When men dressed like Franciscan monks, wearing sandals and brown hooded robes belted with a rope, appeared in Kathleen O’Keefe-Kanavos’ dreams in 1999 and told her she had breast cancer, she didn’t ignore them although her recent mammogram, Pap smear and blood work had revealed no abnormalities.

Listening to her dreams, or what can better be described as nightmares, she badgered her doctors for different tests but instead was given three more mammograms and four blood tests over a four-month period. Still, no health issues were discovered. Her doctors repeatedly told her to go home, that she was healthy. While most of us might be happy to receive a clean bill of health, it was unsettling to O’Keefe-Kanavos because her nightly nightmares told her otherwise.

“I did want to believe (that I was healthy),” said O’Keefe-Kanavos, who today proudly calls herself a two-time breast cancer survivor. “But my guides were saying, ‘No, don’t even go there.’ ”

Neither her mother nor her mother’s doctor had been as diligent about the mother’s health. Her 80-year-old mother’s diarrhea was so severe that she couldn’t leave home. Her doctor’s solution was prescription drugs. The diarrhea continued for six months, during which time the doctor told her that she was free to change doctors if she didn’t agree with him.

“She was scared to change doctors,” O’Keefe-Kanavos said of her mother, who was like her best friend after growing up an only-child Army brat and changing schools frequently. “That generation worships their doctor.”

Eventually, there was blood in her mother’s stools. Severe colon cancer was detected and six months following surgery, her mother died.

With her mother’s passing having just occurred several months earlier, O’Keefe-Kanavos was determined not to be a sideline player with her own health care. She insisted to her doctor that further examinations were necessary to find her breast cancer.

“Not everyone has that much energy,” said the daughter who wouldn’t give up.

Dreams do come true

O’Keefe-Kanavos convinced her doctor, against his and his hospital’s policy, to perform exploratory surgery, which, to no surprise to O’Keefe-Kanavos, revealed Stage II breast cancer.

“You have to learn how to play the hospital policy game,” she advises. “Hospital policy is not made for the patient. It’s made to make sure the hospital gets their money. You can be complacent. You have to watch out for yourself.”

Four chemo treatments over as many months, 36 radiation treatments and oodles of doses of tamoxifen, which interferes with the activity of estrogen, later, MRIs showed her cancer was in remission after a year.

During that time, she used her dreams to decide which course of treatments to take and, against the wishes of her doctors, took high doses of vitamins to bolster her immune system, drank Kombucha tea to combat the shingles she developed due to the stress, juiced celery, carrots and other vegetables to pull the toxins out of her body and practiced Reiki. But still, that wasn’t enough.

“What I didn’t realize at the time is there are a percentage of women who the drugs stop working for after two years,” she said, “and unfortunately I was one of them.”

Doctors had stopped her periodic MRIs after no cancer was detected. Now back to mammograms, that test revealed no cancer either. Although she had blood tests every six months, she says her hormone levels were never checked. O’Keefe-Kanavos wanted to resume MRIs but was unable to get in to have that test done. Meanwhile, the nightmares with Franciscan monk-like men telling her she had breast cancer returned with a vengeance. She fought even harder for an MRI.

“I went up against the doctors (at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston) and had to be aggressive,” she said. “I said, ‘I am not letting go of your desk. I am going to scream like a two-year-old. You are going to have to call security to drag me out of here.’ ”

Finally they relented and she had an MRI. Almost exactly five years to the day after her initial diagnosis, she received startling news: Stage IV breast cancer. This time, a different chemotherapy was used to combat a different type of cancer and she was treated with radiation as well. While her Boston doctors wanted to do a lumpectomy, she preferred a double mastectomy and ended up going to New York to have the procedure done. Cancer in her other breast was detected following the double mastectomy, validating that O’Keefe-Kanavos had made the right decision.

Listening to your guide

By now a Reiki master, she continued practicing that Japanese technique, soaked in Epsom salt and baking soda, meditated nightly (and sometimes during the day) and drank a half a glass of red wine nightly, which she said counteracted the radiation and stimulated her salivary glands to allow her to eat. She applied aloe vera where she had radiation, crediting that for leaving her with nothing more than a sun burn while other women who didn’t use aloe vera were burned all the way through to their backs.

She credits incorporating a holistic approach into her mainstream treatment for being able to call herself a recurrent cancer survivor today.

“Obviously it was important or my guides would not have told me to do it,” she says of her treatment route. “We all have guides. We all have angels. Every single person on this earth has them. They just don’t listen to them. All you have to do is retrain yourself to remember your dream — open that door, pick up that phone and communicate with the other side.”

She used dream therapy as a treatment modality and worked one-on-one with a spiritual guide.

“The chances of your dream finding cancer once when the medical community has missed it is like winning the lottery,” she said. “To have it happen twice is like winning the lottery back-to-back. It just doesn’t happen.”

But it did to O’Keefe-Kanavos.

“We have a purpose,” she said. “We have a mission and my mine is to do exactly what I’m doing now, spread this information and teach doctors to listen to their patients. My story is a bridge story. It bridges holistic and conventional and that’s OK because there’s more than one way to skin a cancer. You have to find out what’s right for you.”
Kathleen O’Keefe-Kanavos authored three forthcoming books: SURVIVING CANCERLAND: The Psychic Aspects of Healing, SURVIVING RECURRENCE IN CANCERLAND: The Dream World & Healing and THRIVING AFTER SURVIVING CANCERLAND: Putting Our World Back Together Again. For more information, visit Surviving Cancerland.

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Kathleen O’Keefe-Kanavos videos:

The Day I Found Out Project

Joan Valentine - A Foundation for Natural Cures, Inc. - Provides education and integrative medicine solutions to those suffering from cancer and their families.

Hear the word melatonin and chances are you think it’s something to only help those who have problems sleeping. Truth be told, melatonin is a very powerful anti-inflammatory and can lower one’s risk of getting breast, lung and prostate cancer.

People are always looking to improve themselves and always wanting to know something that is really good for them but this is one that slips by people. Melatonin is a nutrient and hormone that is naturally produced by your pineal glands. It’s even produced in your intestinal tract a little bit. Its purpose is not to put you to sleep but to fight free radicals and inflammation.

Melatonin not only lowers the risk of neurological deterioration but also reduces significantly systemic inflammation. That means basically free radicals that are damaging cells long term start causing waxing and waning scar tissue and depending on the damaged cells, whether they want to become cancerous or toxic or inoperable. What happens is melatonin has a huge impact on reducing the damage done by free radicals as far as reducing them or lowering the risk of various types of systemic inflammation.

What’s also great about melatonin is it fights brain aging. It stops neurological deterioration. It protects lipids and proteins, which is critical with brain aging, and stops free radical damage, restores brain tissue and reduces brain inflammation.

Melatonin has the ability to strengthen  neurotransmitter capacity, help create electrical impulses and also redirect electricity to stimulate parts of the brian that have been inactive, in return bringing  better cell-to-cell communication.

So what does this mean? This means the possibilities for Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and brain cancers like glioblastoma are reduced. Melatonin lowers the risk of breast, lung and prostate cancer. Studies have shown a 34% reduction of these cancers in trials.

When people think of melatonin, they think between one and three milligrams are sufficient but 20 mg a day is really a great way for us to protect ourselves from all of the free radical issues, toxins and chemicals and all kinds of cell damage.

The usual suspects help you produce more melatonin: less stress, a balanced lifestyle, exercise — but not excessive exercise because if you wear down your adrenals you’re less likely to produce more melatonin. If you burn out your adrenals, you’ll actually use up your melatonin storage and have a harder time producing it so you don’t want to do excess exercise or excess living.

What I enjoy the most about melatonin as far as its benefits is it stops angiogenesis, or the formation of new blood vessels growing out of tumors. Angiogenesis is critical when it comes down to cancer and it’s that blood vessel growth that gets us into trouble.

And if that wasn’t enough, melatonin also prevents harmful forms of estrogen from stimulating cancer or cell growth.

With so many people still hurting in today’s economy, one of the plusses about melatonin is its affordability. You can buy 20 mg of melatonin a day for $11 a month. It comes in capsules and there are a multitude of brands available such as Pure Encapsulations, Thorne and Source Naturals.

You don’t want to take excessive amounts of melatonin.  You can get too much of everything. Anything between 5 and 20 mg of melatonin would be fine. There are very few side effects. Melatonin has been used for sick babies, including newborns with blood infections. That’s how non-evasive melatonin is.

Now that you’ve been awakened to the additional benefits of melatonin, don’t sleep on this useful information.

Joan Valentine - A Foundation for Natural Cures, Inc. - Provides education and integrative medicine solutions to those suffering from cancer and their families.

Many of us grew up being told an apple a day keeps the doctor away and these days we’re told to eat certain berries because they’re loaded with antioxidants. As important as we’re told fruit is to our overall health, experts debate whether it works for or against people who are sick.

Dr. Brian Clement has spent more than three decades studying nutrition and natural health care. As co-director of Hippocrates Health Institute, the preeminent leader in the field of natural and complementary health care and education since 1956, recommends that those who participate in his Life Transformation Program decrease their fruit if they are sick. He made the decision more than 30 years ago when he removed all types of sugar, including carrot juice and beet juice, from the diets of four people who had cancer and allowed four other people  to have fructose so he could monitor the effects.

“We saw radical improvements in people (who were banned from having fructose) and people who were not getting well before started to get well,” he said.

After that, he was convinced that fruit didn’t have any place in the diet of sick people.

“When we first said this, can you imagine what a hard sell it was?” he asked. “We had to tell people, ‘You have to give up meat. You have to give up dairy. You have to give up cooked food and by the way you can’t eat fruit either when you’re sick.’

Yet Medical Medium Anthony William, who for over 20 years has devoted his life to helping people heal and overcome illness and disease, says fruit is a necessity because of the glucose. He’s says take fruit away from people and they will get their sugar elsewhere.

At a recent meeting at the home of Dianne Burnett, the two discussed the subject. Clement used to devour fruit but now describes himself as a recovering sugar addict and eats very little fruit. He recalled a chat on an airplane with a university professor whose expertise was horticulture and agriculture. The educator told him that the average fruit today has 30 times more sugar than the original fruit and that 85% of the fruits we eat today weren’t here 100 years ago. He learned that the Honeybell oranges he loves so much are a hybrid of tangerine and grapefruit. And he found out that his favorite apple has 50 times the amount of sugar that it originally had when it was sourer than a crab apple.

“When you’re healthy,” Clement says, “we’ve determined through a lot of studies, (that) up to 15% of your diet is ripe, organic fruit.”

The problem is fruit is not picked ripe because if it was then shipped it would spoil before it reached consumers. He says the only fruit that ripens after you take it from a plant or mother tree is a banana because of its enzymes. He cautions against eating fruit that is not ripe. “I believe it is worse for you than even the sugar because it sucks nutrients out of the bones and cell structure,” Clement says.
After what he calls 30 years of solid, evidential science, he is firm that there is no place for fruit in the diet of people who are ill. William disagrees though as their dialogue below shows, the two do concur on some things.

BC: You have to be a Nazi on this one. “You don’t touch fruit. You don’t look at fruit.”I even say, “You don’t even walk on the same side of the street as fruit.” People make all these stories that have no bearing on reality like if you mix greens with fruit, which you shouldn’t do to begin with, it balances it out. That’s not true. Sugar is sugar. You don’t evaporate the fructose that’s in there. … There is no difference between high fructose corn syrup and mango fructose – just higher amounts.

AW: When it’s separated there is no difference. When it’s in the fruit itself, everything changes. There’s something that happens that we can’t put science to. In my experience, if you take fruit away from someone they have to get their sugar somewhere. Where are they going to get it? If someone is sick, they need sugar because your heart runs on glucose. Your brain runs on glucose. It’s a tough call.

You have to go with grains. If you go with grains, you want them sprouted. It’s safer. Not everybody is going to do that all of the time. They are going to go for cooked grains. Cooked grains feed cancer, in my opinion, faster than any fruit will. But at the same time fruit is dangerous when you have too much fat in the blood. Brian’s right. Fruit will be a problem. If you’re sick, fruit could feed problems when fats are through the roof though. That’s when you get the insulin resistance. That’s when the oxygen is out of the blood. You’ve got your blood fat up high. You’re eating fruit. You put sugar and fat together you’ve got ice cream. (That’s) not good for you. You take the fat and bring it down and you can bring more fruit up. You’ve got to have a lot of plant protein though. But you’ve got to bring your fat down really low.

I notice that people with lupus, all of the different Epstein’s Barrs, shingle viruses, meningitis, chronic fatigue syndrome, MS, whatever they have, you take the fat down to the bottom – and that’s plant fat too – even avocado – then you can bring more fruit up. But someone is going to grab a cookie if you can’t get some sugar in there. You don’t want them grabbing a cookie so you want to grab some fruit so you keep the fat down. You get results from that. That’s when the results come, cancer included.

BC: You’ve got to be cautious if you give people one piece (of fruit). Where are they going to get ripened fruit? It’s non-existent. Are they going to stop at one piece of fruit? I know I wouldn’t have at one point. Lettuce has, if you eat adequate amounts, all of the amounts of glucose your body needs.

AW: Especially butter (lettuce). I put a lot of people on heads and heads of butter lettuce. They can get their fuel from that.

BC: Exactly. We can’t talk about the difference between biology and psychology. Psychology, all of us would eat sugar until …AW: The cows came home. Look at dairy. Look at lactose. People think they’re eating dairy products. They think they’re sugar-free. That’s amazing. If you’re eating dairy, you’re eating plenty of sugar.

What both men agree on is the need for all to eat healthy.

“Food is the greatest example of how much we care or do not care for ourselves,” Clements says. “It’s about self-worth and value. Food is just really a fuel. Just eat the right food and food doesn’t become an issue anymore. Then you go on to do the real work and have a life.”

Image: Pixomar / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Joan Valentine - A Foundation for Natural Cures, Inc. - Provides education and integrative medicine solutions to those suffering from cancer and their families.

By Dr. Mitchell Gaynor
Founder and President, Gaynor Integrative Oncology
Asst. Clinical Professor of Medicine, Weill-Cornell Medical College

Cancer is a scary diagnosis. There’s no doubt about that. Treatment is not just about removing the tumor and providing chemotherapy (although those are important aspects of healing cancer patients) – it’s about the whole patient. As an integrative oncologist, I emphasize treating the person and not just cancer. I incorporate conventional medicine using chemotherapy, monoclonal antibodies, and targeted therapies with nutritional forms of treatment to create unique therapeutic regimens for my patients.

Recently, Suzanne Somers appeared on The Dr. Oz Show to discuss the cancer treatments she used to treat her breast cancer. One of the adjuvant therapies she discussed was her use of mistletoe extract injections. Although it’s not FDA-approved in the US, it is used in some clinical research trials and occasionally prescribed in Europe by anthroposophic physicians.

Mistletoe: More than Holiday Décor

Mistletoe is a semiparasitic plant that receives it nourishment by growing on apple, birch, elm, maple, oak, pine and several other trees. The plant contains chlorophyll and is capable of undergoing photosynthesis. Its use extends far beyond being a symbol of an impromptu holiday kiss – it has medicinal purposes as well. It been used to treat medical conditions such as arthritis, epilepsy, hypertension, menopause and even cancer. Mistletoe has a plethora of medicinal applications that date back to Ancient Greece. However, it started to gain attention as a chemotherapeutic agent in the 1920s.

The Science Behind the Effects of Mistletoe

Cancer, in the simplest terms, is a group of cells that are unable to die like normal cells. Our cells go through a process called apoptosis, which means cell death. This is the checks and balances our body uses to remove old cells that may not be up to par. And without apoptosis, old cells, which are not at their optimal state, don’t function as well as new cell. This leads to impaired functions and systems can begin to fail in the body.

Phytonutrients, such as the extracts of mistletoe, have been shown to restore the capacity of cancer cells to die so that they don’t continue to grow unchecked. Laboratory studies have shown that mistletoe extracts are proapoptotic toward cancer cells, meaning that they promote cell death.

Mistletoe also revs up your immune system, a crucial, complex system of cells and organs that are necessary to fight infection and disease, which is important to prevent cancer. Because of its potential therapeutic effects, mistletoe has been categorized as a biologic response modifier, which refers to its ability to fuel the body’s immunologic response.

Unabated cell growth, however, is just one way that cancer cells grow. Another process called angiogenesis, which is the growth and supply of cells with new blood vessels, ensures that cancer cells are nourished. Mistletoe extracts have been shown to also target cancer cells by blocking the formation of new blood vessels. While many natural products have effects on cancer cells in a dish, this does not always mean efficacy in real life.

It’s What’s In (Not Who’s Under) the Mistletoe

Mistletoe is a widely researched complementary and alternative medicinal agent. The majority of the mistletoe extracts that are used to treat cancer in patients originate from Europe; they have a variety of brand names: Iscador (Iscar), Eurixor, Helixor, Isorel (Vysorel), Iscucin, Lektinol (Plenosol) and Abnoba-viscum.

Various factors influence the composition of mistletoe: its host tree; harvest season; mistletoe species; method used to obtain mistletoe extract (i.e. fermented vs. unfermented); and preparatory methods used by manufacturers.

Understanding how mistletoe may help to treat cancer starts with knowing what compounds make up the plant:

Alkaloids are mainly found in plants and some fungi. These are nitrogen-based substances that are found in products such as coffee and vincristine, which is also an anti-cancer drug.

Viscotoxins are small proteins synthesized by mistletoe that are proapoptotic (encouraging programmed cell death) and stimulates immunity.

Lectins produced by the mistletoe plant are glycoproteins, meaning it contains both sugars and proteins. This substance can bind outside of cells and trigger biochemical changes within the cells.

Studies on Mistletoe and Cancer

In Germany, the use of mistletoe is widespread as the bill is footed by the health-care system. German researchers performed a meta-analysis in which they reviewed the effects of Iscador, a commonly used form of mistletoe extract, on survival of cancer patients. The researchers reported that the data they examined showed a lower risk of mortality.¹

The increasing interest in using mistletoe extract to treat cancer has lead to more and more systematic reviews of human trials. Because it can be difficult to statistically pool these studies due to the varying methodologies, researchers implemented special criterion to include or exclude certain studies. After using eight databases to identify clinical trials in which mistletoe extract was used to treat cancer, one review conducted in 2003 concluded that there wasn’t substantive evidence to support the clinical efficacy of mistletoe extract in cancer treatment.

One of the criticisms of the data reviewed in this study pointed out that while mistletoe extracts have been show to stimulate the activity of molecules such as tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukins (i.e. interleukins 1 and 6), which that have inhibitory effects on cancer cell growth and metastasis, the data mostly comes from preclinical trials and may not have the same effects on cancer patients in clinical trials.

Another study examined 16 men and women with pancreatic cancer. Because pancreatic cancer is resistant to chemotherapy and radiation, it is associated with a poor prognosis. The pancreatic cancer had metastasized (spread) to either the lymph nodes or other organs. The researchers reported that the subcutaneous administration of mistletoe did not change tumor growth; however, the plant extract did help to minimize quality of life concerns in the patients’ final months.³

Natural killer (NK) cells are white blood cells that make up your immune cells, and they are responsible for fighting foreign cells and cancer cells. Major surgery inhibits NK cell activity. The suppression of natural killer cells in cancer patients may lead to tumor cells spreading. In a clinical trial, the infusion of mistletoe before surgery was shown to prevent the inhibition of NK cell activity.

Mistletoe extract has also been shown to have some efficacy for superficial bladder cancer, and it was not associated with any side effects compared to the use of Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG)treatment, which is a commonly used, effective adjuvant treatment (BCG does have serious side effects).⁵ However, this study is small and the follow-up limited.

In a review of randomized and non-randomized control trials, the efficacy of a type of mistletoe extract called Viscum album was assessed to determine whether or not it improved on quality-of-life parameters in patients with cancer. The researchers reported that the plant improved on quality-of-life measures such as sleep, exhaustion, depression and anxiety; it also reduced the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Limitations of Research

An Internet search using the phrase “mistletoe and cancer research” resulted in over 133,000 hits. There’s no doubt of a growing interest in the use of mistletoe as an adjuvant form of treatment for cancer. However, as you scour the Web for information on mistletoe and cancer, understand that not all research is created equally. It’s important to look out for red flags to determine the strength of research and the validity of the findings.

In all likelihood you’ll be reading about research findings through a secondary source such as a newspaper or health website. Here’s a quick list of items to keep in mind as you read news articles or websites:

• Where was the study published originally?
• Have there been human studies, or are the studies solely laboratory-based experiments?
• How was the clinical trial designed? An important clue to remember is that the gold standard is a double blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial?
• Is the population size small or large?
• Was the study limited to specific gender or socioeconomic factors?
• Is the research new information that needs to be replicated?

This should give you an idea of some basic things to consider. As you come across research that may be exciting and holds new promise, be sure to think about these questions.

Panacea for Cancer? Not So Fast.

The medical front on the use of mistletoe is not a united one. There are many reasons for this. Mistletoe extract has been used as an adjunct for  treating cancer because of the anticancer substances it’s composed of. European anthoposophic physicians often prescribe it, and various mistletoe extracts are also marketed. However, It is the variability in the preparation of the extract that also makes it difficult to interpret the clinical findings of studies because the relative proportions of the cancer-fighting constituents differs depending on what brand is used.

Based on review studies, the findings on the effects of mistletoe extract is a mixed bag of results because they include different study designs and variable plant extracts. And while most studies don’t report any serious side effects, other research has reported adverse effects, such as localized reactions at the site of injection, anaphylaxis, kidney failure and ulcerations.

While some studies suggest that mistletoe can slow or stop tumor growth and improve survival in cancer patients, the design of most of these studies are weak. Without strong methodology, research studies are more likely to produce positive results. Consequently, independent reviewers have largely failed to support the efficacy of mistletoe extract use in cancer because of insufficient evidence.

The verdict is still out on the efficacy of mistletoe extract and more solid research is needed to assess its use as an anticancer agent.

In the meantime, let me impart some advice that I share with my patients about health and cancer – the most overlooked of all modalities is what you eat. Because your genes can turn “on” and “off” cellular signals that lead to cancer, eating more natural foods like phytonutrients (plant-based foods) will help to promote turning on the right genes that will lead to a healthier you.

Over the last 30 years, I have studied the mechanism of hundreds of bioactive nutrients on cancer-related gene expression, as well as signaling proteins and transcription factors that also effect these genes. These nutrients have powerful effects on inflammation, hormone regulation, toxin metabolism, cell growth and angiogenesis – all at the level of our gene expression. In targeted nutritional program for my patients, I focus on several areas:

• Nutrients that lower the 3 main cancer promoters: AP-1, NF-kappa-B, and IGF.
• Nutrients that inhibit the main cancer promoting enzymes; tyrosine kinase, m-TOR, akt and COX-2.
• Nutrients that convert hormones that promote cancer to hormones that protect against cancer.
• Angio-preventative nutrients that inhibit angiogenesis.
• Anti-inflammatory nutrients.
• Reversing hyperinsulinemia through nutrition.
• Nutrients that facilitate apoptosis or programmed cell death, a process which cancer cells have lost.
• Detoxifying cancer-causing toxins with nutrients.

Glutathione, glycine, taurine, black raspberry, garlic, omega-3 and -9 fatty acids, fermented soy products, isohumalones from hops, and phytosterols are just a few of the nutrients which data show are essential for the above areas.

Bottom line: Mistletoe has not yet shown a level of efficacy for me to incorporate it in my armamentarium of bioactive nutrients for cancer.

References

1. Ostermann T, Raak C, Bussing A. Survival of cancer patients treated with mistletoe extract (Iscador): a systematic literature review. BMC Cancer. 2009;9(1):451.

2. Ernst E, Schmidt K, Steuer-Vogt MK. Mistletoe for cancer? International Journal of Cancer. 2003;107(2):262-267.

3. Friess H, Beger HG, Kunz J, Funk N, Schilling M, Buchler MW. Treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer with mistletoe: results of a pilot trial. Anticancer research. 1996;16(2):915-920.

4. Schink M, Tröger W, Dabidian A, et al. Mistletoe extract reduces the surgical suppression of natural killer cell activity in cancer patients. a randomized phase III trial. Forschende Komplementärmedizin/Research in Complementary Medicine. 2007;14(1):9-17.

5. ElsÄSser-Beile U, Leiber C, Wetterauer U, et al. Adjuvant Intravesical Treatment with a Standardized Mistletoe Extract to Prevent Recurrence of Superficial Urinary Bladder Cancer. Anticancer research. 2005;25(6C):4733-4736.

6. Kienle GS, Kiene H. Review Article: Influence of Viscum album L (European Mistletoe) Extracts on Quality of Life in Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review of Controlled Clinical Studies. Integrative Cancer Therapies. 2010;9(2):142-157.

7. Edzard E. Mistletoe as a treatment for cancer. BMJ. 2006;333.

Joan Valentine - A Foundation for Natural Cures, Inc. - Provides education and integrative medicine solutions to those suffering from cancer and their families.

By Joel A. Aronowitz, MD
Clinical Professor Plastic Surgery
USC Keck School of Medicine
Cedars Sinai Medical Center
University Stem Cell Center

Our fat tissue contains a lot more than just fat. It’s been known for many years that the fat that makes our jeans tight and skin loose contains large numbers of small cells with the potential to grow into many types of the tissue and play a central role in healing and regeneration. Only recently though have doctors been able to apply these exciting laboratory findings to help patients in clinical practice.

A study underway by doctors at the Breast Preservation Foundation in Los Angeles exemplifies this new trend in clinical use of Adipose Derived Stem Cell. Women in the study are offered use of their own stem cells to regrow their breast marred by prior surgery and even radiation to treat breast cancer.

Treatment of breast cancer usually involves removal of the tumor itself along with all or part of the surrounding normal breast to ensure that a complete removal is accomplished. After the surgery, the breast is frequently treated with radiation which further shrinks the breast and turns the soft breast tissue to a hard, woody texture. For years, the only options available to reconstruct the breast were highly invasive flap procedures such as the lat dorsi or TRAM flaps or an implant. The flaps require a donor site scar and extended healing, and implants are associated with the problems of any large foreign body. They are especially problematic after radiation treatment.

Stem cell treatment has the advantage of producing a natural regrowth of fat tissue within the breast, giving it a soft, natural appearance and feel using the woman’s own fat stored in the abdomen, hips and thighs. The Los Angeles study uses fat harvested with liposuction from the hip, abdomen or thighs. The fat, usually 400 to 600 cc, is treated in a special biologic laboratory right in the operating room to isolate the tiny stem cells from the larger mature adipocyte (fat) cells and other components in the lipoaspirate (obtained during liposuction). The process takes about 1.5 hours while the patient remains in the operating room. The tedious process involves a complex series of washings and high-speed centrifugations but no additional chemicals or growth factors are added to change the biology or genetics of the cells.

Almost a million cells on average are isolated from each 1 cc drop of liposuction fat. The stem cells are then added to additional lipoaspirate to inject into the disfigured breast. The stem-cell-enhanced fat grafts are placed with a blunt hollow needle in small aliquots so no surgical scars are placed on the treated breasts. Postoperative healing is usually limited to swelling and bruising both in the breast and the liposuction harvest area. Patients usually complain of more discomfort in the liposuction areas then the treated breast. Of course, no one complains about the improved contour of the hips and abdomen which comes with the needed liposuction; it’s an added bonus.

Improved breast size is immediate, but the improved skin quality and regeneration or regrowth of fat takes about 3 to 6 months as the larger fat cells that do not survive the transfer process are replaced by new tissue regenerated by the large numbers of tiny stem cells. Improvement in the texture, quality and skin color of the breast damaged by surgery and radiation begins immediately and begins to show clinically in about 2 months.

Women who have a breast damaged by breast cancer treatment, especially lumpectomy and radiation are generally good candidates for this treatment. The study requires a waiting period after cancer treatment, but some doctors feel that soon the treatment will be offered in concert with cancer treatment as there is no evidence that normal fat-derived stem cells interfere with treatment. Women seeking an alternative to breast enlargement with implants will be happy to know that this option is available to them as well. Stem-cell-enhanced fat grafting can produce about 1 to 2 cup sizes of enlargement on average and can be repeated every 3-4 months as long as sufficient donor fat is available.

Suzanne Somers’ alternative battle against breast cancer

Mistletoe Extract as Cancer Therapy

Joan Valentine - A Foundation for Natural Cures, Inc. - Provides education and integrative medicine solutions to those suffering from cancer and their families.

From the October 2011 issue of Life Extension

Iodine deficiency is rapidly emerging as a major risk factor for breast cancer.

Human breast tissue and breast milk contain higher concentrations of iodine than the thyroid gland itself, which contains just 30% of the body’s iodine stores. Breast tissue is rich in the same iodine-transporting proteins used by the thyroid gland to take up iodine from the blood.18,38 The evolutionary reasons for this are clear: iodine is essential to the developing newborn brain, so the mother’s body must have a direct means of supplying iodine to the nursing infant.

Iodine plays an important role in the health of women’s breast tissue. In the presence of chemicals and enzymes found in breast tissue, iodine has been shown to exert a powerful antioxidant effect equivalent to vitamin C. Iodine-deficient breast tissue exhibits chemical markers of elevated lipid peroxidation, one of the earliest factors in cancer development.

Iodine-deficient breast tissue also shows alterations in DNA and increases in estrogen receptor proteins.40 Coupled with iodine deficiency-induced increases in circulating estrogen levels, these changes can substantially increase the risk of breast cancer in women with low iodine levels. Iodine also helps regulate levels of the stress hormone cortisol and contributes to normal immune function. Abnormal cortisol levels and deficient immune function are significant contributors to the risks of breast cancer; women with fibrocystic breast disease may also suffer from elevated cortisol levels.

Taken together, these biological factors explain the well-known link between iodine deficiency and thyroid disease, thyroid cancer, and breast cancer, all of which predominate in postmenopausal women.The link between iodine consumption and breast cancer is most evident when you compare the Japanese and Western diets against cancer incidence.

Japanese women consume a diet high in iodine-rich seaweed, which provides them with an iodine intake 25 times higher than the average American woman’s. Japanese women also have breast cancer rates roughly one-third of those found in American women, a difference that disappears in Japanese women who immigrate to the US, where they consume considerably less seaweed.

Studies of iodine therapy for breast cancer prevention are encouraging. Continuous iodine given to cancer-prone rats cut mammary tumor rates nearly 2.5-fold. Breast cancer cells avidly absorb iodine, which in turn suppresses tumor growth and causes cancer cell death. Added dietary iodine reduces the size of both benign and malignant breast tumors, an effect credited in part to iodine’s direct reduction of lipid peroxidation levels. Although the doses of iodine used in these studies are substantial, equivalent to 5,000 mcg daily, no toxic effects of iodine were observed, either on thyroid function or in other tissues.

Further benefits may be obtained by supplementing with selenium in addition to iodine; selenium is an essential cofactor in the enzymes used in thyroid and breast tissue to make optimal use of dietary iodine.In addition to its obvious role in preventing breast cancer, increased iodine intake may be important in mitigating another common, if less lethal, breast disorder—fibrocystic breast disease or FBD.

While harmless, fibrocystic breast disease is extremely common. It is found in at least 9% of all women who undergo biopsies, though the actual rate is probably much higher.18,59 Animal studies have shown that fibrocystic breast disease can be induced by depriving breast tissue of iodine.11,40,60 These changes can be reversed by iodine doses equivalent to 5,000 mcg per day in humans.

Women with fibrocystic breast disease obtain substantial relief from oral administration of iodine at doses of 3,000-6,000 mcg, with 65% achieving improvements according to their own and their physicians’ assessments.62 In those studies, only 33% of placebo recipients reported any benefit. No side effects were detected at any of the doses used.

It is becoming increasingly clear that iodine deficiency interferes with optimum breast health, and intake of levels far higher than the recommended dietary allowance of 150-290 mcg is required to achieve benefits. Daily amounts of 3,000-6,000 mcg may help relieve the symptoms of fibrocystic breast disease.

Iodine Protects Against Stomach Cancer

The thyroid gland, breast tissue, and portions of the digestive tract share similarities in that all of them contain a rich concentration of iodine. Stomach lining cells in particular concentrate iodine, capitalizing on its antioxidant effects.

This has led medical researchers to investigate whether iodine deficiency plays a role in cancers of the digestive tract. They found that people living in iodine-deficient areas of the world are not only prone to iodine-deficiency goiters, but also have higher rates of stomach cancers. Stomach cancer patients in a landlocked area of Iran were 2.5 times as likely to have severe iodine deficiency than control patients.

Gastric cancer is the most common cancer in parts of northeastern Turkey where iodine deficiency is common, and iodine levels in gastric cancer tissue were markedly lower than those in surrounding healthy tissue.

Increased iodine intake has been strongly correlated with a reduction in stomach cancer rates in recent years.

Summary

Iodine is critical to healthy thyroid function. Its deficiency can cause weight gain, low energy, depression, cardiovascular disease, cognitive decline, and a variety of cancers. Yet rates of iodine deficiency have reached epidemic levels, increasing fourfold over the past 40 years. A startling 74% of normal, “healthy” adults may no longer be consuming sufficient quantities.Recent scientific analysis reveals that many commercial table salt brands now contain inadequate amounts of iodine. Emerging evidence points to the severe impact of low iodine on a wide range of health issues, including increased risks of breast cancer and fibrocystic breast diseases.

Full article and references

Joan Valentine - A Foundation for Natural Cures, Inc. - Provides education and integrative medicine solutions to those suffering from cancer and their families.

When Kathryn Tatchell of Victoria, British Columbia was diagnosed with colon cancer in April 2007, she underwent surgery then turned to InspireHealth, a world leader in cancer care that uses an integrated approach combining nutrition, exercise, emotional and spiritual support with standard cancer treatments.
The cancer went away for three and a half years then resurfaced in her lungs. She opted for chemotherapy as she continued her complementary treatments through InspireHealth.

She and her daughter Georgia Graham, 24, recently traveled to Malibu to attend a week-long program put on by Hippocrates Health Institute, a leader in the field of natural and complementary health care and education, headquartered in West Palm Beach, Fla., and run by Brian Clement PhD, LNC and Anna Maria Gahns-Clement, PhD, LNC.

Kathryn shares her journey:

Five months after I had surgery in June 2007 to remove the tumor from the colon, I went to InspireHealth. I changed my diet and they put me on a regime of supplements and vitamins, which I took for well over a year. There was a little bit of spreading to the lymph nodes, maybe after a year and a half, but nothing that anybody felt had to be treated.

It wasn’t until last year, about three and a half years later, that it spread to the lungs. I had one six-month session of chemo last year but continued going to InspireHealth and taking lots of supplements and vitamins. I had acupuncture andmassages. I found the massages to be incredibly helpful with pain and overall wellness.

I was so healthy the whole time I was on chemo. I know I was exposed to so many bugs with four kids in the house. I never once got sick and I was the one with the compromised system.

I had heard about Hippocrates a few years ago. When I returned from Malibu I took the vitamins I bought from Hippocrates to InspireHealth and received approval from my doctor to take them. I’ve been taking more of the vitamins that Hippocrates recommend and phased my other ones out.  I had followed the program of what supplements to take while you’re on chemo from the book Life over Cancer written by by Dr. Keith I. Block of the Block Center.

One of the things they tell you at BC Cancer Agency’s Vancouver Island Centre is you are not allowed to take any vitamins or anything that is going to support your immune system. And you’re supposed to bring everything in and have the pharmacist approve it. It’s pretty upsetting for a lot of people who have been on a program of immune system support.

I took a lot of things to reduce inflammation. All of these things, which had been your friends, are suddenly your foe. It messes with your brain. At the same time, if you’re going to be on chemo, you don’t want to take something that is less effective. It’s very confusing for people and that’s why I followed the program from the Block Center. And I took multi-vitamins, which the pharmacists at the BC Cancer Agency’s Vancouver Island Centre wouldn’t have approved of anyway. It was a liquid one that was absorbed from the mucous membranes in your mouth.

Going raw and sticking to it

Hippocrates wanted me to go 100 percent raw. When I returned and told my oncologist I was expecting a bit of a fight because before I left she wanted to put me on chemo. But she was OK with me going raw. She said, “Let’s give it three months.”

Going 100 percent raw is quite a challenge to do and a lot to learn how to do it properly. I’ve stuck with juicing twice a day. I joined the local raw food group here and they have a monthly potluck dinner. I discovered there was no one doing 100 percent. They were doing 50 percent. I found it difficult to find support because it is challenging to be 100 percent raw.

I’m glad my daughter attending Hippocrates’ week-long program with me. She can understand what I’m trying to do. She’s eating a vegetarian diet and about 50 percent raw. She’s juicing once a day. But she’s about to move back to Vancouver.

On the bright side, I just connected with a woman, Samantha Young, whose son-in-law was the person who told me about Hippocrates a few years ago. She just moved here and she’s one of Hippocrates’ biggest success stories. It will be quite helpful for me to talk to someone who had cancer, who went to Hippocrates and followed their program and their cancer went away and stayed away.

Keeping the faith

Part of my challenge is holding the faith that it works. To come home and be in isolation, it’s hard to hold the faith.

My cancer has gotten worse despite all of my best efforts. I thought I was going to be better. I know I haven’t been as strict with the Hippocrates program, for example, as if I went to Florida for three weeks and followed the program.

I’m still taking in everything I learned from the week in Malibu. There was so much information in such a short amount of time. It takes a while to absorb it all. My daughter and I have been going back to our binders and reading things and listening to the lecturers that were recorded. When you’re changing habits, some of them you do right away and some you forget about.

One of the big hurdles is sourcing your vegetables. Juicing that much is a lot. I was lucky I was able to find a good source for the sprouts. I’ve tried a couple of times to grow sprouts and I haven’t been too successful. I think I can do some of the broccoli, radishes and alfalfa in a jar.

I’ve had some struggles on the raw food diet because I’m so small. I’m 5-foot-3 and was about 112 pounds. My weight dropped down to 90 lbs. I couldn’t afford to lose any weight. I was so worried about it and called Anna Maria at Hippocrates. She told me I should start eating some cooked food and get some weight back on. I’ve gained three pounds.

In addition to the diet, I’m going to have to look at doing some other things because I can’t let it get out of control. I don’t plan to go back to chemo. Over the weekend we had a mastermind session with my parents, fiancé and kids — my support group. We wrote down things that we could do. Everyone feels more of a part of it. It’s good for them to know where I’m at and what I’m thinking.

My daughter Georgia felt very frustrated because she moved back to Victoria from Vancouver last year when I went on chemo. She wanted to be here to help me. Now my numbers are back to where they were a year ago. I said, “You can’t just stay here feeling like you have to look after me. You have to get on with your life. You don’t have to stay here.” I love having her here and having the support. But I don’t want her to feel tied down. She’s 24. It was an emotional time.

Last month InspireHealth opened an office in Victoria where I live so I no longer have to make the journey to Vancouver.  It will have yoga classes and meditation. There’s a kitchen so it will have a nutrition component as well. InspireHealth is funded by the Canadian government and they’re going to be opening more around the country. It’s fantastic that the government is supporting integrative cancer care and that they’re realizing that there isn’t just one way of looking at things.

Joan Valentine - A Foundation for Natural Cures, Inc. - Provides education and integrative medicine solutions to those suffering from cancer and their families.

Heavy metal poisoning isn’t in the news as often it should be due to the amount of people unknowingly affected by it. Spirit tells me that mercury and aluminum poisoning is on the rise and has reached epidemic levels.

Heavy metals are like a hidden, behind-the-scenes instigator and that’s not being acknowledged to the point it should be. The difference between 20 years ago and now is huge but people are often misdiagnosed and told they have another malady.

Heavy metal poisoning is the toxic accumulation of heavy metals in the soft tissues of the body. The reason it has increased so much is due to pesticides, herbicides and pollutants as well as fish being worse than ever for mercury, pollutants and solvents.

Also, there are heavy metals and solvents that come out of the treated wood of lawn furniture that are absorbed right into your skin.  Arsenic is one. Let’s say you decide to do a little project and want to sand some wood down or restore some antique furniture. Because treated wood, stain and old paint can havearsenic and/or lead in it, it can get into your system.

Aluminum from aluminum cans is another avenue. A lot of out gassing occurs, especially when somebody is outside with a can of soda and it warms up in the sun. Spirit tells me that oxidationcan occur from the oils in your hand touching the aluminum can.

No, we can’t encase ourselves in a bubble and hide from it all but we can be a little bit more aware, especially when it comes to what we eat. Tuna and swordfish are high in mercury and contain some arsenic. One thing you don’t want to do is eat tuna out of a can. During the packaging and pasteurizing of aluminum cans, the heat causes the aluminum to release and absorb right into the fish.

Heavy metals are in the air in general thanks in part to the amount of exhaust fumes traveling around. They are in the air because of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides. There are solvents in toxic cleaners. Therefore, we can get exposed rather easily.

Symptoms

Some of the symptoms to be on the lookout for are sleeplessness, sleep disorders and restless leg syndrome, which is huge, right now. That’s when you have to keep on shifting and moving your legs throughout the night.  You can’t get comfortable. Sometimes you have pain or cramps in your legs. Then insomnia occurs.
But people don’t know what is causing this. Women get blamed and hormones are picked on. They’re told they need hormone therapy meanwhile they could have mercury or aluminum poisoning that is causing hot flashes.

Staying focused is another symptom. What I’ve learned from working with women for over 20 years and what Spirit tells me allows me to find the true cause for why some women complain to me about severe brain fog. Brain fog many times is heavy metal poisoning due to aluminum and mercury and this rolls into Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Ways to avoid

Adding more greens in your diet can help detoxify these heavy metals. Blue green algae, spirulina and cilantro are excellent ways to accomplish this.

Cilantro combats heavy metals in the body.

Spirit recommends doing a cilantro cleanse a couple of days out of every month. You can eat what you normally eat so if it is grass fed beef, free range chicken or eggs, or if you’re a vegetarian, whatever you’re eating is fine but incorporate one bunch of cilantro a day in your diet for a couple of days. You can chop it up and put it in salads, have it in your guacamole or put it on pizza. Cilantro can pull more mercury out and even some mercury and aluminum out of the brain. Spirit tells me that cilantro has a natural ability to cross the blood brain barrier.

It’s a powerful way to help the situation with extra heavy metals. When they start building up, they get trapped in the body’s system and this turns into problems that are blamed on women’s hormones.

Another way to lessen your risk of heavy metal poisoning is avoiding drinking out of aluminum cans and eating food out of aluminum cans if you can.
Garlic is a great heavy metal remover so add more garlic in the diet. If you’re going to have a brioche, put some garlic in there. If you’re going to roast a chicken, roast some garlic in it.

Seaweed: friend or foe?

There’s a lot of controversy to seaweed. Seaweed has heavy metals in it because it’s floating around in the oceans but at the same time there are people who say you need the seaweeds and other people who say it is bad for you.

But Spirit says the seaweed works and it is good for you because it holds onto metal as it enters into your body. As it digests in the body and goes through the intestinal tract, it doesn’t release the heavy metals. In fact it absorbs more metal so more aluminum is eliminated from your system. And then it passes through.

Nori is packaged and sold in sheets.

I recommend that seaweed be eaten two or three times a week. Everybody is different. Maybe someone doesn’t do well with seaweed for some other reason. With seaweed you get the iodine that helps balance the thyroid and that alone can reduce symptoms that are also blamed on hormones such as night sweats, hot flashes, irritabilities and highs and lows. It’s the heavy metals that are behind a lot of that. Packaged nori, dulse, which many people say taste like bacon, kelp and sea lettuce are some of the types of seaweed that I suggest.

People should also be aware that heavy metals build up overtime in a fish. The larger the fish, the more metal it will have and the older the fish the more concentrated it will be in its oils.

The effects on cancer

Heavy metals can play a great role in cancer. Cancer looks for heavy metals like nickel, copper and aluminum uses them as fuel. Cancer opens up its pores and vessels and draws in mercury.  It’s a food source and it’s looking for foods that are also holding on to that metal. Metal is attracted to cancer and cancer is attracted to metal and that’s what Spirit has always told me. I think it’s starting to be talked about.

This is how it works. Good minerals in food actually help defend the body against cancer so cancer does not want those minerals. If you’re eating an apple and you have trace minerals of zinc or you’re eating a Brazilian nut and have trace minerals of selenium or if you’re eating a piece of chicken and it has some phosphorous in it, or a little bit of manganese in it, cancer doesn’t want those minerals. It’s a whole different kind of attraction.

Anthony William is a Medical Medium and Consultant for Joan Valentine — A Foundation for Natural Cures, Inc.

Joan Valentine - A Foundation for Natural Cures, Inc. - Provides education and integrative medicine solutions to those suffering from cancer and their families.

Wouldn’t you like to know if the foods you eat are made with genetically modified ingredients? It seems like a no-brainer yet not everyone agrees. GMOs, or Genetically Modified Organisms, are combining the genes of separate organisms to engineer a new one using DNA technology — and are a hot topic these days. Some GM foods include maize, soybean, oilseed rape (canola), chicory, squash, potato, pineapple and strawberries. GM foods may provide greater resistance to pests and viruses, higher nutritional value and longer shelf life. However, their safety, potential risks and ethical concerns are still being debated.

Regardless of whether you are for or against GMOs we have a right to know what is in our foods. That’s why the Right2Know March, which starts on October 1 at the United Nations in New York City and ends at the White House on October 16 (World Food Day), is so important. The 313-mile march is to demand that genetically engineered foods be labeled in the United States as they are in Europe and Japan. Currently, there is no legislation in Congress to label GMOs. However, there is an initiative campaign underway in California, which is always ahead of the healthy food curve, to get the labeling of genetically modified foods on the state ballot in 2012. Visit LabelGMOs.org for more information.

Foods certified as organic or biodynamic should not contain any GM ingredients, according to industry guidelines. According to LabelGMOs.org, what does labeling mean for you and your family?

Proponents claim that genetically modified (GM) crops:

• are safe to eat and more nutritious
• benefit the environment
• reduce use of herbicides and insecticides
• increase crop yields, thereby helping farmers and solving the food crisis
• create a more affluent, stable economy
• are just an extension of natural breeding, and have no risks different from naturally bred crops.

However, a large and growing body of scientific research and on-the-ground experience indicate that GMOs fail to live up to these claims. Instead, GM crops:

• can be toxic, allergenic or less nutritious than their natural counterparts
• can disrupt the ecosystem, damage vulnerable wild plant and animal populations and harm biodiversity
• increase chemical inputs (pesticides, herbicides) over the long term
• deliver yields that are no better, and often worse, than conventional crops
• cause or exacerbate a range of social and economic problems
• are laboratory-made and, once released, harmful GMOs cannot be recalled from the environment.

The scientifically demonstrated risks and clear absence of real benefits have led experts to see GM as a clumsy, outdated technology. They present risks that we need not incur, given the availability of effective, scientifically proven, energy-efficient and safe ways of meeting current and future global food needs.

This paper presents the key scientific evidence – 114 research studies and other authoritative documents – documenting the limitations and risks of GM crops and the many safer, more effective alternatives available today.

To download the paper.

Joan Valentine - A Foundation for Natural Cures, Inc. - Provides education and integrative medicine solutions to those suffering from cancer and their families.

If you’re wondering if Food Day is October 16 or October 24, you’re not alone.

October 16, 2011 is World Food Day, which the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations celebrates  each year on October 16, the day on which the Organization was founded in 1945. And October 24, 2011 is Food Day that  focuses on the United States. When it comes to eating right, there are never enough days to bring attention to the cause so the more the merrier. In the end, what we put in our body can result in how it treats us when battling maladies such as cancer.

Of course there are instances when the healthiest people in the world are victimized by cancer but sometimes how well they have taken care of their bodies up to that point helps determine their fate. The earlier we can teach children the importance of eating well and proper nutrition, the better. And that’s why we should recognize Food Day.

Food Day seeks to bring together Americans from all walks of life—parents, teachers, and students; health professionals, community organizers, and local officials; chefs, school lunch providers, and eaters of all stripes—to push for healthy, affordable food produced in a sustainable, humane way. It works with people around the country to create thousands of events in homes, schools, churches, farmers markets, city halls, and state capitals. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) are the Honorary Co-Chairs for Food Day 2011, and the day is sponsored by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the nonprofit watchdog group that has led successful fights for food labeling, better nutrition, and safer food since 1971.

The six Food Day principles

• Reduce diet-related disease by promoting safe, healthy foods

• Support sustainable farms & limit subsidies to big agribusiness

• Expand access to food and alleviate hunger

• Protect the environment & animals by reforming factory farms

• Promote health by curbing junk-food marketing to kids

•  Support fair conditions for food and farm workers

According to the Food Day website:

The foods we enjoy should promote, not undermine, our good health. Most Americans feast on salty, overly processed packaged foods; high-calorie sugary drinks that pack on pounds and rot teeth; and fast-food meals made of white bread, fatty factory-farmed meat, French fries, and more soda still. Such junky diets promote obesity and tooth decay, as well as diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, and cancer. As many as several hundred thousand Americans die prematurely every year due to what we eat, with medical costs running well over $100 billion.
Some facts:

• Two-thirds of American adults and one-third of children are overweight or obese.

A healthy diet can lower blood pressure, cholesterol levels, blood sugar, and prevent everything from tooth decay and obesity to heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer.

• Americans now spend well over $30 billion a year just on drugs to treat heart disease and high blood pressure. Heart surgery costs another $25 billion.

• Cutting sodium (mostly from salt) consumption in half could save upwards of 100,000 lives per year.

• Eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and very low in saturated fat and cholesterol, can be highly effective in treating heart disease.

It’s time to eat real! As health experts now recognize, the best diets consist largely of vegetables, fruit, beans, and whole grains, along with some seafood, low-fat dairy products, and poultry. That kind of diet has lots of fiber, vitamins, and minerals, but little sodium and saturated and trans fats. Whether the cuisine is classic Mediterranean, Asian, vegetarian, or American, healthy diets could lead to longer, healthier, happier lives for almost everyone.

Moreover, diet can even be an extremely effective and delicious way to treat diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. Indeed, a low-fat, almost-vegetarian diet can actually reverse heart disease, stripping away the gunk that injures arteries, and treat type 2 diabetes. Also, consuming less sodium (mostly from salt) and more fruits and vegetables helps keep blood vessels supple and blood pressure down. Surely, a really healthful diet—from salads to low-sodium lentil soup to whole wheat pasta primavera—is far more enjoyable and cheaper than undergoing surgery to have an artery reamed out or replaced.

Ordinary sugar and high-fructose corn syrup make up one-sixth of the average American’s calorie intake. Half of all added sugars come to us in the form of “liquid candy”: soft drinks, fruit drinks, sports drinks, and iced teas. And it is those sugary drinks that pose the biggest risk of weight gain, because they don’t seem to curb appetite as much as do solid foods. In fact, the one food or beverage that has been demonstrated to promote weight gain is non-diet soft drinks.

Each of us needs to make an effort to choose a healthy diet, even though that might mean changing life-long eating habits. Many of today’s adults grew up watching junk-food commercials and eating fatty, salty meals at fast-food restaurants. Back then, few people were talking about good nutrition. In the process, many people did not learn how to cook, other than putting a box into the microwave oven. Now, the medical community, the federal government, and even large parts of the food industry agree that we’ve got to go down a different road. While changing our eating habits may be momentarily jarring, a smaller waistline, healthier arteries, and greater vitality are worth the effort.

So it’s time to cut out (or down on) the junk and replace it with the good stuff:

• Plan snacks and meals around fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat milk and yogurt, fish, and lean poultry. Use one of those cookbooks on your shelf to try out a new, healthy recipe. If you fill up on the good stuff, you won’t be tempted so much by the bad.

• At the grocery store, switch from whole or 2% milk to 1% or fat-free, and switch from white bread and white rice to whole wheat bread and brown rice. Tap water, seltzer water, flavored unsweetened water, and even diet sodas are better for you than sugary soft drinks. Use Nutrition Facts labels to help you choose healthier packaged-food products—but you’d be best off skipping whole aisles of the supermarket.

• At restaurants, don’t be tempted by the huge portions. Share an entrée with a friend, ask the server to wrap up half for lunch tomorrow, skip dessert…or eat at home! Thanks to new laws, calorie labeling has come to fast food and other chain restaurants in some locales and will be going nationwide in 2012—that should be a big help when choosing what to order.

And, don’t forget to exercise, starting with pushing away the plate when you’re full!

While we can choose healthier diets on our own, doing so would be a lot easier if we got more help from government health agencies and companies. The Federal Trade Commission should be stopping deceptive advertisements, and the Food and Drug Administration should be stopping deceptive labels. The FDA should also require simplified nutrition information on the fronts of food packages, limit sodium in packaged foods, and get artificial trans fat—gram for gram, the most harmful kind of fat—totally out of food.

Some food manufacturers are, if only hesitantly, getting on the nutrition bandwagon. Campbell, Frito-Lay, General Mills, and other companies are getting rid of trans fat and lowering sodium. Whole grains are getting a bit easier to find in the bread, pasta, and rice aisles. But there’s a long way to go, and a lot of the less-harmful processed foods still are made with dyes, white flour, and plenty of sugar.

Every employer should make sure that the foods in the cafeteria and vending machines are healthy. A few employers, such as the huge Cleveland Clinic, are removing sodas and other junk foods from their vending machines and cafeterias, posting calorie information in cafeterias, and providing space for a weekly farmers market. Health insurance companies should encourage doctors to inform heart patients that a healthy diet and more exercise are often the smartest way to treat heart disease. And health departments at all levels of government should mount community-wide campaigns aimed at reducing consumption of soft drinks, meat, and cheese; increasing consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables; and consuming fewer salty foods.

Joan Valentine - A Foundation for Natural Cures, Inc. - Provides education and integrative medicine solutions to those suffering from cancer and their families.

Yoga instructor Tari Prinster is a seven-year cancer survivor

The positive impact yoga has on our bodies is one of the reasons it is practiced by more than 20 million people in the United States. Yoga can also be useful to those battling cancer.

That’s just one of the terrific messages in Yogawoman, a new, inspirational and empowering feature documentary narrated by Academy Award nominee Annette Bening that details yoga’s impact on females’ health, fitness, emotional well-being and personal growth.

Tara Prinster, a yoga teacher in New York, is among those featured. She admits she started yoga late in life for “vanity” reasons once she noticed she started to hunch like her mother and grandmother had. Five years later, she relied heavily on yoga once she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She practiced yoga daily and says she felt good in spite of the chemotherapy treatment. She went on to develop a yoga program to support the physical and emotional challenges that cancer survivors face and talks about cancer in class.

Prinster, now 66 and a seven-year cancer survivor, points to how yoga heals and says, “Everything that we do in yoga enhances the lymphatic flow and therefore enhances the immune system.”

In Yogawoman, we also hear from Dr. Sara Gottfried, a Harvard-trained gynecologist, who synthesizes the best of western medicine with natural therapies at the Gottfried Integrative Medical Center in Oakland, Calif.

“If I could get my patients to do yoga regularly, I wouldn’t need to practice as much as I do,” she says. “It gets you into a place of hormonal balance, emotional fulfillment. It prevents depressions. It prevents anxiety. It helps you sleep better.”

Filmmaker Kate Clere McIntyre takes us outside of yoga studios and into cancer clinics, African villages, prisons and urban streets to show the positive benefits of yoga. In the documentary, which is available on DVD at yogawoman.tv and Amazon, yoga is presented as being something only men took part in at its inception thousands of years ago. Today, over 20 million people in the United States practice yoga and of those, 85% are women who take part in rich and poor communities, hospitals, prisons, schools, etc.

The film shows females of all ages – from young girls to 95 – and in various locations, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Tennessee, Detroit, London, Germany, Tokyo, Italy, Kenya, Uganda, Sydney, New Zealand, and of course India, the birthplace of yoga.Depression, anorexia, cancer and anxiety are just a few of the maladies those interviewed on camera talk about yoga combating. Boldface names in the yoga community, such as Patricia Walden, Shiva Rea, Seane Corn, Shannon Gahhon, Cyndi Lee and Elena Brower, share their words of wisdom and experience as we hear how yoga is beneficial during pregnancy, aging and youth.

Bening is a longtime advocate of yoga.“Yoga started in acting school for me, now it serves me in my life,” the actress said. “I think you need yoga more as you get older. As well as just being good exercise, you’re dealing with different body issues and the cycles of life.”

Narrator Annette Bening with Yogawoman director Kate Clere McIntyre

Joan Valentine - A Foundation for Natural Cures, Inc. - Provides education and integrative medicine solutions to those suffering from cancer and their families.

My Personal Testimony
A. L. Roberts

In April of 1983, I became very ill.  After being tested and x-rayed by my own doctor and a specialist, I was told I had cancer.  I was immediately sent to a San Francisco hospital where I was extensively tested and x-rayed.  I received the same diagnosis and the cancer had progressed and enveloped the lining of my right lung.

Several doctors reviewed my case.  A few days later I was told there was no treatment for the type of cancer I had.  I insisted that I be released from the hospital with appointments to return.

My first return appointment was on May 17, 1983.  I wasn’t any better and was taking pills for pain.  My next appointment was on June 14, 1983.  more tests and x-rays were made.  At this time the pills had to be increased for the severe pain I was in.  My doctor told me that several doctors evaluated my case and didn’t think I had over 6 months to live.  But (he) didn’t think I had that long.  He said if I had anything to do, I had better get it done.  During this conversation I asked the name of my type of cancer.  He said one way to remember it easily is it’s the same type Steve McQueen died of, and that it is a very fast acting cancer.  I told the doctor that I was going to attempt to treat myself through nutrition or any other method I could find.  He said sure, anything.

It wasn’t until the first week of July 1983, while visiting a friend that I learned about Taheebo tea.  His wife heard that i only had a short time to live.  She told me she had something that would cure me in 30 days.  I had my doubts that this would help me, but I was willing to try anything.  I came home and immediately started taking Taheebo, Chaparral and Red Clover teas.  (Taheebo is also known as Ipe Roxo and Purple Lapacho.)  Ipe Roxo is the brand that I drank.  I found it to be the finest quality available.  (Be careful as there are some brands on the market that won’t help you.)

Within 24 hours I had no more pain.  A few days later after taking the teas and being on my own nutritious diet, I began having excessive bowel movements which lasted about 2 and a half days.  I immediately started feeling much better.  I was sure the cancer had gone but I had no way of being sure until my next scheduled appointment.

By August 2, 1983, I had been taking the 3 teas for 3 weeks and 2 days.  More tests and x-rays were taken to find out how far the cancer had progressed.  The doctor and several other doctors found that i no longer had cancer.  My lung was clear.  My amazed doctor asked me what I had done to cure myself.  When I told him of the teas, he cautioned me not to continue taking them.  But I continued anyway.

On November 1, 1983, I had my last checkup, and had no more cancer.  I have told several people with cancer about these teas along with my nutritious diet.  Several people that had terminal cancer tried this and were well in a very short period of time.  I feel that the combination of the 3 teas and eating nutritious foods is what healed my body.

When I first learned of Taheebo, I found it wasn’t readily available and no one seemed to know of the tea and its benefits.  That’s why I have taken it upon myself to let people know about my experience.  I’m glad now there was no treatment available through my doctors because I didn’t have to go through the debilitating chemotherapy, radiation and surgery that would have disfigured and damaged my body.

What follows is the course that I took.

I always drank Ipe Roxo and the other teas on an empty stomach if possible.  I kept the Ipe Roxo prepared in the refrigerator and reheated it one cup at a time.  I DID NOT USE A MICROWAVE OVEN AT ANY TIME.  Brewing instructions are below.

ESSENTIAL HERBAL TEA SCHEDULE
30 minutes before Breakfast – 1 cup Chaparral
1 hour, 30 minutes after Breakfast – 1 cup Ipe Roxo
30 minutes before Lunch – 1 cup Ipe Roxo
1 hour 30 minutes after Lunch – 1 cup Ipe Roxo
30 minutes before Dinner – 1 cup Ipe Roxo
Just before Bed – 1 cup Red Clover

I wasn’t able to eat most of the time, I felt I needed the best nutrition possible.  I eliminated unnecessary foods and concentrated on only foods that would give my body the nutrition it needed to keep what little strength I had left.

PLEASE NOTE:  All cooked foods were STEAMED, BROILED OR BAKED.  I ate NO red meats or fried foods of any kind.  I DID NOT drink coffee, milk or soft drinks.  I drank at least one glass of fruit juice with each meal.  (Mainly apple juice.)  I DID NOT eat or drink citrus fruits.  I sweetened my teas and foods with honey NOT sugar.  I ate 7 grain bread.

I kept a salad prepared in the refrigerator.  Many times I had no appetite so I ate at least the salad.  I ate small portions of the other foods as often as possible.  In my salad I used fresh, raw, grated vegetables and fruits.  I used more carrots and cabbage than the other vegetables.  I added a small amount of mayonnaise for consistency.  (Plain unsweetened yogurt may be used in place of mayonnaise.)  If fresh fruits and vegetables were not available, I used frozen foods.  I only used canned pineapple (drained).

I USED THE FOLLOWING TO PREPARE MY SALAD
(All of these foods were grated into each salad.)
carrots, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, turnips, raisins, apples, peaches, pineapples (drained)

FOR BREAKFAST I CHOSE FROM THESE FOODS
Oatmeal or Oat Bran, Cream of Wheat, Eggs boiled or poached (if desired, only on occasion)

FOR LUNCH AND DINNER I CHOSE FROM THESE FOODS
MEATS – chicken, turkey, fish, (white meat only)
VEGETABLES – red potatoes, brown rice, carrots, turnips, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage,            Brussels sprouts, asparagus
FRUITS – raisins, apples, pineapple (drained), peaches, pears, prunes, cherries

I chose from any 3 or 4 of these foods for each meal.  I ate portions of meat at least 2 to 5 times per week.  I ate portions of ALL the foods listed for 30 days or longer if necessary.  I did not eat any other foods.  I found out later that these foods have cancer fighting agents in them.

TO BREW IPE ROXO (TAHEEBO) TEA:
Use a covered container made of stainless steel, corning ware, glass or porcelain.  Do not use aluminum.  Add 1 quart of distilled or pure water and bring to a boil. Add 1 heaping tablespoon of the Inner Bark.  Simmer for 10 minutes, turn off heat and let stand 20 minutes.  Strain into a glass container and store in refrigerator.

Take 8 oz. at least 4 times a day, at least 30 minutes before meals.  If you wake during the night, drink an additional 8 oz.  The terminally ill sometimes choose to use it stronger and more often if time is of the essence.  (Double the strength).

TAHEEBO IS THE INNER BARK OF A TREE NATIVE TO SOUTH AMERICA.  I DID NOT USE IPE ROXO HERBAL TEA IN CAPSULE FORM OR IN TEA BAG FORM.  Do not use a coffee maker of any kind.  Brewing time cannot be reduced as therapeutic nutrients are obtained during this 30 minute process.

CHAPARRAL AND RED CLOVER TEAS:
To prepare Chaparral and Red Clover Teas, follow the instructions found on the package.  I used Chaparral and Red Clover in tea bag form only.

I SUPPLEMENTED MY DIET WITH THESE VITAMINS
1 – 500 mg. Vitamin C with Rose Hips (twice a day)
1 – 10,000 I.U. Vitamin A
1 – 30 mg. Zinc tablet
1 – Kelp tablet

During the past two and a half years since I have cured myself of cancer, I have read and researched many articles concerning Taheebo Tea.  I’ve learned that South American doctors discovered this tea through ancient Indian tribes who have used Taheebo for thousands of years and have had great success in treating the following maladies:

Anemia, Arteriosclerosis, Arthritis, Asthma, Bronchitis, Cancer, Colitis, Cystitis, Diabetes, Eczema, Fistulas, Gastritis, Gonorrhea, Hemorrhages, Hernias, Hodgkins disease, Infections, Leukemia, Liver ailments, Lupus, Nephritis, Osteomyelitis, Parkinson’s disease, Pain Reliever, Polyps, Prostatitis, Psoriasis, Pyorrhea, Rheumatism, Ringworm, Skin cancer, Spleen infections, Syphilis, Ulcers, Varicose Veins, Wounds.

I feel better than I have in years.  My wife and I drink about 2 cups Taheebo each day.  Neither of us have had to see a doctor since my cancer was cured.  Many friends drink this also and haven’t had the need to see a doctor.  Some have used Taheebo tea for some of the above mentioned maladies and they too have had great success especially for cancer and arthritis.

I have also learned that you can eat all you want of these foods and lose weight without losing your strength.  People who drink the tea for seven days before scheduled surgery seem to suffer no staff infections and the healing is much faster.  This diet seems to make our metabolism work properly and will also make you gain weight if needed.

Joan Valentine - A Foundation for Natural Cures, Inc. - Provides education and integrative medicine solutions to those suffering from cancer and their families.

April 20th, 2010 – by: David Servan-Schreiber, M.D., Ph.D.
My friend and colleague Richard Béliveau, Ph.D. one of the world’s leading researcher in the effects of foods on cancer biochemistry, was so struck by the results of the Bofetta study that I discussed in my last blog that he sent me his reaction, which I’d like to share with you. According to Dr. Béliveau, although we know that consumption of copious amounts of certain specific fruits and vegetables reduces the risk of developing different types of cancer, this protective effect is not systematically linked to all plant products. I completely agree with his reasoning.

We’ve known for many years that consuming copious amounts of certain specific fruits and vegetables reduces our risk of developing various types of cancer. But a recent study reminds us that this protective effect is not linked to all fruit and vegetables. Some foods contain larger amounts of anticancer molecules. Thus we need to be attentive to our choices.

Lifestyle and Cancer:

Cancer is not a disease whose origin is principally genetic, as many people continue to believe. It is a pathology that is closely linked to a range of lifestyle factors, particularly smoking and obesity (which stems from our sedentary habits and our dietary choices). Several studies have shown a direct link between the regular consumption of certain fruits and vegetables and a reduction in risk of developing various types of cancer.

Protective studies showing links between consumption of specific foods and the incidence of cancer in human populations:

FoodsParticipantsCancer TypeRisk Reduction
Cruciferous vegetables47,909
4,309
29,361Bladder
Lung
Prostate50%
30%
50%
Tomatoes47,365Prostate25%
Citrus Fruit521,457Stomach, Esophagus25%
Leafy greens (Dietary Folic Acid)81,922
11,699Pancreas
Breast (post-menopause)75%
44%
Lignans (flax seeds and others)58,049Breast (post-menopause , estrogen-receptor +)28%
Carrots470,802Head and neck46%
Apples, pears, plums470,802Head and neck38%
Green Tea69,710Colorectal57%
Vegetable oils & Nuts (Dietary tocopherols) 295,344Prostate32%
Vitamin D / Calcium10,578Breast (pre-menopause)35%
Source: Béliveau, Gingras, Blaslyk, Eating Well, Living Well: An Everyday Guide for Optimum Health

It’s particularly important to specifically include these in our diet, because not all fruits and vegetables share the same potential for active prevention against cancer. There are major differences in their levels of anticancer components. In some cases the phytochemical components that provide the greatest cancer-preventing activity are present only in a few, very specific fruits and vegetables. For example, the isoflavones of soy, the resveratrol of grapes, the curcumin of turmeric, the isothiocyanates and indoles of broccoli and the catechins of green tea are all anticancer molecules whose distribution among plants is extremely restricted.

In other words, even though all fruits and vegetables are an integral part of a balanced diet, only some of them can truly influence the risk of cancer.

Quality, Not Quantity

The importance of including these foods in our diet is fully illustrated by results of studies that examine the global risk of cancer according to the total quantity of fruit and vegetables consumed, without regard for specific types. For example, a study of more than 100,000 American health professions did not establish that total consumption of fruit and vegetables was linked to a reduction in the risk of cancer (1). However, within this same population researchers have observed a significant reduction in the risk of bladder cancer in men who consumed large amounts of cruciferous vegetables (2), and a significant reduction in the risk of prostate cancer following regular consumption of tomato-based products (3). A European study of 400,000 people has just produced similar results. Total consumption of fruit and vegetables is not associated with a significant reduction in the total risk of cancer (4). However, results previously obtained from this same population show that certain fruits (particularly citrus fruit) considerably reduce the risk of stomach cancer (5).

These observations indicate that the development of various types of cancer is modulated differently by the specifics of the fruits and vegetables consumed, rather than by the quantity of overall consumption. This is very important, because in the United States fully half the fruit and vegetables consumed are relatively poor in protective impact (potatoes, iceberg lettuce, canned tomatoes), while the per capita consumption of plants rich in anticancer molecules — such as cruciferous vegetables — is barely 1 %. Increased consumption of foods that contain high amounts of anticancer molecules (cabbage family, garlic family, green tea, small fruit, citrus fruit, tomatoes and carrots), and which are thus able to target several distinct processes essential to the growth of cancer cells, is absolutely essential in order to reduce significantly the risk of certain cancers.

All fruits and vegetables are excellent for overall health. They protect, for example, against cardio-vascular disease. But in the case of cancer, we continue to emphasize that their protective effects are specific to certain fruits and vegetables

Joan Valentine - A Foundation for Natural Cures, Inc. - Provides education and integrative medicine solutions to those suffering from cancer and their families.

The first step to cooking healthy is to stock your kitchen with a variety of foods that you can throw together for healthy meals in a hurry. Keep these foods on hand for fast meals on busy nights.

In the cupboard
• Beans: black, pinto, kidney, chickpeas, lentils, refried
• Rice: brown, long grain, rice mixes
• Pasta: whole wheat, spaghetti, fettucini, penne, bowtie, ramen noodles
• Other grains: couscous, orzo, cornmeal, whole wheat crackers, bread sticks, bread crumbs
• Onions
• Canned tomatoes: diced, whole, seasoned, sun-dried, sauce, salsa
• Canned vegetable: mixed vegetables, green beans, mushrooms
• Canned and dried fruits: applesauce, cranberries
• Sauces: pasta, pizza, tomato
• Soups: canned soups, broth and bouillon and dried soup mixes
• Meats: canned tuna, salmon, minced clams, and chicken
• Peanut butter
• Evaporated milk
• Vinegars: cider, red and white wine, balsamic
• Your favorite herbs and spices
• Oils: olive, canola, peanut, and non-fat cooking spray

In the refrigerator
• Vegetables and fruits
• 100% vegetable and fruit juices
• Reduced-fat milk and yogurt (without added sugar)
• Reduced-fat cheeses: Cheddar, mozzarella, Swiss, Monterey Jack, cottage, Parmesan
• Reduced-fat sour cream and cream cheese
• Whole wheat and corn tortillas
• Eggs
• Minced garlic
• Sauces: Worcestershire, soy, teriyaki, and chili
• Ketchup and mustard (spicy and Dijon)
• Salad dressings with olive oil or reduced fat

In the freezer
• Frozen vegetables, fruits, and 100% juices
• Frozen chopped onions and chopped green pepper
• Breads: whole grain breads, dinner rolls, English muffins, bagels
• Meats: chicken breast, ground turkey breast, extra lean hamburger
• Fish: red snapper, salmon, orange roughy, cod, flounder, sole
• Frozen yogurt or fruit sorbet

Whole grains vs. refined grains
A whole grain is made up of three parts: the bran, endosperm and germ. Refined grains are made from the endosperm. Because the bran and germ contain much of the vitamins, minerals and all of the fiber found in grains, whole grains have more fiber and nutrients than refined (or processed) grains. Shoot for at least 3 servings of whole grain foods each day.

Joan Valentine - A Foundation for Natural Cures, Inc. - Provides education and integrative medicine solutions to those suffering from cancer and their families.