"What" is healthy differs from "how" it's healthy.

My mom was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer 8.5 years ago. She’s still on the journey. Her strategy was to employ every resource she could in service of her mind, body, and spirit.

Among the tactics at her disposal was a lot of reading and learning. She researched endlessly. Although there were many positive outcomes of her research and efforts, there were some frustrating ones as well.

In a very large book about cancer, written by a trusted doctor, there was a section about lung cancer that had a large list of sources of nutrients that were proven to be helpful in dealing with the type of lung cancer she is diagnosed with.

This list spanned the entire page from top to bottom in multiple columns.

One of the items in this list was cabernet sauvignon, a red wine. I forget which phytochemical it was a good source of, but that’s not relevant to my point.

As an Italian, my mom honed in on this lovely line item and got very excited about regularly drinking cabernet sauvignon, especially since her anti-cancer lifestyle didn’t allow for alcohol.

Now, I know a doctor wrote this book and I’m not a doctor, but I just couldn’t reconcile the recommendation of a Group 1 Carcinogen (alcohol) to someone with cancer just because it includes a phytochemical that’s helpful to her type of cancer. That doesn't even account for the extreme variation in quality and purity while producing a wine.

Now, to be clear, the studies that categorize alcohol as a Group 1 Carcinogen didn’t see a correlation to lung cancer, but why risk increasing her chances of other types of cancer while trying to deal with lung cancer?

What’s even more frustrating, is that a whole host of fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices, nuts, seeds, and fermented foods not only provide a healthful source of that same phytochemical, but are sources of thousands of other nutrients that support an anti-cancer lifestyle.

I tell you this story for one reason - make sure the delivery system of the nutrient you desire isn’t just as dangerous as the problem you’re trying to solve.