Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Hello, everybody. Welcome to another show. You're the cure. Remember, God put it in you. His design. We have to understand it and we have to walk it out. We have to believe it and we have to steward this amazing design. And our guest today, well known probably to a lot of you, but first time on the show, Jordan Rubin. He and his buddy, Dr. Josh Axe have wrote a book, the Biblio Diet. And we're going to talk about that today and talk about Jordan's entire journey. We probably can't get it all in in an hour, so it might be high level. But where we're going to end up is focused on their latest book, and it's an awesome one. New York Times bestseller, highly recommend it. Guys, what I love about Jordan's story is, like so many of you, he started with a very poor prognosis on a diagnosis years ago, actually in his college years. But I'll let him tell the story. It was faced with some conventional treatment options that were pretty dire, and he looked outside the box and that led him on this amazing journey over the last almost 30 years, I guess now. But anyways, Jordan's an incredible speaker of truth, loves God, loves the truth, loves health, loves people. And he's trying to spread the message of truth so that you can be well.
So we're gonna dive right in. Jordan Rubin, welcome to the show.
[00:01:25] Speaker B: It is great to be here. Excited to share the truth, as you say.
[00:01:30] Speaker A: Well, thank you. As we're talking, before we hit record, you know, conventional medicine, I learned nothing about root causes, of course, but we'll learn nothing about nutrition. Got two hours of nutrition in four years of medical school, and half of those two hours was spent basically kind of warning us or about vitamins and how they could be dangerous. You could overdose on fat soluble vitamins, stuff like that. So as a conventionally raised kiddo, watching two amazing granddads that were both doctors and two uncles that are doctors and a great, great, great granddad, a doctor, I was just totally conventionally minded.
So if someone would have told me back then you could use food as medicine and especially with inflammatory bowel disease, I would have laughed at them. And I meet roby Mitchell after seven years of conventional medicine. And Dr. Mitchell told me, there's no such thing as diseases. They're all consequences.
And early on in that journey with Robey, I was introduced to Jordan's book, the Maker's Diet.
And that's a great book, too. But Jordan, I like to go all the way back there or back as far as you Want to go back, I guess, but on your journey and your story to encourage the people, how did you make that transition out of a conventional mindset or however you were raised into where you are now? And I'm assuming that inflammatory bowel disease was the. The big turning point. But just share that story for the readers who are not familiar with your story.
[00:02:53] Speaker B: It was, it was. But. But I first have to comment on something you said earlier. I'm really glad that after all of your studies and so many colleagues like you, that there's a suppression, at minimum, of that major cause of disease, which is an overdose of vitamins A, D, E, and K. Because after all, people are out there eating polar bear liver, you know, so frequently for the vitamin A, retinol increase. But, you know, years ago, conventional medicine also said it's fine to smoke during pregnancy and that if you have morning sickness, there's this really great medicine that's very safe called thalidomide that you could take and no one will have any issues.
I'm making a joke, which is sad, but I really feel like certain things that we are quote, unquote, discovering today was always there, hidden in plain sight. The entire biblio diet message is wrapped up in the fact that God reveals his greatest healing messages at the time when people will receive them and can utilize them properly. So I didn't mean to make a joke. I just happened to be an extraordinary fan of fat soluble vitamins. And I think it's interesting that half of your nutrition training in medical school was spent on dealing with overdoses that nobody sees relatively, compared to, let's say, what I'm going to get into. Inflammatory bowel disease, which now plagues millions. And when I was diagnosed 32, almost 33 years ago. Yeah, coming up on 33 years, it was super rare. In fact, I did know some people that had Crohn's disease diagnoses, but it was so out of mind for me. I think I thought it was called Crohn's disease, like chromosome. I didn't even relate to it at all.
But I grew up as the son of a chiropractor and a naturopathic doctor. So this health and wellness movement was a part of my upbringing in my home.
I didn't own it, I didn't personalize it. I ate a certain way in the house, which was yucky food.
And when I went to my friend's house or when I was out, I would eat whatever junk I could. But little did I know that despite an upbringing that saw Me avoid most deleterious health challenges or even treatments. I was diagnosed at the age of 18, almost 19, with Crohn's colitis, a very severe case. And if we want to be a little more medical and scientific, I had involvement in my duodenum all the way down to my rectum. So I was talking about this on a podcast earlier. Crohn's disease was discovered by Dr. Crohn as something known as regional ileitis. So it was the lower portion of your small intestine, which is very important, and it was an inflammatory condition. Some people with Crohn's are overweight but have a lot of stomach pain. Some people have tremendous urgency diarrhea.
If you have Crohn's colitis like I did, you've got blood in your stool, et cetera. And so here I am on fire for God. 19 years old. Once we knew what this disease was, I had to medically withdraw from school. I still thought I was going to get well quickly and go back to my old life. But as the disease process settled in, I realized that illness and your health are very, very important and or destructive to your life if you lose it. And at age 19, that's a hard lesson because you're sort of an immortal teenager. Nothing can go wrong. And when you follow God, I'm sitting here thinking, hey, God has great plans for my life to prosper me, not to harm me, to give me a future and a hope and I'm going to grow. And I'm at college and I'm not drinking, I'm not partying, I'm not with girls. I wear Christian T shirts. I'm in the praise team.
I didn't realize that God has as much purpose in our pain.
He creates a messenger from a major mess. And that glory to glory looks more like mountaintop valley. Mountaintop valley, mountaintop valley.
And I literally hung on for dear life during a two year battle for my health. I was living in my parents home, being taken care of like an infant. Visited 70 medical experts over two years.
We didn't believe in conventional medicine for most things in my home, but because I was so acute, even though I had a chronic disease, I was on corticosteroids for 14 months, very high doses, tried multiple therapies, and they've changed. Doctor, as you know, over the course of 30 years, the treatments now for inflammatory bowel disease are largely biological treatments. Are they better? Maybe. Do they have worse consequences? Probably. But I was dealing with anti parasitics, antimicrobials, corticosteroids and then I would have to consume medications for the inevitable heartburn gerd that was caused by the corticosteroids and it was a death spiral. The good news and bad news is that the medicines didn't help me at all. So I was left to find answers. And I tried every diet. I read 300 books on health. I, I was using certain supplements, particularly probiotics. Not three capsules a day, three bottles a day, no joke. And I really got to the point in my second hospitalization when I was brought in with a resting heart rate of 275.
You can probably understand this based on your background. I was extremely dehydrated. I looked down when they opened up my shirt at my rib cage and my heart. I could see it visibly pumping in my emaciated body and ribcage. I stepped on a scale at 6ft tall, I was 104 pounds.
And I, from my knee to my toes was different shades of blue and purple because I had a zero ferritin level. It was a, it was a beyond a disaster. I could go on and on, but I'm going to fast forward and say that in the hospital I was in such a state where I would describe myself as being this close to death. I was holding onto a cliff where I was going to fall to my death with my pinky. And I was in a situation where most people don't get to. I was attempt. The doctors and nurses and phlebotomists were attempting to draw blood or get a blood return so I could be hydrated because I was so dehydrated with electrolytes.
And I had nurse after doctor after phlebotomist not be able to find a vein where they could get that blood return because of my dehydration.
And I had a lot of tests and been prodded and poked so much over the last year and a half. So I had a nurse leave the room crying saying, this young man's not going to live till the morning. So I was about to close my eyes for what I thought was the last time I was ready to die. Ready to go with Jesus. It's a scary thought for most people, even if you are saved, you know, what's it going to be like when I am going to die? But I was so tired and so worn out. I didn't think about much other than I had this one thought. Lord, I am going to die and come be with you. I have no doubt.
But I have at age 19, I might have been close to 20 then I saved myself for one woman. You promised me this amazing wife. I love kids, and now I'm not going to have a family. But I've lived an amazing 19, 20 years. I've led people to Jesus. I've been on mission trips. I've had great relationships with friends. But, man, I would have liked to have gotten married. I literally closed my eyes what I thought would be for the last time, and I woke up alive.
They got blood return and they got an IV in while I was asleep. I wasn't better, I wasn't healed, I wasn't well. But I was in the game. And I think sometimes we need to recognize the fact that as long as we're breathing and living, that God still has an opportunity as long as we have a heartbeat. And I said when I knew this illness was not like a cold or a flu, I said to God, if you heal me and I can help just one person overcome disease, or better yet, avoid it, then this living hell will have been worth it.
And I also committed to any treatment, any modality that helped me.
I would spend the rest of my life sharing it with the world. And so I was prepared. When I went to Germany for Venus fly trap infusions or when I saw a doctor from the UK who gave me fetal sheep cell injections. I did stem cells before. They were cool. Dr. Like, I mean, and they were so uncool that the needle man in my zero, but that I had at the time, man, that was a painful shot. I tried herbs that were unlabeled who later were provided to me from someone who claims to have visited Mars.
I was told by an alternative practitioner that I was sensitive to a satellite that orbited the earth every 70 years. And I kind of thought in the back of my mind I was hoping for gluten or dairy. So I went through the ringer and ultimately met a man who told me, jordan, if you will follow a health plan based on the Bible and you come stay with me in three months on your 21st birthday, you will be working out on the beach. I was in a wheelchair.
I had just had a profession of faith that was life changing, where I walked out of my bedroom where I was being taken care of by my parents like an infant. Took seven steps to a closet, asked my mom to take my picture at £111 in my boxers. Only she begged me not to. She begged me to wait. I said, mom, take the picture, because the world's not going to believe what God's about to do in my life.
And Doc, we're old school. This was a photograph where they developed them with negatives. Most people are like, what are you even talking about? And that little bit of faith that God mustered inside of me was one of the most important moments of my life. Because perhaps someone through that testimony picked up a book that I had written or listened to a message I had shared. And maybe they were led to their answer for healing. And even better, maybe they were led to Jesus. So I'm hearing this message from this man named Bud. This was months after I stood in front of my parents closet and had my before picture taken. What we call the before picture now. And this man Bud, did something for me that I could never repay. He infused hope in my life.
I got in my wheelchair, traveled 2,300 miles to San Diego, California. I told my mom while smiling for the first time in two years, I'm leaving here sick, but I'm coming home. Well, next time you see me, I will be well. And I would have these phone calls with this man Bud before I got out to San Diego, and he taught me how to eat and live the Bible's way.
I had read 300 health books before, as I mentioned. And so I had to mold what his instructions were to me because he had dealt with a lot of people with health conditions. But inflammatory bowel disease is very different. And consuming copious amounts of raw A2 dairy is great for many.
But I learned some things through the process. Process and was able to craft a program that I went on for 40 days. I would later call it the Maker's Diet. And I went from death to life in those 40 days. 118 pounds to a hundred. No, sorry, 114 to 153.
My mom and dad came to see me in San Diego. They got off the plane, my dad hugged me and said, jordan, there's so much of you to hug. And then six weeks later, on my 21st birthday, I was on the beach in San Diego. I couldn't lift my pinky 12 weeks earlier and now I was lifting weights on the beach, just like Bud said I would. And I began a new life which was to see the health of God's people transform one life at a time. And I am trying to fast forward here. I started sharing my message with a photocopied before picture, working at health food stores and sharing one on one with people in my youth group. There was an article written about me in a natural health journal in 1998. Sorry, excuse me. August of 1997. Which led me to take this dark colored probiotic mineral powder that my dad sent me. While I was following the biblical diet and that combination was written about in this journal.
I set up a phone line at my parents friend's house. We got 2,000 phone calls from doctors all over the world and a company that became Garden of Life was born. Started writing books.
Eventually God called me into regenerative farming.
And that catches you up to about mid 2000 oughts, I guess that's what you call it, you know like 2,678.
I'm healthy, I'm happy, I am married, I am the father of one about to adopt two.
And that's when my life changed again.
[00:17:23] Speaker A: Wow.
Amazing.
Amazing. How so just before your life changed again, how big were things in terms of, you know, book sales and speaking engagements and the supplement line and all that?
[00:17:40] Speaker B: Yeah, it's a great question. So this little company, Garden of Life that I started in my parents friend's garage was probably tens of millions in sales, 200 employees. The maker's diet started from a book that the publisher wanted to print 10,000 copies and make a paperback. And of course, being young and feeling like you want to save the world, you're thinking, oh no, I'm thinking a million copies in a hardcover. But that was a New York Times bestseller. Three million copies in print, 47 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. I was living the Christian American dream. I had an awesome big wonderful house with all the cool toys like saunas and things like that.
And we were helping people, it was working.
And I decided in 2008 to go on a tour to promote a new book.
I was filming the entire tour. It was a bus tour. I was in like a prevost that rock stars or country music artists are in. And we were going to go to almost 500 cities in 10 months. Book tours, speaking in churches, health food store appearances, television programs. And it started off with a bang.
Six, seven days a week I was on the road. It was so sad to leave my family, but I was making an impact. And in the middle of that tour, I was about to film my most, I would say exciting episodes. To me, I was calling it the Supernatural Athlete. I was going to film an amateur athlete, an NFL player, an older gentleman. And we were going to all go on this training program.
But I had this pain in my groin that I identified as an inguinal hernia, which is some people refer to as a sports hernia. It looked just like it felt just like it. But when I went to see the team physician for the Miami Dolphins that my friend connected me with. He looked at it and said, it is absolutely an inguinal hernia. But as I left, I said, you know, doc, I've got a fever.
And I explained to him that I had a surgery opportunity when I was younger, which I'll get to later, that my dad decided against.
Could there be some kind of a complication in my groin there? And he said, probably not, but if you're going to get a hernia repair outpatient surgery, they'll know. And so I went in, doc, to get a surgery hernia repaired. After I tried all the natural things, mind you. And I woke up, my mom was there with her friend holding her hand. My wife was there. I'm thinking, my mom was not here during this surgery. What's she doing here? And then I heard the doctor say, you have cancer. And this is someone who had written a book called the Great Physician's Prescription for Cancer. I had helped people with cancer consistently, including my own grandmother.
And here I was diagnosed. But they said, we may have gotten it all. We'll know in a few weeks.
And I went back to the oncologist and my wife and I were sitting there, and he walked in quickly to the office we were stationed in, and he dropped a big binder, pretty heavy. And he looked at me quickly and said, there's more to discuss.
I knew the more to discuss was not good news. He left the room and doc, I did something that I would say was equally as powerful as standing in front of my parents closet and asking my mom to take my picture when I was at death's door.
My inclination wasn't to cry, wasn't to scream, wasn't to get mad. I asked my wife Nikki, to stand in front of the door to the doctor's office while he left. And I got on my hands and knees and I put my nose on the carpet. And I quoted job, chapter one, verse 21. And I said, naked I came into this earth, and naked I shall return.
It is the Lord who gives and the Lord who takes away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
I had quoted this prayer, I called Job's prayer maybe six times in my life when I felt like the rug was pulled out from under me, that I was punched in the gut, slapped in the face, breathless, and couldn't fix the situation or work my way out of it. And I knew that I needed to show God who he is in my life and give up everything to him. And I'm so grateful, even as I'm sharing this because there's somebody watching or listening that is at the end of their rope. And it could be health with a diagnosis and a death sentence. It could be a marriage that's ending. It could be children that are in great peril, could be a bank account that's darn near zero.
And you need to hear that the God who created you, who has a plan for you and who is there in your greatest valley. And Storm has the answer, and he paid for it.
And I went on to listen to the doctor say, jordan, you have a very aggressive cancer. In this case, it was testicular cancer.
He said, 100 years ago, this killed every man who was diagnosed.
And I said, doc, I know God's going to heal me. I need six months to fight this. And he says, I read about you. I was afraid you'd say this.
Don't f around with this. Pardon my even initial, but I want you to understand for context.
He said, if you don't get conventional treatment, which in this case was chemotherapy, surgery followed by chemotherapy, there is a 100% chance you will be dead in 90 days.
He said, I've done this surgery, but in your case, you need to go to one of two hospitals, the one in Boston, the author of the latest textbook on testicular cancer is there. And you could also see Lance Armstrong's doctor in Indiana, who obviously was made famous through his journey. He said, you need to go. This week, I upped my already incredibly healthy diet and put off this trip as long as I could. I chose to go to Brigham and Women's Hospital, Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Harvard, in Boston, because I had a colleague and a co author who was in cardiology there.
And when I went there, doc, I was hoping my HCG level, which is a marker for embryonal testicular cancer, I was hoping it would go down because I'm on an insanely disciplined diet.
Unfortunately, it went up when I got my blood test and I looked at that blood test and I said out loud, I curse this in the name of Jesus, because I'm not going to be defined by man developed test. And then I went into the doctor who was the world renowned expert in testicular cancer. And it was almost like I was with an undertaker. I mean, like at someone's funeral. He spoke quickly and I said, doc, you're recommending chemotherapy. I successfully battled inflammatory bowel disease years ago, and I am very cognizant of my gut health.
Tell me which chemo drugs, because chemo isn't chemo there's a lot of different medications. They call it chemotherapy or chemo for short, but these are pharmaceuticals in an infusion. And when I said, I want to know what the side effects are on the gut, and he looked at me with this almost evil smirk and said, I know who you are.
I've heard about you. What are your readers and followers going to think now?
[00:25:42] Speaker A: Oh, my word.
[00:25:44] Speaker B: And I got to tell you, Doc, on the way out of that office in the hallowed halls of Harvard Medical and then Harvard, you know, one of the quote unquote, most prestigious learning institutions in the world, I left knowing I would never return.
And we were going to give God another 40 day opportunity to show how good he is. And because I'd already trained and been prepared for this in naturopathic medicine, nutrition, natural health and fitness, because I was blessed financially and I had a team that could handle work without me, I upped my faith. I upped my life is in the power of the tongue game. I'll use that as a long expression to mention what you and I spoke about off the air.
And I told my wife Nikki, who was shaken at the oncologist's appointment, the original one with the 100% chance of dying in 90 days. I said, listen, I'm going to do this. I'm going to claim God's promises that by his stripes I am healed.
I'm going to do nothing else but fight for my health and for my life and for my family for 40 days.
But I'm not going to do it flippantly. I'm not going to do it irresponsibly. I'm going to get diagnostic testing all the way throughout, get a prognosis, you know, each step of the way.
And if something isn't visibly improved, I am not going to make natural medicine my idol. And so I even looked into some maybe better surgical options which the institution you're diagnosed at. It's so sad, doctor. But not only will they not tell you about alternatives, if their system doesn't have certain equipment and doesn't specialize in certain techniques, they won't at times refer you out. Because this is a business, folks. Don't get this twisted. This is a business. So I looked for other options. But in my mind and in my heart, I always said, this is not for me, this is for someone else because I am healed. I found a robotic surgical option at wash U in St. Louis. I found various forms of chemotherapy that were much less toxic. Either they were pulsed or insulin potentiated therapy, which I'm sure you're aware of all these.
And I never believed they were for me, but I wanted to know. I found a PhD who had a laboratory that would test my HCG levels three different ways every two weeks during the 40 days. So three times. And I went to a colleague of mine who was a gastroenterologist, co author of other books of mine, and I asked him to order a follow up CT scan with contrast at the same radiology center where I was diagnosed. Only this time it would be read by myself and by him.
And he wasn't a believer. But he said to me, jordan, I'm going to do this for you. If anybody can beat this, it's you. But you got to promise me if your tumors and lesions and your prognosis isn't better that you will undergo conventional treatment. So that was how we embarked on this. And I'm sharing answers that are about 20 minutes long to your questions. I want to pause there and give you a chance to interject, but that was sort of the kickoff of the second time the enemy tried to take my life.
[00:29:19] Speaker A: Yeah, no, these are great answers. I'm gonna let you just keep on going. I do want to point out a couple things. Highlight from the audience you said, I'm not going to make natural medicine my. I think you said idol.
I'll say savior.
And that's a key, key point.
And that's what I tell my patients too. You let peace be your guide.
And Jordan didn't have peace about. He looked into ipt, low dose chemotherapy with insulin. He looked at some other alternative things. And if he would have had peace, I don't want to speak for him, but maybe he would have done that. So it's not this either or thing.
I'll even go and I'll let you definitely comment on this. Jordan, I don't know if you've. I'm sure you processed through this, but your dad been a naturopath in that I'm assuming undescended testicle that'll increase the rates of testicular cancer.
Um, you know, obviously as an infant or a small young boy doing a surgery to bring that testicle down versus watchful waiting for a time or other techniques or not do whatever.
And I'm not going to at all put this on your dad. I'm sure the enemy tried to put it on your dad. We can talk about that. But my point is not we can get in this narrow. I'm going to make conventional my idol or naturopathic my idol or whatever. And it shouldn't be either or.
That's Kingdom versus Empire. As Jamie Winship would say. That's empire. Either or. That's Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Don't get stuck in the either or camp. Let the Holy Spirit lead you into truth and let peace be your guide. And wherever you're at on your journey, there's no condemnation what you choose. But I just want to highlight that piece of it I thought was. Was really, really good. And of course we'll get in. I'll let you keep telling your story. But power, life and death in the tongue. Huge. I mean, I'm assuming you were eating pretty good from when you overcame inflammatory bowel disease still and grew the company. Obviously you're busy, so I'm sure there was some stress in there, but. But still being diligent, stewarding your diet and health and fitness and all that leading up to this diagnosis. So there's more to it. Like Dr. Roby Mitchell told me on his deathbed, ben, go teach him the spiritual roots of disease, because nutrition, hydration, movement, which is our three of our pillars. Our fourth one is peace. He said, I'm, I'm a plus plus on the three pillars, but not peace.
And so that, of course, was hugely impactful. Robey died from metastatic prostate cancer that he had overcome before. And it came back on him that I don't want to get off on that story right now, but those are my, my thoughts and comments. But definitely any, any thoughts there off that. And then let's just continue this journey.
[00:31:54] Speaker B: Yeah, you're. You're exactly right. The undescended testicle. And that what is now such a simple procedure was maybe a little more challenging in 1975.
But I didn't realize through all of my years and even getting physicals to share that, or the doctors didn't mention that according to data, there's a 1000 times increase.
Could be less. But about that, if you have a testicle lodged in this case in my groin, which couldn't cool or heat properly, and it's really. It was a ticking time bomb waiting to explode.
However, when someone says to me or asks the question, Jordan, why did you get cancer?
My answer is not, I was under stress. I ate bad. I didn't eat bad.
It wasn't that I was in a extremely toxic environment.
It wasn't that I was poisoned. I didn't have elevated heavy metals or we talked about this fungi, candida, whatever you want to call it.
My answer is not about what caused the cancer. When someone Says, why did you get cancer, Jordan? Or why were you diagnosed? Why'd you battle was so somebody right now who's listening and watching can be healed.
What is the story of Jesus if not one person being willing to go through something so that someone else doesn't need to, or that someone else could feel like there's a hand being held?
No greater thing can we do in this world than one who would lay down his life for his friend. And then Jesus went on to say, you are my friends. And of course we use the word friend a little more casually than Jesus did when he was talking to his disciples. But I did a podcast the other day with a pastor friend of mine who is now 18 years conquering stage 4 metastatic renal cell carcinoma, when at the time he was told the longest lived patient on record following conventional care was six years. And with tears in my eyes and a cracked voice, I said to Diego, if my whole journey through this cancer battle was so you could be healed, I would do it again and again and again.
Now people probably want to know, doc, you know, what did you do? I ate an all raw omnivorous diet.
And I can get into all those details. Not necessarily what I would recommend or do today, but that's what I did.
And not that it's a bad thing, I would absolutely recommend it, but it's almost impossible. Barely anyone has the guts to do it. Hardly anybody can prepare the food or pay for the food to be prepared. My nutrition was on point. I wanted to get every last drop of nutrition out of every bite or sip I consumed. I had a supplemental regimen that was top notch from the most powerful probiotics, systemic enzymes, fat soluble vitamins. As we teased about early in the program, I was consuming something I would call plant stem cells, herbal extracts from immature plants, which is a very cool therapy that I think is amazing from a body therapy perspective. I was in an infrared sauna for a minimum of two hours a day. I tried to get one hour of peak sunshine every single day for vitamin D optimization. I had lymphatic drainage 12 to 14 hours a day. You name it, I did it within reason. Essential oil application across the board, massage every single day with essential oils.
Most importantly, I quoted a healing prayer out loud that is five minutes long.
Out loud three times a day is my universal medicine.
This proclaimed the promises of God. It used my mouth and the words to teach my body to get in line. We so easily curse ourselves and say negative things. But I didn't say I had cancer. I didn't talk about my cancer. I talked about Jesus, who cancer bows down to. And I talked about a blood transfusion from the blood of the lamb. And when I prayed this doctor, I felt like heaven's armies were ready to rock, putting their spears down and at alert. And I felt like hell's demons had their ears closed and their fingers in them because I was putting the realms of heaven and hell on notice that I was serious about God's promises. I never prayed the way I did when I was growing up in a Baptist church, which was amazing and awesome teaching and wonderful. I used to pray, lord, if it's your will heal. Now. I never pray that way because it is his will. I didn't think about my relative who died of cancer or this amazing preacher who died of cancer and what about their faith. I only thought about God's plan for my life and my family and who God was going to use this message to impact in the future.
I prayed this prayer. I worked on emotional healing. I forgave people who hurt me. And I asked for forgiveness for every memorable time that I could that I hurt someone else.
And two weeks into this 40 day program, I had my blood tested and my HCG.
I'm going to get this a point or two off. I think it was 269.
When I was at Harvard Medical.
Normal is one or below.
And then when I got it tested two weeks in, I was walking on water, flooded with peace. During these two weeks following, the program shut out everyone in my life who said, don't you think you should get chemo? Jordan, I'm worried about you dying. And I surrounded myself with people who believed in God's plan for me.
And when this lab director called me and I saw on my cell phone his number, my hand began to shake. And he said, jordan, I have your results. And I said, what are they? He said, jordan, you told me your Last results were 269. I'm getting 20.8, 20.3, 21.2. And I am so elated, praise God.
But then doubt crept in. Well, what if it was someone else? What if it was a different test mechanism? What if the gradient was different? You know, all this stuff. But you know what? Praise God, I'm going back two more weeks. I get a call from the lab director after my blood draw and I'm nervous and I'm scared and I say hello as my hands are shaking and the doctor says, jordan, I have your results. And I said, share them please, with my cracked voice. And he says, jordan, I have never seen this in 40 plus years of medicine.
Your blood test three different ways. 000. And I'm literally like tears, Elated.
So excited. Praise God. Called Dr. Brasco, the gastroenterologist friend, and he said, jordan, I'm so excited for you, but I really would love sort of a second.
A second result because I believe that, you know, that would be pretty important.
And.
But in the meantime I'm excited. And then I'm thinking to myself, well, but you know, it's. It's zero blood marker. But what if. What if they calculated it wrong? What if it's somebody else? But then forget it.
I want to believe. Help my unbelief. The final two weeks, I'm at the end stretch and I'm going towards this goal. Eating, drinking, sauna, sun, forgiving, working my butt off. Faith without works is dead. I'm believing, I'm praying and I'm working.
And the 40th day comes and goes. I get my blood work and then I have my CT scan. And remember folks, I grew up Baptist. And I'm going to share some things theologically that you may agree with and you may not, but guess what? I became Pentecostal, you might say, during this battle. And I don't really identify myself with any denomination, but I'm in this CT scan a little bit claustrophobic. My nose is practically touching the top. You know, you're a Jewish guy in a CT tube. Your nose is pretty, pretty tight there. And I'm praying in the spirit. I'm believing. I hate that I had contrast fluid in my body. But you know what? This is not for me. This is for me and those I'm going to help. Done with the CT scan, my wife and I go out to dinner to celebrate the 40 days I ate a very healthy, delicious broiled or steamed fish or something with some veggies. Nothing crazy at all. That's my kind of celebration.
And I get my blood work back. The doctor calls and after all this time, my hand's still shaking. By the way, if you're listening, it's OK to doubt we're human.
And he says, jordan, the results have been confirmed. 000. I'm thrilled. And then I make the mistake to go on WebMD and some other websites, which I did not go on. And I asked this question because this is what we deal with.
I said, is there a possibility of someone with embryonal testicular cancer with metastasis to the lymph node? All the stuff.
Could they have zeros on hcg and still have tumors that are malignant. And of course, I find some negative things, but either way, I'm getting these CT scan results. And, Doc, I'm taking a long time on this, and I believe that it's for someone who's listening, because a cancer diagnosis is so devastating. And whether it's you, your loved one, I'm done with it. To hell with cancer.
Um, I want to fight it every step of the way. And so the day that my CT scan results come in, now, remember, I didn't have an oncologist who I was working with. No one ordered these. Who was going to read them, other than my buddy, Dr. Brasco. And he said, send them directly to the patient. In this case, me.
So I got a call that they were ready with the results at the radiology center and I could come pick them up.
I was sitting at the counter in my kitchen with my wife, holding a glass of water, and the thought of getting those results, the weight of what would be my future, my job, my ministry, my mission. And I started shaking with my hand, and the glass drops and shatters in like a million pieces. And I said, nikki, you're going to need to drive me to the radiology center.
She agreed. And she pulled up, and everything slowed down.
I see these glass doors as I'm about to open them, and there's a receptionist that's holding a manila envelope that was kind of thick, reminiscent of that same folder that was dropped on the desk upon my diagnosis and prognosis. When the doctor said, we have more to discuss, I walk in and I grab it and I say, nikki, we need to go outside before I open these. I didn't want to do it in the office.
And I open them up, and I pull out the top pages, and I see lesions, and I see enlarged lymph nodes, and I see positive, positive. And I am just devastated, and my heart sinks. And then I scan the top of the page, and the date was my original diagnosis.
They had included my initial diagnosis and CT scans, which I never read because they were read to me by the oncologist. And I thought for a second, Lord, you have a sense of humor, and you are never early and you are never late, but, man. And then I flip the pages, and I see normal, normal, normal, normal. And I dropped the folder, and I grabbed my wife, and we're crying. And you mentioned something earlier, and you were so right about my dad. We get in the car, my wife's driving. We're on my way to pick up my son, and I'm about to make the 40 best phone calls of my life.
Maybe second to Nikki's pregnant mom and dad.
I had taken a small group of people with me on this journey and I was going to tell them the news. Some were believers, some weren't. Some were employees, some were friends, some were family.
And when I called my dad, I don't know if I got words out or how many, but I think amidst the tears I said, dad, I'm cancer free. And he didn't say a word other than he was bawling because he did blame himself. I didn't blame him. He blamed himself and then went on from there making the different phone calls. And I did something that I like to talk about because it's, it's a neat part of the story. I was kind of on autopilot. This was just God as close to controlling my body as possible. We went to pick up my almost 4 year old son at preschool and I said to Nicky, I want to tell Joshua what happened to me in a way that he will understand, even though I know he will never, at three years old, fully grasp this. And I said, joshua, I have great news. We are taking you to Toys R Us, which used to be a toy store in case you're wondering. And I said, we're going to let you buy anything you want. And he was like, why?
Because that's his dream, right? Let me go to Toys R Us. I said, because God's given me a gift that is so great.
I want you to have something similar. And of course getting a toy at Toys R Us is nothing like this, but to a three, almost four year old it is.
And I knew from that moment on that my life would never be the same. I knew that I was going to spend a part of my life praying, researching and being open to God, delivering an answer for cancer. To me, I didn't want to. I don't like to use the word cure. I feel like that's medically co opted and it has certain parameters around it. But that was my belief and my journey and I started coaching people with cancer before I went public with the message.
I had a church service where I would preach once and I shared my healing story in 2011. If anyone wants to watch that, it's called To Hell with cancer on YouTube. It is a spiritual and emotional journey to conquer anything that's threatening to kill you. So check it out.
And I was interviewed by a large cancer docu series that that's where I also met Dr. Mitchell, as at one of those truth about cancer events. Now it's coming back to me. So I did an interview there in, I want to say, 2014.
But until the Biblio Diet, which was launched In September of 2025, that was the first time I've ever, in writing, shared my healing from cancer story. I never say my cancer, but my story, and in part because God has given me the revelation that I've asked for all those years ago. And I know we're kind of running late here on the podcast, but my prayer before I go on a program, and I'll be transparent about this, I pray and quote Acts 1:8, and I say either under my breath or out loud and I will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon me. And I will be your witness in Lubbock, Texas, into all the ends of the earth in this particular case. And so I don't want my message to be a canned story that is the same on every podcast and every interview.
I always want God to use me to share something that your particular audience, today and in the future, when they listen or watch, can see and hear. So I hope that is what's happening today.
But the Biblio Diet message, which we won't have time to get into in great detail, is the additional revelation that God provided from the same Bible that I had read starting in 1996 when I studied every scripture related to health, healing, food and nutrition, and again when I was battling cancer. But yet God sometimes hides in plain sight the answer for such a time as this. And that's what I believe the Biblio Diet delivers. And before we get into the close, I do want to say I mentioned the universal answer for healing is found in prayer. Not just prayer, but confession. So if you are interested, any of your viewers or listeners, if you will visit thebibliodiet.com There is a PDF download of the Healing Prayer for Cancer. It's also in the book, which you're welcome to buy wherever books are sold, but it's abbreviated. They didn't have me put the entire prayer in there because it would take up pages and pages.
So it's thebibliodiet.com look for the healing Prayer for Cancer. And if you are not battling cancer, download it and insert whatever you're battling three times a day. Take it with or without meals. That's a joke. You don't talk while you're. But praying it out loud is important. I had a friend who I was speaking with on a podcast last week and she just successfully battled skin cancer and she stressed the importance of praying the healing prayer for cancer out loud. When she couldn't do it, her husband did it for her and with her while laying hands on her.
It's important. God created the world with his voice and you have his voice inside of you. So speak it and speak life.
In addition, there's a chapter in the Biblio Diet called Healing Leaves which I believe will unlock answers for so many that is also a free PDF download. If you visit thebibliodiet.com buy the book. We have a great study guide, we have an audiobook, an ebook. But make sure to get this powerful prayer and this chapter in your hands. It's a PDF. Send it to anyone on the planet for free. Please do it.
This is why we do what we do.
[00:51:18] Speaker A: It's awesome. Jordan, we just have a few minutes left so I maybe shouldn't even ask this question but so we can do a part two maybe if it's too big of an answer. But you mentioned growing up believing a certain way, certain denominational way and praying a certain way if it be your will and then you mention no, it is his will.
How did how did you move in your understanding and your growth and maturation through your spiritual walk to where you are today?
You kind of joke Pentecostal but non denominational and just I would say the truth and the kingdom or what are some encouraging words you might give someone who's more in the denominational mindset of a certain way which this in judgment at all.
We're constantly learning. Jordan just said he's been reading the Bible for decades and both boom, a new revelation comes and that'll be for the rest of our life. We're all on our journey. Jordan doesn't have it all figured out. I don't have it all figured out. And corporately is the body though and the revelation comes and we receive one another and we have a humble heart and we have a repentant mind mean met neho turn and could change your thinking just this humbleness about us. So no judgment at all but just curious on on any words you might have to encourage people who are maybe not where you're at now in your spiritual walk, but are seeking the kingdom and seeking answers especially if they have cancer.
[00:52:46] Speaker B: You know, I would describe this similarly to a sport. There are certain people, if you're a sports fan, certain athletes that in the fourth quarter when the game's on the line, they play at a level that they never have before or were previously thought to be incapable.
I don't know what the switch was. I can tell you that during my journey I had been on stage after stage ranging from Baptist to Pentecostal, more Pentecostal than Baptist. A lot of Christian television has that theology, if you call it that. One of my mentors and who wrote the foreword to my maker's diet book, Dr. Charles Stanley, a Southern Baptist. In fact, you could argue one of the most influential Southern Baptists ever wrote a book called the Wonderful Spirit Filled Life.
He didn't believe from what I could understand in praying in the Spirit, the gift of tongues, etc. But when my life was on the line, something changed. And I believed that when God spoke through prophets and later disciples, apostles that say, by his stripes, by his wounds, you were healed. But later in the New Testament, from Peter, by his stripes I am healed, you are healed. It just switched. And I'm using Baptist as a denomination that I was a part of. That's where I learned about a relationship with Jesus. I went through a Bible study at age 16 called Experiencing God, written by Southern Baptist ministers. And it changed my life. But there was more needed. I needed to shoot better, rebound better and dribble better when my life and maybe others lives were on the line. And I wanted every gift and every aspect of fullness that the New Testament Church had. And I still to this day hear plenty of arguments back and forth. Are miracles for today, are is the gift of tongues for today, is prophecy for today. And I know there's sort of ditches on both sides, but I want what God has for me. I am open to it. I am not dogmatic about it. And I'll say this more importantly. I have a wife who chases after the things of God and she exposes me to some of these.
And we were both raised in Jesus in the Southern Baptist Church, so all of this was new to us. I'd been to conferences with thousands of people and everyone prayed in the spirit except my wife and I. And I've been at small ministries where everybody prayed in the spirit except my wife and I. I was on Benny Hinn platforms at Crusades and I moved my chair away from him so that he wouldn't call me up and try to knock me down or have me be slain in the Spirit.
I don't have it all figured out. I'm also on top of all this Jewish. I'm a Jewish believer, 99.1% according to 23andMe. I like to joke around and say I have an innkeeper and a Moabitis in my line. Innkeeper is the a rated G version of Rahab.
So all I will say is this.
If you are battling for your life, speak the promises of God. Speak what you want and follow two verses. Number one, Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. Start hoping for what you want.
And secondly, Ephesians 3:20. And he will do exceedingly, immeasurably, abundantly, more than you could ask, think or imagine according to his power within you. Stop imagining dying. Stop imagining getting sick and weak. Stop imagining the symptoms worsening and start imagining what you want. How can God work above what you imagine if you're not imagining what you want? If you're imagining you're dead? Well, maybe God will work above death.
But what if you imagine your children and your grandchildren? What if you imagine dancing at your grandchild's wedding in the midst of a terminal cancer diagnosis with grandkids that are 3 years old?
That's what we're called to do. And don't think for a minute I have it figured out or I've mastered it. I'm the one whose hand shook when the phone rang from the lab director. I'm the one who dropped the glass. I'm the one who fell in the water after I was walking on it. I'm the one who this morning in my journal and prayer time, asked God to forgive me for lacking faith that he can heal the people I'm praying for. This is not about something that I've done. It's about something that God's done in me.
And this is for you. And hopefully there are many yous that are watching no matter what you're dealing with.
God gave us the keys to the kingdom of heaven. And I know that because he gave them to Jesus. And Jesus said we will do greater things than he did. It's time we start doing it. It's not easy, it's not natural. But it's supernatural. And it's available to each and every one of us.
[00:58:24] Speaker A: Amen.
What more is there to say? Jordan, you just nailed it. 100.
It's awesome.
So good. And guys, I know it can be a battle because our five senses is right here. Those doctor reports let me run to the the natural things pharmaceutically or nutraceutically or whatever.
And what Jordan's talking about is take captive that thought, line it up with the truth that's in your spirit, man.
Over here in your soul, your intellect and your emotions going to try to get you back over five senses. The mindset on the carnal, the flesh, the five senses lead to death. The mindset on the spirit leads to life. Holy spirit communes with your spirit. The truth will come into your heart. And that heart is what's programming not only your vagus nerve, your immune system, all your physical cells.
Oh, and I know it's deep, guys, and it but so good. So get the book, the Biblio Diet.
Get online print off the PDFs like Jordan said. Get them to everybody.
And in this last few minutes, man, so good, Jordan. Guys, I just want to encourage you if that was new first time you've heard that kind of thing. Go back and listen to some of the other podcasts about how our thoughts impact our physical and your imagination. The power of that imagination. It's just how God designed it. And he told us about it in his word.
And we'll talk about that more in the future. Okay?
Jordan Rubin. Josh Ax. The great book, the Biblio Diet. Guys, check it out.
[00:59:46] Speaker B: There it is.
[00:59:48] Speaker A: Jordan, thanks for being with us. We'll have to have you back in the future. Appreciate all you're doing for mankind. The kingdom, for sure, but for everybody.
[00:59:56] Speaker B: My pleasure.
[00:59:57] Speaker A: Amazing work. Okay, everybody, I'm Dr. Ben Edwards. You're the Cure. We'll be back next week with another great show. Bye. Bye.
