Conventional medicine has consistently derided the use of essiac tea, a blend of herbs including burdock root, sheep's sorrel, slippery elm and Indian rhubarb root, as useless and even toxic in higher doses. Of course, in many cases, conventional "wisdom" may be harmful and completely unnecessary.

While I don't claim to have special expertise in cancer treatment, essiac tea would certainly seem a reasonable approach to use in conjunction with other natural therapies.

However the primary danger of using any therapy, whether conventional or natural, is to avoid an allopathic approach and use the treatment as a magic bullet. Folks, if you just assume that there are no magic bullets you will be far ahead of the game.

Certainly explore natural therapies like essiac and other treatments for cancer but ALWAYS remember to rely on the body and the energetic forces you were given as your primary approach. Seek to treat the underlying cause and not the symptoms with a magic bullet.

You can eliminate your risks of, and in many cases treat, cancer via natural means. Simply follow my extensive list of recommendations, none of which include taking a magic bullet:

1.  Control your insulin levels: Make certain that you limit your intake of processed foods and sugars as much as possible.

2.  Get appropriate amounts of animal-based omega-3 fats, and make sure you use cod liver oil if you don't have regular access to sun exposure.

3.  Get appropriate exercise. One of the primary reasons exercise works is that it drives your insulin levels down. Controlling insulin levels is one of the most powerful ways to reduce your cancer risks.

4.  Normalize your vitamin D levels with safe amounts of sun exposure. This works primarily by optimizing your vitamin D level. If you have regular access to sun exposure then you should use fish oil, not cod liver oil, as your primary source of omega-3 fats. Ideally, it would be best to monitor your vitamin D levels.

5.  Eat according to your nutritional type. The potent anti-cancer effects of this principle are very much underappreciated. When we treat cancer patients in our clinic this is one of the most powerful anti-cancer strategies we have.

6.  Have a tool to permanently erase the neurological short-circuiting that can activate cancer genes. Even the CDC states that 85 percent of disease is caused by emotions. It is likely that this factor may be more important than all the other physical ones listed here, so make sure this is addressed. Energy psychology seems to be one of the best approaches and my particular favorite tool, as you may know, is the Emotional Freedom Technique.

7.  Only 25 percent of people eat enough vegetables, so by all means eat as many vegetables as you are comfortable with. Ideally, they should be fresh and organic. However, please understand that, frequently, fresh conventionally grown vegetables are healthier than organic ones that are older and wilted in the grocery store. They are certainly better than no vegetables at all, so don't use that as an excuse. If you are a carb nutritional type you may need up to 300 percent more vegetables than a protein nutritional type.

8.  Make sure you are not in the two-thirds of the population who are overweight and maintain an ideal body weight.

9.  Get enough high-quality sleep.

10.  Reduce your exposure to environmental toxins like pesticides, household chemical cleaners, synthetic air fresheners and air pollution.

11.  Boil, poach or steam your foods, rather than frying or charbroiling them.

On Vital Votes, Lora from Orangevale, California says:

"Conventional vs. alternative, GMO vs. Non-GMO, Organic vs. conventional, there is a war taking place on every front.  The bottom line is that we (the intelligently informed) need to teach and spread the truth to overcome them (the dumbed down drug taking, processed food eating folks) that are destroying our health and planet."

But Lifestyle Coach Josh Rubin from San Marcos, California believes that a war may not be the best metaphor:

"I feel that the more each side participates and works together as a team, there will not be 'what is right and what is wrong' anymore. A great thing that my TCM school does is a focus group once a month.

"It is held at our school and it is local MD's and TCM doctors/students that get together to share their knowledge on a particular subject each month. I feel that the more we do this within our practices, the more each side will truly understand what each other does. Most of the time when either side gets defensive, etc, it is because someone does not understand."

Other responses to this article can be viewed at Vital Votes, and you can add your own thoughts or vote on comments by first registering at Vital Votes.