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Dear Friend,
Imagine watching seven of your friends die from prostate cancer and then wondering if you’re going to be the next one facing a death sentence…
That’s exactly what happened to John S.
Guys he served with in Vietnam suddenly started dropping like flies from prostate cancer. Seven men from his platoon died of the dreaded disease. And many of them were only in their 50’s!
Some experts say it’s because soldiers in Vietnam were exposed to high levels of Agent Orange, a toxic jungle defoliant.
In 2002 John thought his number was up, just like his 7 buddies before him.
A biopsy of John’s prostate showed 10 out of 12 tissue samples were full of cancer. His Gleason Scores, which show how aggressive the cancer is, were a high 6 and 7. In his own words…
“I was advised that even with surgery and radiation,
I would need a miracle to survive”
John got a second opinion and then a third one. Every doctor told him there was no hope. But the doctors were wrong. (As you’ll see, they often are when it comes to prostate cancer.) There WAS hope.
Eighteen months later, John called family and friends with great news: “My ‘terminal’ prostate tumor is shrinking!”
That’s unheard of with advanced prostate cancer when it’s treated with surgery, radiation or chemotherapy. But John didn’t use any of the treatments his conventional doctors recommended. He figured, why go through hell just to die anyway – the same as 7 of his army buddies?
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Showing posts with label cancer treatment cure natural. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cancer treatment cure natural. Show all posts
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Prostate Cancer Killed 7 Buddies But One Man Escaped
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Curing Breast Cancer Without Surgery? Great Start to the New Year!
Consider This New, Easy Way To Treat Small Breast Tumors
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Cryoablation—also known as cryotherapy or cryosurgery—involves the use of controlled freeze-and-thaw cycles to destroy cancer cells in both malignant and benign tumors.
In 2012, IceCure Medical Ltd. of Israel successfully used their IceSense3 cryoablation procedure on four breast cancer patients to treat small, early stage breast cancer tumors (fibroadenomas).
Traditionally, a surgical biopsy was the only option for removing these tumors. But cryoablation provides a less invasive option that even the Food and Drug Administration approves for treating fibroadenomas.
IceSense3 has been developed specifically for breast tumors and uses ultrasound imaging to guide thin, hollow needles into the tumor.
Doctors then use liquid nitrogen or argon gas to cool the end of the needle to -274 F (-170 C). This turns the tumor into a ball of ice and allows your body to reabsorb the dead cells over time.
Use of the probe also helps ensure that only breast tumor cells are killed—leaving surrounding tissues unharmed.
Eisuke Fukuma, MD, PhD, Chairman of the Breast Center at Kameda Medical Center in Kamogawa City, Japan, is leader of a clinical trial that will eventually involve 30 small early stage breast cancer patients. Four have been treated as of the latest information I have.
In a company statement, Dr. Fukuma said “this procedure is an exciting step towards moving treatment of small, early stage breast cancer tumors from open surgery to a minimally invasive cryoablation procedure.”
What are the pros and cons
of this treatment?
of this treatment?
Cryoablation has been used for years to treat both malignant and benign tumors. Over 400 published studies document the clinical value of cryotherapy to treat prostate cancer.
And recent studies show ten-year cure rates as high as 90% for low risk (presumably early stage) patients. This represents the same success rate as surgery or radiation treatments.
I actually think cryotherapy sounds like a more reasonable approach for early-stage breast cancer than for prostate cancer (see Issue #110 for my take on the latter). Situated deep within the body, the prostate is harder to reach with the probes and it’s more difficult to identify all the tumors and their precise locations.
But when treating breast cancer with freezing probes it sounds like it’s fairly easy to get where you want to go, kill only cancer cells, and get out with no damage to healthy tissue.
Recent technological advances have resulted in smaller probes that are easier to manage. These are ideal for use in treating breast cancer.
This new breast cancer treatment provides several advantages, including:
- No hospitalization required—the procedure can be performed safely in a doctor’s office or breast center.
- No anesthesia or sutures needed—this helps minimize any risk of infection or reactions to anesthetics, such as heart attack or stroke.
- No invasive surgery involved—the 5 to 15-minute procedure helps speed recovery time.
- No huge medical bills—cryoablation costs less than cancer surgery which may require lengthy hospital stays, anesthesia and prescription drugs.
- No pain or scar tissue—most patients report minimal pain with the procedures and have little to no scarring within six months.
Now in all fairness, you must consider the less favorable aspect of cryoablation. In my opinion, it’s very minor, but I’ll mention it: It DOES involve the use of needles. Small and thin though they may be… some folks just can’t stomach them.
You’ll need to endure a needle for the local anesthesia as well as the one used to administer the gases to freeze the tumor cells. I don’t know why this would bother a person any more than being cut with a scalpel, but some people might have a different take.
U.S. researchers achieve similar results
In 2010, Peter J. Littrup, M.D., reported encouraging results in a study of 13 breast cancer patients who refused surgery. He’s an interventional radiologist and director of imaging research and image-guided therapy for the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, Michigan.
In a Science Daily article, Dr. Littrup explained that researchers inserted several needle-like probes through the skin at even spaces, which delivered the cold gas directly to the tumor.
A major difference between this study and prior methods of breast cryotherapy is the use of two or more probes to deliver the cold gas. Prior breast cryotherapy studies used only a single cryoprobe.
Littrup said early researchers also suggested that breast tumors larger than 1.5 centimeters could not be adequately treated with cryoablation.
But this assertion ignores the fact that men’s prostate glands—which average 5 centimeters—have been treated successfully with cryoablation for more than a decade!
When treating prostates with cryoablation, doctors typically use more than six probes to transfer the deadly cold temperatures throughout the whole gland.
Littrup’s team used this concept to attack breast tumors to ensure that the freezing gas saturated all areas of the women’s tumors.
Many medical professionals are encouraged by results of cryotherapy as a breast cancer treatment. One of the most positive results from the Michigan study is that the patients didn’t have to undergo additional surgery, aimed at proving the cancer tumors had been treated completely, following multi-probe cryoablation.
Although he stressed the need for more large studies on the use of this approach, Dr. Littrup said he believes cryotherapy will allow “accurate targeting of more difficult-to-see breast tumors.”
The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 40,000 people will die from breast cancer in 2013. Cryoablation could be a promising new treatment to help cut that number down to size!
American Cancer Society. 2013. Cancer facts and figures. Report available online at http://www.cancer.org/acs/
document/acspc-036845.pdf
Boyles, S. 2010. Breast cancer treated by freezing tumors. WebMD. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/breast-
by-freezing-tumors
Irby, W. 2012. First breast cancer patients treated with minimally invasive IceSense3 Cryoablation procedure. Retrived fromhttp://www.icecure-medical.
IceCure-News-Release-06-04-12.
National Cancer Institute. 2003. Cryosurgery in cancer treatment: Questions and answers. Retrieved fromhttp://www.cancer.gov/
Society of Interventional Radiology (2010, March 20). Freezing out breast cancer. ScienceDaily. Retrieved fromhttp://www.sciendaily.com /releases/2010/03/
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Seed oil may defeat “incurable” pancreatic cancer
Could this Seed Really be
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It’s confusing, but Nigella sativa has nothing to do with the herbs fennel, nutmeg, coriander and cumin which many of us cook with. So I’m just going to call it N. sativa for the rest of this piece, even though calling it fennel or black cumin would give it a nice, cozy, kitchen-cabinet feeling.
The flower is native to south Asia, and looks like a bed of miniature tulips have been planted inside the outer petals of a daffodil. But the seeds that eventually spring from this flower are where the curative magic is found, including chemotherapeutic effects on several types of cancers.
Multiple studies over several years
show this anti-cancer seed works
show this anti-cancer seed works
One of the greatest aspects of N. sativa is its ability to stop some of the most aggressive forms of cancer, including pancreatic cancer. Right now, pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in America, claiming around 34,000 lives a year. The survival rate after five years of conventional cancer treatment is a dismal four percent.
That’s why I’m so encouraged by a study conducted at Kimmel Cancer Center, part of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. The researchers found treatments containing N. sativa destroyed pancreatic cancer cells. The “magic” ingredient in Nigella sativa appears to be thymoquinone, an extract of the seed oil.
Researchers believe thymoquinone holds promise as a preventative strategy both for patients who have already gone through surgery and chemotherapy and are at risk of developing a second round of cancer, as well as those who have a generally high risk of developing cancer, period.
Along with her team, Dr. Hwyda Arafat of Thomas Jefferson University found that adding thymoquinone to cancer cells resulted in programmed cell death for about 80 percent of the pancreatic cancer cell lines tested. She and her team also found that activity of a tumor suppressor gene (p53) and a gene (Bax) that promotes apoptosis or programmed cell death both increased. Similarly, the bcl-2 gene that blocks cell death was decreased. These findings are based on tests of lab-cultured cancer cells, not human subjects.
Other observations included what the team called “epigenetic” changes in pancreatic cancer cells—that is, modifications to the “expression” or activity of the cell’s DNA. The thymoquinone essentially increased the acetylation process of DNA proteins, which is key to initiating cell death. And at the same time, thymoquinone acted as a histone deacetylases (HDAC) inhibitor, which basically stops the gene transcription process so cancer cells can’t replicate.
Other studies found that N. sativa oil helped reduce unwanted side effects from chemotherapy, and that it had incredible success as a tumor therapy. In 1997, a study at the Cancer Research Laboratory of Hilton Head Island in South Carolina showed that N. sativa oil increased the growth rate of bone marrow cells by an incredible 250 percent, while at the same time inhibiting tumor growth by 50 percent.
And in a study on N. sativa and breast cancer, researchers found that N. sativa both alone or in combination with oxidative stress was an effective in vitro (test tube) treatment for deactivating breast cancer cells.
“Magic” protocol you can follow from home
As proof that Nigella sativa is making headway as a cancer remedy, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has already granted two patents that involve N. sativa oil for the purpose of treating cancer, boosting the immune system, and preventing side effects from chemotherapy.
There’s also a Black Seed Oil Protocol that’s recommended by several practitioners. Here’s one version of the program:
- One teaspoon of black seed oil mixed with a half teaspoon of raw Manuka honey, taken a half hour before breakfast
- One teaspoon of black seed oil mixed with juice from one orange taken in the afternoon between meals
- One teaspoon of oil mixed with a half teaspoon of raw Manuka honey, taken before bed
The honey is used as a carrier to get the oil to the diseased cell, and Manuka honey is said to have the highest anti-microbial activity of all honeys. This protocol, combined with a healthy lifestyle, is said to work wonders both in treating cancer and a variety of other ailments.
I suspect the thymoquinone extract researched by the team at the Kimmel Center may turn out to be extremely effective when given intravenously (by IV). But as far as I know, no studies have been done. The Kimmel study, as I mentioned, was on lab cultures, so we’re well short of knowing what we need to know about the clinical value of this substance.
Cures just about everything but death
It appears Nigella sativa is an effective remedy well beyond cancer, including both acute and chronic conditions—everything from the treatment of diabetes and hypertension to dermatological conditions.
Additional studies by Arafat and her team indicate it can treat a broad array of immune and inflammatory disorders, on top of thwarting the growth of diseases like prostate and colon cancer. The oil has also been shown to have anti-fungal effects and has been successfully used to treat the growth of Candida in all organs in the body.
In the Middle East and certain Southeast Asian countries, Nigella seeds are sold in small bundles labeled “black cumin.” They’re meant to be rubbed until they warm up, and then they let off an aroma that supposedly opens clogged sinuses similar to eucalyptus treatments.
So far, small quantities of the black seed oil appear to have no harmful side effects, though there isn’t enough research on larger, medicinal quantities to know if those are safe. The only adverse effect I came across was that some people get allergic rashes if they rub the oil on their skin, which some practitioners recommend doing for joint pain and headaches.
If you’re interested in trying it, the oil is widely available both online and in herbal and nutritional stores.
And if you’re interested in an exciting new supplement that may prevent cancer – or help treat it if you’ve got it – you should have read our last issue. If you missed it, please read it below.
Create an Internal “Enemy Territory”
Cancer Cells Don’t Dare Invade!
What if you could make your body “enemy territory” for cancer?
If the claims hold up, you may be able to do just that in three ways, with one single product… creating an internal environment hostile to cancer.
Obviously there are a number of other things you can do. Like doing without sugar, which cancer also loves. And exercising. But today we’re introducing you to a proprietary mineral supplement that may send rogue cancer cells packing. Read on to discover more…
Continued below…
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It’s a well-established fact that cancer thrives in three conditions:
- An acidic internal environment
- A low-oxygen environment
- A toxic environment
Who cares about pH and O², anyway? You should, if you want to be healthy, or fight disease.
Can you hope to be healthy
with an acidic body?
with an acidic body?
According to many cancer experts, if you want to create an inhospitable environment not only for cancer cells but also for bacteria, viruses and fungi, then you need to guard your body’s pH… because the right cell and tissue pH is critical for good health.
pH is the measure of negative hydroxyl ions (OH-), to the number of positive hydroxyl (H+) ions in your fluid or tissue. The higher the pH, the more alkaline and oxygen rich… the lower it is, the more acidic and oxygen-poor. For good health, you need to maintain a pH of about 7.4.
Although the difference appears insignificant, acidity in the range of 7.0 or 6.7 weakens every system in your body, making you a sitting duck for disease.
It forces your body to borrow minerals from your vital organs, bones and teeth in order to neutralize that acid and remove it. The body will do whatever is necessary to keep the blood slightly alkaline, but it may have to strip everything else of minerals in order to do that. It’s this depleted state that sets you up for disease.
According to advocates of the acid-alkaline theory of health, disease NEEDS an acidic and low oxygen environment to survive and flourish. Some authorities say terminal patients have acidity levels 1,000 times higher than those of normal healthy people.
In a state of acidosis and low oxygen, glucose becomes lactic acid during fermentation, forcing your pH to plummet, potentially reaching 6.0 or 5.7, or lower.
As you can guess from the word, acidosis refers to excessive acidity. It leads to an inability to absorb and use nutrients, reduced cellular energy, inhibited cellular repair and detoxification… and a friendly environment for tumor cells.
Some researchers say chronic acidosis causes diabetes, cancer, osteoporosis, heart disease, immune problems, chronic infections, and more.
Acidosis is also linked to problems that seem minor but may foretell serious ones in your future… anxiety, diarrhea, early morning fatigue, headaches, rapid heartbeat, restless legs, shortness of breath, high blood pressure, and insomnia. And of course, heightened susceptibility to illness.
Long-time readers of this newsletter may remember that I’ve been skeptical of the acid-alkaline theory because a healthy balance seems to be the effect rather than the cause of good health habits. Many programs that purport to make your body more alkaline just consist of a healthy, nutrient-rich diet or a heavy load of mineral supplements. If it makes them happy to describe a “healthy diet” as an “alkaline diet” then I guess they can do that.
But the supplement I’m reporting on today does seem to be supported by some studies and my attitude is “go with what works.” We can worry about the theory later. If the reports are accurate, this supplement could be an exciting discovery.
The hazards of low oxygen levels
When your cells are low in oxygen, they become inefficient at converting food to energy.
If your oxygen levels dip dangerously low, angiogenesis (creation of new blood vessels) begins. This provides fresh oxygen, boosting your oxygen levels and slowing cancer – but only temporarily!
Eventually your energy-conversion efficiency cranks down another notch, creating a vicious cycle.
Researchers believe this cycle is a major driver of cancer. It could explain why so many cancers become drug resistant within three to six months.
It’s been known for more than 80 years,
so why haven’t you heard?
so why haven’t you heard?
This is based on a recent study, but it’s not particularly new.
More than 80 years ago, Dr. Otto Warburg won his first Nobel Prize (1931) for proving that cancer was caused by lack of oxygen respiration in cells.
In an article called The Prime Cause and Prevention of Cancer, he said, “the cause of cancer is no longer a mystery, we know it occurs whenever any cell is denied 60% of its oxygen requirements.”
In other words, the primary cause of cancer is the replacement of oxygen respiration with fermented sugar. Your body cells should get their energy from oxygen, whereas cancer cells meet their energy needs mostly by fermentation.
Fermentation lets cancer cells survive, but they cannot perform normal functions. All they can do is multiply and grow, degrading into cancer cells that no longer serve you, but just live to survive for themselves.
Normal body cells are obligate aerobes (they can’t live without oxygen)… but all cancer cells are partial anaerobes (they can live without oxygen).
So… how do your cells become oxygen deprived?
Internal toxins make you acidic
and oxygen-poor…
and oxygen-poor…
Metabolic waste products are acidic and must be detoxified. It’s a normal part of life, as long as you can detoxify effectively.
But most people are regularly exposed to toxic lawn care and cleaning products, plastics, air pollution, drugs, and mercury fillings, to name a few. Unless you’re eating only organic foods, you’re also getting a heavy dose of toxins from fertilizers, insecticides and herbicides in your food.
Compound that with everyday stress, poor sleeping habits, and a sedentary lifestyle, and you get quite a build-up of waste products and toxins. Your body may not be able to rid itself of these substances fast enough to keep up.
If you’re a cancer patient, chemotherapy and radiation also contribute to your toxic load.
Any overload of toxins can clog up your cells, leading to poor quality cell walls that deny access to the nutrients (needed for respiration), and further reduce your ability to detoxify.
Over time these waste products become solid wastes like oxidized fats, uric acid, kidney stones, and tumors. They contribute to rapid aging and related diseases such as arthritis and heart disease.
Now, you may notice that nearly ALL experts on alternative cancer treatment call for avoiding toxic substances and getting rid of the toxins that are already inside us. This view isn’t the property of the acid-alkaline crowd. But they can characterize it that way if they wish, as long as it works. . .
Kills 3 birds with one stone…
A proprietary mineral supplement called Liph (pronounced “life”), formerly called Alka Vita, claims numerous health and anti-cancer properties.
Its main component is modified liquid silica, a unique form of elemental silicon. High in oxygen and highly alkaline, it helps offset internal acidity. In concentrated form, its pH is around 14.3.
It fights cancer by:
- Inducing apoptosis (cancer cell death)
- Reducing harmful DNA mutations
- Preventing cancer cells from attaching to your tissues
Liph creates exactly the kind of cancer-hostile environment you want – an alkaline, oxygen-rich, non-toxic system.
Studies show it reduces oxidative (free radical) stress at a cellular level – by increasing three chemicals that support your immune function and ability to fight cancer:
- Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) – An enzyme that repairs damage caused by superoxide, one of your most abundant free radicals. An antioxidant and anti-inflammatory.
- Catalase – Another antioxidant enzyme produced naturally. Helps convert the dangerous metabolic byproduct, hydrogen peroxide, into water and oxygen. Also breaks down other harmful toxins.
- Glutathione – Your most abundant natural antioxidant, often called your Master Antioxidant. Fights cancer by keeping red and white blood cells healthy, and aids in DNA synthesis and repair. Affects every bodily system, especially immune, nervous, and GI systems. So needless to say, glutathione serves a critical role in your health.
Again, readers of this newsletter already know that all three of these substances are extremely important to good health. If this supplement increases them as claimed, I’m all for it.
A stand-alone cancer treatment?
Studies for Liph’s safety have been ongoing for the past eight years.
It was shown to be non-toxic in two 2005 animal studies in Sugar Land, Texas – with no observable abnormal reactions, signs of toxicity, or weight changes.
The same year, in San Diego, a study at the Anti-Cancer Lab showed that Liph reduced tumor growth in mice injected with human melanoma cells… in ALL of the animals, and in some cases, by more than half.
No human studies have been conducted but Liph’s anti-cancer effects have been observed in humans in individual cases. People reported complete remission from various types of cancer – including pancreatic, breast, and uterine – using Liph as a stand-alone cancer treatment!
It’s also been reported to reduce side effects from chemotherapy.
Beats acidosis, low oxygen, and toxins… all at once
Liph is easy to take in water or tea. It’s water soluble, making it an extremely high bioavailable source of silica, compared to other forms of silica. Silica has a pH of about 13.4 – highly alkaline – so it helps rebalance your pH, and helps initiate new healing and tissue construction.
When you’re restored to your optimal alkalinity, your oxygen levels will rise and you’ll be able to detoxify back to full health.
Liph appears to work for both health maintenance and therapy. It deserves more study as a promising cancer treatment.
References (1st article):
“Black Seed.” Vitamins and Supplements: WebMD. Located 20 November 2013. http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-
“Effect of Nigella sativa (N. sativa L.) and oxidative stress on the survival pattern of MCF-7 breast cancer cells.” By Farah, I.O., and Begum, R.A. Biomed Sci Instrum. 2003;39:359-64. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
“Nigella sativa is cancer's worst nightmare.” By Samantha Davis, Natural News.com, 11 November 2013.http://www.naturalnews.com/
“Nigella sativa.” Wikipedia. Located 29 November 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
“Nigella Stavia Oil Protocol.” Cancer Compass. Located 29 November 2013. http://
“The Black Cumin Protocol for Cancer.” By Maria Hurairah, Cancer Tutor. http://www.cancertutor.com/
“Traditional Herbal Medicine Kills Pancreatic Cancer Cells, Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson Researchers Report.” Published 23 May 2008 by Thomas Jefferson University: Kimmel Cancer Center. http://www.kcc.tju.edu/news/
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Sunday, December 1, 2013
Is your doctor a real doctor?
Is your doctor a real doctor?
If you’ve read much about alternative health, you’ve come across the word “naturopath” or you’ve seen the initials “ND” (instead of “MD”) following a doctor’s name. The doctors we interview in our Special Reports are often ND’s. The initials stand for doctor of naturopathy.
You’ve probably seen the word, but you may wonder what it means, and what kind of qualifications and training the person has. I know I used to wonder all the time. What the heck IS an ND? Who are these people? Keep reading, because I decided to look into it and I’m going to tell you what I found.
Continued below…
Let me say right off: here at Cancer Defeated we’ve been researching alternative cancer treatments for about nine years, and some of the best people we’ve come across are naturopathic doctors. In fact, some of the best cancer experts aren’t ANY kind of doctor at all. They come from other fields.
I’m mainly interested in results. I don’t care all that much about what the diploma on the wall says.
An embarrassing revelation...
But at the same time, I have a confession to make. I have to admit I feel a bit deflated when someone who calls himself a doctor turns out to be an ND instead of an MD. It’s like a little voice in my head says, “Oh, you mean he’s not a real doctor.”
I should kick myself, but the mainstream medical profession has surrounded itself with such an aura of superiority, I’m still a bit intimidated by their smug claims. The propaganda has worked. After all, we’ve been exposed to it all our lives. They’re the establishment and they’ve got all the power and most of the money.
If nothing else, I know MD’s are pretty bright and they’ve survived just about the toughest obstacle course in the education industry. But I also know something else. I went to a so-called elite school way back in the 1970s. About half the undergrads were trying to get into medical school. No kidding, that’s how many guys at my college wanted to be doctors (it was an all-male college back in those days).
And even at that tender age I had serious doubts about the motive and personality of the people who were going into that profession. Too many of them wanted to become doctors for the money and the social status. This sounds harsh, but it’s a fact. I saw it with my own 19-year-old eyes.
Oh, heavens, they studied hard and were bright, but if being an engineer or running a dry cleaning store had paid as well they would have become engineers or dry cleaners. Being a country boy, I was new to such blatant careerism and it shocked me. I thought a person chose a profession because he found it rewarding. Some of these guys told me privately they HATED the idea of becoming a doctor.
Their interest in medicine – if they even had any – was more like the interest kids these days have in computers. They were fascinated by the science and technology aspect. But most of them didn’t rise to even that level of interest. It was all about having a lucrative, high-status career. For doctors reading this who did (and do) really feel the call, forgive this, but if you’re honest with yourselves I think you’ll have to admit it’s true of many of your colleagues.
So I have no hesitation about recommending other types of medicine, including naturopathy. I’ve had great success treating myself with alternatives. Give me a “quack” any old day. My friends and relatives who stuck with conventional medicine are falling apart around me, while I’m not doing too badly for someone my age. What’s more, surveys show the same is true of most people who are into alternative medicine. We’re a healthy bunch.
So now let me help you choose your “quack.”
What’s a naturpath? I finally found out!
The truth is that many naturopathic doctors have a lot of the same skills as conventional doctors, but they receive additional training in natural therapies and a commitment to heal the body, not medicate it.
Just look at the six values that govern them – all of which are centered around a natural approach to healing.
The first commits them to treating the cause of an illness instead of just suppressing the symptoms, as in conventional medicine.
Second, they follow the mantra to “First, do no harm.” Meaning they steer clear of drugs and procedures with harmful side effects.
Patient education is the third core value. Naturopathic doctors believe being a physician means teaching, not dominating a patient.
Fourth, naturopathic doctors treat you as a whole person instead of a combination of parts. They consider physical, mental, emotional, environmental, and social factors before labeling anything. No cookie-cutter diagnoses, in other words.
Fifth, they work to prevent illness by considering your individual risk factors and making personalized interventions.
And their last core value is to place a huge emphasis on the healing power of nature and the body’s innate ability to heal itself. This means they turn to drugs only as a last course of action.
Bottom line – naturopathic medicine is designed to curb most chronic illnesses without sentencing you to a lifetime of drugs and side effects.
You hardly ever hear a medical doctor say, “Let’s figure out the cause of your problem so you can get over this without having to take drugs the rest of your life.”
Their attitude is profoundly wrong, because chronic diseases can be caused by something as simple as a wheat allergy or a sensitivity to preservatives. Those causes are more common than you think. So don’t let yourself be put on a lifetime regime of drugs because your doctor doesn’t know how to diagnose you correctly.
How do you find a qualified
naturopathic doctor?
The main problem with naturopathic medicine is that it’s not widely regulated. I’m not a fan of regulation, but the lack of it means you have to do your own homework and think for yourself.
The title Doctor of Naturopathy isn’t protected. So depending on which state you live in, any practitioner can use the title whether they’re qualified or not.
Right now, there are three levels of naturopathic care. The first consists of practitioners who are largely self-taught or who went through some type of apprenticeship. They call themselves “naturopaths.” Sometimes they’re good, sometimes not. I’m not putting down the good ones – I’ve met some self-taught or lightly-credentialed healers who are very good indeed. But you need to check things out.
The next level up is practitioners who practice under other professional licenses but offer some naturopathic services – a chiropractor might do this, for example. Chiropractors have plunged wholesale into herbal medicines, supplements and other alternative therapies. Some of them are very good healers.
Chiropractic these days has soared far above what it was 40 years ago. I take it seriously as a clinically validated form of healing. I’ve personally been cured of “untreatable” health problems by a chiropractor and I know other people who have as well.
But the third level of naturopathic medicine – and your best bet for primary healthcare – is a licensed naturopathic doctor with a four-year medical degree. These naturopathic doctors (NDs) complete graduate-level programs that include the same basic sciences studied by conventional doctors. In fact, some naturopathic medical schools actually require more instruction in basic and clinical sciences than do a lot of the top medical schools.
Along with those basic sciences, they train in all the natural therapies: clinical nutrition, botanical medicine, acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine, homeopathy, physical medicine, massage, hydrotherapy, and more.
Naturopathic medical schools are formally accredited by a council recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education. A lot of them go through internships and residencies. They have to pass board exams to be licensed as primary care doctors. Some go on to work in research. The National Institutes of Health even funds some naturopathic medical research.
Scope of Practice
The problem, and the reason a lot of people can’t get access to naturopathic care, is that the profession is still hung up in regulatory red tape. Right now, fifteen states and three U.S. jurisdictions regulate the profession - Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and D.C.
Some naturopathic doctors can write prescriptions or give vaccines, but it depends on where they live. Right now, eleven of the states that grant ND licenses give prescription rights. Eight states let NDs perform surgery.
Washington State has the most freedom on the naturopathic front. NDs there are considered comparable to primary care MDs. Washington naturopathic doctors even accept insurance. In Connecticut, the insurance situation is even better – the state law there forces all insurance companies to cover naturopathic services.
But go somewhere like Texas or Iowa and you’ll have a hard time even finding a licensed naturopathic doctor.
It’s sickening to think about, but your right to non-invasive, healing care is pretty much determined by where you live.
The ideal situation would be for all of us to use naturopathic doctors as our primary caregivers. But given the lack of ND licensing laws in most states, it’s just not possible.
If you’re in a state where you can access qualified naturopathic care, do it. And even if your state doesn’t license NDs, you may still be able to find a degreed naturopathic doctor who practices under a license issued by another state (though their scope of practice would be limited).
If your only option is to see a traditional naturopath -- one who lacks all the fancy credentials -- it’s essential you ask for qualifications and references. You don’t want to end up being treated by someone who got his or her degree from a three-month Internet course.
Are MD’s good for anything?
The answer is yes. Conventional, establishment MD’s are good for some things and I still go to mine from time to time. You need an established relationship with an MD if you’re to have access to the conventional medical system when you need it. And believe me, you will.
Medical doctors are great for shock-trauma treatment. If I were in a car accident or accidentally sliced a limb with a chain saw, I’d head for the emergency room like everyone else. Likewise if I thought I was suffering from a heart attack. It’s a little late at that point to think about herbs and vitamins. You need something to get you through the next 24 hours.
Another factor is that more and more MDs are becoming “integrative doctors” who practice natural and alternative medicine in addition to the NIH/FDA/AMA approved stuff. In addition to being a medical doctor, such a doctor might be licensed to practice chiropractic, homeopathy or any number of other disciplines – or perhaps has just gotten himself (or herself) up to speed on nutrition and the various branches of herbal medicine.
But to be honest, MDs like that are still rare. Things are changing, but most MDs still consider ALL alternative treatments quackery. If you’re dealing with chronic diseases like arthritis, heart disease or cancer, their brand of shock-and-awe treatment won’t do you any fundamental good. At best, it’ll just suppress your symptoms. At worst, it’ll give you awful side effects that plague you the rest of your life while your disease sticks around.
Now that I’ve studied the matter, I know conventional medicine is worthless when it comes to late-stage cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. It’s somewhat more successful with some early-stage cancers. When it comes to diabetes, they merely buy you time. When it comes to heart disease, they’ve had remarkable success, but the same (and better) can be achieved with alternatives at a fraction of the cost of conventional treatments.
Praise God, I don’t suffer from cancer, heart disease or the other degenerative diseases, but I can tell you from personal experience that straight, unrepentant MD’s are nearly worthless in helping you with pain, digestive problems of any kind, allergies, skin diseases, or headaches. I had those problems when I was young and got no relief until I turned to alternative medicine.
Among dermatologists – skin doctors – the joke is that “it’s a great business because the patients never die and they never get well.” Is that the kind of doctor you want – the kind who thinks a comment like that is funny?
The difference between MDs and NDs is something like this: Say you have a short circuit in your house. It starts a fire. An MD would show up, put the fire out, and tell you to call if it happens again. An ND would show up, put the fire out, and figure out what caused the fire in the first place so it never happens again.
In one situation, you’re always at risk. In the other, your risk has been eliminated.
And the comparison is a little unfair to fire fighters. You can be pretty sure they’ll put out a fire, but a conventional MD often won’t help your chronic disease at all, from acne when you’re a kid to arthritis when you’re a senior. And if he does it’s probably with a prescription drug that does you untold harm while just masking the symptoms of your illness.
Naturopathic medicine is designed to support good health for the rest of your life. Incorporate a good ND’s advice into your healthy lifestyle, and you’ve got something that will last.
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Sunday, November 24, 2013
Most powerful spice for your health
What's the Most Powerful Spice
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Research now shows that turmeric thwarts dozens of types of cancers—in a big way. The list includes cancers of the breast, prostate, uterus, ovaries, lung, colon, mouth, esophagus, liver, kidney, skin, head and neck, nervous system, connective tissue, lymph (lymphomas) and blood (leukemia).
Eastern cultures have reaped these benefits, because there, instead of reaching for an over-the-counter or prescription drug, doctors are more likely to recommend real foods as sources of 'intelligent' healing.
Followers of these traditions believe the right foods provide perfect balance and perfect health. Every food you eat either brings you into greater balance... or throws you out of balance. Your job is to know the difference.
In a class of its own
Turmeric helps prevent and control the spread of cancer cells in so many ways. It:
- Helps break down toxins in your liver
- Possesses dramatic anti-inflammatory properties
- Is a powerful antioxidant, with 300 times the power of vitamin E
- Stimulates your immune system
- Helps break down fat and promotes weight loss
If you already have cancer, turmeric enhances the effectiveness of chemotherapy while simultaneously protecting your healthy tissues from chemo's damage.
What Indian medicine knows
That Western medicine doesn't
That Western medicine doesn't
You probably associate green plant foods with healing and cancer prevention. And you'd be right.
But for sure, not everything good is green. When it comes to turmeric, just by adding this bright yellow-orange spice to your food, you also help your body defend against cancer... and a whole lot more.
If you think about turmeric at all you probably associate it with the curry dishes of India or Indian-influenced dishes from the Caribbean. Turmeric is indigenous to Asia, and has been a long-time staple in the Indian diet. It's been a part of India's Ayurvedic healing tradition and traditional Chinese medicine for more than 5,000 years.
Turmeric has large, beautiful, lily-like leaves. But the magic really occurs below the surface. The roots, which look much like ginger root, are the medicinal parts.
When you cut open a turmeric root, it's much more vivid than ginger root. The bright color gives a hint of its incredible medicinal powers. Colorful foods tend to be rich in nutrients.
Turmeric's color comes from curcumin, the phytochemical that's the source of nearly all the root's medicinal benefits.
Helps your liver keep you healthy
What turmeric does to help your liver keep you healthy is nothing short of amazing.
Mutagens (anything causing DNA mutations that can lead to cancer) are in your food, air, and dozens if not hundreds of things you come into contact with every day. Your liver is charged with breaking all those mutagens down and expelling them from your body. The liver is the body's most important filter.
Your liver has two sets of enzymes, called "Phase 1" and "Phase 2". Any time a toxin or carcinogen enters your liver your Phase 1 enzymes activate it. In other words, they turn "on" its carcinogenic effects.
Now why would they create carcinogens? Because it's easier for your Phase 2 enzymes to recognize, attack, break down, and expel activated enzymes.
But here's the glitch: Too many toxins can overwhelm your liver. Your liver's defensive system can fail.
You can slash your risk of cancer by either reducing the amount of toxins that enter your liver in the first place, or by enhancing your Phase 2 enzymes to eliminate more toxins after they've gotten in.
Amazingly, turmeric has the ability to both block Phase 1 and enhance Phase 2 enzymes, for a mighty superstar level of protection for your health.
Helps even smokers eliminate toxins!
Smokers typically have many carcinogenic metabolites (byproducts) in their urine.
In a 1992 published study in the journal Mutagenesis, researchers tested 16 smokers and 16 non-smokers for these metabolites. Then the smokers received 1.5 grams of turmeric for 30 days, while the non-smokers were given none.
In 30 days, the researchers again tested the participants' urine. Shockingly, the level of mutagen metabolites was LOWER in the smokers taking turmeric than it was in the non-smokers.
So if you're a smoker who's struggled to kick the habit, at least do your health the favor of using turmeric.
If you play golf, farm or use lawn treatments,
Read this now!
Read this now!
Many common pesticides and herbicides are known "gender benders". They mimic estrogen and thereby boost your risk of all estrogenic cancers, notably prostate and breast cancer.
Turmeric can block pesticides' estrogenic effects, and thereby impede estrogenic tumors from forming in response to estrogen and environmental toxins.
Turmeric also down-regulates your estrogen receptors—meaning it decreases the sensitivity of your estrogen receptors. That cuts the receptors' normal cancer-enhancing response to estrogen. When estrogen attaches to estrogen receptors in the presence of turmeric, its rate of cell division is slowed way down.
If you golf, live on a golf course or near farms where sprays are a way of life, or use lawn treatments, consider adding a layer of health protection with turmeric.
Block the dangerous COX-2 enzyme
Turmeric inhibits or blocks an enzyme that plays a key role in many cancers. It's called the COX-2 enzyme. Cancer patients typically over-express it. And it's responsible for a long list of dangerous deeds...
- Causes tumor cells to divide and spread
- Prevents the death of cancer cells
- Stimulates the growth of new blood vessels
- Enables tumor cells to invade surrounding tissues
- Blocks your immune system's tumor suppression activities
- Boosts risk of metastasis
- Speeds up your production of mutagens
That's a long and damaging list of bad deeds. But turmeric can put an end to all of them. It shuts down the COX-2 enzyme and blocks ALL its harmful actions.
Tumeric's other healing benefits
You'll love turmeric for more than just its anti-cancer effects too. As of 2012, this "miracle" spice was linked to over 150 distinct beneficial actions involving more than 500 different health conditions. To name just a few...
- Lowers heart disease risk by decreasing cholesterol and arterial plaque.
- Promotes wound healing by lowering inflammation and stimulating growth of new blood vessels. Ironic, because it blocks new blood-vessel growth to stop cancer growth yet stimulates it to promote healing. Turmeric "knows" when to do each one.
- Encourages your gallbladder to expel gallstones.
- Aids digestion by boosting stomach secretions and decreasing intestinal gassiness.
- Shields your organs from chemical attack
- Minimizes damage to your brain from alcohol.
- Helps repair liver damage.
- Strengthens connective tissue and prevents scar tissue.
- Stimulates muscle regeneration following trauma.
And those are just the effects inside your body...
Topical Uses
Applied to the skin, turmeric offers a whole new set of benefits. But beware, it will stain your clothes, so wear something old that you don't care about!
Turmeric can kill bacteria. And in the presence of sunlight, its anti-bacterial properties improve. You can use it against fungal infections like athlete's foot, and skin conditions like psoriasis.
No other known edible and topical substance can do so much.
Turmeric is a true Superstar in the world of medicinal plants. And it beautifully shows this key Ayurvedic principle: Plants hold intelligence, and they help us to heal by importing their intelligence into us.
What you should know before taking turmeric
Turmeric is prepared by soaking, then drying the root and grinding it into a fine powder. You'll find it in most grocery stores. Choose organic whenever possible. Why introduce more toxins into your body?
When adding it to your foods, use about ¼ to 1 teaspoon at the very end of cooking, to avoid overcooking.
If you prefer not to take it with food every day, you can take it as a supplement. The recommended dose is two 500-mg capsules if you're healthy. For therapeutic use, studies show that four to ten grams of curcumin a day can be taken without negative side effects. As noted before, curcumin is the medicinally active ingredient of turmeric. Four to ten grams would be a VERY high dose. One or at most two grams probably suffice for most healthy people.
There's currently no standardized dose for cancer treatment and prevention, but most researchers suggest 2 or more grams per day.
And if you want to enhance turmeric's impact, take it in the same meal as green tea. Turmeric makes green tea eight times more effective. And in turn, green tea makes turmeric three times more effective. You can't beat the synergy!
Any way you slice it, turmeric can give you a tremendous health boost. You can hardly go wrong using it as a potent health ally. So why not get started today?
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