Dr. Vijaya Nair, M.D.; F.A.M.S.; M.S. (epid)
author of:
PREVENT Cancer, Strokes, Heart Attacks and other Deadly Killers!
Dr. Vijaya Nair Reveals Evidence-based Anti-Inflammatory Healing Remedies
author of:
PREVENT Cancer, Strokes, Heart Attacks and other Deadly Killers!
Dr. Vijaya Nair Reveals Evidence-based Anti-Inflammatory Healing Remedies
Dr. Vijaya Nair is an esteemed researcher and epidemiologist. A native of
Singapore, she earned her medical degree from the National University of
Singapore. Dr. Nair later immigrated to the United States, where she re-
ceived a master’s degree in epidemiology from Columbia University and
completed her post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School. Fasci-
nated by her studies, Dr. Nair went on to serve as an Assistant Professor
of Epidemiology at Columbia University, School of Public Health. She
has authored numerous research publications and articles in her quest
to edu-cate the public about the health benefits of nature’s most powerful
anti-inflammatory remedies
Singapore, she earned her medical degree from the National University of
Singapore. Dr. Nair later immigrated to the United States, where she re-
ceived a master’s degree in epidemiology from Columbia University and
completed her post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School. Fasci-
nated by her studies, Dr. Nair went on to serve as an Assistant Professor
of Epidemiology at Columbia University, School of Public Health. She
has authored numerous research publications and articles in her quest
to edu-cate the public about the health benefits of nature’s most powerful
anti-inflammatory remedies
How I came to write this book
If you’re like me, you’re keenly interested in preserving or regaining your health, yet you reserve a healthy dose of
skepticism about anything promoted as a “miracle cure.” I’ll be the first to acknowledge that many of the natural
supplements available today have big claims but little scientific backing. Too often, when you dig a little deeper you’ll
find these claims are either distortions of the truth or downright fabrications. So for much of my life I, like many
people, disregarded herbal therapies as a valid possibility for the prevention and treatment of serious diseases such
as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and Alzheimer’s.
When you look at my background you may understand why. Although I was born in Singapore, an island nation in
Southeast Asia, my academic studies were similar to that of any Western doctor. I was initially trained as a
psychiatrist (a medical doctor who specializes in mental health) in my home country. I later moved to the United
States and completed my post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School and at Columbia University. I then
taught epidemiology (the study of identifying risk factors for disease) at Columbia. If I was going to be convinced of
the validity of herbal therapies I had to see factual evidence!
However, my unquestioning support of Western medicine started to crack while I was doing research at Columbia. In
all the studies I was coming across and helping to direct, one thing was striking— conventional treatments for chronic
illnesses had shocking and often painful side effects. For example, standard cancer treatments such as
chemotherapy and radiation not only made people sick to their stomachs, bone-achingly tired, and skinny as a rail,
but sometimes the side effects were so severe they actually killed the patient! Sadly, many patients were not even
told what the risks of these drugs were or how they were going to affect them before starting treatment.
Worse yet, these treatments weren’t even helping us win the war against cancer. Despite $200 billion dollars
invested in conventional cancer treatments since 1970, as of 2002, Western medicine hadn’t made a dent in the rate
of cancer deaths. In fact, the U.S. death rate from cancer remained unchanged from 1950 to 2002. So what we had
were highly toxic treatments that were not actually saving people’s lives. I started to wonder if there was a better way.
I didn’t have to wait long to get my answer. While at Columbia I came upon some promising research on a botanical
therapy called cultured soy, showing it held great promise for people with terminal cancers and chronic infections
(You’ll read more about cultured soy in Chapter Three). I read through all of the studies with great interest. Then I
interviewed some of the scientists who conducted the research to find out more about their methodologies and
results. Subsequently I had a whole team at Columbia — general practitioners, oncologists (doctors who specialize in
cancer), and biostatisticians (people who apply statistics to biology) — review the data. We were convinced the
therapy had potential.
That’s when I started to get excited. If there was something safe and natural that could improve the quality of life for
people undergoing very challenging conventional medicines for very difficult chronic illnesses, then it needed to be
investigated seriously. Something inside me knew this was my calling.
For six years I collaborated with various research centers across the globe and worked one on one with cancer
patients to study the effects of cultured soy. The results were nothing short of amazing. In fact, the case reports I
compiled won recognition from the Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine (OCCAM) at the
National Cancer Institute. As this book goes to press, a human clinical study is being conducted at The University of
Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center on using cultured soy to treat the complications of cancer.
While I was busy studying cultured soy, another researcher, Dr. Bharat B. Aggarwal, was doing groundbreaking work
with curcumin, a constituent of the herb turmeric. Dr. Aggarwal was arriving at similar conclusions about curcumin’s
ability to fight chronic disease that the Columbia team had realized about cultured soy. Of course, we weren’t the only
ones studying botanical therapies for disease prevention and treatment. Other researchers were publishing equally
exciting studies on herbal ingredients such as resveratrol, ginger, lutein, ashwaghanda, and green tea. What I
learned through reviewing all the research being published was that successful botanical therapies for preventing
and treating chronic diseases have one thing in common: They all fight inflammation. Inflammation is your immune
system’s way of protecting you from physical trauma or foreign invaders, such as viruses and bacteria. It’s supposed
to be a short and powerful response. But sometimes the body doesn’t turn off the inflammation switch and it ends up
destroying the very tissues and organs it was meant to protect. We tend to think of inflammation as synonymous with
arthritis. However, inflammation can strike anywhere in your body. It’s a major contributor to heart disease, cancer,
Alzheimer’s, and many more life-threatening conditions. Control inflammation and you control disease.
Pouring over those scientific studies, I had an “aha!” moment. I realized this information was too valuable to sit in
complicated medical journals, unread by the lay reader. It was at that moment that I decided to de-vote my life to
educating people about nature’s most powerful anti-inflammatory remedies.
A few years later, I got to experience the healing power of natural remedies first-hand. In 2004, I started experiencing
heavy bleeding. The bleeding was so severe that I had to have a blood transfusion. It turned out I had uterine
fibroids — a benign type of tumor that grows in the wall of the uterus. The doctors recommended I get a
hysterectomy, which involves the removal of the uterus. But I resisted. I was working with cultured soy at the time and
decided to see if taking it, along with some other herbs, would help me. Remarkably, the bleeding stopped and my
energy was restored.
For almost a year, I was well. Then the bleeding returned. Again, it was recommended that I get a hysterectomy.
Again, I decided against surgery, but this time I realized my body was trying to tell me something; I wasn’t taking care
of myself. At the time I had a very rigorous schedule. I was working as a researcher. I was traveling back and forth to
Asia frequently. I was leading seminars in New York City to hundreds of people every week. And I was going through
a divorce. It was too much. I had to stop everything and rest. This time, instead of just taking a few herbs I created an
entire wellness program for myself.
First, I underwent a very minor, non-invasive radiological technique to cauterize my uterine arteries instead of the
major surgery that was being recommended. Then, based on the fact that my uterus was severely in-flamed, I began
taking both cultured soy and curcumin together. I also started meditating, got massages and went to therapy to see
what in my life was no longer working. Soon, the fibroids began to shrink. In fact, after awhile they shrank 70 percent.
Today, my uterus is healthy again.
I know from personal experience that it is possible to create natural, vibrant health using the techniques laid out in
this book. If after reading it, just one person finds relief from their suffering or learns how to prevent some of the most
debilitating diseases we face today, then I will consider myself successful.
May you enjoy a long and healthy life, free of suffering and disease.
Dr. Vijaya Nair
If you’re like me, you’re keenly interested in preserving or regaining your health, yet you reserve a healthy dose of
skepticism about anything promoted as a “miracle cure.” I’ll be the first to acknowledge that many of the natural
supplements available today have big claims but little scientific backing. Too often, when you dig a little deeper you’ll
find these claims are either distortions of the truth or downright fabrications. So for much of my life I, like many
people, disregarded herbal therapies as a valid possibility for the prevention and treatment of serious diseases such
as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and Alzheimer’s.
When you look at my background you may understand why. Although I was born in Singapore, an island nation in
Southeast Asia, my academic studies were similar to that of any Western doctor. I was initially trained as a
psychiatrist (a medical doctor who specializes in mental health) in my home country. I later moved to the United
States and completed my post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School and at Columbia University. I then
taught epidemiology (the study of identifying risk factors for disease) at Columbia. If I was going to be convinced of
the validity of herbal therapies I had to see factual evidence!
However, my unquestioning support of Western medicine started to crack while I was doing research at Columbia. In
all the studies I was coming across and helping to direct, one thing was striking— conventional treatments for chronic
illnesses had shocking and often painful side effects. For example, standard cancer treatments such as
chemotherapy and radiation not only made people sick to their stomachs, bone-achingly tired, and skinny as a rail,
but sometimes the side effects were so severe they actually killed the patient! Sadly, many patients were not even
told what the risks of these drugs were or how they were going to affect them before starting treatment.
Worse yet, these treatments weren’t even helping us win the war against cancer. Despite $200 billion dollars
invested in conventional cancer treatments since 1970, as of 2002, Western medicine hadn’t made a dent in the rate
of cancer deaths. In fact, the U.S. death rate from cancer remained unchanged from 1950 to 2002. So what we had
were highly toxic treatments that were not actually saving people’s lives. I started to wonder if there was a better way.
I didn’t have to wait long to get my answer. While at Columbia I came upon some promising research on a botanical
therapy called cultured soy, showing it held great promise for people with terminal cancers and chronic infections
(You’ll read more about cultured soy in Chapter Three). I read through all of the studies with great interest. Then I
interviewed some of the scientists who conducted the research to find out more about their methodologies and
results. Subsequently I had a whole team at Columbia — general practitioners, oncologists (doctors who specialize in
cancer), and biostatisticians (people who apply statistics to biology) — review the data. We were convinced the
therapy had potential.
That’s when I started to get excited. If there was something safe and natural that could improve the quality of life for
people undergoing very challenging conventional medicines for very difficult chronic illnesses, then it needed to be
investigated seriously. Something inside me knew this was my calling.
For six years I collaborated with various research centers across the globe and worked one on one with cancer
patients to study the effects of cultured soy. The results were nothing short of amazing. In fact, the case reports I
compiled won recognition from the Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine (OCCAM) at the
National Cancer Institute. As this book goes to press, a human clinical study is being conducted at The University of
Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center on using cultured soy to treat the complications of cancer.
While I was busy studying cultured soy, another researcher, Dr. Bharat B. Aggarwal, was doing groundbreaking work
with curcumin, a constituent of the herb turmeric. Dr. Aggarwal was arriving at similar conclusions about curcumin’s
ability to fight chronic disease that the Columbia team had realized about cultured soy. Of course, we weren’t the only
ones studying botanical therapies for disease prevention and treatment. Other researchers were publishing equally
exciting studies on herbal ingredients such as resveratrol, ginger, lutein, ashwaghanda, and green tea. What I
learned through reviewing all the research being published was that successful botanical therapies for preventing
and treating chronic diseases have one thing in common: They all fight inflammation. Inflammation is your immune
system’s way of protecting you from physical trauma or foreign invaders, such as viruses and bacteria. It’s supposed
to be a short and powerful response. But sometimes the body doesn’t turn off the inflammation switch and it ends up
destroying the very tissues and organs it was meant to protect. We tend to think of inflammation as synonymous with
arthritis. However, inflammation can strike anywhere in your body. It’s a major contributor to heart disease, cancer,
Alzheimer’s, and many more life-threatening conditions. Control inflammation and you control disease.
Pouring over those scientific studies, I had an “aha!” moment. I realized this information was too valuable to sit in
complicated medical journals, unread by the lay reader. It was at that moment that I decided to de-vote my life to
educating people about nature’s most powerful anti-inflammatory remedies.
A few years later, I got to experience the healing power of natural remedies first-hand. In 2004, I started experiencing
heavy bleeding. The bleeding was so severe that I had to have a blood transfusion. It turned out I had uterine
fibroids — a benign type of tumor that grows in the wall of the uterus. The doctors recommended I get a
hysterectomy, which involves the removal of the uterus. But I resisted. I was working with cultured soy at the time and
decided to see if taking it, along with some other herbs, would help me. Remarkably, the bleeding stopped and my
energy was restored.
For almost a year, I was well. Then the bleeding returned. Again, it was recommended that I get a hysterectomy.
Again, I decided against surgery, but this time I realized my body was trying to tell me something; I wasn’t taking care
of myself. At the time I had a very rigorous schedule. I was working as a researcher. I was traveling back and forth to
Asia frequently. I was leading seminars in New York City to hundreds of people every week. And I was going through
a divorce. It was too much. I had to stop everything and rest. This time, instead of just taking a few herbs I created an
entire wellness program for myself.
First, I underwent a very minor, non-invasive radiological technique to cauterize my uterine arteries instead of the
major surgery that was being recommended. Then, based on the fact that my uterus was severely in-flamed, I began
taking both cultured soy and curcumin together. I also started meditating, got massages and went to therapy to see
what in my life was no longer working. Soon, the fibroids began to shrink. In fact, after awhile they shrank 70 percent.
Today, my uterus is healthy again.
I know from personal experience that it is possible to create natural, vibrant health using the techniques laid out in
this book. If after reading it, just one person finds relief from their suffering or learns how to prevent some of the most
debilitating diseases we face today, then I will consider myself successful.
May you enjoy a long and healthy life, free of suffering and disease.
Dr. Vijaya Nair
Dr. Vijaya Nair
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