Is Chinese Soup a cure for Cancer?

“How did you get cancer?” “Two ways-gradually, then suddenly.” Yes, we’re paraphrasing Ernest Hemingway, but his words apply equally. At a gut level.

Because we all start out, or should start out with a healthy gut microbiome, that diverse interior ecology which lives in our guts and does so much to keep us healthy. But enter the blessings of a free market economy-stress, pollution, junk food,&tc, &tc.- and that normal microbiome is knocked off course. Slowly inflammations develop, which lead to cancer. And that is where the sudden bit starts. You become vulnerable to infections, so they flood you with antibiotics, especially before surgery and treatment. The result? Your gut fills with antibiotic resistant bacteria, making you even more vulnerable in the long run. And the downward spiral continues, with one very predictable end.

But the cycle could be broken, as Rachel Ellis of the Mail reports. [1] Using a soup made from the bacteria of healthy people, the patients’ gut can be “re-seeded” to create a healthy biome, massively increasing the chances of prolonging survival. It’s a really nice piece of science journalism, with some good pictures, so we urge you to read it. And we think it shines a light on something else. It’s called “Chinese Soup” because they’ve been doing it since the 4th Century, according to Rachel.

Alright, so a free market economy is probably better than one based on Communism or Religion, on balance. The reason we get snarky is the way it encourages runaway hypermarketing. The food industry has been doing this since at least 1945, and the results on our health have not been as the more fundamental disciples of Mises and Hayek might have predicted. Is it just possible that a few higher taxes, spent on cancer research, might have had a more beneficial societal outcome? We leave you to judge.

[1]https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11907801/How-soup-bacteria-boost-chances-beating-cancer.html

#cancer #diet #microbiome #health #antibiotic resistant bacteria #medicine