Can Juicing Help Cancer of the Bladder? 3


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No form of cancer responds better to juicing than cancer of the bladder. It is uniquely survivable and responsive to nutritional therapies.

The reason juicing works so well in hastening recovery from carcinoma of the bladder and in preventing a recurrence is that the bladder comes in contact with most of the liquids released from the body. Every chemical in food comes in contact with the lining of the bladder.

The Genetics of Bladder Cancer

No one should rely on juices or raw foods alone to treat bladder cancer. Surgical removal of tumors extends life and nearly always is successful. On the other hand, nearly 50% of people who have a bladder cancer tumor removed will have to have another procedure within the next five years. Second bladder cancer tumors are also nearly always survivable, as are third and fourth tumors. The point of nutritional intervention in bladder cancer, however, is to ensure that once bladder cancer is treated it stays gone for good.

The right choices in food and nutrients for supporting recovery from bladder cancer have a very simple biological basis. If a gene called LINE-1 is activated, bladder cancer can be prevented. If something interferes with the activation of LINE-1, recurrence of bladder cancer is likely.

The chemical process that flips the on switch for LINE-1 is called methylation. This is the addition of a methyl (-CH3) group to the LINE-1 gene. The presence of benzene, lead, or agricultural chemicals in the urine passing through the bladder interferes with methylation. When these chemicals are combined with acidic urine, they are especially harmful for methylation.

How Can You Avoid Bladder Toxins?

More than with any other form of cancer, bladder cancer benefits from eating organic foods. It is vitally important to avoid the herbicides and pesticides that can interfere with the activation of LINE-1.

If you just can't afford organic food, or it simply is not available, there are still two other things you can do. One is diluting your urine. That's not hard to do. Drink more water. You don't have to drink any particular kind of water as long as it is free of benzene, lead, and agricultural chemicals. Distilled water is actually detrimental to your health because it does not contain electrolytes. Distilled water can draw electrolytes out of your bloodstream into the digested food in your colon. And it only takes a mere 5 cups (1200 ml) of water per day to make a significant difference in whether or not you get cancer again.

The other thing you can do to reduce your risk of bladder cancer recurrence is to keep your urine alkaline. There is a common misunderstanding that the bloodstream becomes acidic when large amounts of certain protein foods (especially smoked cheeses and smoked fish) are consumed and more alkaline when large amounts of certain plant foods (especially leafy greens and dried fruit) are consumed. Actually, your body wouldn't function if your blood became highly acidic or highly alkaline. The kidneys take the excess acidity, or in relatively rare cases, alkalinity out of the bloodstream with the help of glutamine and calcium.

And they have to get that glutamine from your tissues and that calcium from your bones. That is why eating less meat and more vegetables helps maintain the strength of muscles and bones, and why eating more vegetables and fruit helps reduce the risk of bladder cancer recurrence.

Customizing Your Juicing Program for Bladder Cancer

It's possible to get even more benefits from juicing by consuming juices that contain two key plant foods, garlic and cabbage family vegetables.

Most of the scientific research into the benefits of garlic for fighting bladder cancer has involved aged garlic extract. Frankly, you could get the same benefits from taking aged garlic extract pills (such as those made by Kyolic, NOW Foods, and Solgar) as you can get by adding a clove of garlic to your vegetables for making juice. Either way, Dr. David Lamm, a former professor of urology at the University of West Virginia School of Medicine, and Dr. Dale Riggs, a current professor of urology at the University of West Virginia School of Medicine, have found that garlic:

  • Stimulates the production of white blood cells for stronger immunity,
  • Increases the production of a kind of “patrol” cell known as a macrophage that locates and destroys “loose” bladder cancer cells,
  • Increases the production of natural interferon against cancer, and
  • Increases the activity of natural killer (NK) cells against cancer.

Dr. Lamm and Dr. Riggs even believe that garlic is more effective in treating bladder cancer than the more commonly used immunotherapy with the bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BC-G), and it's more effective than chemotherapy with mitomycin (Mitomycin C), doxirubicin (Adriamycin), or N,N'N'-triethylenethiophosphoramide (Thiotepa). Even better, garlic helps the liver deactivate benzene and some of the herbicides and pesticides that are found on food.

As helpful as garlic is for bladder cancer recovery, some people will still have a concern with garlic breath. There is a simple solution. Rinse your mouth with water after you consume vegetable juice flavored with garlic. Even if you do nothing at all, the sulfur odor from garlic in the juice will dissipate in 4 to 6 hours.

More Vegetable Juices for Fighting Bladder Cancer

A second group of vegetables that fights bladder cancer is the crucifers, also known as the cabbage family. Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi, collards, mustard greens, mizuna, and watercress all contain sulfur-bearing compounds known as isothiocyanates. The isothiocyanates bind to toxins and protect the lining of the bladder. They also help cells in the lining of the bladder make the cancer-fighting antioxidant glutathione. This free radical fighter binds to RNA in cancer cells to keep them from multiplying.

There is just one potential downside to making lots of cabbage juice for bladder health. The sulfur compounds in cabbage family vegetables that bind to toxins also bind to iodine. They can interfere with the thyroid's absorption of the iodine it needs for making thyroid hormone. If you have hypothyroidism, you need to limit your consumption of these vegetables and make sure you use at least a little iodized salt every day. As little as 2 teaspoons (10-12 grams) of salt per day is enough.

How to Use Juices for Bladder Cancer

Many people drink a mixture of garlic and tomato juice every morning. Garlic also is flavorful with leafy greens such as spinach or Swiss chard (silverbeet), and it is good with cabbage family vegetables. The juice you make every morning provides you with cancer-fighting phytochemicals and also helps keep your urine alkaline. And the fluid in the juice helps you go more often to get rid of toxins faster.

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About Andy Williams

In a processed food culture, simply eating may not be enough. Dr. Andy Williams is a scientist with a strong interest in Juicing and how it can supply the body with the nutrients it needs to thrive in modern society. You can subscribe to his free daily paper called Juicing The Rainbow and follow him on Facebook orTwitter.

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3 thoughts on “Can Juicing Help Cancer of the Bladder?

  • Linda Cuda

    Just read your article about juicing and bladder cancer and found it very helpful. My husband was recently diagnosed (after being concerned-free for 11 years). We will definitely be doing the juicing with vegetables and garlic as recommended in this article. Thanks!