Most of the doctors’ statements include words such as “clinically unproven” and “no evidence” to dismiss the idea that properties of these items could prevent the growth of cancer cells.
However, a reasoned look at what Sidhu said makes the case for a middle ground between conventional allopathic treatments and natural alternatives rather than a radical rejection of one for the other. After all, his wife did go in for surgery too while taking these natural remedies.
The Sidhus’ broader message is unmistakable: traditional Indian super foods, herbs, local, seasonal vegetables and fruits are healthier than processed products, many of which are now suspected to be carcinogenic. When he says have dinner by 6.30 pm and eat again only at 10 am, many Indians must have thought, “Aha, intermittent fasting!”, discovered by doctor(s) in the West, based on “evidence”. Only, our Charaka Samhita chronicled it 2,000 years ago.
The world (read, the West) has come round to the benefits of ghee and mustard oil. Doctors, even in the West, now admit that turmeric and tulsi definitely have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Many dentists, including mine, swear neem is the best way to kill dental bacteria. Moringa or drumstick is now acknowledged by the West as a miracle food as all its parts, leaf, flower, branch and root have uses. A generation ago, it was disbelieved by them.
Fenugreek (methi) seeds, mulethi (licorice), ashwagandha (Indian ginseng), giloy, triphala and other herbs are all in the queue for eventual acceptance by the West – and, by extension, Indians who instinctively trust what comes via that route rather than any indigenous sources. After all, we are the people who eagerly dumped our desi ghee and cold pressed (kachi ghani) oils in favour of margarine and refined oils on the basis of the West’s “scientific evidence”.Because of that, India now annually imports $15 billion worth (15.5 million metric tonnes) of edible oils, mostly palmolein. But that same “scientific evidence” is now being stood on its head, as ghee (only when pronounced as ‘gee’, perhaps) is being promoted as being good, even for heart health!And refined oils are now losing ground to traditional cold-pressed ones in India just as in the West people are returning to age-old cooking fats such as butter, suet and lard.
Surely we can then be forgiven for distrusting phrases such as “scientific evidence” now? And, more importantly, maybe it is also time for us to examine our own inclination to disbelieve our own experiences and heritage in favour of whatever is projected from the West. That definitely stems from what we have been drip-fed via “formal education” throughout our formative years about the basis of our traditional practices and their “scientific” validity.
The Sidhus aver their diet arrested the multiplication of cancer cells by “starving them”. That phraseology may be rustic but scientific evidence may later prove it to be at least partially true. Remember ghee. Their diet cannot cure cancer by killing malignant cells already present; surgery and chemotherapy deal with those.
Eating healthy just makes the odds better. But why are doctors dismissive? And will we again distrust precepts of Indian medicinal systems?