"The other day, the birthday boy in my daughter's first grade class said to me, "You smile all the time." I hear this a lot. Basically, it's my nature, an emotional set point of sorts.
I remember, however, a more awkward time in my life when this wasn't yet true. In about 8th grade, I was paging through my American Girl magazine and came across an article about how to make more friends. I took notice, because although I did have friends, my best friend since age 3 was choosing to hang out with other girls (and boys) rather than me, and I was feeling rather blue. The only thing I remember about the article was that it mentioned smiling - "people would rather be with someone cheerful, so smile a lot."
It felt a little foreign at first, but I remember consciously practicing, smiling throughout the day. I didn't tell anyone about it, and aside from that few days of "working"on it, I didn't think much about it for nearly two years. It wasn't until I exchanged school pictures with a cute friend who signed the back of his senior picture for me and mentioned that he appreciated my (frequent) smile. I realized in that moment that I had internalized the advice in the article. Smiling had become my habit, a part of my personality.
My next experiment on smiling came my junior year in high school French class. My classmate and I were bored. We were tired of conjugating verbs and reading French literature, and somehow came up with the idea of smiling for the remaining 20 minutes of class. From this place of boredom, we set out with wide grins on our faces. We poked each other now and then when we thought the other was slacking. What I quickly learned was that this "fake" smile tricked me into believing it was real, and it started turning into a true smile. I could sense my spirits rising to meet that smile and could feel the happiness and joy bubbling inside of me. Smiling became easier for the remaining time we had left. It quickly escalated into laughter. Trying to stifle the laughter in order not to be noticed by Madame made us laugh even harder. Our cheeks were hurting and we were holding our stomachs, relieved and overjoyed to hear the bell ring. I may have learned more in that 20 minutes than I did the entire rest of the school year.
Years later my husband was reading Tony Robbins and trying out his suggestion of smiling in the mirror for 2 minutes to start your day. It was fun to watch his mood increase while grinning into the shiny glass in front of him. Remembering back to high school French class, I gladly joined in.
Fake it 'til you make it, and enjoy your day! C'est magnifique!"
Jeanie Stewart
Jeanie is a writer and a smiler, living in Maui, Hawaii. You can reach her at: jeanieonmaui@gmail.com
Friday, May 30, 2008
Refined carbohydrates and disease
"A new study shows just how deadly refined carbohydrates are - even for a healthy person. One serving given to a lean and healthy young adult is adequate to triple the inflammatory response to the surge in glucose. We have known for a long time that the high glycemic/refined carbohydrates (table sugar, white bread, etc.) are disease producing when consumed over a period of time. However, I don't think anyone knew that a single meal activates the core gene signal (NF-KappaB) that drives your body's entire inflammation process - even in a healthy normal-weight person. Excess NF-KappaB activation is the central theme of all diseases - including cancer and heart disease.
One hundred years ago Harvey Wiley, M.D. started the FDA so that we could have an organic food supply rich in whole grains. Soon he was booted from his position by the White House and the food industry who wanted nothing to do with healthy food for Americans. These criminals have a century of damage on their hands. Before he died he wrote a tell-all book: The History of a Crime Against the Food Law. Subtitle: The amazing story of the national food and drugs law intended to protect the health of the people perverted to protect the adulteration of food and drugs. Our government bought all the copies so hardly anyone could read it!
The profits of the junk food industry and the junk grain industry have crippled the health of our citizens. Our government has been force-feeding this trash on our children for the past 30 years via the school lunch program and the food pyramid guidelines. This program has enabled refined junk food carbohydrates, sold at considerable profit by garbage-oriented food companies, to be the staple of the diet for a growing child. Heads should roll - now that their idiocy has contributed in no small part to an obesity epidemic in our children."
from
http://www.wellnessresources.com/weight/articles/refined_carbohydrates_and_the_fast_track_to_disease/?source=Email&camp=news052908
One hundred years ago Harvey Wiley, M.D. started the FDA so that we could have an organic food supply rich in whole grains. Soon he was booted from his position by the White House and the food industry who wanted nothing to do with healthy food for Americans. These criminals have a century of damage on their hands. Before he died he wrote a tell-all book: The History of a Crime Against the Food Law. Subtitle: The amazing story of the national food and drugs law intended to protect the health of the people perverted to protect the adulteration of food and drugs. Our government bought all the copies so hardly anyone could read it!
The profits of the junk food industry and the junk grain industry have crippled the health of our citizens. Our government has been force-feeding this trash on our children for the past 30 years via the school lunch program and the food pyramid guidelines. This program has enabled refined junk food carbohydrates, sold at considerable profit by garbage-oriented food companies, to be the staple of the diet for a growing child. Heads should roll - now that their idiocy has contributed in no small part to an obesity epidemic in our children."
from
http://www.wellnessresources.com/weight/articles/refined_carbohydrates_and_the_fast_track_to_disease/?source=Email&camp=news052908
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
What can stop you
"Obstacles can't stop you. Problems can't stop you. Most of all, other people can't stop you. Only you can stop you."
Jeffrey Gitomer
Author and Sales Trainer
Jeffrey Gitomer
Author and Sales Trainer
Monday, May 26, 2008
Today I will make a difference
"Today I will make a difference. I will begin by controlling my thoughts. A person is the product of their thoughts. I want to be happy and hopeful. Therefore, I will have thoughts that are happy and hopeful. I refuse to be victimized by my circumstances. I will not let petty inconveniences such as stoplights, long lines, and traffic jams be my masters. I will avoid negativism and gossip. Optimism will be my companion, and victory will be my hallmark. Today I will make a difference.
I will be grateful for the twenty-four hours that are before me. Time is a precious commodity. I refuse to allow what little time I have to be contaminated by self-pity, anxiety, or boredom. I will face this day with the joy of a child and the courage of a giant. I will drink each minute as though it is my last. When tomorrow comes, today will be gone forever. While it is here, I will use it for loving and giving. Today I will make a difference.
I will not let past failures haunt me. Even though my life is scarred with mistakes, I refuse to rummage through my trash heap of failures. I will admit them. I will correct them. I will press on. Victoriously. No failure is fatal. It's OK to stumble - I will get up. It's OK to fail - I will rise again. Today I will make a difference.
I will spend time with those I love. My spouse, my children, my family. A man can own the world but be poor for the lack of love. A man can own nothing and yet be wealthy in relationships. Today I will spend at least five minutes with the significant people in my world. Five quality minutes of talking or hugging or thanking or listening. Five undiluted minutes with my mate, children, and friends.
Today I will make a difference."
Max Lucado,
author
I will be grateful for the twenty-four hours that are before me. Time is a precious commodity. I refuse to allow what little time I have to be contaminated by self-pity, anxiety, or boredom. I will face this day with the joy of a child and the courage of a giant. I will drink each minute as though it is my last. When tomorrow comes, today will be gone forever. While it is here, I will use it for loving and giving. Today I will make a difference.
I will not let past failures haunt me. Even though my life is scarred with mistakes, I refuse to rummage through my trash heap of failures. I will admit them. I will correct them. I will press on. Victoriously. No failure is fatal. It's OK to stumble - I will get up. It's OK to fail - I will rise again. Today I will make a difference.
I will spend time with those I love. My spouse, my children, my family. A man can own the world but be poor for the lack of love. A man can own nothing and yet be wealthy in relationships. Today I will spend at least five minutes with the significant people in my world. Five quality minutes of talking or hugging or thanking or listening. Five undiluted minutes with my mate, children, and friends.
Today I will make a difference."
Max Lucado,
author
Friday, May 23, 2008
A Magnesium Deficiency Increases Cancer Risk Significantly
(NaturalNews) "There is a power and a force in magnesium that cannot be equaled anywhere else in the world of medicine. There is no substitute for magnesium in human physiology; nothing comes even close to it in terms of its effect on overall cell physiology. Without sufficient magnesium, the body accumulates toxins and acid residues, degenerates rapidly, and ages prematurely. It goes against a gale wind of medical science to ignore magnesium chloride used transdermally in the treatment of any chronic or acute disorder, especially cancer.
Magnesium repletion produced rapid disappearance of the periosteal tumors.
Aleksandrowicz et al in Poland conclude that inadequacy of Mg (Magnesium) and antioxidants are important risk factors in predisposing to leukemias. Other researchers found that 46% of the patients admitted to an ICU (Intensive Care Unit) in a tertiary cancer center presented hypomagnesemia.
They concluded that the incidence of hypomagnesemia in critically ill cancer patients is high. In animal studies we find that Mg deficiency has caused lymphopoietic neoplasms in young rats. A study of rats surviving Mg deficiency sufficient to cause death in convulsions during early infancy in some, and cardiorenal lesions weeks later in others, disclosed that some of survivors had thymic nodules or lymphosarcoma.
One would not normally think that Magnesium (Mg) deficiency can paradoxically increase the risk of, or protect against cancer yet we will find that just as severe dehydration or asphyxiation can cause death, magnesium deficiency can directly lead to cancer. When you consider that over 300 enzymes and ion transport require magnesium and that its role in fatty acid and phospholipid acid metabolism affects permeability and stability of membranes, we can see that magnesium deficiency would lead to physiological decline in cells setting the stage for cancer. Anything that weakens cell physiology will lead to the infections that surround and penetrate tumor tissues. These infections are proving to be an integral part of cancer. Magnesium deficiency poses a direct threat to the health of our cells. Without sufficient amounts, our cells calcify and rot in. Breeding grounds for yeast and fungi colonies they become, invaders all too ready to strangle our life force and kill us.
Over 300 different enzymes systems rely upon magnesium to facilitate their catalytic action, including ATP metabolism, creatine-kinase activation, adenylate-cyclase, and sodium-potassium-ATPase.
It is known that carcinogenesis induces magnesium distribution disturbances, which cause magnesium mobilization through blood cells and magnesium depletion in non-neoplastic tissues. Magnesium deficiency seems to be carcinogenic, and in case of solid tumors, a high level of supplemented magnesium inhibits carcinogenesis. Both carcinogenesis and magnesium deficiency increase the plasma membrane permeability and fluidity. Scientists have in fact found out that there is much less Mg++ binding to membrane phospholipids of cancer cells, than to normal cell membranes.
Magnesium protects cells from aluminum, mercury, lead, cadmium, beryllium and nickel.
Magnesium in general is essential for the survival of our cells but takes on further importance in the age of toxicity where our bodies are being bombarded on a daily basis with heavy metals. Glutathione requires magnesium for its synthesis. Glutathione synthetase requires y-glutamyl cysteine, glycine, ATP, and magnesium ions to form glutathione. In magnesium deficiency, the enzyme y-glutamyl transpeptidase is lowered. According to Dr. Russell Blaylock, low magnesium is associated with dramatic increases in free radical generation as well as glutathione depletion and this is vital since glutathione is one of the few antioxidant molecules known to neutralize mercury. Without the cleaning and chelating work of glutathione (magnesium), cells begin to decay as cellular filth and heavy metals accumulate; excellent environments to attract deadly infection/cancer.
There is drastic change in ionic flux from the outer and inner cell membranes both in the impaired membranes of cancer, and in Mg deficiency.
Anghileri et al proposed that modifications of cell membranes are principal triggering factors in cell transformation leading to cancer. Using cells from induced cancers, they found that there is much less magnesium binding to membrane phospholipids of cancer cells, than to normal cell membranes. It has been suggested that Mg deficiency may trigger carcinogenesis by increasing membrane permeability. Magnesium deficient cell membranes seem to have a smoother surface than normal, and decreased membrane viscosity, analogous to changes in human leukemia cells. There is drastic change in ionic flux from the outer and inner cell membranes (higher Ca and Na; lower Mg and K levels), both in the impaired membranes of cancer, and of Mg deficiency. And we find that lead (Pb) salts are more leukemogenic when given to Mg deficient rats, than when they are given to Mg-adequate rats, suggesting that Mg is protective.
Magnesium has an effect on a variety of cell membranes through a process involving calcium channels and ion transport mechanisms. Magnesium is responsible for the maintenance of the trans-membrane gradients of sodium and potassium.
Long ago, researchers postulated that magnesium supplementation of those who are Mg deficient, like chronic alcoholics, might decrease emergence of malignancies and now modern researchers have found that all types of alcohol -- wine, beer or liquor -- add equally to the risk of developing breast cancer in women. The researchers, led by Dr. Arthur Klatsky of the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in Oakland, Calif., revealed their findings at a meeting of the European Cancer Organization in Barcelona in late 2007. It was found that women who had one or two drinks a day increased their risk of developing breast cancer by 10 percent. Women who had more than three drinks a day raised their risk by 30 percent. The more one drinks, the more one drives down magnesium levels.
Breast cancer is the second most common cancer killer of women, after lung cancer. It will be diagnosed in 1.2 million people globally this year and will kill 500,000.
According to data published in the British Journal of Cancer in 2002, 4 percent of all breast cancers -- about 44,000 cases a year -- in the United Kingdom are due to alcohol consumption. It's an important question though, and one not asked by medical or health officials, is it the alcohol itself or the resultant drop in magnesium levels that is cancer provoking? Though some studies have shown that light to moderate alcohol use can protect against heart attacks, it does us no good to drink if it causes cancer. Perhaps if magnesium was supplemented in women drinkers who were studied, there would have been no increase of cancer from drinking.
Alcohol has always been known to deplete magnesium, and is one of the first supplements given to alcoholics when they stop and attempt to detoxify and withdraw.
Researchers from the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota have just concluded that diets rich in magnesium reduced the occurrence of colon cancer. A previous study from Sweden reported that women with the highest magnesium intake had a 40 per cent lower risk of developing the cancer than those with the lowest intake of the mineral.
Pretreatment hypomagnesemia has been reported in young leukemic children, 78% of whom have histories of anorexia, and have excessive gut and urinary losses of Mg.
Several studies have shown an increased cancer rate in regions with low magnesium levels in soil and drinking water, and the same for selenium. In Egypt, the cancer rate was only about 10% of that in Europe and America. In the rural fellah, it was practically non-existent. The main difference was an extremely high magnesium intake of 2.5 to 3g in these cancer-free populations, ten times more than in most western countries.
The School of Public Health at the Kaohsiung Medical College in Taiwan found that magnesium also exerts a protective effect against gastric cancer, but only for the group with the highest levels.
If we looked, it would probably be very difficult to find a cancer patient with anywhere near normal levels of cellular magnesium; meaning cancer probably does not exist in a physical cellular environment full of magnesium. It makes perfect medical sense to saturate the body with magnesium through transdermal means. Magnesium deficiency has been implicated in a host of clinical disorders but the medical establishment just cannot get it through its thick skull that it is an important medicine.
It is as if the collective medical profession had just pulled the plug on medical intelligence. In fact it has done exactly this and it seems too late for it to redefine itself, which is a tragedy. Though magnesium improves the internal production of defensive substances, such as antibodies and considerably improves the operational activity of white granulocytic blood cells (shown by Delbert with magnesium chloride), and contributes to many other functions that insure the integrity of cellular metabolism, no one thinks to use it in cancer as a primary treatment. It is even worse than this, the medical establishment does not even use magnesium as a secondary treatment or even use it at all and gladly uses radiation and chemo therapy, both of which force magnesium levels down further.
To not replete cellular magnesium levels would be negligent, especially in the case of cancer where a person's life is on the line. An oncologist who ignores his patient's magnesium levels would be analogous to an emergency room physician not rushing resuscitation when a person stops breathing. If one elects to have or has already had chemotherapy, they have four times the reason to pay attention to a concentrated protocol aimed at replenishing full magnesium cellular stores.
Magnesium chloride is the first and most important item in any person's cancer treatment strategy. Put in the clearest terms possible, our suggestion from the first day on the Survival Medicine Cancer Protocol is to almost drown oneself in transdermally applied magnesium chloride. It should be the first, not the last thing, we think of when it comes to cancer. It takes about three to four months to drive up cellular magnesium levels to where they should be when treated intensely transdermally but within days patients will commonly experience its life saving medical/healing effects. For many people whose bodies are starving for magnesium, the experience is not too much different than for a person coming out of a desert desperate for water. It is that basic to life, that important, that necessary.
That same power found in magnesium that will save your life in the emergency room during cardiac arrest, that will diminish damage of a stroke if administered in a timely fashion, is the same power that can save one's life if one has cancer. All a patient has to do is pour it into their baths or spray it right onto their bodies. What could be simpler?
Magnesium chloride, when applied directly to the skin, is transdermally absorbed and has an almost immediate effect on chronic and acute pain.
Special Note on Calcium and Cancer:
Experts say excessive calcium intake may be unwise in light of recent studies showing that high amounts of the mineral may increase risk of prostate cancer. "There is reasonable evidence to suggest that calcium may play an important role in the development of prostate cancer," says Dr. Carmen Rodriguez, senior epidemiologist in the epidemiology and surveillance research department of the American Cancer Society (ACS). Rodriguez says that a 1998 Harvard School of Public Health study of 47,781 men found those consuming between 1,500 and 1,999 mg of calcium per day had about double the risk of being diagnosed with metastatic (cancer that has spread to other parts of the body) prostate cancer as those getting 500 mg per day or less. And those taking in 2,000 mg or more had over four times the risk of developing metastatic prostate cancer as those taking in less than 500 mg.
Calcium and magnesium are opposites in their effects on our body structure. As a general rule, the more rigid and inflexible our body structure is, the less calcium and the more magnesium we need.
Later in 1998, Harvard researchers published a study of dairy product intake among 526 men diagnosed with prostate cancer and 536 similar men not diagnosed with the disease. That study found a 50% increase in prostate cancer risk and a near doubling of risk of metastatic prostate cancer among men consuming high amounts of dairy products, likely due, say the researchers, to the high total amount of calcium in such a diet. The most recent Harvard study on the topic, published in October 2001, looked at dairy product intake among 20,885 men and found men consuming the most dairy products had about 32% higher risk of developing prostate cancer than those consuming the least.
The adverse effects of excessive calcium intake may include high blood calcium levels, kidney stone formation and kidney complications. Elevated calcium levels are also associated with arthritic/joint and vascular degeneration, calcification of soft tissue, hypertension and stroke, and increase in VLDL triglycerides, gastrointestinal disturbances, mood and depressive disorders, chronic fatigue, and general mineral imbalances including magnesium, zinc, iron and phosphorus. High calcium levels interfere with Vitamin D and subsequently inhibit the vitamin's cancer protective effect unless extra amounts of Vitamin D are supplemented.
Magnesium is the mineral of rejuvenation and prevents the calcification of our organs and tissues that is characteristic of the old-age related degeneration of our body.
Recommendations of magnesium to calcium ratios range from 1:2 to 1:1. For those interested in preventing cancer, one should look closely at the 1:1 camp and during the first six months of treatment, one should be looking at ten parts magnesium to one part calcium. In reality, one need not even count the ratio during the first months for the only real danger of extremely high magnesium levels comes with patients suffering from kidney failure. If one is at all concerned about their calcium intake, one should eat foods high in both calcium and magnesium like toasted sesame seeds.
Up to 30% of the energy of cells is used to pump calcium out of the cells.
Doctors who have used intravenous magnesium treatments know the benefits of peaking magnesium levels, even if only temporarily. For the cancer patient the transdermal approach combined with oral use offers the opportunity to take magnesium levels up strongly and quickly. For emergency situations, three applications a day; for urgent situations, two treatments would be indicated though one strong treatment with an ounce of a natural magnesium chloride solution spread all over the body like a sun screen is a powerful systemic treatment.
It is medical wisdom that tells us that magnesium is actually the key to the body's proper assimilation and use of calcium, as well as other important nutrients. If we consume too much calcium, without sufficient magnesium, the excess calcium is not utilized correctly and may actually become toxic, causing painful conditions in the body. Hypocalcemia is a prominent manifestation of magnesium deficiency in humans (Rude et al., 1976). Even mild degrees of magnesium depletion significantly decreases the serum calcium concentration (Fatemi et al., 1991).
Calcium requirement for men and women is lower than previously estimated."
This is an excerpt from Dr. Mark Sircus' excellent new book "Winning the War On Cancer".
Fully referenced article available at: (http://www.magnesiumforlife.com/) .
More alternative cancer information available at: (http://www.winningcancer.com/) .
About the author
Mark A. Sircus Ac., OMD, is director of the International Medical Veritas Association (IMVA)http://www.imva.info/. Dr. Sircus was trained in acupuncture and oriental medicine at the Institute of Traditional Medicine in Sante Fe, N.M., and in the School of Traditional Medicine of New England in Boston. He served at the Central Public Hospital of Pochutla, in México, and was awarded the title of doctor of oriental medicine for his work. He was one of the first nationally certified acupuncturists in the United States. Dr. Sircus's IMVA is dedicated to unifying the various disciplines in medicine with the goal of creating a new dawn in healthcare.
He is particularly concerned about the effect vaccinations have on vulnerable infants and is identifying the common thread of many toxic agents that are dramatically threatening present and future generations of children. His book The Terror of Pediatric Medicine is a free e-book one can read. Dr. Sircus is a most prolific and courageous writer and one can read through hundreds of pages on his various web sites.
He has most recently released his Survival Medicine for the 21st Century compendium (2,200 page ebook) and just released the Winning the War Against Cancer book. Dr. Sircus is a pioneer in the area of natural detoxification and chelation of toxic chemicals and heavy metals. He is also a champion of the medicinal value of minerals and is fathering in a new medical approach that uses sea water and different concentrates taken from it for health and healing. Transdermal Magnesium Therapy, his first published work, offers a stunning breakthrough in medicine, an entirely new way to supplement magnesium that naturally increases DHEA levels, brings cellular magnesium levels up quickly, relieves pain, brings down blood pressure and pushes cell physiology in a positive direction. Magnesium chloride delivered transdermally brings a quick release from a broad range of conditions.
International Medical Veritas Association: http://www.imva.info/
Magnesium repletion produced rapid disappearance of the periosteal tumors.
Aleksandrowicz et al in Poland conclude that inadequacy of Mg (Magnesium) and antioxidants are important risk factors in predisposing to leukemias. Other researchers found that 46% of the patients admitted to an ICU (Intensive Care Unit) in a tertiary cancer center presented hypomagnesemia.
They concluded that the incidence of hypomagnesemia in critically ill cancer patients is high. In animal studies we find that Mg deficiency has caused lymphopoietic neoplasms in young rats. A study of rats surviving Mg deficiency sufficient to cause death in convulsions during early infancy in some, and cardiorenal lesions weeks later in others, disclosed that some of survivors had thymic nodules or lymphosarcoma.
One would not normally think that Magnesium (Mg) deficiency can paradoxically increase the risk of, or protect against cancer yet we will find that just as severe dehydration or asphyxiation can cause death, magnesium deficiency can directly lead to cancer. When you consider that over 300 enzymes and ion transport require magnesium and that its role in fatty acid and phospholipid acid metabolism affects permeability and stability of membranes, we can see that magnesium deficiency would lead to physiological decline in cells setting the stage for cancer. Anything that weakens cell physiology will lead to the infections that surround and penetrate tumor tissues. These infections are proving to be an integral part of cancer. Magnesium deficiency poses a direct threat to the health of our cells. Without sufficient amounts, our cells calcify and rot in. Breeding grounds for yeast and fungi colonies they become, invaders all too ready to strangle our life force and kill us.
Over 300 different enzymes systems rely upon magnesium to facilitate their catalytic action, including ATP metabolism, creatine-kinase activation, adenylate-cyclase, and sodium-potassium-ATPase.
It is known that carcinogenesis induces magnesium distribution disturbances, which cause magnesium mobilization through blood cells and magnesium depletion in non-neoplastic tissues. Magnesium deficiency seems to be carcinogenic, and in case of solid tumors, a high level of supplemented magnesium inhibits carcinogenesis. Both carcinogenesis and magnesium deficiency increase the plasma membrane permeability and fluidity. Scientists have in fact found out that there is much less Mg++ binding to membrane phospholipids of cancer cells, than to normal cell membranes.
Magnesium protects cells from aluminum, mercury, lead, cadmium, beryllium and nickel.
Magnesium in general is essential for the survival of our cells but takes on further importance in the age of toxicity where our bodies are being bombarded on a daily basis with heavy metals. Glutathione requires magnesium for its synthesis. Glutathione synthetase requires y-glutamyl cysteine, glycine, ATP, and magnesium ions to form glutathione. In magnesium deficiency, the enzyme y-glutamyl transpeptidase is lowered. According to Dr. Russell Blaylock, low magnesium is associated with dramatic increases in free radical generation as well as glutathione depletion and this is vital since glutathione is one of the few antioxidant molecules known to neutralize mercury. Without the cleaning and chelating work of glutathione (magnesium), cells begin to decay as cellular filth and heavy metals accumulate; excellent environments to attract deadly infection/cancer.
There is drastic change in ionic flux from the outer and inner cell membranes both in the impaired membranes of cancer, and in Mg deficiency.
Anghileri et al proposed that modifications of cell membranes are principal triggering factors in cell transformation leading to cancer. Using cells from induced cancers, they found that there is much less magnesium binding to membrane phospholipids of cancer cells, than to normal cell membranes. It has been suggested that Mg deficiency may trigger carcinogenesis by increasing membrane permeability. Magnesium deficient cell membranes seem to have a smoother surface than normal, and decreased membrane viscosity, analogous to changes in human leukemia cells. There is drastic change in ionic flux from the outer and inner cell membranes (higher Ca and Na; lower Mg and K levels), both in the impaired membranes of cancer, and of Mg deficiency. And we find that lead (Pb) salts are more leukemogenic when given to Mg deficient rats, than when they are given to Mg-adequate rats, suggesting that Mg is protective.
Magnesium has an effect on a variety of cell membranes through a process involving calcium channels and ion transport mechanisms. Magnesium is responsible for the maintenance of the trans-membrane gradients of sodium and potassium.
Long ago, researchers postulated that magnesium supplementation of those who are Mg deficient, like chronic alcoholics, might decrease emergence of malignancies and now modern researchers have found that all types of alcohol -- wine, beer or liquor -- add equally to the risk of developing breast cancer in women. The researchers, led by Dr. Arthur Klatsky of the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in Oakland, Calif., revealed their findings at a meeting of the European Cancer Organization in Barcelona in late 2007. It was found that women who had one or two drinks a day increased their risk of developing breast cancer by 10 percent. Women who had more than three drinks a day raised their risk by 30 percent. The more one drinks, the more one drives down magnesium levels.
Breast cancer is the second most common cancer killer of women, after lung cancer. It will be diagnosed in 1.2 million people globally this year and will kill 500,000.
According to data published in the British Journal of Cancer in 2002, 4 percent of all breast cancers -- about 44,000 cases a year -- in the United Kingdom are due to alcohol consumption. It's an important question though, and one not asked by medical or health officials, is it the alcohol itself or the resultant drop in magnesium levels that is cancer provoking? Though some studies have shown that light to moderate alcohol use can protect against heart attacks, it does us no good to drink if it causes cancer. Perhaps if magnesium was supplemented in women drinkers who were studied, there would have been no increase of cancer from drinking.
Alcohol has always been known to deplete magnesium, and is one of the first supplements given to alcoholics when they stop and attempt to detoxify and withdraw.
Researchers from the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota have just concluded that diets rich in magnesium reduced the occurrence of colon cancer. A previous study from Sweden reported that women with the highest magnesium intake had a 40 per cent lower risk of developing the cancer than those with the lowest intake of the mineral.
Pretreatment hypomagnesemia has been reported in young leukemic children, 78% of whom have histories of anorexia, and have excessive gut and urinary losses of Mg.
Several studies have shown an increased cancer rate in regions with low magnesium levels in soil and drinking water, and the same for selenium. In Egypt, the cancer rate was only about 10% of that in Europe and America. In the rural fellah, it was practically non-existent. The main difference was an extremely high magnesium intake of 2.5 to 3g in these cancer-free populations, ten times more than in most western countries.
The School of Public Health at the Kaohsiung Medical College in Taiwan found that magnesium also exerts a protective effect against gastric cancer, but only for the group with the highest levels.
If we looked, it would probably be very difficult to find a cancer patient with anywhere near normal levels of cellular magnesium; meaning cancer probably does not exist in a physical cellular environment full of magnesium. It makes perfect medical sense to saturate the body with magnesium through transdermal means. Magnesium deficiency has been implicated in a host of clinical disorders but the medical establishment just cannot get it through its thick skull that it is an important medicine.
It is as if the collective medical profession had just pulled the plug on medical intelligence. In fact it has done exactly this and it seems too late for it to redefine itself, which is a tragedy. Though magnesium improves the internal production of defensive substances, such as antibodies and considerably improves the operational activity of white granulocytic blood cells (shown by Delbert with magnesium chloride), and contributes to many other functions that insure the integrity of cellular metabolism, no one thinks to use it in cancer as a primary treatment. It is even worse than this, the medical establishment does not even use magnesium as a secondary treatment or even use it at all and gladly uses radiation and chemo therapy, both of which force magnesium levels down further.
To not replete cellular magnesium levels would be negligent, especially in the case of cancer where a person's life is on the line. An oncologist who ignores his patient's magnesium levels would be analogous to an emergency room physician not rushing resuscitation when a person stops breathing. If one elects to have or has already had chemotherapy, they have four times the reason to pay attention to a concentrated protocol aimed at replenishing full magnesium cellular stores.
Magnesium chloride is the first and most important item in any person's cancer treatment strategy. Put in the clearest terms possible, our suggestion from the first day on the Survival Medicine Cancer Protocol is to almost drown oneself in transdermally applied magnesium chloride. It should be the first, not the last thing, we think of when it comes to cancer. It takes about three to four months to drive up cellular magnesium levels to where they should be when treated intensely transdermally but within days patients will commonly experience its life saving medical/healing effects. For many people whose bodies are starving for magnesium, the experience is not too much different than for a person coming out of a desert desperate for water. It is that basic to life, that important, that necessary.
That same power found in magnesium that will save your life in the emergency room during cardiac arrest, that will diminish damage of a stroke if administered in a timely fashion, is the same power that can save one's life if one has cancer. All a patient has to do is pour it into their baths or spray it right onto their bodies. What could be simpler?
Magnesium chloride, when applied directly to the skin, is transdermally absorbed and has an almost immediate effect on chronic and acute pain.
Special Note on Calcium and Cancer:
Experts say excessive calcium intake may be unwise in light of recent studies showing that high amounts of the mineral may increase risk of prostate cancer. "There is reasonable evidence to suggest that calcium may play an important role in the development of prostate cancer," says Dr. Carmen Rodriguez, senior epidemiologist in the epidemiology and surveillance research department of the American Cancer Society (ACS). Rodriguez says that a 1998 Harvard School of Public Health study of 47,781 men found those consuming between 1,500 and 1,999 mg of calcium per day had about double the risk of being diagnosed with metastatic (cancer that has spread to other parts of the body) prostate cancer as those getting 500 mg per day or less. And those taking in 2,000 mg or more had over four times the risk of developing metastatic prostate cancer as those taking in less than 500 mg.
Calcium and magnesium are opposites in their effects on our body structure. As a general rule, the more rigid and inflexible our body structure is, the less calcium and the more magnesium we need.
Later in 1998, Harvard researchers published a study of dairy product intake among 526 men diagnosed with prostate cancer and 536 similar men not diagnosed with the disease. That study found a 50% increase in prostate cancer risk and a near doubling of risk of metastatic prostate cancer among men consuming high amounts of dairy products, likely due, say the researchers, to the high total amount of calcium in such a diet. The most recent Harvard study on the topic, published in October 2001, looked at dairy product intake among 20,885 men and found men consuming the most dairy products had about 32% higher risk of developing prostate cancer than those consuming the least.
The adverse effects of excessive calcium intake may include high blood calcium levels, kidney stone formation and kidney complications. Elevated calcium levels are also associated with arthritic/joint and vascular degeneration, calcification of soft tissue, hypertension and stroke, and increase in VLDL triglycerides, gastrointestinal disturbances, mood and depressive disorders, chronic fatigue, and general mineral imbalances including magnesium, zinc, iron and phosphorus. High calcium levels interfere with Vitamin D and subsequently inhibit the vitamin's cancer protective effect unless extra amounts of Vitamin D are supplemented.
Magnesium is the mineral of rejuvenation and prevents the calcification of our organs and tissues that is characteristic of the old-age related degeneration of our body.
Recommendations of magnesium to calcium ratios range from 1:2 to 1:1. For those interested in preventing cancer, one should look closely at the 1:1 camp and during the first six months of treatment, one should be looking at ten parts magnesium to one part calcium. In reality, one need not even count the ratio during the first months for the only real danger of extremely high magnesium levels comes with patients suffering from kidney failure. If one is at all concerned about their calcium intake, one should eat foods high in both calcium and magnesium like toasted sesame seeds.
Up to 30% of the energy of cells is used to pump calcium out of the cells.
Doctors who have used intravenous magnesium treatments know the benefits of peaking magnesium levels, even if only temporarily. For the cancer patient the transdermal approach combined with oral use offers the opportunity to take magnesium levels up strongly and quickly. For emergency situations, three applications a day; for urgent situations, two treatments would be indicated though one strong treatment with an ounce of a natural magnesium chloride solution spread all over the body like a sun screen is a powerful systemic treatment.
It is medical wisdom that tells us that magnesium is actually the key to the body's proper assimilation and use of calcium, as well as other important nutrients. If we consume too much calcium, without sufficient magnesium, the excess calcium is not utilized correctly and may actually become toxic, causing painful conditions in the body. Hypocalcemia is a prominent manifestation of magnesium deficiency in humans (Rude et al., 1976). Even mild degrees of magnesium depletion significantly decreases the serum calcium concentration (Fatemi et al., 1991).
Calcium requirement for men and women is lower than previously estimated."
This is an excerpt from Dr. Mark Sircus' excellent new book "Winning the War On Cancer".
Fully referenced article available at: (http://www.magnesiumforlife.com/) .
More alternative cancer information available at: (http://www.winningcancer.com/) .
About the author
Mark A. Sircus Ac., OMD, is director of the International Medical Veritas Association (IMVA)http://www.imva.info/. Dr. Sircus was trained in acupuncture and oriental medicine at the Institute of Traditional Medicine in Sante Fe, N.M., and in the School of Traditional Medicine of New England in Boston. He served at the Central Public Hospital of Pochutla, in México, and was awarded the title of doctor of oriental medicine for his work. He was one of the first nationally certified acupuncturists in the United States. Dr. Sircus's IMVA is dedicated to unifying the various disciplines in medicine with the goal of creating a new dawn in healthcare.
He is particularly concerned about the effect vaccinations have on vulnerable infants and is identifying the common thread of many toxic agents that are dramatically threatening present and future generations of children. His book The Terror of Pediatric Medicine is a free e-book one can read. Dr. Sircus is a most prolific and courageous writer and one can read through hundreds of pages on his various web sites.
He has most recently released his Survival Medicine for the 21st Century compendium (2,200 page ebook) and just released the Winning the War Against Cancer book. Dr. Sircus is a pioneer in the area of natural detoxification and chelation of toxic chemicals and heavy metals. He is also a champion of the medicinal value of minerals and is fathering in a new medical approach that uses sea water and different concentrates taken from it for health and healing. Transdermal Magnesium Therapy, his first published work, offers a stunning breakthrough in medicine, an entirely new way to supplement magnesium that naturally increases DHEA levels, brings cellular magnesium levels up quickly, relieves pain, brings down blood pressure and pushes cell physiology in a positive direction. Magnesium chloride delivered transdermally brings a quick release from a broad range of conditions.
International Medical Veritas Association: http://www.imva.info/
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Being yourself
"To be nobody but yourself - in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you like everybody else - means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight - and never stop fighting."
E.E. Cummings
1894-1962, Poet
E.E. Cummings
1894-1962, Poet
Natural Ways to Prevent Alzheimer's Disease
"While their may be a genetic predisposition to Alzheimer's Disease, it is a primarily preventable disease. An unhealthy diet high in sugar and Trans fats, lack of both mental and physical exercise, and a highly stressful life is generally at the root of the problem.
Here are some of the proven ways to prevent Alzheimer's naturally:
* Eat a nutritious diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables. Produce that has been scientifically shown to fight Alzheimer's are pomegranates, wild blueberries, green leafy vegetables such as broccoli and spinach, and apples.
* Eat plenty of high-quality omega-3 oils found in most seeds including hemp and flax. You can also take fish oil, but make certain it is from a good source, as many fish have mercury toxicity, which causes Alzheimer's.
* Ensure that you are getting enough antioxidants. As mentioned above, eating fruit and vegetables is the best way to fight free radical damage. Chocolate, green tea, vitamin E and vitamin C are other antioxidants that may be important for defending against Alzheimer's.
* A new study from researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies has found that an antioxidant nutrient in strawberries may help improve memory and protect the brain from the onset of Alzheimer's disease.
* New research from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm shows that pre-diabetes has been shown to greatly increase the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. Pre-diabetes is associated with higher blood sugar levels.
* New research shows that a person with high cholesterol, high blood pressure and is obese is far more likely (600% more) to lose healthy brain function and be diagnosed with Alzheimer's than people who maintain a healthy body weight, and who eat a healthy diet. Find out more about how yoga can help these problems.
* The pigment in turmeric that gives curry spice its yellow hue may also be able to break up the "plaques" that mark the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients, early research suggests.
* Avoid mercury. As mentioned above, many fish are contaminated with mercury, so research which fish types are safe and mercury-free. Vaccinations are another cause of mercury toxicity.
* Avoid aluminium, such as in antiperspirants and aluminium cookware.
* Exercise for three to five hours per week. According to studies, people who regularly exercise are one-fourth as likely to develop the disease.
* Challenge your mind everyday. Research continually shows that mental stimulation, speaking two languages, travelling, puzzles, and learning to play an instrument are a good way to avoid dementia and Alzheimer's. Learn something new everyday, even a vocabulary word, or a telephone number.
* Deal with stress when it comes, since it is proven to erode mind and body. Stress produces hormones that damage the brain. Meditation, yoga, art, and gardening are just two of the ways that we can manage our stress."
About the author
Sheryl is a kinesiologist, nutritionist and holistic practitioner.
Her website www.younglivingguide.com provides the latest research on preventing disease, looking naturally gorgeous, and feeling emotionally and physically fabulous.
Here are some of the proven ways to prevent Alzheimer's naturally:
* Eat a nutritious diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables. Produce that has been scientifically shown to fight Alzheimer's are pomegranates, wild blueberries, green leafy vegetables such as broccoli and spinach, and apples.
* Eat plenty of high-quality omega-3 oils found in most seeds including hemp and flax. You can also take fish oil, but make certain it is from a good source, as many fish have mercury toxicity, which causes Alzheimer's.
* Ensure that you are getting enough antioxidants. As mentioned above, eating fruit and vegetables is the best way to fight free radical damage. Chocolate, green tea, vitamin E and vitamin C are other antioxidants that may be important for defending against Alzheimer's.
* A new study from researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies has found that an antioxidant nutrient in strawberries may help improve memory and protect the brain from the onset of Alzheimer's disease.
* New research from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm shows that pre-diabetes has been shown to greatly increase the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. Pre-diabetes is associated with higher blood sugar levels.
* New research shows that a person with high cholesterol, high blood pressure and is obese is far more likely (600% more) to lose healthy brain function and be diagnosed with Alzheimer's than people who maintain a healthy body weight, and who eat a healthy diet. Find out more about how yoga can help these problems.
* The pigment in turmeric that gives curry spice its yellow hue may also be able to break up the "plaques" that mark the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients, early research suggests.
* Avoid mercury. As mentioned above, many fish are contaminated with mercury, so research which fish types are safe and mercury-free. Vaccinations are another cause of mercury toxicity.
* Avoid aluminium, such as in antiperspirants and aluminium cookware.
* Exercise for three to five hours per week. According to studies, people who regularly exercise are one-fourth as likely to develop the disease.
* Challenge your mind everyday. Research continually shows that mental stimulation, speaking two languages, travelling, puzzles, and learning to play an instrument are a good way to avoid dementia and Alzheimer's. Learn something new everyday, even a vocabulary word, or a telephone number.
* Deal with stress when it comes, since it is proven to erode mind and body. Stress produces hormones that damage the brain. Meditation, yoga, art, and gardening are just two of the ways that we can manage our stress."
About the author
Sheryl is a kinesiologist, nutritionist and holistic practitioner.
Her website www.younglivingguide.com provides the latest research on preventing disease, looking naturally gorgeous, and feeling emotionally and physically fabulous.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Taking chances
"The important thing is not being afraid to take a chance. Remember, the greatest failure is to not try. Once you find something you love to do, be the best at doing it."
Debbi Fields
Founder of Mrs. Fields Cookies
Debbi Fields
Founder of Mrs. Fields Cookies
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Positive thinking
"If you have a positive thought your body actually goes into a positive vibration, you actually attract everything that resonates with that vibration."
John Assaraf
Author
John Assaraf
Author
'Superfood' celery combats brain diseases
"Celery may not only be good for diets but also help safeguard mental health. Researchers have found that it generates compounds that can fight Alzheimer's and other degenerative diseases.
The compounds luteolin and diosmin appear to block the inflammation that causes the brains of victims to start shrinking and dying. In animal experiments they reduced the levels of amyloid beta, which forms the sticky deposits that build up in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's.
The chemicals belong to a group of plant-based compounds known as flavonoids. "Luteolin and diosmin could be used in purified form as therapeutic agents," said Dr Terrence
Town of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles. "The compounds have few side effects and are available as dietary supplements."
Town emphasised that research was in its early stages and based on animal experiments. His study used mice genetically modified to develop Alzheimer's. Progress of the disease slowed sharply in animals given diosmin.
Dr Susanne Sorensen, of the Alzheimer's Society, said: "We know a healthy balanced diet can reduce dementia risk. This work reinforces the need to eat a diet rich in fruit and vegetables."
Treatments for diseases such as Alzheimer's are becoming increasingly urgent. There are currently 700,000 people with dementia in the UK, at least 15,000 of whom are under 65, and some in their forties."
from http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/real_food/article3953710.ece
The compounds luteolin and diosmin appear to block the inflammation that causes the brains of victims to start shrinking and dying. In animal experiments they reduced the levels of amyloid beta, which forms the sticky deposits that build up in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's.
The chemicals belong to a group of plant-based compounds known as flavonoids. "Luteolin and diosmin could be used in purified form as therapeutic agents," said Dr Terrence
Town of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles. "The compounds have few side effects and are available as dietary supplements."
Town emphasised that research was in its early stages and based on animal experiments. His study used mice genetically modified to develop Alzheimer's. Progress of the disease slowed sharply in animals given diosmin.
Dr Susanne Sorensen, of the Alzheimer's Society, said: "We know a healthy balanced diet can reduce dementia risk. This work reinforces the need to eat a diet rich in fruit and vegetables."
Treatments for diseases such as Alzheimer's are becoming increasingly urgent. There are currently 700,000 people with dementia in the UK, at least 15,000 of whom are under 65, and some in their forties."
from http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/real_food/article3953710.ece
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Rosemary can protect the brain from dementia and Alzheimer's Disease
by Sheryl Walters, from http://www.naturalnews.com/023229.html
"Rosemary is an herb with a distinctly woody taste and fragrant evergreen needle-like leaves that can deliciously transform our food. In addition to its food enhancing properties, rosemary is a potent brain protector. Ancient Greeks believed it profoundly improved memory. Greek students used to wear a wreath while sitting examinations for potent brain power.
Recent studies have now confirmed what the Greeks knew long ago. Rosemary contains an ingredient that fights off free radical damage in the brain. This active ingredient, known as carnosic acid (CA), can protect the brain from stroke and neurodegeneration that is due to toxins and free radicals which are thought to be one of the contributors to stroke and conditions such as Alzheimer's and dementia.
Research published in both The Journal of Neurochemistry and Nature Reviews Neuroscience, has revealed that CA activates a signaling pathway that protects brain cells from the free radical damage.
Rosemary is believed to prevent normal brain aging and keep the brain youthful and sharp. This tasty herb is also thought to improve memory.
Other benefits of Rosemary include:
* Prevents Breast Cancer
An imbalance of estrogen hormones in women can contribute to breast cancer. The drug Tamoxifen is given to women with breast cancer as an estrogen blocker to help reduce this risk of re-occurrence. However, Tamoxifen can cause a range of unpleasant side effects, including hot flashes, vaginal bleeding, headaches and nausea.
Rosemary is a safe natural alternative treatment. Dr. Zhu from the State University of New Jersey found that a 2 per cent concentration of rosemary extract given for three weeks was able to significantly inactivate excess estrogen.
* Anti-Aging properties for the Skin
According to researchers at the University of Catania in Italy, rosemary extract helps protect the individual components of skin cells, which may prevent age-related skin damage such as wrinkles. Italian researchers have discovered that rosemary has a protein which safeguards the skin against stress, free radicals and other toxins on the skin.
* Powerful Detoxifier
Rosemary extract has been shown to inactivate toxins and then eliminate them from the liver, before they can inflict any serious damage.
* Rosemary's liver stimulating abilities help us feel healthier and more energetic.
* Rosemary helps combat the effects of water retention.
Rosemary also has therapeutic properties as a mild diuretic -- making it effective in reducing swollen ankles and bloating. Dr. M. Halaoui from the department of Biology, University of Fez in Morocco, has studied the effects of rosemary extract's diuretic actions on the kidney.
He found that a daily dose of rosemary extract in liquid form can improve kidney function significantly, increase urine flow, and preserve the essential minerals sodium, potassium and chloride.
This is important because conventional diuretics (water tablets) may actually worsen kidney function by speeding up the elimination of these essential minerals from the body.
* Antioxidant and Cancer Preventative
Scientists from the Cancer Research Institute of Slovak Academy of Sciences, in the Slovak Republic, have found that rosemary extract can significantly help to protect DNA against free radical damage."
"Rosemary is an herb with a distinctly woody taste and fragrant evergreen needle-like leaves that can deliciously transform our food. In addition to its food enhancing properties, rosemary is a potent brain protector. Ancient Greeks believed it profoundly improved memory. Greek students used to wear a wreath while sitting examinations for potent brain power.
Recent studies have now confirmed what the Greeks knew long ago. Rosemary contains an ingredient that fights off free radical damage in the brain. This active ingredient, known as carnosic acid (CA), can protect the brain from stroke and neurodegeneration that is due to toxins and free radicals which are thought to be one of the contributors to stroke and conditions such as Alzheimer's and dementia.
Research published in both The Journal of Neurochemistry and Nature Reviews Neuroscience, has revealed that CA activates a signaling pathway that protects brain cells from the free radical damage.
Rosemary is believed to prevent normal brain aging and keep the brain youthful and sharp. This tasty herb is also thought to improve memory.
Other benefits of Rosemary include:
* Prevents Breast Cancer
An imbalance of estrogen hormones in women can contribute to breast cancer. The drug Tamoxifen is given to women with breast cancer as an estrogen blocker to help reduce this risk of re-occurrence. However, Tamoxifen can cause a range of unpleasant side effects, including hot flashes, vaginal bleeding, headaches and nausea.
Rosemary is a safe natural alternative treatment. Dr. Zhu from the State University of New Jersey found that a 2 per cent concentration of rosemary extract given for three weeks was able to significantly inactivate excess estrogen.
* Anti-Aging properties for the Skin
According to researchers at the University of Catania in Italy, rosemary extract helps protect the individual components of skin cells, which may prevent age-related skin damage such as wrinkles. Italian researchers have discovered that rosemary has a protein which safeguards the skin against stress, free radicals and other toxins on the skin.
* Powerful Detoxifier
Rosemary extract has been shown to inactivate toxins and then eliminate them from the liver, before they can inflict any serious damage.
* Rosemary's liver stimulating abilities help us feel healthier and more energetic.
* Rosemary helps combat the effects of water retention.
Rosemary also has therapeutic properties as a mild diuretic -- making it effective in reducing swollen ankles and bloating. Dr. M. Halaoui from the department of Biology, University of Fez in Morocco, has studied the effects of rosemary extract's diuretic actions on the kidney.
He found that a daily dose of rosemary extract in liquid form can improve kidney function significantly, increase urine flow, and preserve the essential minerals sodium, potassium and chloride.
This is important because conventional diuretics (water tablets) may actually worsen kidney function by speeding up the elimination of these essential minerals from the body.
* Antioxidant and Cancer Preventative
Scientists from the Cancer Research Institute of Slovak Academy of Sciences, in the Slovak Republic, have found that rosemary extract can significantly help to protect DNA against free radical damage."
Black Cohosh Herb Halts Growth of Breast Cancer Tumors
from http://www.naturalnews.com/023232.html
"Extract of black cohosh may halt the growth of breast cancer cells, according to a new study conducted by the French company Naturex and published in the journal "Phytomedicine." The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
Cimicifugae racemosae rhizome, also known as black cohosh, is a plant in the buttercup family that is native to eastern North America, ranging from central Georgia in the south to southern Ontario in the north, and as far west as Missouri. It is also known as black bugbane, black snakeroot and fairy candle.
Black cohosh has a history of use as a traditional medicine for gynecological problems, kidney problems and sore throat, and is commonly used to help relieve the symptoms of menopause.
In the current study, researchers applied extracts of black cohosh to breast cancer cells in a laboratory setting. Growth of cancer cells was inhibited in cell lines that had the extract added, apparently due to an increase in programmed cell death (apoptosis).
The researchers linked the cancer-inhibiting effects of black cohosh extract to its content of triterpene glycosides.
"Taken together, these results indicate that the triterpene glycoside actein and related compounds may be useful in the prevention and treatment of human breast cancer," the researchers wrote.
Various safety concerns have been raised over the use of black cohosh dietary supplements by women with breast cancer. A Yale School of Medicine study found that black cohosh increased the cell toxicity of two chemotherapy drugs, doxorubicin and docetaxel, making them more dangerous. At the same time, black cohosh appears to decrease the cell toxicity of a different drug, known as cisplatin.
Black cohosh has also been known to induce labor or miscarriage in certain cases.
The connection of the plant with the female reproductive system is not well understood. Originally, researchers believed that the plant contained phytoestrogens, but this hypothesis is now in dispute."
"Extract of black cohosh may halt the growth of breast cancer cells, according to a new study conducted by the French company Naturex and published in the journal "Phytomedicine." The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
Cimicifugae racemosae rhizome, also known as black cohosh, is a plant in the buttercup family that is native to eastern North America, ranging from central Georgia in the south to southern Ontario in the north, and as far west as Missouri. It is also known as black bugbane, black snakeroot and fairy candle.
Black cohosh has a history of use as a traditional medicine for gynecological problems, kidney problems and sore throat, and is commonly used to help relieve the symptoms of menopause.
In the current study, researchers applied extracts of black cohosh to breast cancer cells in a laboratory setting. Growth of cancer cells was inhibited in cell lines that had the extract added, apparently due to an increase in programmed cell death (apoptosis).
The researchers linked the cancer-inhibiting effects of black cohosh extract to its content of triterpene glycosides.
"Taken together, these results indicate that the triterpene glycoside actein and related compounds may be useful in the prevention and treatment of human breast cancer," the researchers wrote.
Various safety concerns have been raised over the use of black cohosh dietary supplements by women with breast cancer. A Yale School of Medicine study found that black cohosh increased the cell toxicity of two chemotherapy drugs, doxorubicin and docetaxel, making them more dangerous. At the same time, black cohosh appears to decrease the cell toxicity of a different drug, known as cisplatin.
Black cohosh has also been known to induce labor or miscarriage in certain cases.
The connection of the plant with the female reproductive system is not well understood. Originally, researchers believed that the plant contained phytoestrogens, but this hypothesis is now in dispute."
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
What to look at
"Fix your eyes forward on what you can do, not back on what you cannot change."
Tom Clancy
Author
Tom Clancy
Author
Friday, May 9, 2008
The many forms of wealth
"My mentor, Bob Proctor, once said, 'Don't cry over anything that won't cry over you.' People will often create tremendous suffering for themselves just because they're in debt or have lost money. They'll generate intense feelings of anger, sadness, and fear, all of which are destructive and actually make it more difficult for them to regain the wealth they lost. Because they're upset, they may fight with their spouse over money or become severely depressed, not realizing that the power to create abundance for themselves once again is always available to them.
When you understand that money is simply one form of the tremendous force known as abundance or wealth, and that you can always receive riches from our ever-giving Universe, it becomes easier to let go of negative feelings about money and the destructive belief that material wealth is more important than other manifestations of abundance. Ask yourself how much money you would take in exchange for your eyesight and your abundant health. How much would I have to pay you for you to give up your relationship with the person you love the most? My guess is that your health, your eyesight, and the people you love are far too precious to trade for any amount of money.
If what you receive isn't money, open yourself up to it with gratitude and joy. Allow your creativity to flourish and you can discover ways to convert the abundance into the form you could most use right now.
Wisdom and knowledge are types of abundance that we often overlook. An antiques dealer I know often purchased items from homeless people who brought him furniture and other objects they'd found in the garbage.
He was always gracious and kind to them, and one day one of his regular sellers, who was a homeless man, noticed that the dealer had recently acquired a gold record by a celebrity.
"You have that underpriced," he said. "I used to work in the music business. I know."
The antiques dealer listened to what the man had to say and decided to take his advice and quadruple the price. A few days later, the dealer's dentist came in, got very excited about the gold record, and said, "Listen, I'd love to own that, but I don't have that much in cash to spend. How about if I do that dental work I recommended to you, in exchange for the gold record?"
The antiques dealer was able to pay for expensive dental procedures he needed and couldn't afford, because he valued the abundance that came to him from an unexpected source and converted it into something he could use."
Peggy McColl, author
When you understand that money is simply one form of the tremendous force known as abundance or wealth, and that you can always receive riches from our ever-giving Universe, it becomes easier to let go of negative feelings about money and the destructive belief that material wealth is more important than other manifestations of abundance. Ask yourself how much money you would take in exchange for your eyesight and your abundant health. How much would I have to pay you for you to give up your relationship with the person you love the most? My guess is that your health, your eyesight, and the people you love are far too precious to trade for any amount of money.
If what you receive isn't money, open yourself up to it with gratitude and joy. Allow your creativity to flourish and you can discover ways to convert the abundance into the form you could most use right now.
Wisdom and knowledge are types of abundance that we often overlook. An antiques dealer I know often purchased items from homeless people who brought him furniture and other objects they'd found in the garbage.
He was always gracious and kind to them, and one day one of his regular sellers, who was a homeless man, noticed that the dealer had recently acquired a gold record by a celebrity.
"You have that underpriced," he said. "I used to work in the music business. I know."
The antiques dealer listened to what the man had to say and decided to take his advice and quadruple the price. A few days later, the dealer's dentist came in, got very excited about the gold record, and said, "Listen, I'd love to own that, but I don't have that much in cash to spend. How about if I do that dental work I recommended to you, in exchange for the gold record?"
The antiques dealer was able to pay for expensive dental procedures he needed and couldn't afford, because he valued the abundance that came to him from an unexpected source and converted it into something he could use."
Peggy McColl, author
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
The fire within
"There is absolutely nothing that separates the elite from the paupers except their expectations. If you wish to rise above the masses, then let the fire burn fiercely within you. Do this, and it shall be done!
J. Arthur Holcombe
Author"
J. Arthur Holcombe
Author"
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Thankfulness
"The unthankful heart discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings!"
Henry Ward Beecher
1813-1887, Author
Henry Ward Beecher
1813-1887, Author
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Reflecting your inner abundance
"The Universe wants to give to you. The moment you begin to change your vibration to one of abundance, it will start sending you people, situations, and opportunities that reflect your inner state."
Peggy McColl
Author
Peggy McColl
Author
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