When I was growing up, I remember that it was rare to hear the word “cancer.” But today, my grandchildren are going to grow up as if cancer is a common ailment.
Can you believe that 1 in 2 of us are likely to get diagnosed with a form of cancer, and 1 in 8 will develop breast cancer. What’s even more incredible is that less than 10% of cancer diagnoses are related to genetics, meaning over 90% are due to our environment and lifestyle choices.
Imagine knowing that and getting a cancer diagnosis? What would you do on hearing that news? Would you change how you lived your life?
Well, this is what happened to Naomi Damask from OhMyWord.net. Her breast cancer diagnosis changed her life and set her on the path to becoming a wellness warrior!
I wanted to share her empowering story and the 4 key lifestyle changes Naomi recommends you make in your own lives. I also asked Naomi about the top trends that are currently revolutionizing the wellness industry.
Naomi’s cancer journey
Naomi got the devastating diagnosis over 8 years ago. The diagnosis was a complete shock. Why? Because cancer didn’t run in her family. She was under 40; she was an athlete and she was eating clean. Naomi, unfortunately, was one of the 90% of people who get cancer due to their lifestyle and environment.
This was a game-changer for Naomi.
While she took the advice of her oncologist, she also looked for ways to change her lifestyle. Naomi interviewed everyone she could who had survived cancer to find out what they had done after their diagnosis. Her extensive research not only helped her survive breast cancer, but turned her into a wellness guru.
“I don’t think many people realize that there are so many tools out there that may not be mainstream, but we need to know about.”
Now, she educates people about these tools that can transform our health and wellness and most importantly act as a prevention against cancer.
“I tell people that it's been a lot of silver linings because I can give so much hope to people that have been recently diagnosed.”
So what are Naomi’s top four lifestyle changes that we can all make?
1.Toxic tech. Limit your exposure to technology.
Many of us now go to bed and read on our tablets and phones, filling our bedrooms with blue light that can disrupt our sleep cycles.
There's no denying we live in a world where all our devices are connected to the internet and Naomi can see the impact on her own daughter who is extremely sensitive to technology.
“If she’s had her iPad or cellphone with her non-stop she is a totally different kid versus if she’s just been out in nature...So I tell people all the time, stop wearing smart watches. I'm not a fan of those because they emit EMFs into our body and what it’s doing is breaking down our cells.”
When we think about creating a toxin free environment we need to be thinking about not just the toxins we are taking into our body, but also the toxic tech environment and the affect it has on our brains. Naomi and I truly believe that even though it might be difficult we need to take a break from the technology that surrounds us.
2.The power of positive thinking. Take care of your emotional and mental health.
Naomi was really moved by a book by Dr. Kelly Turner called Radical Remission in which she finds that emotions, positive thinking, mindfulness and spirituality can all affect healing - even when conventional medicine has failed.
Naomi has found this to be true on her own wellness journey.
“We are emotions, we are energy...unfortunately, so many survivors who were doing everything from a holistic standpoint, juicing everyday, clean diet, either harbored a lot of fear or a lot of anger.”
This emotional toxicity was affecting their ability to heal. Naomi coaches her clients on how to get rid of emotional baggage, negative feelings and toxic relationships to fuel their well-being and allow them the ability to heal.
3.Plant power. Eat real whole foods.
Our food sources are key. We need to eat more 'real' food. Naomi says, "real food does not come in boxes...we want more food that’s been alive.” It's a really simple message to remember. Eat living food and keep ourselves alive.
But watch out! When choosing fruit and vegetables, you still need to be careful to watch out for toxic chemicals. Naomi advises buying organic fruit and veg, especially if they appear on the “dirty dozen” list. These are the fruits and vegetables that rank the highest in toxic pesticide residues.
For more information take a look at my blog on whole foods here for some tips on how to replace those processed foods with real, healing fruit and vegetables.
4.Reduce toxic “care products.”
What you put on your body is just as important as what you put in your body.
We are constantly putting so called “care products” on our bodies that contain toxic chemicals that can cause us harm. You'd be amazed at how many women I talk to who have no idea how many toxins are hidden in their everyday products. What we wash our bodies with, what we spray ourselves with, what we moisturize with, these are full of parabens, phthalates and other harmful toxins.
Naomi talks about how most women use deodorant, which contains aluminium based, estrogen mimicking ingredients, every day. And here’s the killer fact - the most common form of breast cancer is estrogen positive - and so many of our care products, not just deodorants, are building up toxic levels of estrogen in our body.
(Find out more about key changes you can make with your personal care products that will have significant benefits in this YouTube video).
What’s new in the world of wellness?
Our wellness warrior also gave me the low down on the latest in wellness science that can help us improve our lives and be more in tune with our bodies.
Bio-hacking and Epigenetics
These sound a bit like science fiction but it’s really about changing our biological futures, or what Naomi refers to as gene expressions. What does Naomi mean by that? Well if your parents had health issues, such as a a heart attack, you don’t have to suffer the same fate.
When my own husband was diagnosed with high cholesterol, his initial reaction was, 'Well it runs in my family, that’s why I have it.' Science now tells us that this doesn’t have to be the case.
We can ‘bio-hack’ our biology by exercising, eating well, meditating - all the top tips we’ve talked about at the start of this blog. The science is now backing up what we have all been saying - its your environment and your lifestyle that matters.
Learning to love your lymphatic system
We are learning so much about the importance of our lymphatic systems. It’s what Naomi describes as our body’s system for “taking out the garbage.”
It moves everything out of the body and it links to our immune system. But, you need to manually pump it and give it a helping hand.
What does Naomi suggest?
- Dry brushing our skin
- Rebounding using a mini trampoline
- Hot and cold showers
“It’s all about activation, rather than supplementation.”
Instead of supplements, the buzzword in wellness is “activators.” Using our body’s own enzymes to activate and hack our own health.
But, rather than enzymes that we get from a bottle, this is about using the enzymes we have within our own bodies. Enzymes like SOD (Superoxide dismutase) and Glutathione. They’re basically antioxidants which researchers believe can help reduce inflammation, aging, arthritis and even strokes.
Naomi recommends reading Dr Mark Hyman’s work for more information on these incredible activators.
Need help on your own wellness journey?
So many lives have been touched by Naomi’s story and her expertise. If you have been through or are going through a similar experience to Naomi then don’t as she says, “get overwhelmed and throw your hands up in the air.” Reach out, there is support and help available.
Get in contact with Naomi for a one-on-one consultation here or follow her on Instagram and Twitter at @ndamask.
Watch a short trailer video for this episode here:
Abundant Blessings,
Aimee Carlson
The Toxin Terminator
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