Navjot Sidhu issues clarification after doctors question his claim on cancer diet

Chandigarh: After oncologists questioned his claim that a strict diet helped his wife defeat stage 4 cancer, Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu Monday clarified that the diet plan was implemented in consultation with doctors and should be considered "facilitation in the treatment".

During a press conference in Amritsar on November 21, Sidhu stated that his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu had been declared cancer-free, emphasizing the role of dietary and lifestyle changes in her recovery.

However, oncologists at Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai warned that cancer patients should not delay or stop their treatment by following unproven remedies.

In a video message posted on X on Monday, Sidhu said, "I want to say that a doctor is like God to me, and doctors have always been my priority. I have a doctor (Navjot Kaur Sidhu) at home. Whatever we have done was done with the consultation of doctors in a collaborative process."

The former Punjab Congress chief also shared the diet plan and wrote, “My wife's cancer journey involved surgeries, chemotherapy, hormonal and targeted therapy, positivity and determination to fight cancer which was facilitated by a strict diet plan inspired by Indian Ayurveda, the nobel prize winning research of Yoshinori Ohsumi for discoveries of the mechanisms autophagy and observation of eminent doctors worldwide."

The diet chart included lemon water, turmeric, apple cider vinegar, walnuts, juice made from beetroot, carrot, and amla, among other items. She also consumed neem leaves, but sugar, dairy products and wheat were removed from her diet, he said.

Sidhu also mentioned that his wife was given water with a pH level of seven.

Sidhu quoted an old saying -- 'jaisa ann, waisa mann, waisa tann' (as is the food, so is the mind and body), and added, "Consider this diet chart as facilitation in the treatment."

"My mother used to say 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' (the whole world is my family). We want to share the benefits we receive with everyone," he said.

Speaking about her experience, Navjot Kaur Sidhu said it was difficult for her to follow the diet initially but she stated to feel good after a few days.

"I began losing weight, and the swelling started reducing. I have lost 30 kg. Somewhere, the Ayurvedic diet benefitted me a lot," she said.

On November 23, Dr C S Pramesh, Director of Tata Memorial Hospital, posted a video of Sidhu's press conference on X and said, “Parts of the video imply that starving cancer by avoiding dairy products and sugar, and consuming haldi (turmeric) and neem, helped cure her ‘incurable’ cancer.”

He added, “Please don’t believe or be fooled by these statements, regardless of who they come from. These are unscientific and baseless recommendations. It was surgery and chemotherapy, which are evidence-based treatments, that made her cancer-free, not haldi, neem, or other such remedies.”