We know that even the fish in the deepest oceans are already contaminated by heavy metals, which means the fish nearer to our shores are more heavily contaminated. The fish in the rivers are even worse. On land, the pollution is much the same, and in some areas even worse.

The problem has come to a point where even though fish is a good source of protein, we have to limit our intake because of the contamination. In USA, pregnant mothers are especially cautioned because of the potential danger to their fetuses.

I recall a study by the US Environmental Working Group (reported in July 2005) that shocked us when it found that all ten umbilical cord blood samples taken from newborn babies were heavily contaminated. A total of 287 contaminants were detected. Many of these were known or suspected carcinogens, neurotoxins or may cause congenital abnormalities, if present in high concentrations.

If that is the scenario of how our children start their lives, and then get further exposed to toxins and pollutants in the air, water, food and environment, it is not surprising at all that cancer and many other chronic diseases are increasing in prevalence, made worse by our poor diet and unhealthy lifestyle - including smoking, stressful living and lack of exercise.

The main reason why cancer is becoming a recalcitrant menace is the amount of toxins that accumulate in us throughout our lives. Although genes, hormones and infections contribute to certain cancers, the most important factor is the cumulative toxic damage to the cells.

Cumulative damage to the cell by toxins ( acting as free radicals at the molecular level ) will cause rapid ageing of the cell, with reduction in the efficiency and accuracy of specific cell functions. But as long as the main sequences in the genes remain intact, the cell does not become cancerous.

The first cancer cell is a grossly mutated cell that has lost its instructions to function properly for the benefit of the organ system to which it belongs, and therefore to the body as a whole. Its metabolism becomes abnormal, consuming much more energy in wasteful ways. It also loses its ability to know when to stop multiplying, and when to stop migrating, thus forming tumors that eat up neighbouring tissues and metastases that eat up distant tissues. How aggressive it behaves depends on the grade ( how undifferentiated or how severely mutated ) it is.

HOW TO REDUCE TOXIN INTAKE

Most of us feel helpless when the country is visited by the almost-annual haze. Sometimes it comes here more often, courtesy of our neighbour. During each episode, we go around wearing masks which actually sieve only the big particles but still let in the cancer-causing minute particles. It is indeed very difficult to avoid inhaling the dangerous particles during a haze. The only remedy is to stay indoors in a room treated by a good air-cleansing/filtering system, preferably one that also produces negative ions. You should of course avoid the most direct and popular cause of self-poisoning - that is smoking.

The quality of water supplied to our homes is suspect, although much improvement has been made over the decades. We are more conscious of the quality of water we drink. At home most of us drink treated/filtered water, and when we travel, we drink bottled water. But what about the water used in the stalls and restaurants when we order cold drinks or even fruit juices? Do they use tap water, bottled/treated water or boiled water? If we order hot drinks, we can at least assume that the water is boiled first.

And what about the water we bathe and shower with? Remember that the skin is the largest organ and it absorbs some of the water and whatever contaminants we "wash" it with. Every home should have an outdoor water treatment system that ensures the entire household water supply is clean.

DETOXIFY YOUR FOOD

When it comes to food, many of you will be shocked to know that even if you wash your foodstuff, you may still be ingesting the residual toxins.

Except for the organic ones, fruits and veggies are invariably sprayed with pesticides in the farms. Some unscrupulous farmers may add gum to the pesticides so that they don't get washed away every time it rains. Unless you scrub, some pesticide may still remain after washing. Secondly, remember that these pesticides are toxic chemicals which get absorbed into the skin of the fruits and veggies. Even if you scrub, you can only remove what is on the surface. Whatever has been absorbed will go into your body when you eat the fruit or veggie ( unless you remove the skin, but for some fruits, the skin is rich in certain nutrients ).

To remove some of the absorbed contaminants, you have to ozonize the fruits and veggies. The food detoxifier/ozonizer machine produces ozone (O3) which is bubbled into a container with the foodstuff submerged in water, just like how oxygen (O2) is bubbled into a small fish tank. The O3 molecules will rapidly split and finally become O2. In the process, the molecules kill germs and dislodge contaminants from the foodstuff, leaving behind fresh, pure, oxygenated foodstuff. The chemical contaminants will be destroyed, and solid contaminants will separate and float to the surface. All foodstuff, even rice, if ozonized, will remain good for many more days than usual.

Ozonated water can be consumed and also used for body-washing and bathing. It is the only method that I am aware of that can cure a patient with vitiligo ( the patient ozonated all her foods, drank ozonated water and bathed with it too). Ozone is also used to treat diabetic ulcers, and some doctors are using intravenous ozone to detoxify and decontaminate the body directly ( ozone also kills viruses, bacteria and parasites ).

AVOID PROCESSED MEATS

Meats ( fish, chicken, beef, mutton, etc ) are also heavily contaminated and should be ozonized the same way. For health you should of course limit the meat intake. Cancer patients should avoid meat until they recover. Eating 160gm or more of red or processed meats have been shown to significantly increase the risk of colorectal cancer. Meat eaters also have a higher risk of getting all cancers.

A report by the World Cancer Research Fund, entitled "Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective (2007)", revealed that processed meats definitely cause cancer. They reviewed 7000 studies on diet and cancer.

Processed meats are meat products that have chemical additives to alter their taste and preserve their shelf-lives so that they become marketable. These include bacon, hotdog, sausage, pepperoni, deli slices, canned meats, and many more. The harmful chemical additives are blamed for increasing the cancer risks. Many processed meats also contain MSG ( mono-sodium glutamate ) which is also blamed for many health problems, including being a neurotoxin ( although the subject is still controversial ).

Burnt, barbecued meat also has high levels of carcinogens. So when you eat satay or BBQ, avoid the burnt parts. Better still, eat sushi like the Japanese!

BE WARY OF UNSAFE BODYCARE ITEMS

Do you know that thousands of chemicals used in our toiletries, perfumes, bodycare, creams and lotions, haircare, dyes and many other stuff we use or apply on ourselves have never been proven to be safe or non-carcinogenic? They are allowed to be used as long as they have not yet been proven to be harmful, not that they have ever been proven to be harmless or safe! Bear in mind that often it takes many years for the harmful effects of these chemicals to become known. Sometimes they are toxic in slow and unobvious ways that nobody realizes that chronic diseases and cancers may be partly due to some of these chemicals. So whenever possible, use those that have been proven to be safe. The best is to use organic-based items.

DETOXIFY YOUR BODY

The ways you can detox your body include eating a high fiber diet (supplement if necessary), taking chlorella supplements, drinking plenty of fluids, chlorophyll and detox teas, fasting (juice, water or total fasting), body wash/scrub, dry body-brushing, sweating through exercise or sauna, coffee enema ( stimulates the liver ) and colon hydrotherapy/irrigation. Some herbs like milk thistle, silymarin and others may protect and help the liver, which is the main detox organ. There are also Qigong exercises beneficial for liver health.

Those who don't eat enough fruits and veggies will have to take extra fiber supplements. A cheap alternative is breakfast bran. The best is one that combines the nutrients and fibers from many fruits and veggies, complete with enzymes and probiotics, taken as a drink. If your fiber, water, enzymes and probiotics intake are sufficient, and your bowels are healthy, you will have regular bowel movements ( 1 to 2 times per day ) and your stool will be well-formed, golden-brown color and float. And when you pass wind, it doesn't stink.

Accumulation of heavy metals is blamed for many diseases, including cancer and atherosclerosis ( which causes clogged arteries ). They can be removed through sweating, nutrition, oral chelation, and intravenous chelation therapy.

Chlorophyll is a natural bowel cleanser, apart from being beneficial for the whole body. It is the plant kingdom's equivalent of our oxygen-carrying hemoglobin. Chlorella ( a blue-green algae similar to spirulina ) is rich in chlorophyll and a long list of nutrients, and is also a natural body detoxifier. The best chlorella tablets taste like crunchy nuts. For more thorough oral detox, I recommend zeolite drops to my cancer patients.

At the cellular level, antioxidants fight off the toxic free radicals, so an adequate daily dose of antioxidant supplements is recommended as additional defence, in addition to those provided by the fruits and veggies in your diet.

Sweating through exercise or sauna will remove many toxins that would otherwise get trapped in the body because certain toxins are preferentially excreted through sweat. Sweating a lot also relieves the kidneys and liver from having to deal with these toxins, which would otherwise have to be excreted through these two overworked organs. Aerobics exercise has added benefits for cardiovascular health, and FIR ( far infra-red ) sauna nourishes the body with healing energy.

For those of us who are still healthy and want to avoid disease, a diet based on plenty of ozonized fresh fruits and veggies ( organic if available ) with minimal meat is advisable. Or you may even decide to become vegetarian after reading the report on processed meats. Otherwise, make sure you detox your body and nourish it with plenty of nutritional detox and antioxidant foods and supplements.

Love your body. It's the only home for your soul.