Widely used prescription drug causes cancer

This popular prescription drug may boost cancer risk Here's some eye-popping news for women taking medications to control high blood pressure... Continued below… Special Report Busts Open The Biggest Cover-Up in U.S. Medical History Who hasn't at one time or another felt cheated and abused by the current medical system? For over one hundred years, the money-hungry Mainstream Medical Establishment has been trying to hide from the American public a form of medicine that could solve most of your health problems gently, inexpensively and quickly. In fact, the current powers that be was established explicitly to squash this competition. And it's used all kinds of tactics to do so. But now you're going to be even more incensed... Because the real cures—the real answers for the health problems that plague us—have been right under our noses the whole time. But we haven't been able to get to them. Click here to see the cures that have been basically "stolen" right from under your nose! Recent study results from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, WA, suggest that long-term use of certain blood pressure drugs may increase the chance of developing breast cancer—especially in postmenopausal women. As the study focused only on women with breast cancer, it begs the question whether these drugs also boost risk in men, and for other types of cancer besides breast. I'll hazard a wild guess: The answer is probably yes. I wouldn't take them A team of researchers led by epidemiologist Christopher Li, M.D., Ph.D found a possible link between the class of drugs known as calcium-channel blockers and the two most common types of breast cancer: Invasive ductal carcinoma Invasive lobular carcinomas According to a press statement, a key finding was that women who have taken calcium-channel blockers for 10 years or longer had more than twice the risk of developing both forms of cancer, compared to women who never used the drugs. They also found that other classes of antihypertensive drugs, such as angiotensin-receptor blockers, beta blockers and diuretics, did not appear to increase risk of breast cancer. This remained true even when women used these other classes of drugs long term. The scientists reached their conclusions after interviewing 1,763 study participants. The women, aged 55 to 74, were all residents of the Puget Sound region. Of these study participants: 880 had invasive ductal cancer 1,027 had invasive lobular cancer 856 were cancer-free controls Dr. Li said that identifying this possible association is "is an important clinical and public health issue, particularly with the increasing availability of alternative options to manage hypertension." The scientists emphasized that more research is needed to pinpoint the underlying biological reasons that may be responsible for the added risk of using calcium channel blockers. At this point, you might be wondering... What's the difference between these drugs? Blood pressure medications accounted for more than 678 million prescriptions filled in 2010. And about 98 million of those prescriptions were for the calcium channel blockers that researchers suspect may raise breast cancer risk. According to the Mayo Clinic, you would be considered pre-hypertensive if your: Systolic pressure (top number) ranges from 120 to 139 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg), and/or Diastolic pressure (bottom number) ranges from 80 to 89 mm Hg. If either or both numbers consistently read higher than these, you may have either Stage 1 (140/90 to 159/99) or Stage 2 (higher than 160/100) high blood pressure. Your doctor will probably encourage you to make lifestyle changes to help decrease your numbers. More about that in a moment. But your doctor may want to write a prescription for one of the following medications, too: Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors—preventing the angiotensin hormone from tightening blood vessels. Angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs)—help blood vessels relax by blocking the action of angiotensin. Beta blockers—lower blood pressure by blocking certain nerve and hormone signals to the heart and blood vessel. Calcium channel blockers—prevent calcium from entering heart and blood vessel muscle cells; this causes cells to relax, which lowers blood pressure. Diuretics—also called water pills; these medications lower blood pressure by flushing excess water and sodium from your body. Doctors may try a diuretic alone before recommending other medications. Renin inhibitors—slow down production of the enzyme renin, which your kidneys produce; renin jump-starts a series of chemical steps that increases blood pressure. There is a risk of strokes and other serious complications if the drug Aliskiren (Tekturna) is taken with ACE inhibitors or ARBs. Doctors may suggest a combination of two medications from different classes to help lower pressure more quickly. This also may help reduce side effects. Although widely prescribed, these drugs are among the least-loved. The side effects range from annoying to dreadful, and compliance is very low—that is, a great many patients disobey their doctors and stop taking them. Now piled on top of the previously known side effects is a possible cancer risk for at least one of the above categories. If you're more interested in natural ways to control blood pressure—and possibly avoid an increased breast cancer risk—there are plenty of options available. Reduce your blood pressure NATURALLY by eating well! When you think about food and blood pressure, probably the first thing that comes to mind is that you have to give up salt. This is one of them best-known pieces of advice in medicine. I remember hearing it even when I was a kid, decades before I had to worry about high blood pressure. Probably I heard elderly people talk about it—and talk they do, because totally giving up salt is a pain in the neck and few people are able to do it. It happens to be a dubious piece of advice. From the figures I've seen, only about ten percent of high blood pressure cases involve salt sensitivity. For nine out of ten people with high blood pressure, giving up salt may do no good at all. Anyway, rather than concentrating on what you can't have a lot of... why not focus on what you can eat MORE of to help normalize your blood pressure? Among Nature's best blood pressure stabilizers are these: Potassium—a natural diuretic that helps your kidneys release more sodium while also relaxing blood vessels to help control blood pressure; avocados, bananas, cantaloupe, kiwi, pistachios and purple potatoes are all rich sources. Magensium—is essential to help potassium lower blood pressure; beans, nuts, oatmeal and spinach can help you bulk up on this nutrient. Calcium—helps regulate blood pressure by maintaining a proper mineral balance in your body; low-fat or no-fat yogurt, milk and cheese are some options for adding this nutrient if you aren’t lactose- or casein-sensitive. Flavonoids & Resveratrol—these heart-healthy antioxidants relax arteries and help reduce diabetes risk, a condition that can increase blood pressure; moderate use of red wine (and to a lesser extent purple grape juice) will provide this antioxidant protection, but the best option, in my opinion, is to supplement with resveratrol rather than drink large amounts of wine. Nitric Oxide—relaxes the walls of blood vessels and thereby reduces blood pressure.  Red beets or red beet powder supplements boost nitric oxide levels. So do l-arginine supplements. You might be pleasantly surprised to find that eating the right foods... reducing stress whenever possible... and including regular exercise in your routine may be just the right prescription for avoiding a high blood pressure diagnosis! Meditation is a great stress reducer, and there are a number of online and in-person courses and teachers to help you learn the technique.