the diabetics had concentrations lower than the highest level amongst the vegetarians.

But the researchers point out in their study, published in the Journal of Clinical Pathology, that there were wide variations within the two groups, with much higher concentrations of the acid within the group taking aspirin.

Medical implications

The Dumfries scientists admit diet will not provide the same anti-inflammatory protection as aspirin. But they say even low levels of salicylic acid may help protect against heart disease and other conditions. They write that if the anti-inflammatory properties of salicylic acid at the concentrations found in food can be confirmed: "It is possible that dietary salicylates will prove to be one of the reasons why diets rich in fruit and vegetables protect against colorectal cancer and cardiovascular disease."

Physiologically, people are more akin to plant-eaters, foragers and grazers, such as monkeys, elephants and cows, than to carnivore such as dogs, tigers and leopards. For example, carnivores do not sweat through their skin; body heat is controlled by rapid breathing and extrusion of the tongue. Vegetarian animals, on the other hand, have sweat pores for heat control and the elimination of impurities. Carnivores must lap liquids but vegetarian animals take liquids in by suction through the teeth.

Carnivores have long teeth and claws for holding and killing prey; vegetarian animals have short teeth and no claws. The jaws of carnivores only open in an up and down motion; those of vegetarian animals also move sideways for additional kinds of chewing.

Alimentary canal

The alimentary canal of vegetarian animals are 10 to twelve times the length of the body. This permit foods that are less prone to decomposition, a longer time to pass through. Carnivores in contrast, lave a short digestive tract, compare to herbivorous. The digestive tract of carnivorous animals is only three times the size of their body. This enable the carnivorous to eliminate easily decay flesh swiftly because poisonous substances formed from decaying flesh will cause toxification. The saliva of carnivores contains no ptyalin and cannot predigest starches; that of vegetarian animals contains ptyalin for the pre-digestion of starches. Carnivores secrete large quantities of hydrochloric acid (10 times more) to help dissolve bones; vegetarian animals secrete little hydrochloric acid.

Hence, without doubt, the early inhabitant of earth (our early ancestors) were vegetarian. Therefore, whether physiologically, naturally or instinctively, fruits, vegetables, grains, roots, nuts and seeds are most suitable to the human body. You may ask, "How is it that now human consume meat and flesh?"

- Picture: Evolution of life, page 126 -

This is a difficult question to answer. An hypothesis is that consumption of meat started with the discovery of fire by man. After a natural caused forest fire, man tasted the burnt (roasted) animals and find them to seems taste better then compared with plant foods. Hence, from that day onwards, man discovered fire and start to hunt animals for food.

Information extracted from http://vegetarianism.danielck.net/why_scientific.htm