Sunday, March 10, 2013

Is the perfect hair color worth "dyeing" for?

Cancer Defeated Publications

Is the Perfect Hair Color
Worth 'Dyeing' for?


    Hair dye is a popular cosmetic option among women determined to chase away gray hair. But they're not the only fans of hair coloring products. Many men and younger folks use dyes as well—whether to cover gray or simply to change to a more desirable hair color.

    A good idea? The short answer is "No," but it's important to understand that some types of dyes are more hazardous than others. . .

Continued below. . .


The secret to curing cancer:
You've been throwing it in the trash!
    In 1921, a British doctor discovered that members of a remote native tribe were almost totally cancer-free. But when members of this tribe move away from their native land and change their diet, they get cancer just like anyone else.

    It's all thanks to a food most of us throw away as waste — a food that's rich inamygdalin — what most of us call Laetrile.

    Click here now and watch a video presentation about this cancer breakthrough. One cancer expert calls this overlooked food "the key to curing AND preventing cancer" — and you can benefit now — without going to a doctor or buying expensive supplements. This little throwaway food tastes great. Bill Clinton, of all people, eats a certain amygdalin-rich food all the time, and so can you. Click here now to watch the video!


    You might want to pause before you buy a color treatment to touch up your roots or change your look…

    A report from the American Cancer Society says studies associate the use of hair dye with an increased risk for developing cancers of the bladder, blood and breast.

    And while many of these lab tests involved animals, there are other studies that examine human exposure to hair dyes as well.

    In a report printed in the Jan. 15, 2004 edition of the American Journal of Epidemiology, Yale University researcher Tongzhang Zheng, Sc.D, led a research team that analyzed hair dye use in 601 women with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. They compared these results to research on 717 similar women who were cancer-free.

    Here's a snapshot of what they found:
  • Women who used hair coloring products before 1980 demonstrated an increased risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
  • Use of dark-colored permanent hair colors for more than 25 years doubled the risk for some types of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
  • The risk for this disease also nearly doubled for women who used more than 200 applications of these products.
  • Semi-permanent dyes or temporary rinses did not appear to carry the same cancer risk.
    You might be wondering why 1980 is significant for the safety of hair dyes. It's because 1979 saw major changes in the hair care industry related to the chemicals used in hair dyes.

    Before this point, hair dyes contained many chemicals that were shown to cause cancer in animals. This was especially true with darker dyes, which tended to contain higher concentrations of these potential carcinogens.

    Dye manufacturers have removed many of these toxins from the hair coloring agents used today.

    But here's the catch: Not ALL of these toxic chemicals have been removed. And not all hair coloring products contain the same types of chemicals and pigments.
All dyes are NOT created equal!
    Dyeing your hair brings your skin into contact with the chemicals and pigments that make up the product. Although the chemical content of hair dyes varies widely, products can generally be grouped into three main types:
  • Temporary hair dyes—these products are designed to cover the hair surface without penetrating the hair shaft; they typically last for 1 to 2 washings
  • Semi-permanent hair dyes—these dyes temporarily penetrate into the hair shaft and will last for about 5 to 10 washings
  • Permanent hair dyes—these coloring products cause longer lasting changes to your hair shaft; they typically last until new growth emerges and tend to contain higher concentrations of chemical coloring agents
    Cancer concerns are mainly limited to the use of permanent dyes because they tend to have higher concentrations of certain amine chemicals that may cause cancer. Darker dyes also tend to have more of these coloring agents.

    Once these chemicals penetrate the skin, they can stay for weeks, months or even yearsafter your hair is dyed.

    A major problem with amine compounds is their ability to react with pollutants such as tobacco smoke and exhaust fumes to form highly poisonous chemicals called N-nitrosamines.

    The National Institutes of Health, National Toxicology programs lists the compounds as known carcinogens that are banned from use in cosmetics. But they can still form on their own from the amine chemicals in hair dyes.

    Just think about the dilemma this might pose for all the barbers and hairdressers in the world!

    Unfortunately, some studies examining people exposed to hair dyes at work have found a small but consistent increase in the risk of bladder cancer.

    The good news is… such studies have not associated that increased risk with the people whose hair is dyed. It's mainly the beautician who's at risk.

    Now you can probably guess that the cosmetics industry has downplayed the significance of any and all studies associating hair dye with cancer risk. They even managed to convince the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that warning labels about cancer risk were completely unnecessary for products containing the chemical 4-MMP.

    According to an FDA statement, a regulation requiring the following warning was to become effective April 16, 1980:
Warning — Contains an ingredient that can penetrate your skin and has been determined to cause cancer in laboratory animals.
    Some hair dye manufacturers instituted legal challenges to the regulation. They said the cancer risk was too small to be considered "material."

    As a result, the agency reconsidered its earlier position… entered into a consent agreement with hair dye manufacturers… and postponed the effective date of the regulation until an appropriate risk assessment study could be completed.
You can color without cancer risk!
    There are several ways to refresh your color—or achieve other hair colors—without using chemical-laden dyes.

    Remember, temporary dyes may not last as long… but they don't contain the potentially harmful chemicals in permanent dyes.

    You could also consider plant-based dyes such as henna products. There are different pigments that can be blended to achieve the color results you want—minus the chemical risks.

    Whether or not to use chemical dyes to color your hair is a personal choice. But make sure you weigh the risks and benefits to see whether your choice is worth 'dyeing' for!

    Meanwhile, here's a question for you: Can an apple a day really help keep cancer away? If you don't know, you should have read our last issue. (You also would have discovered some cool new iPhone apps for cancer patients.) If you missed it, you can scroll down and read it now.


An Apple a Day Helps Keep Cancer Away

    Here's yet another reason to really pay attention to nourishing your body while you fight cancer or try to prevent it: As much as 70 percent of your immune system is in and around your gastrointestinal tract. If you take care of your gut, your immune function will grow stronger. And that will help you resist all kinds of diseases, including cancer.

    Keep reading and I'll explain some of the best ways to support your GI tract. . .

Continued below. . .


Millionaire's Amazing Secret Can Radically
Transform Your Health
    For most people, wrinkles... forgetfulness... low energy... sleep trouble... and an onslaught of health problems are the normal part of aging.

    But one Beverly Hills millionaire proved they don't have to be!

    At 65 years of age, "Mister B" is at the peak of health. He's bursting with energy... never gets sick... has normal blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels... boasts a laser-sharp memory... and looks decades younger than his chronological age.

    What's his secret?

    He does ONE thing differently than most everyone else.

    Click here to discover his age-defying, fountain-of-youth recipe—anddramatically improve your health.


    Supporting the immune system is one of the reasons behind a new push toward eating probiotics and fermented foods. The primary goal is to restore a healthy crop of intestinal microbes (called "flora") to your gut. It's an important step toward maintaining good health and defeating cancer.

    Probiotics, if you're not familiar, are "friendly" strains of bacteria and yeast that serve our immune, endocrine, and neurological systems. Our modern diets and overuse of antibiotics have caused a massive decline in the level of healthy bacteria most people enjoy.

    Plus it's not uncommon these days to find people in the U.S. who don't consume any kind of fermented or cultured food. These foods contain yeasts and bacteria that replenish and support the vast colonies of microbes in your gut.

    When you destroy the healthy microbes in your colon, harmful strains of yeast and bacteria take over and inflict terrible damage to your health. You won't hear this from conventional doctors, but most experts in alternative cancer treatments believe if you want to defeat cancer, it's essential to have a healthy balance of intestinal flora.
Probiotics help you come through
chemo in better shape, too
    Probiotics are especially useful while going through chemotherapy, because they help protect the gut cells from the damage chemo drugs can inflict. Whether you suffer from late-stage cancer or you're healthy as a horse, probiotics help your body digest and absorb nutrients.

    Certain kinds of probiotics even help ferment fiber from our food, producing a molecule called butyric acid that's believed to help stabilize DNA during replication. This action alone reduces the changes that may lead a cell to turn cancerous. Probiotics also stop the growth of harmful microbes that create carcinogens.

    The best way to get probiotics is to either take them as a supplement, or eat cultured yogurt. Just make sure the yogurt has lots of live cultures and (hopefully) no sugar. The best bet is to make your own yogurt to ensure it's rich in live cultures.

    Certain foods, like apples, also promote fermentation benefits similar to what probiotics offer. You're surely familiar with the saying, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." That's because the skin of an apple has a lot of fiber, or pectin. Pectin is fermented in your intestines and produces short-chain fatty acids. These acids keep harmful bacteria at bay. They also nourish the cells that line your intestines, making them stronger and more cancer-resistant.
The new movement in fighting cancer with food
    It's a fact that the typical U.S. diet encourages many inflammatory diseases — not only cancer but also heart disease, arthritis and diabetes. That gives us all the more incentive to find ways to make sure we're really giving our bodies what they need to heal and stay healthy. At the very least, roughly three-quarters of Americans don't eat enough daily servings of fruits or vegetables.

    But along with an emphasis on fruits and vegetables, cancer patients also need a healthy intake of protein and iron-rich foods — otherwise, the patient becomes prone to anemia (low number of red blood cells) and edema (swelling caused by fluid).

    Worth paying attention to is the Eat to Defeat Cancer™ campaign, found atwww.eattodefeat.org. The premise behind the movement is that you can stop tumor growth and halt diseases like cancer by simply consuming the right arsenal of foods and beverages.

    It's a promising movement, especially since the advice is based on peer-review and published research. The main emphasis is on whole foods.

    Changing your diet is the least expensive way to reduce your cancer risk. And for those who have cancer, it's one of the most effective ways to treat the disease. But you shouldn't view it as a temporary thing. A lifelong commitment to a healthy diet is worth every ounce of effort it takes to make the switch.

    A bad diet while you're battling cancer is like putting water in the gas tank of your car. It fills you up, but doesn't give your body the fuel to do anything. Worse yet, many foods actually feed cancer and help it grow. Yet, it's easy to get overwhelmed by all the recipes and cookbooks that promise to help you defeat cancer with food. Maybe technology can help. . .
Power apps to fuel the fight against cancer
    We've come across a couple of cancer-eating plans you can view on a smartphone (Apple iphone or Android phone). So far, the offerings are not overwhelming but at least it's a start. And as the industry grows, smart phone apps may become an effective way to make reliable food knowledge accessible to those who need it most. After all, you can use them right in the store to help you make your food choices.

    From what I've been able to learn, these are two of the most powerful food-related cancer fighting apps:
  • Ask The Nutritionist: Recipes for Fighting Cancer App:

    Developed by the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (a mainstream, conventional outfit), the goal of this app is to help you get through treatment and stay healthy the rest of your life. Instead of being designed by an app-programming entrepreneur, this app was put together by board-certified dietitians. The entrepreneur with an open mind and no ties to the drug industry would probably be a better choice, but I'm happy to see that conventional experts are at least waking up to the food-cancer connection.

    Once you download the app, you get access to healthy, easy recipes for every meal possible, plus snacks. It includes step-by-step directions and shopping lists to make the process as easy as possible. You're also given tips on cancer-fighting nutrients and access to a frequently-asked-questions archive. As an app user, you can even ask the nutritionists questions of your own.

    This app comes with a unique premise, which is to find an optimal diet based on the type of cancer a patient has. It also has a search feature that focuses on specific dietary issues. So if you're battling nausea or fatigue, you can look up recipes designed to help with those symptoms.

    It's free to download, but only available on Apple devices like the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.
  • Cancer Fighting Diet:

    This app is also an anti-cancer health guide with information on cancer-fighting foods. It includes content on causes of cancer and what the app developers call "vital cancer-fighting health tips that can save your life."

    This one is built for Android devices, but costs $1.99. It strikes me as mediocre compared to the Ask The Nutritionist app. But apps are constantly updated, so check back from time to time to see if this one has improved.

    Good luck, and good eating!

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