Live Like a Lobster

Building resilience through lifestyle and nutrition

By Bridget Hancock 

In a world where our health often takes a backseat to the demands of modern living, I’ve witnessed firsthand how the choices we make daily can either strengthen or diminish our body’s natural resilience. Whether you’re navigating a challenging health diagnosis, supporting a loved one through illness, or simply seeking to optimise your wellbeing, the journey toward vibrant health begins with acknowledging a fundamental truth: our bodies possess remarkable healing capabilities when given the right environment to thrive. Through my years as a naturopathic nutritionist combining scientific knowledge with holistic principles, I’ve seen remarkable transformations when people take responsibility for their health journey. This blog explores how targeted lifestyle modifications and nutritional approaches can help you build resilience against disease, enhance your body’s natural healing processes, and ultimately reclaim a life of vitality and wellness.

Navigating treatment and recovery
The journey through cancer treatment is often compared to running a marathon—even for the best-prepared individuals, it’s never easy. But what if we could reduce our risk of ever facing that marathon? What if we could build a body so resilient that cancer cells struggle to take hold in the first place? And if it has, how can we change the environment to reduce the risk of return?

Understanding the root causes
Cancer doesn’t typically develop overnight. As I witnessed with my friend Anthony’s oesophageal cancer, it was possibly due to years of poor dietary choices, gastric reflux, antacid medication, and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD) that created an environment where irritation to the cells of the oesophagus eventually led to pre-cancerous and ultimately cancerous cells.
This pattern of accumulated cellular damage over time appears repeatedly in cancer development. By understanding this progression, we can intervene at multiple points to reduce risk and build resilience.

The stacking theory of cancer development
When we look at cancer through the lens of ‘stacking’—the accumulation of multiple risk factors—we can better understand why some individuals with seemingly unhealthy habits never develop the disease while others with fewer obvious risk factors do.
This stacking effect explains why some smokers escape cancer. When stress is low, detoxification capacity is high, and harmful genes remain deactivated, some people can withstand considerable environmental insults without developing disease. Conversely, when these protective factors are compromised, even minor exposures can contribute to cellular damage.

The interplay between stress, detoxification, and genetic expression forms the foundation of cancer prevention:
1. Stress management: When the brain and body are out of balance, stress hormones are released that can damage DNA and lower immunity. Our thoughts alone can activate these hormones, potentially making us sick—or, when positive, helping us maintain wellness.
2. Detoxification capacity: Our body’s ability to process and eliminate toxins from our environment, food, and internal processes directly impacts cellular health.
3. Genetic expression: We can turn genes on and off through diet and lifestyle choices. Having a cancer-related gene doesn’t guarantee it will activate if we create an environment that keeps protective genes functioning optimally.

Building a cancer-resistant body
The foundation of cancer prevention lies in creating an environment where cancer cells struggle to thrive. In my book ‘Live Like a Lobster’ you will learn how to build the resilience of the body and clean up your diet, support healthy DNA expression, implement strategic fasting, the importance of regular exercise to challenge your body, how to reduce toxic exposure, and address emotional healing—all approaches designed to complement conventional medicine.

A holistic approach to prevention
True cancer prevention encompasses all four pillars of health:

1. Restoring balance: Bringing the body back to its natural state of homeostasis where all systems function harmoniously
2. Detoxification: Supporting the body’s natural detoxification pathways to eliminate harmful substances
3. Addressing deficiencies: Ensuring optimal nutrition to provide the building blocks needed for cellular repair and immune function
4. Reducing stress: Implementing effective stress management techniques to mitigate DNA damage and support immune function

By addressing these pillars comprehensively, you create an environment where cancer cells struggle to take hold and where your body’s natural defence mechanisms function optimally.

Remember that the sole purpose of the cells in your body is to protect you and keep you free of disease. By making conscious choices that support this innate intelligence, you give yourself the best possible chance of preventing cancer or reoccurrence and of maintaining vibrant health throughout your life.

For more information and guidance ‘Live Like a Lobster’ is published by Melbourne Books and available online at Waterstones, Coles Books, Abes Books or Amazon. £23