Sunshine and vitamin D supplements help to prevent breast, uterine and prostate cancers. Here are foods and other health practices you can begin today. Some of this information comes from Feed Your Tiger.
Sunshine and Vitamin D
The sun lifts our spirits and for that reason enhances digestion, circulation, and well-being. The Washington Post (May, 2004) reported another reason to bask in the sun. Most Americans, particularly African Americans, suffer from an unrecognized deficiency of vitamin D, which we get from sunshine. Ultraviolet sunrays act on the skin to produce the vitamin, which is absorbed into the body. The lack of vitamin D increases bone-thinning osteoporosis, life-threatening bone fractures, and severe tooth decay. A generation of sun-avoiders is also beginning to see serious diseases related to vitamin D deficiency–many forms of cancer, high blood pressure, depression, and immune-system disorders, such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and diabetes.
Doctors have found adults disabled by severe muscle weakness and pain until they were treated for a vitamin D deficiency. There is even a current rise in rickets cases, a bone disorder caused by vitamin D deficiency that causes bowlegs and other bone malformations. Because the nutrient’s apparently widespread functions in the body are just now being recognized, little research has been done to try to answer some of the most basic questions, such as how much is needed for optimal health.
One thing is clear; we need more vitamin D as we age and gain weight. Research has shown that vitamin D gets trapped in fat, so obese people have lower blood levels of D. They also have higher rates of cancer. People with diabetes are also prone to cancer, and their damaged kidneys have trouble converting vitamin D into a form the body can use.
The amount of vitamin D absorbed from the sun depends on where people live, skin pigment, age, and other factors. Dark-skinned people and anyone living in northern latitudes make far less than other groups. With people spending more time indoors, using sun block when they are outside, and smog obscuring the sun on many days, the amount of vitamin D people create naturally has become very low, many scientists say.
Milk is fortified with vitamin D, but most Americans get very little through their diets. That is not the case in Japan where eel, a high source of vitamin D, is a favorite dish and the number of people suffering from prostate and breast cancer is very low compared to America. Reinhold Vieth, a University of Toronto vitamin D researcher has said, “There’s been a lot of evidence emerging that indicates there’s more to vitamin D than we thought. For me it’s a no-brainer. We’re not getting enough.”
A number of studies have found low levels of vitamin D in children, the elderly, and women. One federal study of women nationwide found that nearly half of African American women of childbearing age may be vitamin D deficient.
Vitamin D interacts with every tissue in the body. The incidence of certain diseases seems to vary depending on sun exposure and vitamin D levels. Breast, colon, and prostate cancer increase the farther you get from the equator, where exposure to ultraviolet light from the sun is greatest. “The highest rate of prostate cancer is among African Americans, followed by countries in northern Europe,” said Gary G. Schwartz, a cancer researcher at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. “One way that they are alike is both groups have very low levels of vitamin D.”
Vitamin D appears to regulate the immune system, and researchers have found associations among sun exposure, vitamin D levels, and the incidence of autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, lupus, and diabetes, all diseases in which the immune system attacks the body. Some studies suggest vitamin D can reduce blood pressure, which would cut the risk for heart disease and strokes. Others suggest that low vitamin D levels may contribute to depression and other psychiatric conditions.
“It’s a major health problem,” said Michael F. Holick, Ph.D, M.D., a Boston University scientist who is the most prominent proponent of the role of vitamin D in health. Dr. Holick argues that instead of the current recommended dose of 200 to 600 international units a day, most people should be getting at least 1,000 units a day. Dr. Holick agrees with nutritionist Dr. Bernard Jensen, who recommends exposing the hands, face, arms, and legs or the back to the sun for 15 minutes a day a few days a week.
Because ultraviolet light contained in sunlight may increase skin cancer and wrinkles, many experts say people can get enough safely by taking vitamin D supplements, sidestepping the contentious sunlight debate. Food sources of vitamin D include: fish liver oils, sardines, herring, salmon, tuna, fortified milk and dairy products. (Autoimmune illnesses are aggravated by cow dairy, not goat or sheep dairy.) If you have never eaten baked eel, which is called unagi, from a Japanese restaurant, I strongly recommend its mildly sweet flavor. I enjoy baked eel along with hijiki seaweed salad, an excellent source of calcium. Grilled sardines are an excellent dish at fine Spanish and Portuguese tapas bars.
Vitamin D supplements work best when taken with vitamins A and C, choline, calcium, and phosphorus. Taken with vitamins A and C, if helps prevent colds and conjunctivitis (pink eye). Vitamin D, being fat soluble, is absorbed with fats through the intestinal walls. A good time to take vitamins A and D, calcium, and other supplements for joint comfort is at breakfast with (naturally acidic) fruit and tea. The Vitamin Shoppe makes a dry, non-oily vitamin A and D capsule using cholecalciferol as vitamin D. For comfortable digestion, use a non-fish oil vitamin D if your meal includes dairy or eggs.
If you live in an overcast or northern climate like New England or Seattle, increase your vitamin D intake, especially during winter when sunlight is reduced. Research done in Maine has shown that we lose bone mass in the lower back and legs more during winter than any other time of year. Vitamin D, calcium, and vitamin C improve circulation, muscle mass, and stamina, which helps reduce cellulite. Getting enough vitamin D certainly improves your form and endurance for running, walking, and swimming–a Tiger’s favorite exercises.
INCREASE YOUR GREENS
Green Tea
Green tea, even caffeinated green tea, has been proven useful for preventing breast cancer. Broccoli green tea or broccoli and vegetable cooking water also work well. If you need to sweeten teas, use pure vanilla extract not sugar or lemon because they both change the character of teas and foods. Sugar is acidic, therefore irritating.
Green Foods
Some studies suggest chlorella may be useful for lowering blood pressure in people who have hypertension. Chlorella (8 grams per day) can detoxify persons affected with cadmium poisoning. Chlorella prolongs survival times in persons afflicted with various forms of cancer, including breast cancer and leukemia, by boosting the immune response. It facilitates the production of important cancer-fighting substances in the body (granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), interferon gamma, and interleukin 1). It also contains a glycoprotein (named CVS) that inhibits the spread of some forms of cancer.
The first thing you might notice when taking chlorella is better digestion, especially if you have bad breath or constipation. Chlorella causes stomach lactobacilli to multiply at four times the rate of normal. It is best to take with meals to provide good digestion and assimilation of nutrients.
For people switching from a junk-food diet to a high-fiber natural foods diet, the possible temporary side-effects of chlorella are a strong cleansing reaction with gas, cramping, constipation or diarrhea. For this reason, it is a good idea to start with less than the suggested amount and gradually increase up to the recommended dose in 1-2 weeks. Very sensitive individuals may want to start with as little as a single 450-milligram capsule per day. A person cannot take too much chlorella, because it is naturally detoxifying. However, there is an individual comfort level that determines how much chlorella to take per day. The usual dose is up to 5-8 grams per day. To overcome temporary digestive discomfort, I recommend adding an herbal remedy such as Quiet Digestion pills made by Health Concerns or a cup of hot ginger and licorice tea.
It is supposed to take approximately 3-6 months for chlorella to begin to remove heavy metals from the blood, depending on the amount of chlorella taken. A person can take as much as 15-20 grams per day depending on the level of heavy metals that are present.
There are three algae and two cereal grasses that are commonly available. The algae are chlorella, spirulina, and green blue algae (aphanizomenon flas-aquae). The grasses are wheat grass and barley grass. While all five products are excellent sources of nutrients, some experts believe chlorella is the most valuable of all the green food supplements. Chlorella contains the highest chlorophyll content of any known plant. It has five to ten times the chlorophyll content of spirulina, wheat grass, and barley grass. It is higher in chlorophyll than blue green algae.
Slimming for Cancer Prevention
A one diet for all approach is especially harmful for the increasingly large number of people who need to prevent or treat cancer. Let’s take a typical example: You are a single mother working to support your small family. You want to lose about forty pounds. You avoid obviously harmful habits like smoking and drinking more than an occasional glass of wine or beer, but you can’t lose weight no matter what. In addition, you feel you may be at risk of developing cancer sometime down the line. Either someone in the family has had it, you have had it, or you live in fear of it.
When you do a computer search for cancer diet information, you are stunned by an avalanche of data. Some research on the relationship of foods and herbs to cancer seems contradictory. You feel discouraged, but still need to know what to eat and cook to lose weight and to protect yourself and your family. You are especially worried about preventing breast cancer, which seems to be nearly epidemic.
I have sifted through the current information and can offer some simple, sensible advice, foods to avoid, others to stress, and a few recipes. Let’s break the problem into steps. First, you need an approach that improves weight loss and cancer prevention. Then we can zero in on preventing breast cancer and look at foods and herbs to avoid if you have an active cancer. Lowering excess weight with healthy foods is a major part of prevention and treatment. If you cook and eat with this in mind, you may be able to prevent cancer with what you eat on a daily basis.
Cancer and Food
The importance of eating fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, whole soy products, steamed fresh fish, flax seed products, and tea is not news. However, they are important to remember. According to the National Academy of Sciences, sixty percent of all cancers in women and forty percent of all cancers in men may be due to dietary and nutritional factors. Other important factors include, of course, stress levels, pollution, age, and possibly infections or auto-immune complications. But let’s imagine that nothing else matters except diet. Which junk foods should you avoid?
Culprits that increase the risk of illness and overweight and slow recovery time show up again: Fat; animal protein; pesticides; sugar; smoked, pickled, and salt-cured foods; caffeine and especially coffee; food additives; and dangerous molds and fungi.
Good Reasons to Lower Fat
The cancers most closely associated with high-fat intake include those of the breast, colon, rectum, uterus, prostate, and kidney. Partially hydrogenated oils, commonly found in processed foods, store cancer toxins. Animal fats are also a risk because their fat stores pesticides or chemical toxins absorbed from their diet. In other words, a sick animal’s fat becomes our fat.
As we move up the food chain by eating it, we bring along the garbage from below. Samuel Epstein, M.D., professor of occupational and environmental medicine at the University of Illinois School of Public Health has said, “Although these chemicals (pesticides) for the most part have been banned or strictly regulated, they are very durable and remain in the environment for a long time. Crops grown in soil contaminated with these chemicals will pass on their residue to the animals that are fed them, where they will accumulate in the fatty tissue. If persons choose foods with the highest concentrations of these chemicals, then they, too, will build up higher and higher concentrations of the same chemicals in their own fatty tissue.”
In addition, a high intake of animal protein has been associated with an increased risk of breast, colon, pancreatic, kidney, prostate, and endometrial cancers. So much for the high fat, high protein diet!
Healthy fats and oils include: Cold, oils, including grapeseed, olive, and canola oils, avocados, and goat and sheep dairy.
Sugar and Smoke
Sugar significantly adds to the risk of breast cancer. So says Mike Adams in his articles found at www.newstarget.com. “Health Ranger” Mike, as he calls himself, quotes Harvard School of Public Health in his article: “A High-Carbohydrate Diet With Added Sugars Doubles Your Risk of Breast Cancer, Says New Research” posted Friday, August 06, 2004. The sugar/cancer connection is corroborated by researcher, Wayne Martin, of Fairhope, Alabama a 1933 graduate of Purdu University with a degree in chemical engineering whose major emphasis is biochemistry and bacteriology. His articles appear in Townsend Letter for Doctors & Patients and other medical journals. Martin believes that sugar can cause breast cancer just as estrogen does. Sugar substitutes he feels, are no better. Saccharin and cyclamates, both used as artificial sweeteners are linked to greater incidence of bladder cancer.
Two of the most outspoken critics of sugar are Patrick Quillin PhD. and Noreen Quillin, authors of Beating Cancer With Nutrition. On page 9, they write, “Cancer is a sugar feeder. . . You can slow cancer growth by lowering the amount of fuel available to the tumor cells. . . High blood glucose levels yield many diseases including cancer, heart trouble, hypertension, and yeast infections.”
Healthy sweeteners include the herb stevia and vanilla extract. It’s best to avoid a sweet tooth altogether by taking Gymnema sylvestre capsules. Smoked, pickled, and salt-cured foods contain several known carcinogenic substances, including nitrosamines and polycucyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which have been linked to cancer of the stomach and esophagus.
Additionally, potentially cancer-causing substances are produced when meat, chicken, or fish are fried, broiled, or barbecued for a long time at high temperatures. So much for the backyard barbecue!
Caffeine
Caffeine found in coffee, colas, and chocolate, is thought to be a factor for cancer of the lower urinary tract, including the bladder. Studies have found the rates for these cancers to be significantly higher in people who drink more than three cups of coffee a day. It may be the coffee itself and not the caffeine at fault.
Tea is better for weight loss and cancer prevention because it inhibits fat absorption in the gut. Red Bush tea contains a high level of antioxidants and no caffeine. Caffeine damages cellular DNA and decaffeinated coffee often relies on chemicals that resemble pesticides in its manufacture. Coffee, bacon, eggs, toast with jam: Is this starting to sound like the typical American breakfast? If so, we push the scales closer to overweight and cancer every morning. What’s a girl to do? Have corn flakes and milk?
Molds and Fungi
Sorry, aflatoxins, found in milk, cereals, peanuts, and corn, have been linked to liver, stomach, and kidney cancer. What are aflatoxins? They are a deadly form of common fungal toxin (mycotoxin), common contaminants of animal feed and human food; they grow on spoiling food. Not all are carcinogenic. Some just provoke allergies. But aflatoxins, the little devils, can mix up DNA causing unscheduled DNA synthesis and chromosomal strand breaks. It is not surprising that aflatoxin has been found in human liver and breast cancer cells. Wasn’t the old saying, “You are what you eat?” It should be: “You are what is eating you.”
There is something to be said for a breakfast of fresh fruit juice, fresh fruit, sprout bread, and tea. You might follow it with a milkthistle chaser.
Protection From Milkthistle
Studies done in 1999 at the Center for Cancer Causation and Prevention, Cancer Research Center, in Denver, affirm the anti-carcinogenic effects of silymarin, a flavonoid antioxidant isolated from milkthistle. Its anticancer effects were noted for human prostate, breast, and cervical carcinoma cells. Scientists isolated an even smaller component of silymarin called silibinin and studied its effects on cell growth, DNA synthesis inhibition, and loss of cell viability. They concluded that the anti-carcinogenic effects of silymarin are due to the main constituent silibinin.
What interests me as an herbalist is that milkthistle, the whole herb that contains the components studied in the laboratory, is stimulating, rejuvenating, and cleansing for the liver. Put simply, to clean up our act and help prevent cancer, we need to both detoxify and fortify the body.
The most easily absorbed milkthistle product is a mouth spray or dropper containing an alcohol extract. The best dose for prevention and treatment is 10 to 15 drops under the tongue three times day. If using the spray, hold the dispenser close to your mouth and spray 3 to 5 times under the tongue, three times daily between meals. The milkthistle extract should be so strong and fresh that it slightly burns your tongue. This dose can be continued for up to three months as needed. Your energy and liver function should improve by that time.
We also need to increase the body’s capacity to detoxify itself by eating foods and herbs that build health and do not tax digestion. Let’s take an interesting case to illustrate this point—breast cancer in Vermont.
Green Mountain Blues
I was shocked to hear that Vermont has one of the nation’s highest death rates for breast cancer: 29 percent compared to the already high national average of 20 percent. Compare that number with 6 to 8 percent in China! Vermont’s environment is famously clean. Heavy industry does not flourish there. Common stress does not seem to be an issue. I have always thought that an appropriate motto for the state license plate would be: “Vermont, a good place to sleep” or “Vermont: Gone Fishin.’” Diet, I think, is an important factor in Vermont’s breast cancer rate.
The McGill Journal of Medicine reported a study–“Association of Occupation and Breast Cancer Mortality in the State of Vermont, 1989-1993”–that considered 12,765 female deaths recorded for the entire state of Vermont of which 512 were attributed to breast cancer. The study considered the women’s occupation, race, and age. The mean age at death for the breast cancer cases was 67.5 years, compared to an average age of 77.5 years for deaths from other causes. Considering race, 99.6 percent of the deaths were among Caucasian females. Vermont is white bread country USA. If you want to find a more representative distribution of racial and ethnic groups including Latins, Asians, and Europeans of all creeds and colors, go to places like New York, Boston, or Los Angeles. The study found that age and race were not significant factors.
The researchers thought that since Vermont is a rural state, occupation might be a cause of breast cancer deaths. They figured that farm and forestry workers would be exposed to pesticides and therefore at risk. However, the Vermont women who died most frequently from breast cancer were executives, administrators, managers, professionals, and sometimes well-paid clerks. Housewives had the fewest cases reported. Does this mean that making money is hazardous to your health? No. It may indicate that stress level is a key factor. We already know that.
I wondered if a lack of sunshine might play a part in the high number of cancers. Reduced sun exposure leads to a vitamin D deficiency and, consequently, poor circulation and seasonal depression. On a rainy day in New England, you wonder if the entire region has turned moldy. Lack of sun exposure, and therefore vitamin D, has been linked to increased incidence of breast and uterine cancers as well as multiple sclerosis. Vermont has the highest number of cases of multiple sclerosis (an autoimmune disease) in the country. Vermont is also famous for cow dairy products, especially cheddar cheese. Cow dairy is thought to provoke autoimmune illnesses such as multiple sclerosis. That disease, prevalent in northern countries and practically nonexistent in the Mediterranean, is also believed to be related to reduced exposure to sunshine. In addition, I think a diet including fruits, vegetables, fish, olive oil, and sheep or goat dairy products plays an important role in maintaining health. China has the lowest percentage of deaths resulting from breast cancer in the world. Their diet has little in common with the typical American diet of meats, fats, fried foods, sugar, salt, cola drinks, and artificial sweeteners.
Can you believe it!? The diet factor was totally ignored by the Vermont study. There is no lack of wholesome food in Vermont. The farmers’ markets overflow with fresh local organic produce. However, a lot can happen to foods from the garden to the table. Consider, for a moment, how the diet of an administrator and a farmer might differ. People with money to spend go to expensive restaurants. What do you find in expensive New England restaurants? A sampling of local cuisines shows meats, fish, and game smeared with cream sauces. Want a sandwich? You get grilled chicken with ham, Swiss cheese, and honey mustard dressing. Want a fish? You find a seven-ounce salmon coated with pine nuts, hazelnuts, almonds, and orange sage butter. Look for something fancy and you find monkfish cooked in butter served with rabbit. Asian doctors warn against mixing meat with dairy in order to avoid parasites, worms, and toxins leading to overweight and cancer, but they never imagined fish served with cute, floppy eared rodent.
Vermonters also enjoy their local beers, breads, and heavy baked goods that smell of yeast. Studies in Japan have shown that women food industry workers who make beer and bread daily are exposed to yeast mycotoxins and develop cancer. See www.tuberose.com for current studies. One under the heading Mold and Fungus states: “Baker’s yeast is used to make bread, a documented cause of breast cancer in Japanese women. Brewer’s yeast is used to make many alcoholic beverages, all of which are known to cause breast cancer in every country where the connection has been investigated, a fact which is well documented.”
The bad news is, the study described in McGill Journal of Medicine concluded that the associations of occupation and breast cancer mortality in Vermont women do not differ significantly from those seen in larger American studies: Whatever is endangering Vermonters is also threatening the rest of us. Take note.
Anticancer Supplements
So what can we eat to lose weight and simultaneously be protected against cancer? Start with our Baseline Diet, which avoids weird food combinations and add some of the following immune-balancing foods and supplements. The National Cancer Health Record Institute (NCI) in Bethesda and the University of Texas at Houston Center for Alternative Medicine have put together a list of the most commonly used alternative remedies for cancer. They list healthfood store items such as coenzyme Q10 and include a few Asian favorites, such as shark cartilage, Coriolus versicolor mushroom (yun zhi), and green tea, available from Chinese herb stores, Asian supermarkets, and online.
Here are products helpful in preventing cancer:
Coenzyme Q10. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), synthesized naturally in the body, is used by the body as an antioxidant. It has been recommended as an antistress supplement. Because of its ability to stimulate the immune system, CoQ10 has been used for people with various types of cancer. Studies have shown that CoQ10 has lengthened the survival of people with pancreatic, lung, rectal, laryngeal, colon, and prostate cancers.
Green tea. Everyone has heard of this one. Like black tea, white tea, and oolong tea, green tea is made from the leaves of Camellia sinensis. Green tea is consumed by billions of people, who enjoy its flavor. It lowers total cholesterol levels and improves the cholesterol profile, reduces blood platelet stickiness, lowers blood pressure, and enhances the immune system. It decreases the risk of several cancers, especially those affecting the digestive system, and is very beneficial as a weight-loss aid.
Green tea contains beneficial nutrients known as polyphenols, including flavanols, flavandiols, flavonoids, and phenolic acids. Many laboratory studies have demonstrated inhibitory effects of tea polyphenols against tumor formation and growth.
Dendrobium is a cooling, moistening Chinese herb tea recommended for dry eyes and dry mouth. Sometimes dendrobium is combined with lycium fruit (gougi berries) as a soothing beverage. In April, 1995, Plant Medicine published a study that affirms that two components of dendrobium are affective against human lung cancer, ovarian cancer, and leukemia cells. It is reassuring to know that enjoyable teas can be used daily to help prevent illness.
Skullcap and Oldenlandia diffusa are detoxifying herbs that grow wild in Guanzhou in south China. South China’s climate, industry, and tourism cause pollution that aggravate asthma, skin rashes, allergies, and nervous conditions. Skullcap and Oldenlandia diffusa brewed as a tea combine the detoxifying, liver-cleansing, and calming benefits of those herbs. Both anti-inflammatory herbs are useful for slimming and for protection against certain cancers. If you want to sweeten your tea with something besides sugar, look online at www.asiachi.com for granules called Oldenlandia diffusa.
Coriolus versicolor. Research has found this Asian mushroom to have antimicrobial, antiviral, and anti-tumor properties. It increases the body’s NK (natural cancer-killing) cells because of a substance that can be extracted from its cultured mycelium, thread-like extensions. This polysaccharide K (PSK), also known as Krestin, is extensively used in Japan.
PSK prevents the formation tumors from chemicals, radiation, or other causes. PSK is considered promising for preventing cancer because of its multiple effects on the malignant process, limited side effects, and safety of daily oral doses for extended periods of time. Research shows that healthy people given a 1,000-milligram dose experienced significant cellular immune response within twelve hours.
It’s also apparently useful for people who are being treated for cancer. In one study of individuals after cancer surgery, those who were not using conventional therapy experienced significant immune benefit initially taking 3,000 milligrams daily, with a subsequent reduced dosage of 1,000 milligrams. When chemotherapy or radiation was used after surgery, significant improvements in immunity were achieved with 3,000 milligrams daily. And for people with inoperable cancers, a dose of up to 9,000 milligrams a day was used with no side-effects or toxicity.
Coriolus is not a mushroom to serve with meals, but a medicine made into capsules. I gave research information on coriolus, along with contact information for several American herb companies where it could be purchased, to one of my friends, a non-smoker who had lung cancer. She shared it with her physician. He told her he had never heard of it and, therefore, discouraged its use. She died.
Diet for Prevention vs. Diet for Treatment
A very basic consideration is: Do foods that protect us against cancer work for us if we develop the disease? In other words, should the diets for prevention and treatment be the same? According to New York cancer expert Dr. Raymond Chang, the answer is a resounding NO. I met him one evening at SHARE, an organization of survivors of breast and uterine cancer.
Formerly with the staff of Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, oncologist Dr. Chang advises his private patients to prevent cancer with healthy high fiber foods; vitamin D3; soy products, including tofu; maitake mushrooms; and green tea. Soy, he believes, is good for the non-hormonal cancers in women and is “wonderful” for men. Dr. Chang believes that green tea, which is cleansing, is fine for both prevention and treatment. Melatonin seems fine for prevention and treatment of cancers. He said there are significant studies that indicate the lower the melatonin levels in the body, the higher the risk of (breast) cancer. Antistress supplement melatonin is used in Italy as a therapy to reduce the adverse effects of chemotherapy. In America, it is easily available over-the-counter.
Dr. Chang uses PSK (Krestin, Coriolus versicolor) in his practice. Health professionals can order it from Health Concerns in California. Dr. Chang supports the use of ganoderma (ling zhi mushroom available in Chinese herb shops and online), calcium D-glucorate, and the Chinese immune-balancing herb astralagus. Finally, he considers acupuncture to be a good therapy to help with nausea, pain, and relaxation.
Active Cancer? Avoid These Foods and Medicines
The same hormone-stimulating foods that protect against cancer can increase a cancer that is hormone-dependent. A medical test given by a doctor can inform you if you have an estrogen-sensitive cancer (for women) or testosterone-sensitive cancer (for men.) In an interview found on www.annieappleseedproject.org, Dr. Chang warned breast cancer patients to avoid the following:
• Soy, flax and other estrogenic foods (where estrogen-receptor positive [ER+] cancer is found
• Estrogenic herbs, such as rosemary, ginseng, black/blue cohosh, dong quai
• Antihistamines, prolactinogens (prolactin-stimulating drugs) (tryptophan, Tagamet, Cimetidine)
• Copper, niacin (B3), boron
• DHEA and progestational creams (like Progest)
Junk Foods and Drug Problems
Some commonly used over-the-counter medicines such as Tagamet, recommended for digestive complaints, influence the body’s production of prolactin. Prolactin is a single-chain protein hormone closely related to growth hormone that is secreted by a broad range of cells in the body. Prolactin seems to have a modulatory role in several aspects of immune function. Excess prolactin – hyperprolactinemia – is a common problem that can sometimes result from medical drugs. Prolactin’s major target organ is the mammary gland. Excessive prolactin in women can cause amenorrhea (lack of menstrural cycles) and galactorrhea (spontaneous secretion of milk); whereas men show hypogonadism with decreased sex drive, decreased sperm production and impotence along with breast enlargement.
Here’s the problem: The more junk food we consume, the more acid reflux, indigestion, and upset stomach we develop. When we use chalky indigestion drugs to ease pain, and the result is side-effects. The image conjures up a front page picture of a man wearing a bra and caption headline: “Man grows bust from eating fries.” That’s extreme. But we can safely say, most people would more easily pop a pill than improve their diet.
Besides unwanted sexual changes, drug side-effects and drug interactions are a major problem. At www.rxlist.com The Internet Drug Index we read: “Tagamet has been reported to reduce the hepatic metabolism of warfarin-type anticoagulants, phenytoin, propranolol, nifedipine, chlordiazepoxide, diazepam, certain tricyclic antidepressants, lidocaine, theophylline and metronidazole, thereby delaying elimination and increasing blood levels of these drugs.’ That means that close monitoring of drug actions is recommended, which creates an ever greater dependence on the drugs and the experts who administer them.] For more information, the government has established a database for complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) at http://cancernet.gov/cam.
Quite a lot of information on foods, herbs, chemicals, and cosmetics to avoid is offered online by non-drug company sources. The Women’s Therapeutic Institute offers “Breast Cancer News” by The Mid Hudson Options Project, Inc. a grass roots organization that details CAM treatments. The newsletter is located at many websites.
Here is a practical summary:
Phytoestrogens, naturally occurring plant estrogens produce chemicals that mimic estrogen, and block progesterone. In general, they may pass through the body within several days in contrast to the months or even decades that the dangerous xenoestrogens take to be excreted. There are so-called weak and strong phytoestrogens. A “weak” plant or natural estrogen, such as those found in health foods, may be protective against cancer-causing “strong” xenoestrogens, such as those found in pesticides. A “strong” phytoestrogen may make the disease worse. In her research Lilian Thompson, Ph.D., showed that ground flax seed (a weak plant estrogen) taken as food reduced breast cancer size to one half between the time of diagnosis and surgery. Flax seed oil and soy oil do not have the active phytoestrogens. Sunflower oil may or may not contain active hormone components.
Whole grains, fruits, seeds, beans and herbs all are know to have estrogen and/or progesterone activity. How can we be safe? Any food that has been eaten by a culture for centuries is probably all right to eat if the people in question are relatively free from estrogen-related diseases. Our best examples are China and Japan, where the number of cancers are low and survival rates are high. People who hope to prevent and treat hormone sensitive tumors are advised to avoid the following:
Coffee. Coffee is a known phytoestrogen. Coffee is commonly known to make fibrocystic breast disease worse. Research has shown that it is not its caffeine, but coffee itself that strongly mimics estrogen. Thus, decaffinated coffee still may be estrogenic.
Hormonal herbs. David Zava, Ph.D. has shown that the following herbs stimulate the growth of estrogen receptor positive breast cancer cells. They should be avoided by women with estrogen-sensitive cancers: Fennel, licorice, red clover, yucca, hops (in beer), and motherwort. Red clover and yucca are also problematic.
There are separate estrogen and progesterone receptors. Dr. Zava, showed that the following herbs compete against any natural progesterone taken. None of them are progesterone stimulators. People using synthetic progesterone (pills or creams) should avoid: Alfalfa sprouts, bloodroot, ocotillo, mandrake, oregano, damiana, pennyroyal, verbenna, nutmeg, yucca, thyme, calamus root, goldenseal, mistletoe, cumin, chamomille, cloves, hops in beer, and motherwort. Bloodroot, mandrake, pennyroyal, yucca, and mistletoe all have very strong progesterone binding activity and are used as abortifacents (create an abortion), and to bring on menses. Bloodroot was used in England to treat breast cancer 100 years ago, and herbalists today use it to treat breast cancers, nasal polyps, and cervical dysplasia. Mistletoe has been used for one hundred years in Europe to treat breast cancer and leukemia.
Estrogen: Friend and Foe
Remember the common side-effects of the birth control pills dating from the 1960s? That pill contained so much estrogen that women developed swollen, painful breasts, headaches, complexion blemishes, and mood swings. Some women developed uterine cancer as a result of having excess estrogen, and lawsuits finally forced the manufacturers to reduce the estrogen content. Most people are aware that current research has proven a direct link between synthetic hormone replacement and breast and uterine cancers.
Estrogen and progesterone stimulate the growth of normal breast cells as well as some breast cancer cells. If cancer is present, your doctor will order a test to see if the cancer is sensitive to estrogen and progesterone. If a tumor is estrogen-receptor positive (ER-positive), it is more likely to grow in a high-estrogen environment. ER-negative tumors are usually not affected by the levels of estrogen and progesterone in your body.
Women who ave passed menopause are also at risk. After the ovaries no longer produce estrogen, the adrenal glands produce another hormone that is converted into estrogen by the body. That estrogen can still stimulate tumor growth. So estrogen and progesterone are important considerations even for women who have stopped menstruating. General information and advertisements for drug therapy can be found at www.breastcancer.org, a non-profit organization located in Narberth, Pennsylvania. However, for our purposes, we have to look far beyond drug therapies.
The following information is useful for healthy women who require phytoestrogens from plants in order to maintain normal menstrual periods, joint comfort, and a youthful appearance. Estrogen from plants acts in many ways like our own estrogen. For example, it is commonly believed that reduced estrogen production is one reason why mature women develop cellulite. We should not lose weight at the expense of our health.
Xenoestrogens: Deadly Chemicals That Mimic Estrogens
Research has demonstrated that synthetic chemicals found in pesticides, herbicides, plastics that are heated, detergents, soaps, industrial chemicals, and cosmetics, all of which are very different in structure from estrogen may act as an estrogen. Called xenoestrogens, these substances may either bind to or stimulate the estrogen receptors in the body or imitate the effects of estrogen. They may elicit an abnormal estrogen response. Therefore, these chemicals can cause breast cancer, uterine cancer, fibrocystic breast disease, ovarian cysts, endometriosis, premature sexual development, and uterine fibromas. Some researchers have hypothesized that since the prostate and uterus are embyrologically the same, xenoestrogens may also cause benign prostatic hypertrophy and prostate cancer. Some xenoestrogens like DDE (a metabolite of DDT) may persist in the body fat for decades.
You, a careful cook, may think you are safe from most chemical poisons because you use organic foods grown without pesticides. But harmful estrogens can enter the body in other ways. In one Dartmouth University study, the researchers found that plastic wrap with olive oil heated in a microwave produced a concentration of xenoestrogens 500,000 times the minimum amount of estrogen needed to produce breast cancer cell proliferation in a test tube.
You are at risk if you eat foods grown with pesticides and herbicides such as DDT, endosulfan, dieldrin, methoxychlor, kepone, toxaphene, chlordane, and other chlorinated hydrocarbons. DDT is banned in the United States. However, it is present in imported produce. One of my students, originally from Latin America, worked as an airport customs inspector in charge of checking imported foods for contaminants and pesticides. I asked her which foods she avoided and which she ate. She smiled and told me that she ate mostly cooked dried beans because many pesticides cannot cross the barrier of the bean’s tough skin. Her diet is extreme, but you get the picture.
Where you live will greatly affect your exposure to environmental toxins. Farms, lawns and golf courses use pesticides and herbicides that easily enter the body through the skin and lungs. Golf courses use seven times the amount of pesticides that farmers use.
Medicines to Avoid
There are a number of pharmaceuticals that act like estrogens in the body and should be avoided. These include drug estrogens (Prempro, DES, and Premarin), Cimetidine (Tagamet), and birth control pills. And marijuana to the list. The Physician’s Desk Reference (PDR) lists gynecomastia (breast enlargement in men) as a side effect for the ulcer medicine Tagamet. Many of the synthetic estrogens used in patented drugs are chemically modified to be different from naturally occurring estrogen. Thus, they may have grave side effects. There is also evidence that they can be stored in our fat for months. This is yet another good reason to cleanse the body as you reduce fat.
We can skip the long list of cancer-provoking substances found in ordinary household cleaners, such as laundry and dish detergents, industrial chemicals, and dangerous preservatives such as the parabens (methyl paraben, ethyl paraben, proply paraben, butyl paraben), used in skin care products. To safely condition your skin, you might use a slimming massage oils.
However, your method of cooking matters. Avoid using plastic with food and water whenever possible. Especially avoid heating food or water in plastic. When food and or water is heated with plastic, the diffusion of plastic into the food and water is much worse. Avoid plastic cups for serving hot beverages. Heat food in the microwave using ceramic plates and bowls. Avoid teflon and other non-stick frying pans. If you must use them occasionally, wipe them clean with a wet sponge or paper towel. Never scrub them or put them into the dish washer. Tiny bits of the non-stick surface can come off, be scratched off during cleaning, or flake off when the pan is used in the oven. The coating is highly toxic.
Be comforted: If you follow our Baseline Diet in Feed Your Tiger, increase green tea and avoid obvious threats to healthy weight loss, such as animal fats, sugar, coffee, canned and processed foods, you can stay safe. Lovingly-prepared, simple, wholesome foods provide a way to nourish and protect yourself and your family, a way to teach children healthy habits, and the foundation of physical and emotional wellbeing. When illness threatens, we also have herbs.
When a close family member developed breast cancer, I traveled to China to discover why that country has the world’s best survival rate for that disease. I studied herbs and acupuncture in a Shanghai hospital with Dr. Cao, a cheerful, vigorous Chinese acupuncture doctor with over forty years of hospital experience. I witnessed and gave acupuncture treatments for a variety of health complaints ranging from weight loss to everyday aches and pains and chronic depression. Dr. Cao treated, among other conditions, thyroid abnormalities, schizophrenia, and cancer with acupuncture and herbal medicines according to the symptoms, the stage of illness, and the patients’ particular needs. In large Chinese cities, hospitals specialize in disease treatments: I have visited hospitals for tumor diseases, others for neurological problems including stroke, and in most cases, the hospital pharmacies make their own herbal formulas to fit specific needs of each patient.
I think that Asian women generally handle breast health better than we Americans. Relatively few of them smoke or drink alcohol. The Chinese and Japanese diets have less fat. Throughout my Chinese travels during the 1980s and 1990s, sometimes staying with families, I never saw dairy foods; canned foods; coffee; artificial foods, such as chemical sweeteners; or genetically altered soy products. If Chinese women develop breast discomforts such as pain, swelling, or lumps, or in more serious cases, a discharge from the nipple, a patch of discolored skin or a dent in the breast, they go straight to the acupuncturist/herbalist. No regular mammograms or elaborate diets are provided for the vast majority of Chinese women. I asked Dr. Cao, about an anticancer diet and was told quite simply: Avoid fried and spicy foods and alcohol. Now that American food companies are making headway in China, we should watch to see if their heart disease, diabetes, and cancer statistics begin to approach ours.
Breast cancer is complicated by hormonal issues and circulation troubled by diet and emotions. Breast cancer may be a disease of trying too hard and too fast to move into modern life. A celebrated Tibetan doctor Yeshe Donden, one of my favorite teachers who lives in Dharamsala, north India, told me women get breast cancer from wearing tightly binding bras that impair circulation and, more significantly, from using birth control pills that contain such a high estrogen level that they are banned in the United States. In Shanghai, a city that is larger than New York, Dr. Cao said that breast cancer is a disease of melancholy. Women who are often upset, who feel abused or neglected, and those who hold a grudge, develop poor circulation in the chest. The underlying problem of emotional discomfort aggravates poor circulation, low immunity, and hormone imbalances, he maintains.
One very simple prevention remedy that he suggested is a Chinese over-the-counter digestive pill, Xiao Yao Wan, which is not a cancer medication but improves many aspects of health and wellbeing. Its ingredient–ginger, mint, bupleurum, atractylodes, peony, dang quai, and fuling–ease digestion, chest and rib cage circulation, and help prevent depression and anxiety. Its digestive, aromatic, and diuretic herbs ease the flow of qi energy in our emotional and digestive center. It proves again that good digestion is a key to good health.
Race, Diet, and Cancer
Finally, let’s take a look at the sensitive topic of race and cancer. There is plenty of scientific evidence that American women of color develop cancers more frequently then white women. Finally, doctors are starting to look at why. However, crunching numbers with science alone will not give us answers. Let’s consider two African-American women whom you may recognize as being very much like people you know.
Linda was born in Chicago. She attended college there and gained fifty pounds from eating mostly coffee and donuts while studying for exams. She became a teacher and married, but her unhappy marriage ended within a year. Her emotional ups and downs left her feeling unsettled and angry. Now, in her thirties, she can’t find a job. She wants to have a child, but her periods seem to be irregular. She spends days bingeing then fasting or snacking on peanuts and cola. Her main source of protein, peanut butter, cannot sustain her energy. Her graduate school diet of coffee and pastry has persisted, and her vitality and digestion are exhausted. She is fifty pounds overweight. Her abdomen and legs are swollen from edema. Recently she noticed a suspicious lump in her breast.
Another example, we will call Terri, is a media personality pulling in a big salary. The world is at her feet. Her public adores her. She is thirty pounds overweight. She followed a high protein/high fat diet for a while but had to stop because of the bad breath and nervousness it caused. Now she adds fruits and juices to her diet. Concerned about her image and career, she takes synthetic hormone therapy prescribed by her doctor to stay young and to prevent menopausal complaints. She has high blood pressure and occasional headaches. Her massage therapist found lumps in her breast that feel uncomfortable to the touch. She refuses to consider that she may have a health problem. She consulted with me for thinning hair.
I have purposely described two extreme examples. Their backgrounds, working conditions, financial security, and personal habits are different, but their problems have important things in common. They are both overweight. Their dietary habits are irregular. They suffer from chronic stress. They have mastitis (painful swollen breasts) and emotional issues.
They each require a professional medical exam to determine the status of their breast lumps. If there is no malignancy, the first step for their recovery might be healthy weight loss. Serious health issues dependant upon weight include high blood pressure, depression, hormone imbalances, and possibly even cancer. An irregular, non-nourishing diet cannot support qi energy, the basis of immunity to illness.
Losing weight could improve Linda’s outlook and chances of getting a job and/or conceiving a child. Losing weight might improve Terri’s high blood pressure and reduce certain menopausal complaints. Weight loss is never a simple matter. Some people feel that losing weight causes them to relinquish personal power. For them, being big represents wealth and importance. We do not all have to look alike and we should not try to. However, maintaining a steady, healthy, comfortable weight supports immunity and digestion. That reduces physical and emotional stress.
One overweight woman told me, “Competition for men and jobs is challenging for everyone, but black women are expected to try harder. I climbed out of my parents’ socioeconomic box. I want my own home on my terms. But it is difficult to find a man who can accept me as I am.”
At www.annieappleseedproject.org, a study suggested that the greater prevalence of obesity among African-American women explained almost one third of the observed differences between African-American and white women in breast cancer diagnosis. The North Carolina study observed 791 breast cancer cases (302 African-American women and 489 white women) diagnosed between 1993 and 1996. African-American women were more likely to have later-stage breast cancer and were much more likely to be severely obese.
The study concluded that obesity and body fat distribution, in addition to socioeconomic and medical care factors, contribute to racial differences in the stage at which breast cancer is diagnosed. It was found that one third of the obese black women in this study were poor and many lacked medical care and followup. They also smoked and had a poor diet. That may be why they developed later stages of cancer. Another study found at that website concluded that black women with breast cancer were often not informed by their doctors about breast reconstruction after breast surgery. It was assumed that the women did not want it, could not afford it, and would not pay for it.
The North Carolina study was not prescriptive. It only studied the relationship of obesity to cancer, not the cause of obesity. What is the link between obesity and cancer? The typical Southern diet–fried foods, pork, sweet potatoes swimming in butter, white dough biscuits, and gravy–may make your mouth water, but it adds pounds and inches. At www.annieappleseedproject.org Annie comments, “The North Carolina study does not speak to healthy dietary plans. Fruits and vegetables, olive oil, flaxseed oil, low salt, low sugar, whole grains may make the difference in health regardless of weight.” Annie’s suggestions could be incorporated without trouble into our Baseline Diet. However, with food and with women, there is always more than what meets the eye. Food embodies an enduring, heart-felt relationship. It can uphold our self-esteem. Consider the following example.
I once met an attractive, slim bank executive, Ms. Jones, who flew home each year to Jamaica to bring back a suitcase of Cerassie tea. She said, “At home everyone drinks it to cleanse the entire body and reduce fat.” The tea had a slightly bitter refreshing flavor. I recognized the tea as bitter melon (Momordica charantia), useful for diabetes, weight loss, and complexion blemishes. It is available in Chinese and East Indian groceries and online. Had she known, she might have bought it in New York’s Chinatown. To her, the tea tasted like home. Afternoons at the bank, the final reports done, Ms. Jones could shut her office door, slip off her shoes, drink a cup of Cerassie tea as though on her mother’s veranda. Health problems that we women face are influenced by our feelings of being loved.
At a health conference in New York I sat next to a beautiful, white-haired southern woman. She had been a lawyer in a small town then had moved North to become an M.D. internist. Her black eyes saw into the heart of things. She told me, black women develop calcification around the heart when they feel racial prejudice. They develop heart murmurs. It has been scientifically documented. Women feel, both physically and emotionally, the other person’s experience of them. Our breast and lungs, our breath of life, express the heart’s message. Overweight can become a protective cushion, a fortress that comforts us inside and distances those outside.
Instead of storming the fortress with a new diet, you may want to comfort yourself with a delicious afternoon tea. Rooibos (red bush) tea from Africa has a mild soothing flavor and attractive red color. It is full of antioxidants to lift your spirits and enhance immunity to illness. Chinese red rose bud tea is also delightful. The petals open in your cup and the aroma is like a stroll in the garden.
Thank you for all this information, Letha! You are very generous in sharing your knowledgd, much appreciated!
The current issue of Life Extension has an article on Vitamin D3. The good news headline from it is that 3/4’s of all cancer could disappear in four years if everyone took enough vitamin D3! Here is the link
http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2007/oct2007_awsi_01.htm
Thanks Jean!
That is good news! I have heard Dr. Raymond Change – NYC oncologist also praise vitamin D3
That is the non-fish oil vitamin D. For a lower price, I get my D3 through Puritan Pride or Vitamin Shoppe. I take a handful ( 4 – 5 pills) that are 1,000 mgs each a total of 4 -5 grams daily since —where is the sun in NYC?
Hi,
I have a question where you say “And marijuana to the list. ” of medicines that mimic estrogen in the body. I’ve heard that THC the active ingredient in marijuana may fight cancer. I am living with breast cancer with mets to the bone and do smoke marijuana to ease symptoms.
Can you explain more about the estrogenic properties of marijuana? Aside from that I’m already following most of your recommendations.
Hi Barbara
I have heard Dr. Andrew Weil promote the medicinal use of marajuana in late stages of cancer as a pain killer- but am not sure if he meant estrogen-sensitive cancers such as breast cancer or prostate cancer. He was not specific at that time.
Here is my source of the quote about avoiding marajuana. It comes from http://www.annieappleseedproject.org. The article is long and good. I recommend reading it.
The article is:
Chemicals, Food, Herbs that are Estrogenic
Avoid Chemicals, Foods and Herbs that Act as Estrogens
Source: Women’s Therapeutic Institute
Here is where marajuana was mentioned as a drug to avoid:
Pharmaceuticals such as drug estrogens (Prempro, DES, and Premarin), Cimetidine( Tagamet), Marajuana, and Birth Control Pills. The Physician’s Desk Reference (PDR) lists gynecomastia (breast enlargement in men) as a side effect for Tagamet. Many of the synthetic estrogens are chemically modified to be different from naturally occurring estrogen to increase profits from a patented drug. Thus, they may have grave side effects. Also there is some evidence that they may be stored in the fat for months.
Here is annieappleseedprojects suggestions for avoiding cancer:
Solution 1. Avoid using plastic with food and water whenever possible. Especially avoid heating food or water in plastic. When food and or water is heated with plastic, the diffusion of plastic into the food and water is much worse. Heat up food in the microwave using ceramic plates and bowls. 2. Do not use pesticides or herbicides on the lawn or in your house. Eat Organic food. Organic food is grown without pesticides, herbicides and synthetic fertilizer. Minimize canned food. 3. Change your laundry detergent to powdered detergent from the health food store without additives. Use Simple Soap as a shampoo and bath soap. Use dish washing liquid from the health food store. 4. Do not use Birth Control Pills. Use a condom instead without spermicide. Do not use HRT. Use a triple antibiotic for stomach ulcers and gastritis instead of Tagamet. 5. Eat meat grown without hormones. Commercial lamb and fish usually are hormone free. 6. In general, the hormones taken orally are first pass metabolized by the liver 80% 90%. However, when these hormones are applied to the skin, the hormones are directly absorbed by the body. Thus, any skin dose is 10 times that of an oral dose. The vast majority of skin lotions and creams use the parabens as a preservative. Avoid them at all costs. Instead apply a vegetable oil right after a shower to hydrate the skin and lock in the moisture. 7. Avoid Coffee, Beer, Sunflower Seeds, Red Clover Tea, Camomille Tea. Avoid Sunflower seeds, Pomegranate, Licorice, Red Clover, Yucca, Hops (Beer) and Motherwort, Bloodroot, Ocotillo, Mandrake, Oregano, Damiana, Pennyroyal, Verbenna, Nutmeg, Tumeric, Yucca, Thyme, Calamus rt., Red Clover, Goldenseal, Licorice, Mistletoe, Cumin, Fennel, Camomille, Cloves, Queen Anne’s lace (wild carrot), Fennel, Alfalfa Sprouts.
Breast Cancer News is brought to you by the The MID HUDSON OPTIONS PROJECT, INC
Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training.
Fantastic post about breast cancer prevention…very helpful and healthful…
Alternative breast cancer treatments are complementary alternative breast cancer treatment therapies include naturopathic medicine, nutritional therapy, and more. These alternative treatments are designed to help the whole person to fight cancer.
Hi Letha,
I wanted to reiterate my profound thanks for the winterizing class I was guided to attend Friday the 30th at the Open Center.
I can’t wait for you to return in the spring so I can sign up for the tour of chinatown!
I ran right down after class and bought your book Feed Your Tiger and started devouring it.
Question: My father I mentioned to you had prostate surgery 3 1/2 years ago and now has a PSA result of .2. You told me of the broccoli treatment and I was wondering if he should take PSK?
Thank you for all you do.
Love and light, Deborah
Hi Deborah
It was a pleasure to see so many enthusiastic friends at that class. I enjoyed it too.
Thanks for your question.
For people who might not know, PSK is Coriolus versicolor medicinal fungi –
Known as Krestin or PSK in Japan, and as PSP or Yun zhi in China, the hot water extract of this medicinal mushroom is the world’s most thoroughly researched supplement for serious immune challenges. There have been more than 400 animal studies and over a dozen placebo-controlled double-blind human clinical studies published in peer reviewed medical journals.
It can be used with or without chemo therapy because it increases NK natural cancer-killing cells. It is cooling and soothing for the body. I cook it regularly with reishi in a crockpot. If you prefer, the pill Coriolus PS can be ordered from Health Concerns or see fungi.com for research and mushroom capsules.
Please stay in touch. It was so nice to meet you, L.
I’m taking progestron pills i have estrogen postive breast cancer, should I be taking this…?
thank you
Sharon
Personally I would avoid anything hormonal. Dr. Raymond Chang a NYC oncologist suggests that for estrogen-positive cancers all hormonal foods and herbs should be avoided – Green tea is ok but not soy foods. Progesterone and estrogen have an important relationship to eachother. Avoid complicating your treatment. But check with your MD. It is a medical problem not an herbal one.
You have excellent analysis. thanks for writting
Hello webmaster t Cancer Prevention at Letha’s Asian Health Secrets was very well written. Good job.
I have been delving into the alternative search for ‘cancer answers’. My mother died of malignant melanoma when I was 14, we then lost my brother suddenly not even nine months later with no diagnoses. My aunt took over most responsibilities with care arrangements, memorial services, and me…
Seven Years later, she has been diagnosed with an aggressive terminal cancer (too rare to be defined?), within two months she looked six months pregnant. I have been doing research for an entry level paper on food industry violence, and have happened upon a couple things.
We are a very aware family, drink little caffine, eat organic, and use natural solutions for cleaning. My aunt has just passed menopause, I feel like there is a possibility her cancer may be estrogen/progesterone related. I am grasping at every ounce of info I can…We think holistically as a family, but the fight against dogmatic medical cancer facilities is a challenging one. Are there things that she could do in conjunction with Chemo (it is working very well), she is struggling with constipation, and is on an industrial amount of medicines. I’ve happened upon aloe vera…are there other alternative methods she could take in conjunction with chemo? Are they discussed in the book? Do you know of any other books, articles, online information? I am in university and a mom myself, between those activities, I’m trying desperately to understand more…it’s so challenging to sift through articles and define what is relevant and not. We need her to get better.
The key to it all is we have to eat right and exercise. Our bodies consist of over 10 trillion cells. Eating right and exercising will help these cells to be in their very best optimal “shape”! This helps with proper cell communication resulting in overall well being and allowing you to be more properly equipped to handle those bumps in the road that you will without a doubt encounter. Plus exercising and proper diet also will aid in the fight against stress which is thought to be the main culprit in so many of the diseases that plague us today. I suggest at least 3 days a week for approximately 45-60 minutes at a time concentrating on maintaining a 70-75% maximum heart rate. You should combine cardio and strength training as they both have very beneficial qualities Studies suggest that by joining an online fitness/weight loss support group you are likely to have 3 times the success in achieving your goals than those that don’t.
http://healthylivingtricks.blogspot.com
Hello Whitney
Thank you for writing. Cancer is complex and attacks on levels–It weakens energy, vitality, and our outlook for the future. To fight a complex enemy, we need complex weapons that address many health issues. Among them are medicinal mushrooms. I was first introduced to their healing power by Dr. Andrew Weil and Paul Stamets. I wrote about mushrooms in my books – Healthy Beauty and Feed Your Tiger. Mushrooms and fungi are at least 25% polysaccharides – very complex molecules that fight disease by increasing vitality and natural defenses.
In China, doctors use turkey tail mushrooms – Coriolus versicolor to increase NK – natural cancer -killing cells. They often combine several mushrooms such as reishi, turkey tail, shiitake and enoki. An easy way to use them is in pills. Health Concerns makes Coriolus PS (turkey tail) in pills also Power Mushroom pills, a combination of mushrooms. They are recommended when a person takes strong herbal medicines over a period of time. Cleansing herbs can be draining and the mushrooms are added to keep up our strength and defense against weakness, illness, and depression. I recommend them unless a person is allergic to mushrooms.
Another way to use them is to cook them at home. It cost less that way. I cook reishi and coriolus together in a crock pot (slow cooker ) for 3 hrs at high heat, let it cool and keep it refrigerated when storing it. One glass a day is enough to help regulate digestion, reduce inflammatory issues (often accompany cancers and pre-cancers) and protect against heart trouble (reduce cholesterol); and help protect against cancers developing or spreading.
Mushrooms are safe to use long term for most people. Few or no side effects. If they seem too cooling or laxative, ginger can be added.
Just because your family has had cancer does not mean it will happen to you. If your diet, habits and outlook are different from them, you have a better chance at wellness.
all best, L.