Alliance for Natural Health Article:
Popular Antidepressant May Promote Breast Cancer
NOTE: There are many natural and safe alternatives to both depression and menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, including Acupuncture! See my other blog entries (click on tags for depression or menopause).
It has been discussed in natural medicine circles for years that many food additives have not been proven to be safe and may in fact be potentially detrimental to our health. Now the FDA is finally looking into one, the caramel coloring added to many colas and other foods, and whether it should be banned:
FDA Reviewing Potential Carcinogen of Caramel Coloring in Colas
Please note the side articles that discuss how one company in particular changed their soda formulation to avoid Prop 65 labeling in California of this potential carcinogen.
From the summary of this research:
“there was a self-reported improvement immediately post-treatment in anxiety,fatigue, pain, and depression and significant improvement over time for patients with anxiety … and depression … .”
From the summary of this research paper: “This study is the first to demonstrate that acupuncture may be an effective approach for improving symptoms — in particular, pain and well-being – in a lung cancer population. Acupuncture is a safe and minimally invasive modality, and it may have a particularly useful role in patients undergoing anticancer treatment…” and “Statistically significant improvements in pain, appetite, nausea, nervousness, and well-being were observed. A clinically important improvement … was reported by 61% of patients for pain and by 33% for well-being.”
The potential role for acupuncture in treating symptoms in patients with lung cancer
This is an article about why acupuncture should be used for the side effects of chemotherapy. It refers to several studies on this topic, one of which highlights that ‘electroacupuncture worked better than anti-nausea medications’:
Time for Acupuncture to Become Part of Standard Care
Luckily, in our local area, we do have a progressive program at a local hospital doing such work (if only more MDs would refer their patients to it)! See my blog post:
Monograph on Curcuma Longa, published by Alternative Medicine Review, a peer-reviewed CAM journal years ago now, summarizing research on Curcumin (now considered the main active ingredient in Curcuma Longa).
Scientists at the Institute of Cytology and Preventive Oncology (ICPO) based in India have recently found that Curcumin works against Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), a known cause of cervical cancer. As the research abstract summarizes “These novel findings imply that Curcumin may be an effective chemopreventive and therapeutic agent for cervical cancer prevention and treatment”.
Curcumin and HPV
Note also there is research showing Astragalus and Silymarin (from Milk Thistle) show promising results against HPV (research references will be updated later).
Life Extension Magazine article: Curcumin Protects against Cancer
This is a good, brief article that also summarizes the ‘Ten Key Causative Factors of Cancer Development’ besides noting how much research is available that shows Curcumin is effective against cancer.
Acupuncture at Cancer Center at Enloe Hospital, Chico, Ca.
This Acupuncture Clinic is low-cost for any cancer patient, whether your oncologist is affiliated with this hospital or not. Acupuncture is done here mainly to treat patients for the side effects of radiation and chemo, but acupuncture is excellent for cancer in many other ways.
CoQ10 (pronounced Coenzyme Q10), is an anti-oxidant, which can benefit many conditions1. It is known to strengthen the heart and can even lower mild hypertension. CoQ10 is absolutely necessary when one is on statin drugs (for high cholesterol or hyperlipidemia/dyslipidemia) or even when one is on the more natural form of Red Yeast Rice extract to counteract serious side effects (for more info see: add reference – blog).
The average person could use 100 mg/day whereas someone with hypertension or cardiovascular disease could be taking up to 400 mg/day (discuss with alternative healthcare provider).
Pathologies with anecdotal coenzyme Q10 therapeutic benefit2:
Mitochondrial neuromuscular diseases
Neurodegenerative diseases (Parkinson’s disease, dementias,
others)
Congestive heart failure-prevention/support therapy
Muscle weakness
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Cancer-breast treatment
Chemotherapy amelioration, support for AZT/AIDS treatment
Vascular disease, diabetes mellitus
Sports medicine. Performance enhancement (not a pathology)
References:
1) Summary of research on benefits of CoQ10: CoQ10 Monograph
2) Research article reference:
Cellular redox poise modulation; the role of coenzyme Q10, gene and metabolic regulation, Anthony W. Linnane and Hayden Eastwood, Mitochondrion 4 (2004) 779–789
Dr. Daniel Weber is a scholar in the field of Integrative Oncology, with a focus on using Chinese herbal medicine or isolates from Chinese herbs to treat cancer. He has done numerous clinical trials, especially regarding herbal isolates to treat breast cancer. He is the author of several books on the subject of Chinese herbs to treat cancer and has also been honored in China with an appointment to The Oncology Special Committee (OSC) of the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies (WFCMS) in 2011. For more info, see Dr. Daniel Weber’s bio
Dr. Daniel Weber’s research site
Dr. Daniel Weber is also the founder of the Association of Integrative Oncology and Chinese Medicine
Dr. Daniel Weber’s products, focusing on cancer treatments Panaxea – Specialty line of Chinese herbal remedies, including isolates (sold only to practitioners since they are trained in their use).
Isaac Eliaz, M.D., is an Integrative Oncology specialist. He is a Licensed Acupuncturist and integrates Chinese Medicine and Naturopathic Medicine with allopathy (our common ‘western medicine’). He is the founder and researcher of EcoNugenics, a nutraceutical product company known for anti-cancer products (PectaSol (Modified Citrus Pectin or MCP) and BreastDefend).
Research shows MCP to be effective in many types of cancer, especially breast and prostate cancer. See his various websites for more details:
Dr. Eliaz’s Clinic
Dr. Eliaz
EcoNugenics
Breast Cancer Guide
Prostate Cancer Guide
EcoNugenics products are sold at Heavenly Herbs and Acupuncture.
Rebecca Katz is the author of the cookbook The Cancer Fighting Kitchen and is a senior chef of Commonweal Cancer Help Program in Marin County, California. The Commonweal Program is the epitome of teaching people to use Integrative Medicine to treat cancer. This cookbook is full of good, healthy, fun and EASY recipes and useful for anybody who KNOWS they should eat healthy but aren’t sure where to start!
Wish I had written this book – it is all that I hope to educate patient about living a long, healthy life!!
Everyone should read this book, whether one has already had cancer, been recently diagnosed or would like to prevent cancer: Anti-cancer, by David Servan-Schreiber. Originally published in the US in 2009, a new revision is available as of January 2011. Here is an interview of the author in Lotus Guide, published Spring 2011:
Lotus Guide interview of Dr. David Servan-Schreiber
Summary of this book (in Lotus Guide article, but not online):
1. Eating less sugar, which feeds cancer growth and inflammation. Refined sugar is abundant in desserts, soft drinks (one can of Coke contains 12 coffee-size packs of sugar…), sauces (ketchup, ready-made salad dressing, etc.). Eating less white flour which is equivalent to sugar as far as the body is concerned (white bread, bagels, muffins, etc.), and reducing pro-inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids (red meats, dairy, corn, sunflower, soybean and safflower oils, and transfats).
2. Adding anticancer foods: including in our diet every day, three times a day, foods that help fight cancer, such as anticancer herbs and spices (green tea, thyme, rosemary, mint, basil, sage, turmeric, ginger), omega-3-rich foods (salmon, sardines, mackerel, walnuts, green vegetables), cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage), garlic, onions and leeks, red berries for dessert, dark chocolate (more than 70% cacao), and even a little bit of red wine.
3. Engaging in physical activity: it doesn’t have to be marathon training, not even jogging. Just rapid walking 30 minutes six times a week already dramatically reduces the chances of a relapse after breast cancer treatment. And physical activity has been found to help survival with many different types of cancer.
4. Managing our response to stress: we can’t avoid stress in our life, but we can learn to respond differently than with clenched teeth, stone-hard back muscles, and pressure in our chest. Basic breathing techniques that have been around as part of oriental mental and physical hygiene techniques for thousands of years (yoga, Chi Gong, mindfulness meditation) can transform our response to stress and strengthen our resistance to disease.
5. Cleaning up our immediate environment: indoor pollutants, scratched Teflon pans, perchololrethylene of dry-cleaning, PVCs and bisphenol A from liquids in contact with hard plastics, radiomagnetic fields of prolonged cell phone exposures are the leading and most easily controlled causes.
Posted this on 8/29/11 and just learned today that Dr. Servan-Schreiber passed away on 7/24/11. May he RIP and may the knowledge he shared in his books help many, many people!