Large Numbers of Breast Cancer Cases Avoidable

As this supports what we have had posted on our main domain for years - http://www.leaflady.org/cancer.htm - we are posting it for your consideration

Experts: One-third of breast cancer is avoidable  By MARIA CHENG, AP Medical Writer  

BARCELONA, Spain – Up to a third of breast cancer cases in Western countries could be avoided if women ate less and exercised more, researchers at a breast cancer conference said Thursday, renewing debate on a sensitive topic.
While better treatments, early diagnosis and mammogram screenings have dramatically slowed the disease, experts said the focus should now shift to changing behaviors like diet and physical activity. The comments added to a series of findings that lifestyle changes in areas such as smoking, eating, exercise and sun exposure can have a significant effect on all sorts of cancer rates.
"What can be achieved with screening has been achieved. We can't do much more," Carlo La Vecchia, head of epidemiology at the University of Milan, told The Associated Press. "It's time to move onto other things."
La Vecchia spoke Thursday on the influence of lifestyle factors at a European breast cancer conference in Barcelona.
Michelle Holmes, a cancer expert at Harvard University, said people might wrongly think their chances of getting cancer are more dependent on their genes than their lifestyle.
"The genes have been there for thousands of years, but if cancer rates are changing in a lifetime, that doesn't have much to do with genes," she told The Associated Press in a phone interview from Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. In Europe, there were about 421,000 new cases and nearly 90,000 deaths in 2008, the latest available figures. The United States last year saw more than 190,000 new cases and 40,000 deaths.
A woman's lifetime chance of getting breast cancer is about one in eight. Obese women are up to 60 percent more likely to develop any cancer than normal-weight women, according to a 2006 study by British researchers.
Many breast cancers are fueled by estrogen, a hormone produced in fat tissue. So experts suspect that the fatter a woman is, the more estrogen she's likely to produce, which could in turn spark breast cancer. Even in slim women, exercise can help reduce the cancer risk by converting more of the body's fat into muscle.
Yet any discussion of weight and breast cancer is considered sensitive, for some people may misconstrue that as the medical establishment blaming victims for getting breast cancer. Victims themselves could also feel guilty, wondering just how much the issue of weight factored into their own cancer case.
Tara Beaumont, a clinical nurse specialist at Breast Cancer Care, a British charity, said her agency has always been very careful about issuing similar lifestyle advice. She noted that three of the major risk factors for breast cancer — gender, age and family history — are clearly beyond anyone's control.
"It is incredibly difficult to isolate specific factors, therefore women should in no way feel that they are responsible for developing breast cancer," she told the AP on Thursday.
Yet Karen Benn, a spokeswoman for Europa Donna, a patient-focused breast cancer group, said it was impossible to ignore the increasingly stronger links between lifestyle and breast cancer.
"If we know there are healthier choices, we can't not recommend them just because people might misinterpret the advice and feel guilty," she said. "If we are going to prevent breast cancer, then this message needs to get out, particularly to younger women."
Other patient advocates agreed.
"We hope that no one comes away from these studies with the idea that they're an attempt to 'blame' anyone for breast cancer," said Diana Rowden, a vice president at Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a breast cancer group in Dallas. Rowden said the research was essential to warn people of their potential risks for developing breast cancer.
Other lifestyle factors like smoking and spending time in the sun have long been implicated in lung cancer and melanoma. Experts say there is now increasing evidence that what people eat and how much they weigh can contribute significantly to whether or not they develop cancers including those of the colon, stomach, and esophagus.
La Vecchia cited figures from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, which estimated that 25 to 30 percent of breast cancer cases could be avoided if women were thinner and exercised more.
That means staying slim and never becoming overweight in the first place. Robert Baan, an IARC cancer expert in Lyon, France, said it wasn't clear if women who lose weight have a lower cancer risk or if the damage was already done from when they were heavy.
The recommendation to stay slim applies only to breast cancer in post-menopausal women, as there isn't enough evidence to know whether this applies to younger women.
Drinking less alcohol could also help. Experts estimate that having more than a couple of drinks a day can boost a woman's risk of getting breast cancer by four to 10 percent.
After studies several years ago linked hormone replacement therapy to cancer, millions of women abandoned the treatment, leading to a sharp drop in breast cancer rates. Experts said a similar reduction might be seen if women ate better — consuming less fat and more vegetables — and exercised more.
Holmes said changing one's diet and nutrition is arguably easier than tackling other breast cancer risk factors.
"Women who have early pregnancies are protected against breast cancer, but teenage pregnancy is a social disaster so it's not something we want to encourage," she said. "But there's no downside to reducing obesity and increasing physical activity."
In the 1980s and 1990s, breast cancer rates steadily increased, in parallel with the rise in obesity and the use of hormone replacement therapy, which involves estrogen.
The American Cancer Society recommends 45 to 60 minutes of physical activity five or more days a week to reduce a women's risk of breast cancer.
In one study from the Women's Health Initiative, as little as 1.25 to 2.5 hours per week of brisk walking reduced a woman's risk by 18%. Walking 10 hours a week reduced the risk a little more.
La Vecchia said countries like Italy and France — where obesity rates have been stable for the past two decades — show that weight can be controlled at a population level.
"It's hard to lose weight, but it's not impossible," he said. "The potential benefit of preventing cancer is worth it."

Nano-Foods, A Risk to Human Health

Part 2 now available: Regulated or Not, Nano-Foods Coming to a Store Near You

This despite the fact that hundreds of peer-reviewed studies have shown that nanoparticles pose potential risks to human health -- and, more specifically, that when ingested can cause DNA damage that can prefigure cancer and heart and brain disease.

Despite Denials, Nano-Food Is Here

Plants 'can think and remember'

More in business should follow the "natural" model


Plants 'can think and remember'
By Victoria Gill
Plants are able to "remember" and "react" to information contained in light, according to researchers.

Leaf Sensor: Plants "call you" when they are thirsty

Plants, scientists say, transmit information about light intensity and quality from leaf to leaf in a very similar way to our own nervous systems.
These "electro-chemical signals" are carried by cells that act as "nerves" of the plants.
The researchers used fluorescence imaging to watch the plants respond.
In their experiment, the scientists showed that light shone on to one leaf caused the whole plant to respond.
And the response, which took the form of light-induced chemical reactions in the leaves, continued in the dark.
This showed, they said, that the plant "remembered" the information encoded in light.
"We shone the light only on the bottom of the plant and we observed changes in the upper part," explained Professor Stanislaw Karpinski from the Warsaw University of Life Sciences in Poland, who led this research.
He presented the findings at the Society for Experimental Biology's annual meeting in Prague, Czech Republic.
"And the changes proceeded when the light was off... This was a complete surprise."
In previous work, Professor Karpinski found that chemical signals could be passed throughout whole plants - allowing them to respond to and survive changes and stresses in their environment.
But in this new study, he and his colleagues discovered that when light stimulated a chemical reaction in one leaf cell, this caused a "cascade" of events and that this was immediately signalled to the rest of the plant by via specific type of cell called a "bundle sheath cell".
The scientists measured the electrical signals from these cells, which are present in every leaf. They likened the discovery to finding the plants' "nervous system".
Thinking plants
What was even more peculiar, Professor Karpinski said, was that the plants' responses changed depending on the colour of the light that was being shone on them.

"Plants perform a sort of biological light computation, using information contained in the light to immunise themselves against diseases”
Stanislaw Karpinski Warsaw University of Life Sciences

"There were characteristic [changes] for red, blue and white light," he explained.
He suspected that the plants might use the information encoded in the light to stimulate protective chemical reactions. He and his colleagues examined this more closely by looking at the effect of different colours of light on the plants' immunity to disease.
"When we shone the light for on the plant for one hour and then infected it [with a virus or with bacteria] 24 hours after that light exposure, it resisted the infection," he explained.
"But when we infected the plant before shining the light, it could not build up resistance.
"[So the plant] has a specific memory for the light which builds its immunity against pathogens, and it can adjust to varying light conditions."
He said that plants used information encrypted in the light to immunise themselves against seasonal pathogens.
"Every day or week of the season has… a characteristic light quality," Professor Karpinski explained. The images showed chemical reactions in leaves that were not exposed to light.
"So the plants perform a sort of biological light computation, using information contained in the light to immunise themselves against diseases that are prevalent during that season."
Professor Christine Foyer, a plant scientist from the University of Leeds, said the study "took our thinking one step forward".
"Plants have to survive stresses, such as drought or cold, and live through it and keep growing," she told BBC News.
"This requires an appraisal of the situation and an appropriate response - that's a form of intelligence.
"What this study has done is link two signalling pathways together... and the electrical signalling pathway is incredibly rapid, so the whole plant could respond immediately to high [levels of] light."

EPA to Restrict Cancer-Causing Chemicals In Water

UPDATE 26 March - Just when you thought there actually might be some improvement in water quality, here comes this information to ponder

Bathing and showering: Under-appreciated sources of water pollution from medicines


ScienceDaily (2010-03-25) -- That bracing morning shower and soothing bedtime soak in the tub are potentially important but until now unrecognized sources of the hormones, antibiotics, and other pharmaceuticals that pollute the environment, scientists have reported. ... ; read full article

Atrazine is a carcinogenic chemical used in the production of corn, so it bodes well to make sure that any corn containing product you choose is organic.

EPA has not addressed fluoride which is a cancer promoting substance, and it appears that there has been nothing to address the difficulties of water treatment systems to remove these chemicals as well as the residue and metabolites from prescription drugs.  

I am not too sure this will come to pass although it is long overdue.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is changing how it protects the nation’s water as well as how it looks at potential water borne toxins. The LA Times reported that the agency announced its plans recently and said that it will also tighten its limits on four cancer-causing waterborne contaminants.

The move is expected to better enable the EPA to more quickly identify emerging contaminants and develop processes to protect consumers, said the LA Times. Of note, the agency has not listed a new water contaminant for regulation in over ten years, added the LA Times. Also, the agency looks at such contaminants on an individual basis, which can take years; under the planned changes, the EPA will look at contaminants in groups such as “pesticides, disinfection byproducts, or volatile organic compounds,” said the LA Times.

“To confront emerging health threats, strained budgets and increased needs—today’s and tomorrow’s drinking-water challenges—we must use the law more effectively and promote new technologies,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, quoted the LA Times. “To make our drinking-water systems work harder, we have to work smarter,” she added. Of note, pointed out Jackson, the EPA is planning on strengthening its limits on four cancer-causing compounds used in textile processing and treatment: Tetrachloroethylene, trichloroethylene, acrylamide, and epichlorohydrin.

New limits have not been released; however, the agency is looking into reducing aquatic trichloroethylene levels to one-tenth of today’s levels, said the LA Times.

We have long been following links between pesticides and herbicides and adverse medical effects across various demographics, including between pediatric cancer and common, household pesticides; pesticides and Parkinson’s disease; and pesticides and Alzheimer’s disease risks. For instance, the herbicide, Atrazine—a known endocrine disrupter—has been linked it to sex changes in many male frogs—from male to female—and the “emasculation” of three-quarters of the other frogs, wrote the SFGate recently. The EPA approved the pesticide under the Bush administration after it rejected earlier findings, said the SFGate.

According to the SFGate, Atrazine’s worldwide ubiquity could likely be linked to a global decline in the frog and amphibian populations, which has confounded scientists and has also had impacts on world ecology.

Earlier this month, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) initiated 11 new animal studies into the possible effects from exposure to the industrial chemical bisphenol A—BPA—NIEHS director Linda Birnbaum told Congress, reported Reuters. “There are concerns about multiple possible health effects of BPA exposure,” Birnbaum told Congress at a House Energy and Commerce Energy and Environment Subcommittee hearing, quoted Reuters. “While much of the exposure to BPA in humans occurs through the diet, other sources of exposure include air, dust and, water,” she added. The hearing was convened to look at endocrine disruptors in drinking water.

Representative Edward Markey, chairman of the Congressional panel, said chemicals found in America’s waterways and drinking water have been linked to deformities in aquatic life and wildlife, reported Reuters previously. Of note, BPA leaches into water supplies when containers made with BPA are tossed out, added Reuters. “There are serious concerns that the same chemicals that are responsible for these deformities in wildlife may also have similar effects in humans and may be the culprit for the widespread increase in human disorders such as infertility, obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease,” said Markey, author of a bill to ban BPA food and beverage containers, reported Reuters. And, according to Birnbaum, drinking water might be a “significant route of exposure” for BPA and other endocrine disruptors, said Reuters.

Greed, Health Costs win over Better Care

Amidst the concern for profit ant about any cost, this fellow shows a degree of integrity missing from the daily scene for decades

A mathematical David stuns a healthcare Goliath

July 15, 2010| By Duke Helfand, Los Angeles Times

A respected actuary working from his rural Riverside County home — and for a time from a hospital bed — uncovers the errors that led Anthem Blue Cross to cancel rate increases of up to 39%.

Finally someone else has some good comments regarding the REAL issues in insurance reform - price-fixing for profit is a long standing tradition

Buried deep in the 2,000 pages of health reform legislation is yet another attempt to slam a cap on health insurance rates: States may, if they wish, bar insurance companies that raise premiums by an “unreasonable” amount from participating in the state insurance exchanges that will begin operating in 2014. Federal regulations have yet to be written, but I suspect that the end result will be a state-by-state rerun of the current drama that’s playing out in Massachusetts. And in the end, the effort to impose price controls by government fiat will fail miserably.

Read complete article - Greed from Insurers Won't Control Costs

Medicare Rationing begins in 2011

Several examples from NHN posts re: insurance "reform"

Natural Health News: Health Insurance Update on Current Issues

Jul 08, 2010

If you believe this is just a fluke with or without health insurance reform, be prepared for more. Blue Shield of California is accused of overcharging for safety-net insurance. A Los Angeles woman says in a lawsuit that the health plan ...

Update: Facts on the Health Insurance Reform Bill

Mar 26, 2010

About the health reform bill http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2010/03/19/fact-sheet-the-truth-about-the-health-care-bill/ http://static1.firedoglake.com/1/files/2010/03/mythfactshcr-2.pdf. This information is provided by Creating Health ...

Why Insurance Reform Doesn't Get You Better Health

Jan 04, 2010

Senator Lieberman who is holding positive movement on insurance reform in limbo may have reason to be concerned, especially where women's health is concerned. It seems as if the controversy over Hadassah Lieberman, the Senator's wife, ...

Married? Pay More Under Health Insurance Reform

Jan 11, 2010

The disparity comes about in part because subsidies for purchasing health insurance under the plan from congressional Democrats are pegged to federal poverty guidelines. That has the effect of limiting subsidies for married couples with ...

Problems Again with Plavix

We have 8 other posts about Plavix, several listing natural blood thinning alternatives.  Feel free to contact us if you have questions.

Doctors have been left to figure out if Plavix will work in their patients and how best to protect them if it doesn’t. The confusion follows this month’s FDA warning that Plavix may not work well in certain patients.

Plavix is used to prevent blood clots after a recent heart attack or stroke, and in people with certain disorders of the heart or blood vessels. It is also given to patients who’ve undergone coronary stent procedures to prevent clots from forming inside the devices. The medication keeps the platelets in the blood from coagulating to prevent unwanted blood clots that can occur with certain heart or blood vessel conditions.

On March 12, the FDA warned that Plavix may be less effective in people who cannot metabolize the drug to convert it to its active form. According to a notice on the FDA Web site, Plavix does not have its anti-platelet effects until it is metabolized into its active form by the liver enzyme, CYP2C19. People who have reduced functioning of their CYP2C19 liver enzyme cannot effectively convert Plavix to its active form. These “poor metabolizers” may not receive the full benefit of Plavix treatment and may remain at risk for heart attack, stroke, and cardiovascular death.

In May 2009, the FDA added this warning to the Plavix label. In its latest alert, the agency said that after reviewing more data, it felt it was important to highlight this risk in a Black Box, its strongest safety notice.

According to a report in today’s Wall Street Journal, as many as 4 percent of patients have two copies of a variation in a gene for CYP2C19 that makes them poor metabolizers. For patients of Chinese decent, the rate could be as high as 14 percent. The new Black Box warning is directed at such patients.

But according to the Journal, of concern is another group of patients, 25 to 30 percent, who have one copy of this variation. At least one study suggests that these patients may also have a degree of inhibition to the drug’s effectiveness.

To insure that Plavix is working doctors have a couple of options. One is a genetic test to determine if a patient carries this gene variation. Patients who test for the variant could be put on a higher dose of Plavix. Unfortunately, insurance won’t always cover this test, and according to the Journal, some doctors point out that whether using the tests will actually decrease risk for patients hasn’t been well studied.

Another option is switching to a drug called Effient, which was recently approved and which isn’t affected by the genetic variant. According to the Journal, doctors have been slow to use Effient because it does carry a higher risk of bleeding than Plavix.

In the meantime, doctors are advising against patients going off Plavix without first talking to their own physicians.

Cancer Responds to Love and Natural Medicine

UPDATE: 14 July 2010 - The secrets of laughter
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UPDATE: 17 April: Laughter is the best medicine
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UPDATE: Easter Sunday
Recovery with nutrition and supplements -
D. Mail 11.4.09 "PARENTS FIND A CURE FOR THE BOY DOCTORS HAD GIVEN UP ON"
Reuben Grainger-Mead was born with a blood disorder that attacked his immune system, leaving him weak & barely able to talk. His growth was stunted & his heart was beating 3 x faster than normal. Now thanks to a nutritional consultant the 8-year-old is at last leading a normal childhood. He no longer needs a monthly blood transfusion to raise his red blood cells count & is able to play out with friends.

His father Peter Mead said he would have needed "constant care throughout his whole life & much time in hospital. The last resort would have been a bone marrow transplant."

His parents found nutritional consultant Diana Wright who said Reuben lacked vital amino acids & proteins in his body. She put him on a course of dietary supplements mixed with his food & drink. The astonishing success has prompted doctors to plan a study to see if similar therapy will work on others.

The research, which hinges on learning how to make blood cells grow normally, could yield fresh insights into cancer, in which cells grow uncontrollably. Researcher Dr. Josu de la Fuente, a haematologist at Imperial College London, said "We may learn lessons from this which help in the fight against cancer." The family from Gomersal, West Yorkshire, have raised £70,000 to help fund a research programme at Imperial College London.
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Originally posted FEB 09

"THIS BOY HAD 11 TUMOURS & WAS SENT HOME TO DIE.
NOW HIS GRANDPARENTS BELIEVE THEY'VE SAVED HIM WITH ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE."
by Daniel Martin.

In 2006 Connah Broom developed neuroblastoma with 11 very aggressive advanced cancer tumours over his body & it appeared hopeless. In 2007 doctors told his family there was nothing more they could do & sent him home to die.

His grandparents began treating him with alternative therapies & remarkably he survived. Latest scans on Connah, now aged 7, show that 10 of his 11 tumours are shrinking, have no blood flow & may be dead. His grandparents are convinced their treatments, including a strict organic diet, filtering his drinking water to remove toxins & a daily sauna are helping him beat his disease.

They took him to visit a Mexican alternative cancer clinic. Connah has sound & light therapy called Sono Photo-Dynamic Therapy. It involves him swallowing a capsule of algae. He is then placed under light of a certain wavelength which 'activates' the oxidant in the algae which can kill the cancer.

Mrs. Broom said "We're not under any illusions & we know that all this could change at any time."

Connah's GP Dr. Eamon Jessop said that Connah's cancer could suddenly flare up but that "the excellent care given to Connah by his grandparents can only have helped him."
D. Mail 6.2.09

and a reader's comment -
Cancer - Turn It On or Turn It Off

by Raymond Francis

America has one of the highest cancer rates in the world, and cancer is the most dreaded disease in our society. Once rare, affecting less than one in a thousand, by 1900 cancer affected 30 in a thousand. Today almost 500 in a thousand will develop cancer in their lifetimes. The situation has become so bad that almost all Americans over the age of 50 have cancer! For example, it is known that after age 50, 40 percent of men have prostate cancer and 40 percent of women have breast cancer, and these are just two cancers. Cancer is also increasing among children and, after accidents, it is their biggest killer. We need to teach people how to prevent and reverse this tragic disease

Unfortunately, modern medicine is of no help. Since 1971, when President Nixon declared “war” on cancer, we have thrown 200 billion dollars at cancer research. What has this money bought us? More cancer! The public has yet to grasp the colossal gap between how much money the cancer industry is spending, and the paltry results it is achieving. Research is only part of the billion dollar-a-day cancer industry whose treatments with drugs, surgery and radiation are not only ineffective but dangerous. These conventional treatments do nothing to address what caused the cancer, and they suppress the immune system. Suppressed immunity allows cancer to grow and metastasize—modern medicine’s treatment of cancer promotes cancer!

Fortunately, we can protect ourselves. If you are over age 50, you are probably past preventing cancer, you already have it! Now you need to keep it under control. Don’t turn the cancer on, and if you already have active cancer, turn it off. Can this be done? Sure it can, and it is done every day by people who take charge of their health.

Last September, businessman Paul Orberson told his story on the Beyond Health radio show. Mr. Orberson had been diagnosed with advanced kidney cancer. Given only months to live, he read my book Never Be Sick Again—and put his cancer into remission. Fifteen years ago, my brother was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer and given months to live. He, too, put his cancer into remission and is living a high-quality life. Medical school professor and author Dr. Lorraine Day reversed her highly-advanced breast cancer. There are countless such stories.

To prevent and reverse cancer, it helps to understand something about what causes and promotes cancer. The cancer process occurs in three stages: initiation, promotion and metastasis.

Initiation
Cancer begins with damaged genes. Initiation occurs when the DNA in a normal cell is damaged. If the DNA is not repaired before the cell divides to form a new cell, it results in a permanent genetic alteration in those new cells. DNA can be damaged by a variety of means, including viruses, chronic infections, foreign bodies, nutrient deficiency, radiation and toxic chemicals. Numerous natural and manmade chemicals have been identified as carcinogenic. Upon exposure, these chemicals can, in a matter of minutes, cause potentially permanent damage to DNA. Such chemicals include many common household chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, food additives, fluoride and metals such as mercury and lead. We live in a sea of carcinogens and must learn how to avoid them. Radiation is carcinogenic; it damages DNA. This is why mammograms cause breast cancer, and why medical X-rays play a major role in our cancer epidemic.

Due to our exposure to carcinogenic chemicals and X-rays, most of our older population and many of our younger people have completed this initiation, and they have clusters of cancer cells throughout their bodies. This stage of cancer is not believed to be reversible. Given the right conditions, these cells will grow and then metastasize.

Preventing Initiation
DNA is being damaged and cancer is being initiated on a grand scale. Our best defense is to support DNA repair with good nutrition while avoiding carcinogenic chemicals and radiation. We have been irresponsibly exposed to radiation by our doctors and dentists. Decline routine X-rays. Allow only those that are absolutely necessary, and there are very few of those. We have been exposed to DNA-damaging viruses through vaccinations. Avoid vaccinations. Vaccine-induced, DNA-damaging viruses are showing up in a variety of cancers including lymph, lung, brain and bone. Avoid foods that have been heated to high temperatures, such as barbecued meat, as this causes formation of powerful carcinogens. Any food that has been blackened is dangerous, including toast. Avoid peanuts and corn products as these are often high in aflatoxins, which are potent carcinogens. Fluoride can inhibit DNA-repair enzymes. Avoid fluoridated water, toothpaste and processed foods.

Defects in DNA repair will increase the risk of developing cancer after being exposed to X-rays and chemicals. Certain nutrients are known to support the DNA repair process. These include vitamins B3, B6, B12, and folate, zinc and L-carnitine. Most Americans are deficient in one or more of these nutrients. According to the USDA, 73 percent of Americans are deficient in zinc, and 40 percent are deficient in B12. To optimize DNA repair, eat a diet rich in fresh, organic vegetables and fruits, and take high-quality nutritional supplements. Everyone should, at the very least, be on a superior vitamin/mineral formula.

Promotion
The next step in the cancer process is promotion. This is when a small cluster of initiated cancer cells grows larger. These cells will not grow unless a precise group of conditions are met, allowing their growth-control mechanisms to be overridden.

Certain foods are known to promote tumor growth and spread. Sugar, excess omega-6 oils and excess animal protein all promote cancer. Cancer cells differ from normal cells in that they are totally dependent on sugar to produce energy. So raising the sugar content of the blood feeds cancer cells and helps them grow. In addition, increased blood insulin is a powerful promoter of tumor growth and spread.

Oils high in omega-6s such as corn, safflower, sunflower, peanut, soybean and canola oils are known to support cancer progression. Never eat these oils, or any of the thousands of products made with them, including baked goods and salad dressings.

Perhaps the most significant factor of all is animal protein and most especially dairy protein. Animal protein, beyond what can be used for growth and daily repairs, promotes cancer, and the average American eats ten times too much. Excess animal protein is able to turn cancer on in experimental animals 100 percent of the time! A high-protein diet increases estrogen, and excess estrogen is known to promote a number of cancers. Protein also acidifies the body and cancer thrives in an acid environment. Animal protein also contains large amounts of the amino acid methionine. Excess methionine is known to be a cancer promoter.

Preventing and Reversing Promotion
Cancer promotion can be reversed. By eliminating cancer promoters and maximizing cancer inhibitors, it is possible to turn cancer off! We know fresh fruits and vegetables are cancer inhibitors—eat lots of them. We know that sugar, omega-6 oils and animal protein promote cancer—avoid them. Omega-6 oils not only promote cancer, they also suppress the immune system. Eat plenty of omega-3 oils to offset this effect; supplement with flax and fish oils. Turn cancer off by avoiding animal protein; this means avoiding meat, eggs, dairy and fish except in very small quantities. Avoid fruit juices; they contain too much easily-absorbable sugar. Cancer is highly iron dependent. Avoid iron-rich foods such as red meat. Avoiding fluoride is also important as fluoride can increase tumor growth by 25 percent.

Fat soluble toxins bioaccumulate in the body. Their synergistic effect can be a powerful cancer promoter. The average person is accumulating hundreds of such chemicals, including pesticides, styrene, PCBs, dioxins, phthalates and fire retardants. The only reliable way to get rid of them is with regular saunas, which have become as necessary as regular exercise.

Chronic stress substantially increases free radical formation and also severely depresses the immune system. Both promote cancer. Using stress-reducing techniques such as meditation are important.

Metastasis
The final stage of cancer is when it invades neighboring or distant tissues. Once again, a precise set of conditions must be met to allow this to happen. This stage of cancer causes death, but it too is reversible.

Preventing Metastasis
When cancer cells enter the blood stream and get transported to other locations, they become very vulnerable to attack by the immune system. Strong immunity is critical to prevention. Cancer cells require special enzymes to invade other tissues. Studies have found that inhibiting these enzymes stops the spread of the cancer. Plant flavonols found in fruits and vegetables, such as quercitin and luteolin, are known to interfere with these enzymes.

Nutrition
Eating lots of fruits and vegetables is probably the single most important thing you can do to prevent or reverse cancer. Evidence is overwhelming that common vitamins, minerals and plant chemicals interfere with the cancer process at every level. Many chemicals found in plant foods are capable of turning cancer cells back into normal cells. Certain flavonoids found in vegetables have been found to suppress and even to kill cancer cells. In fact, food and nutritional supplements have a far more powerful effect on cancer than chemotherapy.

Since almost all Americans are deficient in vitamins and minerals, supplements are necessary. Here is a list of the nutrients known to inhibit cancer: vitamins A, all the Bs, C, D, E, beta carotene, choline, selenium, acetyl L-carnitine, alpha lipoic acid, zinc, magnesium, flavonoids and omega-3 oils.

Nutrition improves immunity. Immune cells have a higher metabolic rate, and therefore, need more nutrients. Water soluble nutrients such as B vitamins and vitamin C are not stored well in the body and need constant replacement. When this does not happen, immunity is quickly affected. Whenever the immune system responds to a threat, billions of immune cells are needed quickly. These cells will be limited by the amount of nutrients available for their construction. Any vitamin or mineral deficiency will quickly be felt, impairing immunity.

The bad news is that cancer is an out-of-control epidemic. The good news is that cancer is a complex disease requiring the successful completion of many steps to make it happen—this provides us with multiple opportunities for its prevention and reversal. The most powerful preventive and healing tools are fresh fruits and vegetables plus high quality supplements.

Raymond Francis is an M.I.T.-trained scientist, a registered nutrition consultant, author of Never Be Sick Again and Never Be Fat Again, host of the Beyond Health Show, President of the Northern California Chapter of Cancer Victors, Chairman of the The Project to End Disease and an internationally recognized leader in the field of optimal health maintenance.

Reprinted with permission from:Beyond Health News
800.250.3063
www.beyondhealth.com - mail@beyondhealth.com Copyright 2006, Beyond Health