One key in developing a cancer-free lifestyle is ongoing, moderate exercise. Research indicates that those who use up 2,000 calories or more in physical activity each week have a third less risk of getting all types of cancer as compared to sedentary individuals. One study found that women who exercise an average of four hours per week reduced their risk of breast cancer by 50 percent compared to that of age-matched inactive women. Exercise may also help boost the immune system and even help promote such healthy habits as getting a good night’s sleep.

And the best exercise may not be as strenuous as you think. Brisk walking, not jogging or pumping iron, may well prove to be the perfect exercise. This form of exercise provides the ideal opportunity for worship and prayer as well. Just take along a tape player loaded with your favorite worship music, and you’re off to a healthier physical and spiritual life!

One key in developing a cancer-free lifestyle is ongoing, moderate exercise. Research indicates that those who use up 2,000 calories or more in physical activity each week have a third less risk of getting all types of cancer as compared to sedentary individuals. One study found that women who exercise an average of four hours per week reduced their risk of breast cancer by 50 percent compared to that of age-matched inactive women. Exercise may also help boost the immune system and even help promote such healthy habits as getting a good night’s sleep.

And the best exercise may not be as strenuous as you think. Brisk walking, not jogging or pumping iron, may well prove to be the perfect exercise. This form of exercise provides the ideal opportunity for worship and prayer as well. Just take along a tape player loaded with your favorite worship music, and you’re off to a healthier physical and spiritual life!

Those who stop fearing the disease are usually the ones who overcome it.

Question: Cancer runs in my family. Can I lower my own risk of getting it?
M.S., Edgewood, Florida

Answer:I will begin my answer with a resounding yes! You absolutely can lower your probability of a cancer diagnosis. The best approach you can take is to implement a proactive lifestyle that promotes good health in your body, mind and spirit.

BodySince 1938, every president of the United States has recognized April as Cancer Control Month. Last year, I had the honor of receiving an original printing of President George W. Bush’s proclamation for the observance. In it, he had included some of the most important things a person can do to avoid cancer.

President Bush got it right when he stated: “Improvements in diet and fitness can help prevent many serious health problems. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables and regular physical activity help protect us from illness and can add years to our lives. Research suggests that we can decrease the number of cancer deaths in America by one-third simply by changing our diets and getting more exercise.”

MindUse your mind. You already know you shouldn’t eat fast foods, smoke or continue in unhealthy habits. But do you also know you can develop thinking habits that actually promote health?

The Bible states that a man is as he thinks in his heart (see Prov. 23:7). During my 20 years of medical practice I have seen that people who are convinced they will get cancer have a higher tendency to get it than those who don’t worry about it.

Why is this? It’s because a direct link exists between the immune system and the emotions. Fear and anxiety provoke the release of immune-suppressing hormones. A lowered immune system offers cancer the opportunity to progress.

Spirit:Faith in God demolishes fear within man. Numerous clinical trials from Duke University confirm that those who have religious faith recover more quickly and with fewer complications than those who have no faith.

I’ve found with my own cancer patients that those who stop fearing the disease are usually the ones who overcome it. In almost every case, those who have peace are the ones who know their futures are secure in Jesus Christ.

In every book I have written about cancer I have stated that fear is cancer’s stronghold. The good news is you can live without this fear.

Practice healthful living, do not worry about illness and have faith that God is taking care of you.

Question:Does medical science recognize prayer as having a health benefit?
E.H., East Point, Georgia

Answer:An interesting article titled “Systematic Review of Clinical Trials Examining the Effects of Religion on Health” published in the Southern Medical Journal (December 2002) details a study in which a comprehensive review of hundreds of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were used to determine the effect of prayer on health.

The research concluded that “RCTs support the thesis that Christian intercessory prayer improves health outcomes in patients admitted to a CCU [cardiac care unit] and may improve survival in children with leukemia” (emphasis added).

Simply stated–yes, prayer has medicinal value. The intrinsic health benefit of prayer is that it is an effective relaxation technique that can alleviate stress and bolster the immune system.

Yet more important than the natural healing power of prayer is praying in the name of Jesus. Praying in faith and in the name of Jesus connects us with God our Father. Miraculous healings do not come from prayer; they come from the Father through His Son Jesus Christ.

I am very committed to prayer in my medical practice because we doctors have limited abilities to heal. God, however, has no limitations or boundaries.

As I have lectured around the world, I have encouraged doctors to pray. I am looking forward to taking part in the next Worldwide Cancer Prayer Day on June 5. The world, and that includes the medical world, needs to know that prayer is our first line of defense, not our last resort.

Francisco Contreras, M.D., oversees Oasis of Hope Hospital (), a cancer-care facility in Mexico known widely for its alternative-treatment methods. He is the author of several books on health, including his newest, The Coming Cancer Cure (Siloam, ).

Question: I seem healthier since I became a vegan. Do you believe God made us to be vegetarians?
J.P., Boise, Idaho

Answer: The book of Genesis says God gave us every “seed-bearing plant” and “tree that has fruit with seed in it” as our food (see 1:29). From that verse alone we could draw the conclusion that He created us to be vegetarians.

However, God also equipped our bodies with canine teeth, a fact that tells me He designed us to eat meat as well. The problem is, most of us consume meat as if we had nothing but canine teeth (ones the size of a saber-toothed tiger’s)!

Meat is a good source of protein, but it has no medicinal value. It is also much more likely than the lowly vegetable to cause an illness in your body. The fact is, it’s pretty tough to get a degenerative disease if your diet is free from pesticides, antibiotics, preservatives and hormones–substances that most American foods, especially meats, are loaded with.

In contrast, whole foods organically grown and pesticide-free contain the precise nutrients our bodies need for fighting off disease. Take the tomato, for example. The body uses lycopene–the tomato’s red pigment that also helps combat prostate cancer–much more effectively when it derives the nutrient from the tomato rather than from a supplement.

I happen to be a strong proponent of a vegetarian diet, particularly a broad one that includes fruits, legumes and grains. I put all my patients at Oasis of Hope Hospital on a mild vegetarian diet that allows (mostly to avoid mutiny!) a miniscule portion of fish or free-range chicken. I’ve seen how a strict vegetarian diet with a high intake of carrot juice and green juices such as barley or papaya can stop or reverse heart disease, diabetes and some cancers.

Cancer, especially of the breast, is directly related to the amount of fat and protein ingested. This has been shown by a cooperative study called the China Project, which I wrote about in my book The Hope of Living Cancer Free (Siloam). Chinese women eat an average of four grams ( ounces) of animal protein a day and American women an average of one pound (16 ounces) a day. Researchers determined this difference to be the reason incidences of breast cancer are more than 10 times higher among American women than Chinese women.

My position on meat consumption is like the apostle Paul’s on his personal liberty–all things are permissible but not all things are beneficial (see 1 Cor. 6:12). If you eat meat, do so in very small quantities and buy free-range meats without hormones and antibiotics.

Question: Why does the Old Testament say we can’t eat pork and shellfish? I love bacon with my eggs, and fresh shrimp and oysters.
S.T., Micanopy, Florida

Answer: God tells us in Leviticus 11 that some meat is “clean” and some isn’t. He instructs us to eat only the meat of animals that chew cud and have split hooves. That rules out pork. Wow, no bacon?

He also tells us to detest anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales. Oh, no–no lobster, shrimp or abalone?

It gets worse: We’re not supposed to eat eagles, vultures, owls, storks or bats either! Seriously, though–are pigs, sharks and lobsters truly not clean? In fact, they are not.

The creatures God banned did not have detoxifying systems–and still don’t. They are storage units for all the poisons, toxins and sewage they ingest or absorb. Simply put, they are nature’s garbage collectors.

After Jesus brought grace into the world, the apostle Peter was told in a vision that he should no longer call “unclean” what God had made “clean” (see Acts 10:9-22). It’s understood that his dream was at least symbolic–so he would comprehend grace and know Gentiles were accepted by God. But was it also, as some believe, corrective–so he would be unconcerned about eating meats previously forbidden under the Levitical law? Maybe.

Is it a sin to eat the meat of the creatures outlawed in Leviticus 11? Well, I don’t think if you eat pork you will go to hell. But it is very likely that you will go to heaven much sooner.

Question: What can I do to protect my family from the West Nile virus? I have heard that the fall is when the worst cases appear.
K.T., Memphis, Tennessee

Answer: West Nile virus is, in people, a mild disease caused by a flavivirus—one of a family of viruses transmitted by ticks and mosquitoes. Its symptoms are flulike and, in the majority of cases, typically last only a few days and do not appear to cause any long-term health problems.

The virus is primarily a disease of birds and is transmitted to humans by “overwintering” mosquitoes (species that survive the winter). Until 1999 it had not been documented in the West. It remains common to Africa, eastern Europe, western Asia and the Middle East.

The virus bears a scary reputation, perhaps more so now that it is linked to several hundred deaths in the United States, where it has been moving into new areas. As many as 200,000 Americans may have been exposed to it since 1999, when it killed seven people in New York City. The 2002 U.S. outbreak killed 284 people and infected 4,156 in 40 states before becoming dormant last winter.

Back in 2003, the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had documented 3,541 cases of the virus for this year, 66 of them fatal. Thirty-seven states had reported cases, and Colorado had been the hardest hit, with 1,214 cases and 19 deaths.

Tragic though all this is, it is equally true that the disease is not nearly as notorious as its reputation. The truth is, the West Nile virus is not highly infectious. Yes, sporadic outbreaks have occurred–but less than 1 percent of people infected with the disease will develop severe illness. P> The elderly, chronically ill and those with weak immune systems may develop West Nile encephalitis, meningitis or meningoencephalitis (the potentially fatal complications). These cases occur primarily in the late summer or early fall and may be the kind you refer to in your question.

The West Nile virus is, in fact, a disease you can help your family easily avoid. Do everything you can to remove mosquito-breeding areas near your home, and when outside wear protective clothing and insect repellents that contain DEET.

To the person with a healthy immune system, the virus will cause mild transitory symptoms, if any at all. Provide your family with a diet rich in fruits and vegetables supplemented with vitamins and minerals. Couple it with a positive attitude and the joy of the Lord and you’ll boost your immunity significantly!

Question: My child has frequent ear infections and gets antibiotics at least five times a year. Are there natural alternatives for this?
S.G., Brandywine, Pennsylvania

Answer: Antibiotics were one of the wonder drugs of the 20th century, but over-prescribing is decreasing their effectiveness in the 21st century. Consider that:

According to the Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis, the bacteria causing almost all ear infections, are approaching 50 percent resistance in the United States.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that between 1979 and 1987 only percent of pneumococcus strains were resistant to antibiotics. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, 6.6 percent had become resistant by 1994.

Researchers writing in the New England Journal of Medicine identified bacteria in patient samples that resist all currently available antibiotic drugs.

A child’s pain is most disturbing and shouldn’t be minimized. If your child has minor symptoms, then under your physician’s care provide painkillers or anti-inflammatory agents. Natural antibiotics include garlic and milk thistle. I myself have five children, and only two of them have ever received antibiotics.

I give them Kyolic Aged Garlic Extract, and for ear inflammation I put a small piece of warm garlic in their outer ear canal to bring down the inflammation and help with the pain. I give them Bee-Alive Royal Jelly for their immune system while keeping them in bed and away from school (which is the therapy that kids really like).

Francisco Contreras, M.D., oversees Oasis of Hope Hospital (), a cancer-care facility in Mexico widely known for alternative-treatment methods. He is the author of several books on health, including his newest, The Coming Cancer Cure (Siloam, ).

Much can be done to control diabetes other than giving insulin injections.
Question: Is there anything other than insulin shots to control diabetes?
J.G., Clearwater, Florida

Answer. There is much that can be done to control diabetes other than giving insulin injections. In my medical practice, I have helped people decrease their insulin dosages through a strict vegetarian diet. Many patients have been able to give up insulin treatment altogether, but this is not something you should try to do on your own. You need to find a doctor who has experience in treating diabetes through nutrition.

The first step is education. I find that few people know much about diabetes beyond the fact that it has something to do with high blood sugar and is treated with insulin shots. Many patients with acquired diabetes (diabetes type II) produce sufficient amounts of insulin, but they are not able to assimilate and burn sugar adequately at the cellular level to produce energy. This explains why diabetics often secrete sugar in the urine, thirst constantly, drink excessive amounts of water and suffer from lack of energy.

Although these patients produce plenty of insulin, they are diabetic because the insulin receptors in their cells are blocked by cholesterol buildup. If the receptors are blocked, the insulin is not received, and the body is thrown out of balance.

Giving insulin injections is an external way to help control the blood sugar, but it does not correct the problem of the insulin receptors. It treats the symptoms of the disease rather than the cause. Type II diabetes is not caused by sugar or lack of insulin production by the pancreas.

When treating diabetes, doctors generally recommend that patients avoid starches and sugar and eat more protein. But most patients, when they hear the word protein, think they need to eat more meat and dairy products, both of which lead to higher cholesterol levels. High cholesterol levels in turn lead to poor circulation, which ultimately results in every diabetic’s fear–amputation of fingers, feet and legs due to gangrene.

The most important thing you can do to prevent or reverse diabetes is to adopt a diet low in animal fat and protein, low in salt, and free from fried foods, soft drinks and alcoholic beverages. Instead, eat a diet rich in whole foods and organic fruits and vegetables that are loaded with enzymes to help the pancreas function.

If you have diabetes, you need to be more stringent with your diet. To avoid illness, I recommend that your diet contain 90 percent defensive foods (organic fruits and vegetables) and, at most, 10 percent foods that could be considered outside your diet or questionable for you to eat.

Question. I am 65 years old. How can I continue to enjoy a high level of energy?
J.T., Dallas, Texas

Answer. As the baby boomer generation matures, more and more of us are not only hoping but also expecting to live longer and more vibrant lives than our parents lived.

Most of us want a long, happy and ailment-free life, but too many of us believe that it is obtained by luck or by inheriting certain genes. This kind of thinking is wrong. Like most things in life, longevity is a choice.

There are many things you can do to secure high energy levels and good health well into your 90s!

Your diet is essential to health and energy levels. I highly recommend the Mediterranean diet, which includes plenty of organic vegetables and fruit, as well as olive oil.

Be sure to have ample helpings of tomatoes, broccoli, alfalfa, red grapes and garlic. This type of food will help extend your life and help you look younger too!

If you want to go to the next level, add regular exercise. The Journal of the American Medical Association reported that men who did at least 1,500 calories’ worth of vigorous activity each week had a 25 percent lower death rate than those who expended less. This can be achieved by walking three miles, three times per week.

Finally, having the right attitude is clinically proven to extend your days. Researchers confirm that much of aging is in the mind.

You are as young as you think you are! The Scripture declares that “as [a man] thinks in his heart, so is he” (Prov. 23:7, NKJV).

Adopting a healthful lifestyle will lower your risk of contracting SARS.
Question: I enjoy fairly good health but get colds a couple of times a year. How likely am I to contract SARS?
G.S., Cape Canaveral, Florida

Answer: There is really very little known about Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) at this time. The preliminary information that has surfaced is theoretical, but research efforts are under way to determine cause and treatment.

One thing we do know: SARS is contagious; therefore, avoiding contact with it is fundamental to not contracting it. Currently it is believed that people are at risk only when they come in close contact with someone who has the virus. If you are living with or caring for someone with SARS, your probability of contracting
it is obviously much higher, especially if you come in contact with the person’s body fluids or respiratory secretions.

The primary symptoms for this virus include a high fever and dry cough or difficulty in breathing. Other symptoms such as body aches, loss of appetite, rash, headache and diarrhea also could indicate that the SARS virus is present in the body. Because the best form of treatment is still to be determined, prevention is the most important key to keeping yourself from contracting the virus.

To practice prevention, you should avoid direct contact with people who have the above-mentioned symptoms. You should practice good hygiene. You should maintain a healthy immune system. If you are not doing this already or don’t know how to, then I suggest you study the basic guidelines for living healthfully and try to practice them in your own life–they will be quite useful for keeping your natural defenses high.

I don’t want to minimize the negative impact that SARS may have on world health, but I do suggest that it is more of a media event than a high health risk at this time. I would also like to remind you that heart disease is still the No. 1 killer in the United States, followed by cancer.

Even though SARS is the new illness on the block and has everyone panicked, you should be more concerned about the health of your heart and whether you are at risk for other diseases. Adopting a healthful lifestyle will lower your risk of having cardiovascular illness, cancer and SARS.

You do not have to fall victim to illness. You can be proactive about preserving your own health, as well as your family’s. Study some of the many resources available by reading health books or by gathering information from the Internet. Then do what’s most important: Apply the knowledge to your daily living.

Question: The old childhood saying “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” had its place. Now, as an adult, I’m wondering, do prayer and faith have medicinal value?
A.C., Chicago, Illinois

Answer: From a biblical standpoint, prayer and faith are truly the way to experience God’s healing power. I will allow the theologians to debate whether or not prayer and faith have intrinsic healing power. What I will tell you is, people who incorporate religious practices into their lives do fare better when ill.

According to hundreds of clinical trials, prayer and faith indeed demonstrate healing effects. Whether this is the result of divine healing or a phenomenon is debated by many.

What is beyond controversy, however, is the fact that prayer is a wonderful relaxation technique. Relaxation relieves stress. When stress decreases, immune responses increase and healing begins.

For 40 years we have prayed with our patients at my hospital, Oasis of Hope. We see how important it is to help them overcome the fear of cancer. Prayer and faith help them release anxieties and are therefore a vital part of recovery.

In our desire to have a positive impact beyond our hospital, we initiated the Worldwide Cancer Prayer Day, being celebrated on June 5 (see related article on
page 17). We also take prayer requests from around the world at because we believe in the medicinal value of prayer.

I’ll conclude my answer with this–prayer is the only therapy that is free, nontoxic and effective at very great distances!

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in 2003.

Question If the smallpox vaccine is made available again in the United States, should I take it?
J.E., Portland, Oregon

Answer: If you were to ask that question of someone involved with the federal government, the answer might be yes because of the looming threat of bioterrorism. If you were to ask a Christian spiritual leader the same question, he or she might say your faith will protect you and the vaccine isn’t necessary.

Each of us will have to make this decision for ourselves. Instead of recommending for or against the vaccination, let me educate you about smallpox and the vaccine. Then, you, with the advice of your personal physician, can make an informed decision.

Smallpox is considered an extremely lethal disease of yesterday and a possibly devastating illness of tomorrow. As recently as the 1950s, it was taking 15 million lives worldwide. It kills 1 in 3 people it infects and leaves its survivors disfigured. Last century, smallpox took the lives of 500 million people.

Fortunately for us, however, that is in the past. The world has not seen an incidence of the disease since 1977, when the last case of natural smallpox was reported in Somalia in eastern Africa. But considering the deadly force of this illness, it is understandable why the vaccine is on everyone’s mind right now.

The vaccine being proposed is effective on natural smallpox if it is given within four days of exposure to the disease. It does not contain the actual smallpox virus; however, 15 people in every 1 million vaccinated are expected to experience serious side effects, and 2 in every 1 million are expected to die from the vaccination. Scores more will suffer heavy side effects.

Because there are no reported cases of smallpox at this time and the side effects of the vaccine are severe and risky, I can understand the position that’s being taken by the Advisory Committee of Immunization Practices, which has recommended to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) not to distribute the smallpox vaccine to the general public. If there is even one case of smallpox discovered, the CDC will consider it a public-health emergency. If that happens, I expect there to be a rush to vaccinate–though being vaccinated will be voluntary.

Right now, we are in the wait-and-pray mode. Let’s not bow to fear; let’s rejoice because we are more than conquerors (see Rom. 8:37). I admire missionaries who go where there are diseases they aren’t immune to. They go with a conviction that God will protect them–and when He doesn’t, their reward in heaven is greater than the gain of this world.

Question: What can you tell me about the vaccine for cervical cancer? And when will it be available?
S.S., Willow Creek, California

Answer: At the end of 2002, a study came out that indicated a new vaccine developed by the huge pharmaceutical company Merck showed promise of helping women avoid cervical cancer. Calling the drug a “cervical cancer vaccine” is a misnomer, however. The vaccine actually fights HPV, which is the virus known to cause cervical cancer.

Reviewing the study, I do believe that the researchers are on to something, but the test group was too small and the duration of the trial too short to be conclusive. In fact, officials indicate that if everything goes well through the required testing, this vaccine won’t be available for another five years.

Here is the good news: Cervical cancer isn’t very prominent in the United States. The reason is, we have better pollution control, and the majority of our citizens can afford to bathe daily in treated water.

This vaccine will have a bigger impact in underdeveloped countries where good hygiene is a big problem. The question will be whether or not people in underdeveloped countries will be able to afford the vaccine. I truly hope so.

My recommendation is to practice good hygiene and limit your sexual practice to one partner within the institution of marriage. This is the best way to immunize yourself from all sexually transmitted diseases, as well as cervical cancer.

People who do this will, most likely, have little need for a vaccine.

In 2003, commit to a lifestyle change, not to a list of unrealistic goals.
Question: I’ve not been able to lose the extra weight of my last pregnancy, five years ago. I feel unattractive and depressed. My New Year’s resolutions for this have failed. What can I do?
., New Bern, North Carolina

Answer: If you want to make a New Year’s resolution, don’t waste time on fad diets and unrealistic exercise goals. Instead, commit yourself to a lifestyle change that has irrefutable scientific proof behind it.

The “Women’s Health Initiative Study,” conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health, reported in 1999 a dramatic reduction in cardiovascular diseases that was attributed to down-to-earth lifestyle changes enacted by some of the participants. More than 16,000 female nurses participated.

Half of them continued with their typical American lifestyle. The other half kept the study’s specific lifestyle changes. All of them attended regular medical checkups.

At the end of five years, the courageous lifestyle-changers were rewarded. Their incidence of heart attack, congestive heart failure, stroke and hypertension was 82 percent lower than that of the junk-food junkies! (Of course, men benefit equally from healthful lifestyle changes.)

The health of these nurses was improved dramatically through very reachable goals. They could not smoke or drink alcohol (except in moderation–one glass of red wine with meals), and they had to stay in shape by eating a Mediterranean-style diet, exercising a half hour a day and maintaining a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 25 percent. A BMI of 25 percent is quite forgiving–only 10-15 pounds over your ideal weight.

You’ll look great, feel more energetic, and lower your risk of heart disease and cancer if you will begin to avoid processed and junk foods, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, increase your intake of nuts and olive oil, and eat fish instead of red meat. A Mediterranean-style diet resembles the one God gave the Jews in Leviticus and Deuteronomy.

Still, it can be difficult to maintain a diet varied enough to obtain all the nutrients we need. Even the strictest vegetarians I know believe in supplementation. I recommend a natural-food supplement. Try to verify that the supplement you choose is derived from a plant source and is processed naturally.

I also strongly recommend adding fresh carrot juice to your diet. The anti-oxidizing power of carrots is second to none.

Carrot juice is to free radicals what RoboCop is to criminals–it stops them dead in their tracks!

Remember, your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Don’t contaminate it with junk food.

Question: I have been smoking for 15 years. Every New Year’s Eve I promise to quit, but I just can’t do it. Do you have any advice?
M.T., Chicago, Illinois

Answer: It’s incredible to me how more than 1.5 million Americans die each year from heart disease and cancer. If only 30 percent of them are smokers, then that means cigarette companies lose almost 500,000 clients a year–and aren’t even fazed by it. They just convince more people to smoke.

I won’t try to “scare you straight.” I think you already know your body is to be a temple for God. But my heart goes out to you because you have a very difficult chemical and emotional dependency.

I have seen in our addiction program at my hospital that people can kick heroin, cocaine and alcohol much more easily than they can quit cigarettes. I even have had patients with lung cancer tell me they will not be giving up their cigarettes. It’s tough as nails to quit.

Medications and medicated patches can help with the craving. We also do detoxification therapy and have helped many people simply with good nutrition.

If you have tried everything, my advice is that you take this to God in prayer. He is the only one who can fill the space in your spirit and mind that you are currently filling with smoke.

Do you remember how Jesus had to cast out a demon because His disciples couldn’t? When they asked Him why they failed, He told them it would come out only with prayer and fasting (see Mark 9:29). Likewise, that’s the only way many people can quit smoking.

The Lord is always willing to help. If you really want to quit, God will deliver you.

Recent changes by McDonald’s by no means upgrade fried foods to healthy treats.
Question: I try to watch what I eat, but occasionally I treat myself to some fast food. What do you think about the new “healthy” french fries being served by some food chains?
M.M., San Diego, California

Answer: I think it is important to pray before meals, not just for a blessing but also for protection from the things we choose to eat. In fact, we should pray, “And lead us not into fast-food restaurants and deliver us from french fries”!

Most restaurants use partially hydrogenated oils to fry their goodies because these oils produce crisp, good-tasting food at a low cost. But consumers are paying a steep price with their health.

Swedish researchers report that fried or baked foods high in starch–especially french fries–contain acrylamide, a chemical that increases the risk of cancer.

Also, overwhelming data has shown that hydrogenated oils contain a hydrogen bond called “trans” that seems to raise bad cholesterol (LDL) and lower good cholesterol (HDL).

That alone is a one-two punch for the hearts of the many, many millions of customers who dine on fast food every day.

I certainly agree that reducing trans fatty acids by 48 percent and increasing polyunsaturated fats by 167 percent–a move announced recently by McDonald’s–is a step in the right direction. But it by no means upgrades fried foods to the list of healthy treats.

The fast-food industry is trying to stay one step ahead of the Food and Drug Administration. The federal agency has new regulations in the works that could force restaurants to label foods that contain trans fatty acids.

It’s a move that would most certainly benefit the informed consumer, whose numbers are growing every day.

If you think the use of a more healthful cooking oil–a changeover currently being implemented by many restaurants–will make fried foods more healthy, understand this: The caloric content is the same, and a new oil will do nothing to trim America’s growing waistline.

I urge you to consider your body as the temple of the Holy Spirit (see 1 Cor. 6:19). Remember the Bible’s cautionary words: “You may say, ‘I am allowed to do anything.’ But I reply, ‘Not everything is good for you'”
(1 Cor. 6:12, NLT).

Eat lots of God’s fast food–the fruits and vegetables–and consume them as closely as you can to the form in which He has given them to us.

Question: Fall is here, and every Christmas I seem to be miserable with a sore throat and a fever. Should I get a flu shot this winter?
S.C., Chicago, Illinois

Answer: In general, I do not agree with vaccination, especially for healthy babies and young adults. For immunologically challenged adults, however, a flu shot could be lifesaving.

Influenza–the medical term for the common flu–is a seasonal respiratory disease that is in no way benign. It kills an average of 20,000 Americans a year.

The flu shot is a “killed virus” vaccine that results in some minor reaction, which includes local discomfort and a mild fever for a day or two. Dangerous complications occur in only one or two cases out of a million.

But if you have serious allergic reactions to either eggs or prior flu shots, or if you have a history of Guillain-Barre syndrome, you should avoid flu shots.

Remember, it’s a vaccine, not a treatment. If you already have the flu, it’s too late for the shot. Immunity takes two weeks to four weeks to develop.

I’m a firm believer that if your immune system is in good standing, you will enjoy better protection than any flu shot can give you. Eat healthfully, drink lots of water and supplement your diet with vitamins and minerals, particularly zinc. One of zinc’s essential roles is to help the immune system fight off a range of viral infections–from strep and influenza to herpes and the common cold.

If all else fails, take it as a God-sent break and enjoy a bowl of chicken soup. This meal-in-a-bowl will provide you with a powerful serving of nutrients in each spoonful.