Recent media reports have covered research announced ahead of the American Academy of Neurology’s (AAN) Annual Meeting in April which suggested that milk during pregnancy may lower a baby’s risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) later in life.

The theory from the researchers in Boston, announced in an AAN press release, was based on a survey of American mothers.

It was claimed that MS risk was lower among women born to mothers with high milk or dietary vitamin D intake in pregnancy.

Unfortunately UK media reports focused on the milk link ; however it is in fact the case that there are only trace elements of vitamin D in milk consumed in this country.

Unlike America, most of Britain’s milk is not fortified with vitamin D and so whatever quantity of milk is ingested, vitamin D levels in the body are likely to remain unaffected.

While it may be true that vitamin D has previously been shown to potentially play a role in MS, maintaining a healthy, balanced diet including oily fish and exposing skin to safe levels of sunshine are the best ways to increase levels of vitamin D.

NEW YORK -  Scientists at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre in New York City have found out why some women suffer relapses years after beating breast cancer.

Leading oncologist Dr. Larry Norton has revealed that breast cancer cells have the unique ability to lie dormant for years, even after the original tumor has been removed.

In a novel study, the researchers have found a genetic switch, called Src, that triggers dormant breast cancer cells.

“Wandering cells might relocate to the primary site just as they could - by using the same biological toolbox - locate to a distant site,” the Daily Express quoted Norton as saying.

“It’s just as a weed-bed overgrows and destroys a garden and then scatters its tiny seeds to invade neighboring gardens.

“Our results should encourage cancer specialists to think about further study of Src inhibitor drugs that attack reservoirs of these ‘wandering’ latent cancer cells and prevent spread of the disease in breast cancer patients after the tumour has been removed,” he added.

Dr. Helen George, Cancer Research UK’s head of science information, said: “This research is important because it offers an explanation of why some breast cancers can spread and return.

NOTE: CANCER CANNOT SURVIVE IN AN OXYGENATED AND ALKALINE ENVIRONMENT.   SEE POSTS FOR BI-CARBONATE AND L-ARGININE AND THE BUDWIG PROTOCOL

SYDNEY - An Australian Government funded research group has developed a potential new material that can make early diagnosis of malignant melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer possible.

Writing about their work in the ACS’ Journal of the Medicinal Chemistry, the Cooperative Research Consortium for Biomedical Imaging Develop has revealed that the novel material is currently being tested in laboratory animals.

Ivan Greguric, a group member, notes that about 130,000 new cases of malignant melanoma occur each year worldwide.

Although patients do best with early diagnosis and prompt treatment, according to the researcher, the positron emission tomography (PET) scans sometimes used for diagnosis sometimes miss small cancers, delaying diagnosis and treatment.

While searching for better ways of diagnosis, the researchers identified a new group of radioactive imaging agents, known as fluoronicotinamides.

Testing it on laboratory mice that had melanoma, the researchers observed that the novel substance revealed skin cancer cells with greater accuracy than imaging agents currently in use.

Consequently, note the researchers, this substance may become a “superior” PET imaging agent for improving the diagnosis and monitoring the effectiveness of treatment of melanoma.

They have revealed that clinical trials with this new agent are scheduled for 2010.

No Need for Pregnant Women to Fast During Labor

DETROIT -  There is no reason why pregnant women at low risk for complications during delivery should be denied fluids and food during labor, a new Cochrane research review concludes.

“Women should be free to eat and drink in labour, or not, as they wish,” the authors of the review wrote in the Cochrane Library, a publication of the Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates medical research.

Dr. Jennifer Milosavljevic, a specialist in obstetrics and gynecology at Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, who was not involved in the Cochrane Review, agrees that pregnant women should be allowed to eat and/or drink during labor.

“In my experience,” she told Reuters Health in an email, “most pregnant patients at Henry Ford are placed on a clear liquid diet during labor which includes water, apple juice, cranberry juice, broth, and jello. If a patient is brought in for a prolonged induction of labor, she will typically be permitted to eat a regular diet and order anything off the menu in between different induction modalities.”

Milosavlievic has “not seen any adverse outcomes by allowing women the option of liquids and/or a regular diet in labor.”

Standard hospital policy for many decades has been to allow only tiny sips of water or ice chips for pregnant women in labor if they were thirsty. Why? It was feared, and some studies in the 1940s showed, that if a woman needed to undergo general anesthesia for a cesarean delivery, she might inhale regurgitated liquids or food particles that could lead to pneumonia and other lung damage.

But anesthesia practices have changed and improved since the 1940s, with more use of regional anesthesia and safer general anesthesia.

And recently, attitudes on food and drink during labor have begun to relax. Last September, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) released a “Committee Opinion” advising doctors that women with a normal, uncomplicated labor may drink modest amounts of clear liquids such as water, fruit juice without pulp, carbonated beverages, clear tea, black coffee, and sports drinks. They fell short of saying food was okay, however, advising that women should avoid fluids with solid particles, such as soup.

“As for the continued restriction on food, the reality is that eating is the last thing most women are going to want to do since nausea and vomiting during labor is quite common,” Dr. William H. Barth, Jr., chair of ACOGs Committee on Obstetric Practice, noted in a written statement at the time.

But based on the evidence, Mandisa Singata of the East London Hospital Complex in East London, South Africa, an author on the new Cochrane Review, says “women should be able to make their own decisions about whether they want to eat or drink during labour, or not.”

Singata and colleagues systematically reviewed five studies involving more than 3100 pregnant that looked at the evidence for restricting food and drink in women who were considered unlikely to need anesthesia. One study looked at complete restriction versus giving women the freedom to eat and drink at will; two studies looked at water only versus giving women specific fluids and foods and two studies looked at water only versus giving women carbohydrate drinks.

The evidence showed no benefits or harms of restricting foods and fluids during labor in women at low risk of needing anesthesia.

Singata and colleagues acknowledge that many women may not feel like eating or drinking during labor. However, research has shown that some women find the food and drink restriction unpleasant. Poor nutritional balance may be also associated with longer and more painful labors. Drinking clear liquids in limited quantities has been found to bring comfort to women in labor and does not increase labor complications.

The researchers emphasize that they did not find any studies that assessed the risks of eating and drinking for women with a higher risk of needing anesthesia and so further research is need before specific recommendations can be made for this group.

SOURCE: Cochrane Library, 2010.

NEW ORLEANS - Drinking lots of sugar-sweetened cola may increase women’s likelihood of developing diabetes during pregnancy, a condition known as gestational diabetes, new research shows.

Compared to women who had less than one such beverage a month, women who drank at least five servings of non-diet cola a week were at greater risk of gestational diabetes, even after accounting for their body mass index (BMI), level of physical activity, and other diabetes risk factors, researchers found.

Sugar-sweetened beverages are the top source of added sugar in US diets, and several studies have linked high sugary drink intake with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes in women, Dr. Liwei Chen of the Louisiana State University Health Science Center in New Orleans and colleagues note in the latest edition of the journal Diabetes Care.

But there is little information on whether consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages before pregnancy might increase gestational diabetes risk, they add.

To investigate, the researchers analyzed data from the Nurses Health Study II, looking at 13, 475 women who had at least one pregnancy between 1992 and 2001. During that time, 860 women reported having been diagnosed with gestational diabetes for the first time.

Women who drank five or more sugar-sweetened beverages of any type per week were 23 percent more likely to develop gestational diabetes than those who drank less than one serving a month, and the relationship remained even after the researchers accounted for other gestational diabetes risk factors such as BMI and family history of diabetes.

But accounting for a Western-style diet — heavy in red meats, processed meats, sweets, snacks and other less-healthy foods — did explain some of the association between diabetes and sugary drinks.

The researchers looked separately at cola beverages, because the caramel coloring used in them has been linked in animal studies to insulin resistance and inflammation. They found a 22 percent increased risk of developing diabetes during pregnancy for women who drank five or more non-diet colas a week, compared to women who had less than one serving of cola a month.

There was no relationship between diet beverage consumption and gestational diabetes risk.

The demands pregnancy puts on a woman’s metabolism may “unmask” a tendency toward developing diabetes and similar conditions, Chen and colleagues note. Drinking cola could contribute to this tendency by making for a sugar-filled diet, they add, which in and of itself may be harmful to the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas.

Because diet cola didn’t increase gestational diabetes risk, they add, caramel coloring isn’t likely to be a major factor in the relationship observed with non-diet cola.

The findings “are particularly relevant” given that so many people drink sugar-sweetened cola, the researchers write. They call for more research on sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and gestational diabetes, as well as other pregnancy outcomes.

SOURCE: Diabetes Care, December 2009.

AUSTIN - The brain prods you into splurging on an extra ice-cream scoop or that second burger, practically sabotaging your efforts to get back into shape, a new study says.

Findings from a new University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre (UTSMC) study suggest that fat from certain foods we eat makes its way to the brain.

There, these fat molecules cause the brain to send messages to the body’s cells, directing them to ignore the appetite-suppressing signals from leptin and insulin, hormones involved in weight regulation.

Researchers also found that one particular type of fat — palmitic acid — is particularly effective at instigating this mechanism. It is a common saturated fatty acid, occurring in butter, cheese, milk and beef.

“Normally, our body is primed to say when we’ve had enough, but that doesn’t always happen when we’re eating something good,” said Deborah Clegg, assistant professor of internal medicine at UTSMC. Clegg led the study on rodents.

“What we’ve shown in this study is that someone’s entire brain chemistry can change in a very short period of time.”

“When you eat something high in fat, your brain gets ‘hit’ with the fatty acids, and you become resistant to insulin and leptin,” Clegg said. “Since you’re not being told by the brain to stop eating, you overeat.”

In animals, the effect lasts about three days, potentially explaining why many people who splurge on Friday or Saturday say they’re hungrier than normal on Monday, added Clegg.

Clegg said that even though the findings are in animals, they reinforce the common dietary recommendation that individuals limit their saturated fat intake. “It causes you to eat more,” she said, according to an UTSMC release.

The next step, Clegg averred, is to determine how long it takes to reverse completely the effects of short-term exposure to high-fat food.

The study appeared in the September issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation.

CHARLOTTE  - A new study has revealed that regular exercise can help keep prostate cancer at bay.

According to researchers at Duke University Medical Centre, those who were moderately active - anything equivalent to walking at a moderate pace for several hours a week - were significantly less likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer.

They analysed 190 men who had a prostate biopsy and found that 58 percent of the men exercised less than the equivalent of one hour per week of easy walking, reports chinaview.cn

The study also showed that exercise was associated with less aggressive disease in men who did develop prostate cancer.

“As the amount of exercise increased, the risk of cancer decreased,” said lead author Dr. Jodi Antonelli, a urology researcher at the centre.

MADRID - H1N1 influenza is prompting tough health measures around the globe, but could it go as far as forcing a “kissing strike” in traditionally affectionate Spain?

The health authorities are recommending that Spaniards no longer greet each other with the usual kiss on both cheeks. But many people say kissing is so important they are willing to risk catching the disease, popularly known as swine flu.

“What would people think if I refused to return their kisses?” exclaims Maria, 40. “I am so used to it, I could not stop doing it.”

Even Health Minister Trinidad Jimenez herself has been seen greeting officials with kisses, despite the warnings issued by her ministry.

As in some other Mediterranean countries, Spanish women and even male relatives or friends greet each other with kisses or at least with gestures of kissing on the cheeks.

Spanish people generally like touching each other, for instance placing their hand around the shoulder or their hand on the hand of the person they are talking to.

However, kisses and hugs are among the most effective ways of spreading H1N1, experts warn in the country where swine flu has killed around 20 people, one of the highest rates in Europe.

The health ministry is planning to vaccinate people with chronic diseases, health and some other professionals, pregnant women and other vulnerable groups. There will be sufficient vaccines for up to 60 percent of the population.

Above all, however, the authorities intend to focus on information campaigns advising people to avoid habits that could spread the virus.

“Do not kiss, do not shake hands, just say hi,” the Madrid city council recommended in a placard it placed on a wall of the city hall.

“Getting used to limiting close contact diminishes the risk of transmission (of the virus),” Juan Jose Rodriguez Sendin, president of a doctors’ organisation, told the daily El Pais.

The Catholic Church has heeded the warning, recommending to believers that they refrain from kissing statues of the Virgin Mary during religious celebrations.

During religious services where Catholics eat a small wafer of bread, some priests have also begun placing the wafer in the hand of the communicant. Traditionally, priests placed it directly in the mouth of the person.

Some churches have emptied fonts of holy water to prevent the virus from spreading if an infected person dips a hand in the font.

Prior to the appearance of swine flu, the custom of kissing the cheeks had become a little less common. Some sociologists say that was possibly because of the influence of the colder and physically more distant US culture.

Kissing has often not been replaced with the handshake typical of US or northern European cultures, observed Irene, a Madrid civil servant.

“Some people no longer touch each other at all when meeting, just nodding at each other,” she said.

That would be ideal for fighting H1N1, but experts doubt whether most Spaniards can change their ways, and concede that they would have a lot to lose if they did.

There is an abundance of scientific studies proving what nearly every human being instinctively knows: that touching is good for us.

It increases self-confidence, lowers arterial pressure, makes people more sociable and less aggressive, studies show.

“It is very unlikely that we will forget kissing,” El Pais concluded.

The root of the licorice plant (Glycyrrhiza glabra or Glycyrrhiza uralensis) has a long history of use in Eastern and Western systems of medicine. In traditional Chinese medicine, licorice root is referred to as “gan zao.”

Uses of Licorice

In herbal medicine, licorice root is often combined with other botanicals to treat a range of health problems, including:

  bronchitis

  constipation

  gastrointestinal disorders

  menopausal symptoms

  heartburn

  stomach ulcers

  eczema

Benefits of Licorice

Although research on licorice’s health effects is limited, studies suggest that the herb may be helpful in the treatment of prevention the following conditions:

1) Canker Sores

In a 2008 study, scientists found that an adhesive patch medicated with licorice root extract helped heal canker sores (also known as “recurrent aphthous ulcers”). After seven days of treatment with licorice, study members had a significant decrease in ulcer size. Volunteers who received no treatment, on the other hand, saw their ulcer size increase by 13 percent.

2) Functional Dyspepsia

When used in combination with other herbs, licorice root may ease the pain of functional dyspepsia (a chronic condition marked by upper abdominal discomfort). In a 2004 study of 120 people with functional dyspepsia, 43.3 percent of participants treated with an herbal formula (containing bitter candy tuft, matricaria flower, peppermint, caraway, and lemon balm in addition to licorice root) had complete relief of symptoms after eight weeks (compared to just 3.3. percent in the placebo group).

3) Colorectal Cancer

In preliminary research published in 2009, researchers discovered that treatment with glycyrrhizic acid (a compound found in licorice) helped prevent colorectal cancer progression in mice predisposed to the disease.

What Is Deglycyrrhizinated Licorice?

In large amounts, licorice containing glycyrrhizic acid or glycyrrhizin has been shown to cause high blood pressure and other adverse effects linked to heart problems (such as low potassium levels). Therefore, it’s important to use only deglycyrrhizinated licorice (or DGL) extract, from which glycyrrhizic acid has been removed.

Despite the findings that glycyrrhizic acid may help prevent colorectal cancer progression, deglycyrrhizinated licorice has demonstrated effectiveness in the treatment of a number of conditions (including canker sores and functional dyspepsia).

Is Licorice Safe?

Glycyrrhizin-containing licorice may interact with a number of drugs, including diuretics, insulin, laxatives, and blood-thinning medications.

Licorice should be avoided by people with renal of liver dysfunction, as well as by women who are pregnant or breast-feeding.

How to Use Licorice

Licorice products (including chewable tablets, capsules, tea, and powder) are available in most health-food stores.

PORTLAND- Natural compounds present in plants and some vegetables may help treat cancer even more effectively, when used side-by-side with chemotherapy drugs, according to new research.

A study published in the International Journal of Cancer has found that chlorophyllin-a water-soluble derivative of chlorophyll that makes possible the process of photosynthesis and plant growth from the sun’s energy-is, on a dose-by-dose basis, 10 times more potent at causing death of colon cancer cells than the chemotherapeutic drug hydroxyurea.

Experts in the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University say that the study has also shown that chlorophyllin kills cancer cells by blocking the same phase of cellular division that hydroxyurea does, but by a different mechanism.

Based on that finding, the researchers suggest that it may be possible to developed to have a synergistic effect with conventional cancer drugs, helping them to work better or require less toxic dosages.

“We conclude that chlorophyllin has the potential to be effective in the clinical setting, when used alone or in combination with currently available cancer therapeutic agents,” the researchers wrote in their study report.

They, however, stressed the need for both in laboratory and animal studies, with combinations of chlorophyllin and existing cancer drugs, before it would be appropriate for human trials.

Other studies published in the journals Carcinogenesis and Cancer Prevention Research have explored the role of organic selenium compounds in killing human prostate and colon cancer cells.

During the studies, a form of organic selenium found naturally in garlic and Brazil nuts was converted in cancer cells to metabolites that acted as “HDAC inhibitors” - a promising field of research in which silenced tumor suppressor genes are re-activated, triggering cancer cell death.

Rod Dashwood, professor and director of the Cancer Chemoprotection Program in the Linus Pauling Institute, says that the concept of combining conventional or new cancer drugs with natural compounds, which have been shown to have anti-cancer properties, is very promising.

“Most chemotherapeutic approaches to cancer try to target cancer cells specifically and do something that slows or stops their cell growth process. We’re now identifying such mechanisms of action for natural compounds, including dietary agents. With further research we may be able to make the two approaches work together to enhance the effectiveness of cancer therapies,” Dashwood said.

PARIS - A team of French scientists has possibly identified just the right dose of DHA acid that prevents heart disease in healthy men.

This study is the first to identify how much DHA or docosahexaenoic acid (omega-3 fatty acid) is necessary to promote optimal heart health.

Scientists show that a 200 mg daily dose of DHA is enough to affect biochemical markers that reliably predict cardiovascular problems, such as those related to aging, atherosclerosis, and diabetes.

“This study shows that regularly consuming small amounts of DHA is likely to improve the health status of people, especially in regards to cardiovascular function,” said Michel Lagarde, co-author of the study.

Lagarde and colleagues examined the effects of increasing doses of DHA on 12 healthy male volunteers aged between 53 and 65.

These men consumed doses of DHA at 200, 400, 800, and 1600 mg per day for two weeks for each dose amount, with DHA being the only omega-3 fatty acid in their diet.

Blood and urine samples were collected before and after each dose and at eight weeks after DHA supplementation stopped.

Researchers then examined these samples for biochemical markers indicating the effects of each dose on the volunteers.

“Now that we have a very good idea about how much DHA is just right, the next step is to try it out in an expanded clinical trial that involves many more people,” said Gerald Weissmann, editor-in-chief of The FASEB Journal, which is slated to publish the report.

“Until then, I’ll stick with tasty foods that contain DHA, like fish, rather than getting a quick fatty-acid fix at the local vitamin store,” Weissmann said.  

Milk thistle is a flowering herb that is native to the Mediterranean region. It has been used for thousands of years as a remedy for a variety of ailments, especially liver problems.

Common Names—milk thistle, Mary thistle, holy thistle. Milk thistle is sometimes called silymarin, which is actually a mixture of the herb’s active components, including silybinin (also called silibinin or silybin).

Latin Name—Silybum marianum

What It Is Used For

Milk thistle is believed to have protective effects on the liver and improve its function. It is typically used to treat liver cirrhosis, chronic hepatitis (liver inflammation), and gallbladder disorders. Treatment claims also include:

• Lowering cholesterol levels
• Reducing insulin resistance in people with type 2 diabetes who also have cirrhosis
• Reducing the growth of cancer cells in breast, cervical, and prostate cancers

How It Is Used

Silymarin, which can be extracted from the seeds (fruit) of the milk thistle plant, is believed to be the biologically active part of the herb. The seeds are used to prepare capsules, extracts, and infusions (strong teas).

What the Science Says

There have been some studies of milk thistle on liver disease in humans, but these have been small. Some promising data have been reported, but study results at this time are mixed.

• Although some studies conducted outside the United States support claims of oral milk thistle to improve liver function, there have been flaws in study design and reporting. To date, there is no conclusive evidence to prove its claimed uses.
• Recent NCCAM-funded research includes a phase II study to better understand the use of milk thistle for chronic hepatitis C. Additional research, cofunded by NCCAM and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, includes studies of milk thistle for chronic hepatitis C and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (liver disease that occurs in people who drink little or no alcohol).
• The National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Nursing Research are also studying milk thistle, for cancer prevention and to treat complications in HIV patients.

Side Effects and Cautions

• In clinical trials, milk thistle generally has few side effects. Occasionally, people report a laxative effect, upset stomach, diarrhea, and bloating.
• Milk thistle can produce allergic reactions, which tend to be more common among people who are allergic to plants in the same family (for example, ragweed, chrysanthemum, marigold, and daisy).
• Tell your health care providers about any complementary and alternative practices you use. Give them a full picture of what you do to manage your health. This will help ensure coordinated and safe care.

PORTLAND - Natural food compounds, previously studied for their ability to prevent cancer, may play a more potent role in treating it, says a new study.

Conducted by the Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University (OSU), the study found that chlorophyllin (water-soluble derivative of chlorophyll) was 10 times more effective in killing colon cancer cells than hydroxyurea, a drug commonly used in cancer treatment.

Moreover, chlorophyllin kills cancer cells by blocking the same phase of cellular division that hydroxyurea does, but by a different mechanism, according to an OSU release.

This opens the possiblity of developing other cocktails of natural products, to produce a synergistic effect with conventional cancer drugs, helping them to work better or require less toxic dosages, researchers said.

The concept of combining conventional cancer drugs with natural compounds that have been shown to have anti-cancer properties is very promising, said Rod Dashwood, professor and director of the Cancer Chemoprotection Program at the institute.

Most chemotherapeutic approaches to cancer try to target cancer cells specifically and do something that slows or stops their cell growth process, Dashwood said.

We conclude that chlorophyllin has the potential to be effective in the clinical setting, when used alone or in combination with currently available cancer therapeutic agents, the researchers wrote.

Chlorophyllin is a water-soluble derivative of chlorophyll — the green pigment found in most plants and many food products that makes possible the process of photosynthesis and plant growth from the sun’s energy.

The study was published in the International Journal of Cancer.

This was originally published by Johns Hopkins Hospital.

After years of telling people chemotherapy is the only way to “try” to eliminate Cancer, Johns Hopkins is finally starting to tell you there is an alternative way.

1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the  cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.

2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a  person’s lifetime.

3. When the person’s immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors.

4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has  nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic,  to environmental, food and lifestyle factors.

5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing  diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.

6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastrointestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.

7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.

8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of  chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.

9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.

10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy.  Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other

 11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply.

CANCER CELLS FEED ON:

a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off  one important food supply to the cancer cells. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc are made  with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute  would be Manuka honey or molasses, but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in color Better alternative is Bragg’s aminos or sea salt.

b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the  gastro-intestinal tract… Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soy milk cancer  cells are being starved.

c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based  diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer..

d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into  an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily  absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including be an sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day.  Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).

e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high  caffeine Green tea is a better alternative e and has cancer  fighting properties. Water-best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.

12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. undigested meat remaining in the  intestines becomes putrefied and leads to more toxic  buildup.

13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering.  By  refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the      body’s killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.

14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals,  EFAs etc.) to enable the bodies own killer cells to destroy      cancer cells.. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body’s normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.

15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit.  A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger, un-forgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.

16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.

BEVERLY HILLS - Pumpkin rinds contain a protein that may help fight against fungal infections, researchers report in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

The protein, called Pr-2, exhibited antifungal effects against 10 different species, including Candida albicans, which is a common cause of yeast infections and diaper rash. Pr-2 also inhibited the growth of several fungi that are known to infect crops. The authors suggest that Pr-2 may work by targeting the cell wall of the fungi. However, the protein did not exhibit antibacterial effects.

Pumpkin has traditionally been used to treat many other types of medical conditions, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, but evidence of effectiveness has not been proven.

Although the results are promising, additional research is needed before a firm conclusion can be made.

There actually has been a flurry of news surrounding lupus lately.

If that’s surprising, it’s because it’s been half a century since a new treatment for lupus, an autoimmune disease that can affect various organs, has been developed and approved. Since then the disease, whose manifestations range from mild to deadly, has been managed with a mishmash of drugs, mostly steroids, nonsteroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and even antimalarials, all devised to treat other diseases. In this respect lupus has long been something of a backwater. The disease affects 1.5 million Americans, 90 percent of them women.

But with the successful Phase III clinical trials of a drug called Benlysta this summer, the lupus scene has shifted. Benlysta, developed by the Rockville-based Human Genome Sciences and GlaxoSmithKline, showed promising results in keeping lupus disease activity at bay; it also appears to be safe. Further clinical trials are underway, with results expected in November. After that, the firms will seek FDA approval for the drug.

As with many autoimmune diseases, lupus is characterized by a baffling set of symptoms, some vague and others pronounced, ranging from fatigue and joint stiffness and pain to depression and a butterfly-shaped facial rash that covers the cheeks and bridge of the nose. More serious is the damage the disease can do to internal organs, particularly the kidneys, lungs and heart.

Just as multiple sclerosis, another autoimmune disease affecting some 400,000 Americans, was viewed largely as a hopeless disease until 1993 WHEN the FDA approved Betaseron, the first drug to treat underlying MS and not just its symptoms, lupus is quickly becoming viewed as a treatable disease, not just a manageable one. (There are now six FDA-approved drugs to treat MS, and many more are in the research pipeline.)

About two dozen lupus therapies are currently under investigation, according to the Lupus Foundation of America. Momentum is clearly underway.

But there’s one hitch: the Lupus Foundation recently put the word out that drug researchers aren’t finding enough subjects to take part in clinical trials. The Foundation directs potential participants to its clinical trials Web site for information about getting involved — a major but often rewarding undertaking.

OMAHA - Adding flaxseeds to juices, salads or pancake batter can help ward off prostate cancer, say experts.

“It’s the omega 3 fatty acids and the lignan present in flaxseed that led us to look at flaxseed’s prostate cancer prevention properties,” said Dr Wendy Demark-Wahnefried, professor of behavioral science at M. D. Anderson and head researcher for a recent study on flaxseed’s potential role as a power food.

Studies have shown that cancer risks, including the risk for prostate cancer, may be reduced by 30 to 40 percent if people ate a more plant-based diet, which includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds - including flaxseed.

Experts suggest that how incorporate flaxseed into everyday recipes can help prevent prostate cancer.

Adding ground flaxseed to cookies, muffins or cornbread recipes gives a mild and nutty flavor and tastes great in peanut butter cookies, or in almost any baked good.

Crackers or tortilla chips with flaxseed, baked in, also have a pleasant nutty taste.

Adding ground flaxseed to yogurt or cottage cheese can also be beneficial.

Sprinkle flaxseed over your salad, or mix it into salad dressing.

Sprinkle flaxseed over oatmeal, cold cereal or grits.

Mixing flaxseed into pancake or waffle batter also perks-up the maple syrup.

Stirring ground flaxseed into juice, water, sports drinks or smoothies or sprinkling it over soup could help fight the disease.

Adding flaxseed into low-fat mayonnaise before putting it on a sandwich would not only make for a delicious treat but also help you stay hale and hearty.

“Cancer cells migrate by attaching onto other cells. The omega 3 fatty acids found in flaxseed keep cells from binding together and attaching to blood vessels,” said Demark-Wahnefried.

“Lignan may reduce testosterone and other hormone levels. Lowering testosterone levels may reduce a man’s chances of getting prostate cancer,” the expert added.

Flaxseed is sometimes difficult to digest in its whole form, however, grinding flaxseed makes it more digestible and increases the amount of nutrients absorbed.