Mark Simon, CN, CHCC, CPBN
Mark Simon established the Nutritional Oncology Research Institute (NORI) in 2011 as an organization focused on advancing cancer care through optimization of diet and application of targeted nutraceuticals. Mark Simon’s background and interests are in diverse fields including clinical nutrition, biomedical engineering, plant-based nutrition, naturopathic medicine and neuroscience.
***Resources Mentioned***
Nutritional Oncology Research Institute
Cancer Schmancer
Can Dietary Methionine Restriction Increase the Effectiveness of Chemotherapy in Treatment of Advanced Cancer?
NORI PROTOCOL – methionine video by Dr. Mark Gregor
Fruit, The Lymphatic System & Cancer: Dr. Robert Morse
Book: Fit for Life by Harvey Diamond
Scientific papers on Methionine, Sodium Selenite, Vit E, Melatonin
AntibioticWatchdog
Nutritional Oncology Research Institute – Cbd, Hemp CBD, Hemp
NORI CBD – Cbd, Cbd, Alternative Health Products, Cbd Oil
Nutritional Oncology Research Institute – Home
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1 oz. Organic Broccoli and Radish Sprout Powder (High Sulforaphane Content)
Vitamin E Delta, Gamma Tocotrienols, Annatto Derived (DeltaGold), 60 ml, 21,000 mg
Melatonin, 50 mg, 360 Tablets
Glucosamine HCl Powder, 8 oz., 227 grams
Sodium Selenite, 2 mg, 180 Slow Release Tablets
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***
In This Episode:
Our guest today, Mark Simon, talks about how eating a low methionine diet can lead to better health and cancer cell death (apoptosis).
In this episode, Mark and Ryan discuss the benefits of a plant-based diet which is high in fruits and berries, moderate in vegetables and void of animal products. Through his work at the Nutritional Oncology Research Institute, Mark has developed the NORI protocol, based on the two core concepts of restricting methionine intake and using high doses of sodium selenite (selenium salts) and other targeted nutraceuticals to reduce tumor cell growth. In-vivo studies and clinical experience affirm the effectiveness of this type of diet. The concept of using pro-oxidants versus anti-oxidants is discussed as is the mechanism of sodium selenite and the relationship between methionine and cancer.
This conversation may challenge the way you currently view your nutritional protocol. We encourage you to keep an open mind. Be prepared to stretch your current point of view and perhaps gain some new insight and ideas.
Please enjoy this next installment of the Anti-cancer Revolution! Be sure to let us know what you think below.
0:41 Fruit or no fruit – That is the million dollar question
Mark promotes a methionine restricted diet – high fruit, moderate vegetables, no animal products
Utilizes Vitamin E, tocotrienol, selenium, iodine
2:30 Overview of the NORI protocol
Based on two core ideas –
methionine restricted diet &
high dose selenium (sodium selenite)
Mark started the diet based on personal experience after his wife was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer
Diet plays a huge role as a tool in cancer prevention
Sodium selenite is a form of selenium studied for over 40 years
Is a selective chemo-therapeutic agent
Can kill cancer cells without causing harm to other cells
High bio-availability
Can be administered intravenously or orally
6:00 Relationship between methionine and cancer cells
Mark discover the work of Dr. Daniel E. Epner, MD – clinical studies using methionine restricted diet
Video by Dr. Mark Gregor on Mark’s website describing methionine and what it does
Methionine is an amino acid
If methionine is restricted, cancer cells die
Could potentially work as stand-alone therapy
8:30 How do you reduce methionine in the body and what is the end goal?
Through the diet methionine levels can be brought quite low
All whole foods contain some level of methionine
Fruits contain the least amount of methionine
Grains, nuts, beans, seeds, animal products contain the most
Best to cycle methionine levels on and off
In the future hope is to be able to bring methionine levels to zero
10:05 What do cancer cells do with methionine?
Cancer cells use methionine as a building block
Methionine is not needed for normal cell growth- not an essential amino acid
MTOR pathway is stimulated less with methionine restriction
Methionine restriction makes cancer cells more sensitive to treatment
NORI diet is a platform to slow down tumor growth and make cancer more sensitive to treatment
13:50 What are your thoughts on eating fruit?
Fruit is not the same thing as table sugar
Most fruits are low glycemic
Fruitarian diet does not cause high blood sugar
80-10-10 diet (80% fruit, 10% protein, 10% fat)
Sugar does not encourage tumor growth, insulin does
Ketogenic diet doesn’t work long term because glutamine is not cut out of diet
18:00 NORI diet restricts other cancer-dependent amino acids besides methionine
Glutamine
Phenylalanine
Isoleucine
Tryptophan
Asparagine
18:30 NORI diet is an alkaline diet
Alkaline diet helps neutralize acidity around tumors
Anti-inflammatory
Anti-angiogenesis
Dr. Robert Morse recommends a similar program
20:05 Where do you stand on juicing fruit? Is there a difference between eating fruit and vegetables with or without fiber?
A little bit of freshly squeezed citrus juice is fine
Bottled juices – no
Believes juicing is counter-productive
More antioxidants flooding the system makes it harder to fight cancer
Hasn’t seen data showing success with juicing and stage 4 cancer
Plant based diet is a good idea
Cancers are crazier today than years ago
Gerson’s original diet involved orange juice and lower protein (lower methionine)
Juicing probably doesn’t get phytochemicals up to appropriate levels
23:45 Can you elaborate on antioxidants and cancer?
Study with animals on low-antioxidant diet slowed tumor progression
Normal cells operate on a low level of oxidative stress
Cancer cells operate at a high level of oxidative stress because of altered metabolism
Adding oxidative stress will push cancer cells over the edge
Cancer cells are dependent on anti-oxidant systems like:
Glutathione
Thioredoxin
Catalyse
Superoxide dismutase
If you block glutathione synthesis, cancer cells die off
Putting anti-oxidants into the system aids cancer survival such as:
Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol form)
Vitamin C
NAC (N-Acetyl Cysteine)
Vitamin A
NORI program is careful not to incorporate juicing or other antioxidant supplements
NORI program utilizes pro-oxidants which increase oxidative stress
Sodium selenite
Generates hydrogen peroxide
Generates ROS (reactive oxygen species)
Triggers cell apoptosis
28:30 What are your thoughts on using antioxidants to increase chemotherapy and drug success?
Oncologists tell patients no antioxidant supplements because they know they will interfere with treatment
Antioxidants protect cancer cells
Mark hasn’t seen any research showing antioxidants make chemo work better
Research shows pro-oxidant therapy helps chemo work better
Sodium selenite
Ozone therapy
Sulforaphane (need 10-20 grams or more) – not too efficient
32:30 Can you give us a breakdown of the different levels of methionine within food groups?
Foods highest in methionine: Chicken and fish
Next: other animal products- beef, dairy, eggs
Mark has been vegan for 30 years (supplements with B12 occasionally)
Caution: B-12 can be used by cancer cells for protein synthesis
Soy, sesame seeds, and brazil nuts are high in methionine
Lowest: apple, most fruits
Dark green veggies are fairly high
Hard part is getting enough calories on a low methionine diet
Potatoes and rice work to bring up weight
38:40 Cycling on and off low-methionine foods
Encourage fruit-only breakfast (easily digested, full of enzymes, fiber, water, cleansing, detoxifying, extends a fast)
Book: Harvey Diamond, Fit for Life
Food combining
Methionine restriction is anti-aging
Ketosis is not necessarily a healthy state – not natural/normal
Not a proponent of fasting for cancer patients – too stressful
Recommends a fruit-only diet instead of fasting
Super-charge your system by eating raw, high-energy, plant-based foods
44:30 What is the distinction between nutraceuticals and supplements?
Use supplements to fill in gaps
Recommends supplementing with iodine, selenium, vitamin D, zinc, B12
Nutraceuticals can be used to lower inflammation
Sodium selenite is used as an anticancer nutraceutical
Vitamin E delta tocotrienol- high dose kills cancer cells
Glucosamine alters cancer cells
High-dose zinc is effective in killing cancer cells
Melatonin effective in fighting cancer (300 mg)
Curcumin – plant derived medicine – not very bioavailable
Medicines work because of toxic effects on system/system modulation
50:20 How did selenium and tocotrienols stand out to you?
High index of therapeutic value
High bioavailability
Water solubility
ADME Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism and Excretion – nutraceuticals are analyzed according to this standard
Sodium selenite has reached animal and human clinical studies (in-vivo)
Methionine restriction is being used in ongoing human clinical studies
55:20 What is the mechanism of action of sodium selenite?
Selective pro-oxidant
Study which shows it inhibits glutamine metabolism
Natural high uptake into tumor tissue
Radioactive sodium selenite (SE-75) was used in the 1960s to highlight cancer cells on imaging tests
Relatively small amount of sodium selenite (10-20 mg) is typically needed at therapeutic threshold levels
9 hour half-life
Cells need to be exposed 24 to 72 hours or more – the longer the better
Lower doses can be sustained for longer periods of time
.3 mg/kg of body weight is dosage for IV sodium selenite
IVs are used for pulsing in addition to oral dosage
IVs can become cost-prohibitive
1:01:30 Hazards of buying sodium selenite online
Can be risky – might be over a toxic dose or too weak
Mark sells some on his website
Might not be pharmaceutical dose
Signs of overdose
Hair loss
Brittle nails
Use under supervision
1:03:00 Is this an extract of selenium versus a whole compound?
Sodium selenite is a mineral salt – inorganic form of selenium- trace mineral
Chemical formula Na 2 Se0 3
Body needs it all the time
Organic forms vary in the level of anti-cancer activity
100% water soluble- easily crosses blood-brain barrier
Vitamin E used is extracted from annatto seed – delta tocotrienol
Pro-oxidant
Looks and behaves like unsaturated fatty acid
Initiates lipid peroxidase chain reaction
Ends up in mitochondrial membrane
Interacts with and generates more ROS
Triggers cancer cells to die – apoptosis
Mitochondria are dysfunctional in cancer cells
Breaks the positive feedback loop of the mitochondria so cells can die
1:09:39 You mentioned DHA. Where do you get yours?
Mark uses an algae oil
Studies show DHA can be used therapeutically in cancer (6g/day)
DHA will become incorporated into the cancer cell membranes and will undergo lipid peroxidase reactions
Algae oil is unstable and oxidizes easily
Antioxidants are added to maintain stability and this can be enough to interfere with NORI protocol
1:11:20 Budwig diet – similarities and differences
Fruit, berries, no animal products
Cottage cheese and flax oil mixture
Flax contains ALA, a polyunsaturated fat
Studies show ALA can trigger cancer cells to die
Flaxseed oil must be freshly pressed (15-30g)
Cottage cheese/quark works as an emulsifying agent to break up the oil for bioavailability
Theoretically based on the science, it should work
Not in favor of it right now because there are better methods
Tocotrienol does the same thing only with more efficiency
1:15:30 Lithium Chloride
Still under study
Has a favorable effect on cancer pathways
Used as treatment booster
Studies with lithium chloride used in conjunction with 5FU in animals
1:17:07 NORI protocol is currently using 6 agents
3 core agents make up the cytotoxic cocktail
Vit E tocotrienol (1200mg), sodium selenite, Vit K3
3 other agents working around the cocktail
Glucosamine (8g), zinc citrate (150mg), melatonin (300mg)
Used in conjunction with methionine-restricted diet
Protocol is continually evolving based on clinical experience
Simple, low-cost
1:19:10 Where can we find you?
https://antibioticwatchdog.com/
Website covering relationship between antibiotics and cancer
Free ebook
https://norinutraceuticals.com/ (store)
https://noricbd.com/
https://nutritionaloncology.net/
Info on program and protocol
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Free consultations (30-60 min)
1:22:00 Closing remarks
Please check out the podcast links and the links on our website (“What We Use” section). Your patronage is greatly appreciated and helps keep the lights on.
For more info about fruit in the diet and to view our most popular video, see Ryan’s podcast with Dr. Robert Morse. Link Below.
Use your intuition and try different options if a current protocol is not working.
There are many paths to wellness.
Future podcast idea: feature two experts on opposite sides of a topic and let them discuss the pros and cons of each
Please send your ideas for future speakers to [email protected]
As always, if you are going through cancer….just keep going!
Related Podcasts
Fruit, The Lymphatic System & Cancer: Dr. Robert Morse
If you have a question or comment about this episode let us know below!!