Brain Cancer Healed with Alkaline Diet (Josie Nunez)

After months of experiencing a variety of symptoms and illnesses, eight year old Josie Nunez was diagnosed with a Medulloblastoma of the brain and spine in February of 2008.  She immediately underwent surgery to remove the massive tumor that was pressing against her brain stem, but a second tumor that was located on her spine could not be operated on due to its sensitive location and the high probability that complications would arise during its surgical removal.

After having a 6 week post-operative recovery period, Josie began six weeks of radiation and chemotherapy which was followed by a one month break and then a second round of chemotherapy that her doctors said would last for an additional 6 months.  It wasn’t long before the second round of treatments began taking a toll on her little body and her parents reported that she was suffering from nausea, constipation, abdominal pain, severe anemia, leg paralysis, constant infections, fever, hair loss, burned skin, and weight loss.

By the fourth month of treatment Josie’s doctors said that her spinal tumor had disappeared, however she had developed a second brain tumor. It was at this point that her doctors recommended that the family make arrangements with hospice care and that they make the most of their final days together.

Upon hearing the devastating news, Josie’s parents began frantically searching the internet for anything that could help their daughter, and through a mutual friend they found Dr Bernardo Majalca, a naturopath practicing out of San Diego, CA, who offered them hope as well as a cure for Josie.

When Josie first met with Dr Majalca she weighed only 40 pounds and was very weak.  After assessing Josie, he determined that she wasn’t dying from the cancer but was actually dying from acidosis, and that only by addressing this issue would her body finally begin to heal.  He then prescribed a highly nutritious diet that included drinking 4 freshly-made juices per day that would help to detoxify her body as well as rebuild her immune system.

Juicing recipes for Josie

1st juicing recipe (drink 2 x per day). You can double this recipe right away and store the 2nd portion in the refrigerator.

• 1/2 mashed avocado mixed together with 8 oz of freshly made carrot juice.
• Both of these are mixed together with a wooden spoon because metal can destroy some of the beneficial enzymes.
• The video below shows how to make this recipe following Dr Bernardo’ instructions.
• Josie had a feeding tube when she first started this diet so her family  had to filter the juice before giving it to her.

How Josie’s family made the avocado and carrot juice mixture which she had twice per day.

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2nd juicing recipe (drink 2 x per day). You can double this recipe for the day and store the 2nd portion in the refrigerator.

• 1 granny smith apple
• 1 cup of raw broccoli
• 1/2 inch slice of fresh pineapple (not canned)
• 1/2 of a beet
• handful of cilantro
• 1/4 inch slice of ginger
• 1/2 inch slice of Daikon radish
• 1 carrot
• 1/2 cucumber
• 8 asparagus spears
• run all items through a juicer
• Drink this juice with a straw, according to Dr Bernardo’s instructions.

More on the alkaline diet plan

• No conventionally-raised meat or dairy products are allowed
• No sugar but stevia is okay to use as a sweetener
• Nothing that is processed or man-made; that means no fast foods, soda, candy, fries, sugars,  regular pasta, regular bread, or packaged foods of any kind.
• Eat as many organic green vegetables as possible (except for green peas).
• 80% of your diet should be in the form of vegetables and the listed grains, with only 20% as meats.
• Raw vegetables are better than cooked, he recommended eating least 50% raw.
• Cooked vegetables should be lightly steamed only.
• You should include at least 2 servings of leafy greens in the form of vegetable side dishes, and a large green salad everyday.
• Add 8-10 stalks of raw asparagus to your daily juice or eat one can of asparagus everyday.
• The diet includes lots of juicing of vegetables and making fruit smoothies because these are easy ways to get many servings of fruits and vegetables into your diet.   This is especially true when working with sick children. You can find very specific recipes on page 7 of his e-book.
• Red potatoes and yams are to be eaten with the skins on.
• Beans and lentils -can include adzuki, black beans and lentils (red, green, yellow, black and brown).
• Grains: amaranth, brown rice, buckwheat, millet, triticale, and wild rice are the only grains allowed. How to soak and cook grains.
• Sprouts are okay to eat but they should be consumed within 5 days.
• Acceptable meats for this diet would include: wild caught non-scavenger fish such as cod, shark, snapper, sole, salmon, trout, and tuna.  Organic meats include venison, buffalo, lamb, or a small amount of turkey
• Eggs are allowed, but they must be organic
• The only oil that is allowed on this diet is extra virgin olive oil.
• Salad dressings are to be made with olive oil and vinegar, or olive oil with a squeeze of fresh lemon only.
• Fresh homemade soups are okay on this diet.
• Butter must be organic and preferably made from raw milk (unpasteurized), if possible.
• Almond, coconut, or goat milks are acceptable.
• Nuts and seeds are okay to eat.
• Sea vegetables are okay to eat.
• Allowed fruits: avocados, granny smith apples, lemons, and berries, and those berries can be eaten in unlimited amounts.
• No sugar allowed, but you can use Pure Stevia Powder in place of sugar.  Stevia is much sweeter than table sugar but it will not raise the glucose levels like sugar does.
• If you bake, you must use a gluten free mix instead of wheat flour.  For example:  pancakes can be made with buckwheat flour.
• Ezeikiel Sprouted Bread the only store-bought item that is allowed on this diet, or you can make your own bread from gluten-free mixtures.
• You should drink lots of spring water with freshly squeezed lemon. A guide for your water consumption would be to drink a minimum of 50 ounces of pure water per 100 pounds of body weight daily.  There is more information on this below.

Dr Bernardo’s protocol recommendations 

• Patients were to drink two eight ounce glasses of tea per day. Acceptable teas according to Dr Majalca include: Essiac Tea Herbs  (*note that essiac should not be used by those with brain tumors or other cancer where an initial swelling might create a life threatening situation. You can read more about the contraindications with essiac tea on this page). Other teas that Dr Majalca recommended teas include Matcha Green Tea Powder or Pau D’arco Tea, which has anti-fungal, anti-viral, anti-parasitic, and anti-cancer properties.  Read more about pau d arco tea with this post.
• According to Dr Majalca, a drink that will help a person put weight back on if weight is a concern: blend together 1/2 C organic heavy whipping cream (Organic Valley is one such brand in the US), 1/2 C coconut milk, 1/2 C almond milk, add a little stevia, and some ice cubes and blend until frothy. This will taste like a vanilla shake.
• Drink 4 ounces of fresh wheatgrass juice twice per day. Read more about the benefits of wheatgrass
• Patients would take a variety of supplements to meet their individual nutritional needs.
• Patients would have coffee enemas to help to detoxify the body
• You can read much more about Dr Bernardo’s diet and lifestyle recommendations with this link

Testing her pH

Josie’s family started each day by measuring the pH of her saliva before she ate or drank anything using pH Testing Strips.    These testing strips can be purchased online or from a health food store.  The first test of the day is taken immediately upon waking before eating or drinking anything, otherwise you must wait at least two hours after eating or drinking to ensure that the food that was consumed does not alter the test results.  To test you should first cleanse the mouth by filling it with saliva and then either swallowing or spitting it out.  Then fill the mouth a second time with saliva and spit it onto a spoon. Then place the test strip into the saliva for 10 seconds.

The testing strip will change colors based on the results.  Use the insert from the package to determine the corresponding pH and continue to monitor this 4 times per day to get a clear picture of what is going on inside of your body.  You will find that your pH may fluctuate throughout the day, this is normal.  Additionally, it takes time to raise the pH, sometimes taking up to 12 weeks to move into an alkaline state. 

Dr Majalca said that cancer thrives in a pH of 5.5 or lower.  When Josie’s family first started testing her saliva it wasn’t even registering on the strip because the lowest mark was 5.5 and she was measuring below that mark.  It took at least 3 weeks before Josie was able to register above 5.5 and she slowly moved her way upwards. Dr Majalca says that when your saliva pH reaches 6.8 the cancer will stop growing, anything above that and the cancer begins to die.  Their goal was to lift Josie’s pH to at least 7.2 – 7.4.  It took a total of 8 weeks of being on a strict alkaline diet before Josie actually reached the 7.2 mark.  She then had to hold herself at that level until she was confirmed to be cancer-free. You can read more about how to test the pH with this post.

How to alkalize the body quickly

Dr Bernardo mentions a liquid supplement on page 2 of his e-book called ASEA REDOX Cell Signaling Water which he says can help to bring the pH up to 7.5 within 7-10 days. His recommended dose was 2 ounces that are taken 3 times per day for a total of 6 ounces per day.  Perhaps this is something to think about if you feel the need to raise the pH quickly.

He also recommends taking 1-2 tbsp of fresh lemon juice in 4 ounces of water and drink this 3 times per day.  This will cause an alkaline reaction following digestion, therefore helping the body to remove excess acids.

There are other products on the market that can help to raise the pH faster than diet alone, such as an Raw Organic Whole Food Alkalizer , which could be taken a couple of times per day until the pH reaches 7.2-7.4.

Alkalizing for cancer related pain-  Dr Majalca mentions using 1 tsp of baking soda in a 4 ounce glass of water to help to eliminate the build up of lactic acid that occurs around cancerous tumors, therefore it could be used as a natural pain reliever. This is limited to 1 tsp per day and is always taken on an empty stomach as it will impede the digestion of food.  Read more about this and contraindications here: sodium bicarbonate and cancer

Do not over-alkalize the body believing that this is a good thing.  Having an overly alkaline body is just as harmful as being overly acidic. Just get yourself to 7.2-7.4 with saliva where cancer cannot survive and the pH is balanced.

Minerals = Alkalinity in water

Josie drank about 30 ounces of spring water daily. For for an adult that would be equivalent to drinking 10 glasses of water per day. Spring water does not contain the added fluoride or chlorine compounds that are found in municipal water systems which are harmful to health, and the water has its natural minerals intact.  The minerals are what makes this water more alkaline than standard tap water. Check out Find A Spring which is a national database to locate public access springs near you, or perhaps you can find spring water from your local store.

Or you can consider purchasing a water filtration system that will remove fluoride, chlorine, and other chemicals and metals that are found in municipal water supplies. A simple carbon filtration system will only remove chlorine so don’t assume that any filter will do. You can find products online that will remove the harmful elements and leave the beneficial minerals intact, such as a Berkey Water Filter System.

Recipes to make filtered water more alkaline:

Alkaline water #1 – take one gallon of water and add 1/2 tsp  sea salt, the juice of 4 lemons or limes (and toss in the skins too), 1 tbsp of raw organic honey or a pinch of organic stevia (if needed), and drink this throughout the day. Sea salt contains 82 trace minerals which will enhance this water.  Lemons and limes will create an alkaline ash following digestion.

Alkaline beverage #2- wash 3 organic lemons or limes and then blend them up whole in 3 cups of filtered water.  Strain/squeeze the mixture through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth and then store it in a mason jar in the fridge.  To use, add 1/4 cup of this mixture into a glass of 8 oz filtered water. Drink this mixture 3 times per day.  This will help with alkalinity and elimination of toxins.

Alkaline water #3- adding barley grass or wheat grass powder to your drinking water

Daily exposure to sunlight and fresh air

Josie’s cancer is healed

Josie’s family reports she had been scheduled to have another MRI when she was released from care so they decided to keep that appointment. To everyone’s astonishment, the MRI showed that the tumor had shrunk by 75%.   Josie then continued on with the fresh vegetable juices and the rest of her diet program until the results from an additional MRI confirmed that the tumor was completely gone.  Her family received that amazing news on February 3, 2009, approximately one year after her original diagnosis.

Make your healthy changes permanent-  Following healing, one should continue to eat a healthy, anti-cancer diet to prevent the cancer from returning.  Never go back to your old ways of eating or return to the lifestyle that created the cancerous condition in the first place.

Dr Bernardo Majalca–  Dr Bernardo passed away in 2010. Please watch the video links that are posted below of Dr Bernardo discussing the treatment plans that he would prescribe for his patients, and then read his 16 page E-Book which details the diet that he would prescribe.  You will find to that link at the bottom of the page.

Dr Bernardo Majalca, N.D. describes how he treats cancer by reversing the acidosis of the body and by addressing emotional issues.