Cancer fighting cheap food that you can add to your salad

Watercress delivers a powerful punch of excellent nutrients you need in abundance every day: calcium, vitamin C, folate, iron, lutein, beta-carotene, potassium, and phenylethyl isothiocyante.

Um…phen what what?

Please don’t feed the tumors

We’ll call it PEITC for short. Cruciferous vegetables such as watercress are rich in this chemical compound that inhibits the activation of a protein known as HIF. Cancer cells use HIF to create small blood vessels that feed tumors. So if you block HIF effectively, cancer cells can’t invade normal tissue.

In new research from the University of Southampton, several breast cancer survivors were asked to fast, then eat 80 grams of watercress (about enough to fill a cereal bowl). Blood was drawn from each subject before, during, and after the intervention.

Results showed a significant boost in blood levels of PEITC after eating watercress. Most importantly, the HIF function was “measurably affected.”

Now–hold those good thoughts while we look at another watercress study conducted several years ago at Ireland’s University of Ulster.

Sixty healthy adults ate 85 grams of raw watercress along with their regular daily diets. Before and after the eight week trial, researchers measured several biomarkers related to cancer risk.

Results: Antioxidant levels were significantly boosted. Triglycerides dropped by 10 percent. And DNA damage to white blood cells dropped by more than 20 percent.

Top ten poisonous foods people eat without knowing the consequences

Everyday we chow down on food produced from plants that carry deadly poisons. Most of the time we don’t need to be concerned with this as the mass production of fruit and vegetables ensures that we are usually safe, but from time to time people accidentally kill themselves by unwittingly eating the wrong part of a plant. In order to ensure that this never happens to you, I have put together a list of the most commonly seen poisons that we come in to contact with in our kitchens.

10
Mushrooms


We have all heard of toadstools – and know that they are poisonous, but what many people don’t know is that a toadstool is actually a mushroom, not a separate type of plant. Toadstool is slang for “poisonous mushroom”. While there are some useful signs that a mushroom is poisonous, they are not consistent and all mushrooms of unknown origin should be considered dangerous to eat. Some of the things you can look for to try to determine whether a mushroom is poisonous are: it should have a flat cap with no bumps, it should have pink or black gills (poisonous mushrooms often have white gills), and the gills should stay attached to the cap (not the stalk) if you pull it off. But remember, while this is generally true of many types of mushroom, it is not always true.


9
Pufferfish


A few days ago we had a list of embarrassing deaths, one of which included death by eating the liver of a fugu (pufferfish). The fugu is so poisonous that in Japan, fugu chefs are trained specially for the job and are tested before being a given certificates of practice. The training takes two or three years. In order to pass, the chef must answer a written test then give a demonstration of his cutting abilities. The final part of the test involves the chef eating the pieces of fugu that he has cut. Only 30% of apprentices pass the test – which is not to say that the rest die by eating their fugu – they can fail in earlier parts of the test. Only the flesh of the fugu is consumed as it is less likely to have high amounts of poison (which causes a slight tingling sensation in the mouth). Fugu is the only food officially illegal for the Emperor of Japan to eat – for his safety. Rather than including a photograph of a pufferfish, I have used a youtube clip showing a chef preparing the fugu – it is quite extraordinary.

8
Elderberry


Elderberry trees are very attractive and quite large. They are covered with thousands of tiny flowers which have a delicate scent. The flowers are used mainly for making elderflower liqueur and soda. Sometimes the flowers are eaten after being battered and deep fried. But beneath the pretty surface lurks danger! The roots and some other parts of the elderberry tree are highly poisonous and will cause severe stomach problems. So next time you decide to pick some elderberry flowers for eating, be sure to eat just the flowers.

7
Castor Oil


Castor oil, the bane of many of our childhoods, is regularly added to candies, chocolate, and other foods. Furthermore, many people still consume a small amount daily or force it on their unwilling children. Fortunately the castor oil we buy is carefully prepared, because the castor bean is so deadly, that it takes just one bean to kill a human, and four to kill a horse. The poison is ricin, which is so toxic that workers who collect the seeds have strict safety guidelines to prevent accidental death. Despite this, many people working in the fields gathering the seeds suffer terrible side-effects.

6
Almonds


Almonds are one of the most useful and wonderful of seeds (it is not a nut as many people would have you believe). It has a unique taste and its excellent suitability for use in cooking have made it one of the most popular ingredients in pastry kitchens for centuries. The most flavorsome almonds are bitter almonds (as opposed to “sweet” almonds). They have the strongest scent and are the most popular in many countries. But there is one problem: they are full of cyanide. Before consumption, bitter almonds must be processed to remove the poison. Despite this requirement, some countries make the sale of bitter almonds illegal (New Zealand regretfully is one of them). As an alternative, you can use the pip from an apricot stone which has a similar flavor and poison content. Heating destroys the poison. In fact, you may not know that it is now illegal in the USA to sell raw almonds – all almonds sold are now heat-treated to remove traces of poison and bacteria.






5
Cherries


Cherries are a very popular fruit – used in cooking, liqueur production, or eaten raw. They are from the same family as plums, apricots, and peaches. All of the previously mentioned fruits contain highly poisonous compounds in their leaves and seeds. Almonds are also a member of this family but they are the only fruit which is harvested especially for its seeds. When the seeds of cherries are crushed, chewed, or even slightly injured, they produce prussic acid (hydrogen cyanide). Next time you are eating cherries, remember not to suck on or chew the pip.

4
Apples


Like the previous two items, apple seeds also contain cyanide – but obviously in much smaller doses. Apple seeds are very often eaten accidentally but you would need to chew and consume a fairly high number to get sick. There are not enough seeds in one apple to kill, but it is absolutely possible to eat enough to die. I recommend avoiding apple eating competitions! Incidentally, if you want to eat an apple and find a worm in it (and hopefully not half a worm), you can drop it in a bowl of salt water which will kill the worm.

3
Rhubarb


Rhubarb is a very underrated plant – it produces some of the nicest tasting puddings and is incredibly easy to grow at home. Rhubarb is something of a wonder plant – in addition to an unknown poison in its leaves, they also contain a corrosive acid. If you mix the leaves with water and soda, it becomes even more potent. The stems are edible (and incredibly tasty) and the roots have been used for over 5,000 years as a laxitive and poop-softener.

2
Tomatoes


First off, a little interesting trivia: in the US, thanks to a US Supreme Court decision in 1893, tomatoes are vegetables. In the rest of the world they are considered to be fruit (or more accurately, a berry). The reason for this decision was a tax on vegetables but not fruit. You may also be interested to know that technically, a tomato is an ovary. The leaves and stems of the tomato plant contain a chemical called “Glycoalkaloid” which causes extreme nervousness and stomach upsets. Despite this, they can be used in cooking to enhance flavor, but they must be removed before eating. Cooking in this way does not allow enough poison to seep out but can make a huge difference in taste. Finally, to enhance the flavor of tomatoes, sprinkle a little sugar on them. Now we just need to work out whether they are “toe-mah-toes” or “toe-may-toes”.

1
Potatoes


Potatoes have appeared in our history books since their introduction to Europe in the 16th century. Unfortunately they appear largely due to crop failure and severe famine, but they will be forever the central vegetable of most western families daily diet. Potatoes (like tomatoes) contain poison in the stems and leaves – and even in the potato itself if left to turn green (the green is due to a high concentration of the glycoalkaloid poison). Potato poisoning is rare, but it does happen from time to time. Death normally comes after a period of weakness and confusion, followed by a coma. The majority of cases of death by potato in the last fifty years in the USA have been the result of eating green potatoes or drinking potato leaf tea.

Notable Omissions: Nutmeg

Soybean oil is very bad for your health do not consume anything with soy in it

Soy bean is popularly projected as an alternate to protein. It is a lie. It is not for humans but for animals.

Reject all or most soybean diets including the food oil sold as Vegetable oil in North America. Soy bean oil is bad for you and your children. Do not listen to so called experts and advertisers.

The heart risks of trans fat has sparked greater demand for a new variety of soybean oil, to the extent that food companies have recruited farmers to grow more of the new beans.

No Need for Hydrogenation

The new soybeans contain lower levels of the acids that make food stale or rancid, meaning their oil does not need hydrogenation, the process the creates trans fats. Most soybeans contain roughly 7 percent linolenic acid. The new varieties contain 1 to 3 percent.

Outstripping Supply

Use of the oil has increased ever since the FDA began requiring manufacturers to list trans fat content on food labels. As a result, demand for the new soybeans is beginning to outstrip the supply.

Yahoo News February 17, 2006

Dr. Mercola's Comment:You may recall that not long ago I wrote about Kellogg using new genetically modified soybean oil in some of their snack products to get rid of trans fats.

No wonder companies are frantically searching for alternatives, considering the FDA's edict that processed food products must list the amount of trans fats they contain. And supply isn't keeping up with the demand, not unlike the unsafe trend seen with Splenda.

Why these so-called healthier vegetable oils are a disastrous choice for most people: They can contain as much as 100 times the level of harmful omega-6 fats, far in excess of the average American's intake of more beneficial omega-3 fats.

We all need to eat omega-6 fats butabout the only people who are deficient in this fat are those onexclusive IV nutrition that is not supplemented with IV fat or those who are consuming a low-fat vegan diet.

Omega-6 fats are in nearlyevery animal food and many plants, so that is why deficiencies arevery rare.

Around 1900, Americans ate less than a pound of processed vegetable oil annually. Just last year, the average American atemore than 80 pounds, largely thanks to processed fast food using oils like these. Suffice to say, the human body wasn't designed to consume these high levels of vegetable fats.

Excessive consumption of omega-6-laden vegetable oils can lead to:

Asthma
Blindness
Heart disease
Cancer
Just as virtually no one is deficient in omega-6 fats, it is very rare for the typical person to be consuming enough omega-3 fats. The vast majority of people are deficient in this critical fat.

One crucial way to right-size your intake of more beneficial omega-3 fats: Take a high-quality fish or cod liver oil daily.

And in addition, to avoid overly high quantities of omega-6 fats, avoid highly processed foods, which frequently contain heated vegetable oils and other dangerous ingredients. If you must cook with oil at home, use coconut oil. Despite the bad reputation of saturated fats, they are actually better for cooking because they are far less damaged by the heating process.

Killer diets do not consume Canola Oil also known as Rape Seed or Rapeseed oil

Killer diets do not consume Canola Oil also known as Rape Seed or Rapeseed oil.

WHERE DID IT COME FROM?

How much do we know about it? Here are some facts:

1) Used as a lubricant, fuel, soap and synthetic rubber base as well as an illuminant for slick color pages in magazines.

2) It forms latex-like substances that cause red blood corpuscles to clump together.

3) It's real name is RAPESEED OIL, renamed, CANOLA OIL, (Canada Oil) for obvious reasons. It's one of the main crops grown in Canada where it is being field tested. It's grown in the United States as well.

4) Rape Oil was widely used in animal feeds in England and Europe between 1986-1991 but no longer is used because of the animals that went blind and mad ('MAD COW DISEASE').

5) Experts agree that the effects of ingested Rapeseed Oil take at least 10 years to manifest - so not to be concerned.

6) Rapeseed is a member of the mustard family, one of the most toxic of all plants, and is shunned by insects.

7) Mustard gas, which was banned in war because it blisters lungs and skin, is made from rapeseeds.

8) Irradiation (!) is used to turn the rapeseed oil into acceptable Canola Oil??

What are the effects of Canola oil in our diet over a period of time? I think we're just beginning to see them, but, as yet, no one has put it all together. Symptoms usually come on so slowly one might not be aware that there is a problem.

Strange new diseases involving the nervous system may be caused by Canola oil which dissolves the myelin sheath off of the nerves throughout the body. As a matter of fact, the heating of most oils during the cooking process does the same thing. Very gradually over the years, symptoms develop, which at first are perhaps only annoying, but which eventually will be diagnosed as a disease.

Robert came to the Center with unexplained exhaustion and numbness and tingling in his extremities. Mary's husband was concerned because, he said, she was hyper-sensitive. A 2 year-old child cried all the time and was considered a "difficult child". Ray was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. June had heart arrhythmia's and a hearing problem All these symptoms were linked to loss of myelin sheath. Most of these people knew they had used Canola oil over the years.

MILES OF NERVES

The nervous system, once the insulation is stripped, can be likened to you home with bare wires inside the walls --a dangerous situation. In the body, symptoms may be many and varied:

1) tremors, shaking, "palsy" due to malfunction of nerve impulse transmissions,

2) uncoordination walking, writing and other automatic physical movements,

3) slurred speech,

4) excessive salivation,

5) deterioration of memory and thinking processes,

6) blurred vision,

7) fuzzy or low audio levels,

8) difficulty urinating/incontinence,

9) environmental sensitivity/allergic to smells, food, clothing, electrical equipment,

10) breathing problems/short of breath,

11) nervous/nervous breakdown,

12) numbness and tingling in extremities,

13) heart problems/arrhythmia's.

Little wonder. Canola oil contains erucic acid in the oil and glucosinolates in the meal, both toxic to humans and animals.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Do not use Canola Oil. Read labels. If you eat out often, choose restaurants that don't use Canola (ask!).

For cooking use Walnut Oil, Almond Oil, or Butter (clarified butter, called ghee, came from India and never goes rancid. It can be found in some health food stores -- or make it yourself by skimming foam).

Good oils (other than for cooking/baking) are Safflower, Sunflower, Soy, Sesame, Flax Seed and Olive (never goes rancid). Buy in glass containers -- never pliable plastic which leaches the solvent toluene in the contents.

Peanut oil is not good for eating ( and peanut butter is indigestible, becoming rancid in the system!).

Make your concerns known to burger places, restaurants, bakeries, supermarkets and with letters to newspapers. Write to talk shows like "20/20"* and "60 Minutes"*. Send this article and ask them to investigate.

Demand full disclosure labeling and knowledge of testing procedures. Request that notices be put up.

The body may be detoxified after the colon is cleansed and functioning. Thereafter, specific herbal formulas are used to rebuild the myelin sheath. This process may take anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks.

According to Dr. Mary G. Enig, F.A.C.N., Nutritional Sciences Division of Enig Associates, inc. in Silver Spring, Maryland

"Enclosed is one of the latest items of information on canola oil. According to this research done by Canadian government researchers, consuming canola oil increases the requirement for Vitamin E. This is not desirable for a food purporting to be healthy for the whole foods market.


More

 It has been very much in vogue in health food circles to praise Canola oil as very healthy oil-high in polyunsaturates, while condemning tropical oils such as coconut or palm oil as being saturated and unhealthy.

The high praise for Canola is propaganda put forth by the Canadian government because "can-ola," a hybridized rape plant, is one of that nation's chief export products. Rapeseed oil contains toxic erucic acid. Canola has much less erucic acid in it.

Health food store operators parrot the hype without checking any facts. Consumers search out various products with Canola oil in them because they believe this is somehow much healthier than other oils. All food grade Canola, including the varieties sold in health food stores, are deodorized from its natural terrible stink with 300 degree F. high-temperature refining. You cannot cook a vegetable oil at that temperature and leave behind anything much edible.

Research at the University of Florida- Gainsesville, determined that as much as 4.6% of all the fatty acids in Canola are "trans" isomers (plastic) due to the refining process. Contrary to popular opinion, saturated fats, especially those found in coconut oil are not harmful to health, but are important nutrition. There are no trans isomers in unrefined coconut butter, for example. This refers to many published research papers by Mary Enig, Ph.D. that refutes all the establishment propaganda condemning saturated fats.

In 1996, the Japanese announced a study wherein a special Canola oil diet had actually killed laboratory animals. Reacting to this unpublished, but verified and startling information, a duplicate study was conducted by Canadian scientists using piglets and a Canola oil based milk replacer diet.

In this second study published in Nutrition Research, 1997, v17, the researchers verified that Canola oil somehow depleted the piglets of vitamin E to a dangerously low level.

In the abstract of the study, the Canadian researchers made the following remarkable statement: It is known that ingestion of oils containing polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) of the n-3 and n -6 series results in a high degree of unsaturation in membrane phospholipids, which in turn may increase lipid peroxidation, cholesterol oxidation, free radical accumulation and membrane damage. All very bad attributes

For type 2 diabetes prevention, choose this mineral for magnificent results

Consider where your place might be among these type 2 diabetes statistics for the U.S…

• 18 million diagnosed
• More than 1.5 million new cases diagnosed each year
• Nearly six million undiagnosed
• 57 million at high risk (pre-diabetic)
• One of every four over the age of 60 diagnosed

Pretty daunting, isn’t it? But they say you make your own luck, so here’s a lucky little secret: You can significantly tilt the type 2 diabetes odds in your favor just by making sure you’re getting enough magnesium.

Undeniable trend

Magnesium helps heart muscles relax, reduces blood pressure, helps control homocysteine, promotes bone health, reduces risk of cognitive decline, plays a key role in DNA production, and helps maintain normal insulin levels.

And of course it’s that last item that has launched many type 2 diabetes studies.

The newest comes from the University of North Carolina. Researchers tracked 20 years of dietary and medical records for nearly 4,500 subjects who were not diabetic when they were recruited.

Subjects with the highest magnesium intake (from both diet and supplements) cut their diabetes risk by half, compared to subjects with the lowest intake. In addition, insulin resistance and inflammation markers were lowest in the high intake group. High intake was calculated to be at least 200 mg per every 1,000 calories consumed.

These results can now be added to other promising magnesium studies…

Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital collected data from more than 11,000 women over the age of 45. Subjects with highest magnesium intake had nearly 30 percent lower risk of developing metabolic syndrome (a set of symptoms that signal high risk of type 2 diabetes).

Northwestern University researchers followed 15 years of medical records for more than 4,600 healthy subjects. Highest intake of magnesium was linked with a significantly lower risk of metabolic syndrome.

And in 2007, researchers at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute reviewed seven large studies similar to the three above.

Results: Six of the studies found a significant association between high magnesium intake and reduced risk of type 2 diabetes. The sources of magnesium–diet or supplements combined with diet–were equally effective. On average, diabetes risk dropped by 15 percent for every 100 mg increase in magnesium intake.

The whole package

Unfortunately, it’s easy to become magnesium deficient. High stress and menstruation can take their toll on magnesium levels, while a heavy intake of starches, alcohol, diuretics and some prescription drugs (such as antibiotics) can increase urinary excretion of magnesium.

If a blood test shows your magnesium level is low (a normal range is anywhere between .66 and 1.23 millimoles per liter), Dr. Spreen recommends 500 mg of magnesium per day, with the added note that magnesium gluconate and chelated magnesium are the preferred supplement forms.

Meanwhile, add leafy green vegetables, avocados, nuts, and whole grains to your daily diet and you’ll be giving your body a powerful magnesium fortification against type 2 diabetes.

For common cold prevention, gargle, gargle, and more gargle

Can gargling with salt water relieve common cold symptoms? Could it even prevent the cold?

Sure can. 

Add a little normal table salt preferably get sea salt.

A recent New York Times article referenced a 2005 gargling study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Researchers in Japan recruited more than 380 healthy subjects. For 60 days during cold and flu season, some subjects gargled with water three times each day while others did not.

Results: Compared to non-garglers, the garglers had 40 percent fewer upper respiratory tract infections.

So how does it work?

Dr. Philip T. Hagen of the Mayo Clinic told the Times that gargling loosens mucus, removing bacteria and fungi from the throat.

And for relief from cold symptoms, just stir a little salt into the water cup.

Dr. Hagen added that a saline solution can relieve inflamed throat tissues by drawing out excess fluid.

Cancer shocker: chemotherapy may cause secondary cancers

Chemo’s Dirty Little Secret

We were shocked. It was probably two years ago now when my dad’s oncologist laid out his options.

Basically, he wanted my father to try a new chemo. He’d have to be in the hospital for 10 weeks. Then he’d have to come back two or three days a week for a few hours each time for ANOTHER ten weeks after that.

That was bad enough but here’s the kicker: The doctor said (and I remember this part like it happened this morning) “There’s a 2 percent chance it will cure you and a 20 percent chance it will kill you.”

That sounds crazy, right? Who would do that? (Certainly not my dad!)

But it turns out that your situation doesn’t have to be as dire as my father’s was to be just as crazy.

Just listen to this…

Oh, the irony?!

In a Q&A that appears on CNN’s website, a viewer asks if one of the chemo drugs given to her husband in 1990 might have caused a secondary cancer. She notes that her husband’s hematologist told them that “chemo drugs long ago were mutagenic…and cytotoxic”

Wait until you hear how Dr. Otis Brawley, the chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society responded! He said, “It is ironic but true that many cancer chemotherapies are known to cause cancers.”

This is the head medical guy at the American Cancer Society basically shrugging his shoulders and, for all intents and purposes, telling us “Yeah, the thing we want you to take for your life-threatening disease…well, it could make you worse. Actually, a lot of them do.”

Ironic? I think it might be more accurate to replace “ironic” with “insanely tragic.”

It’s astounding–MANY chemo drugs cause cancers. And notice that Dr. Brawley didn’t add the hematologist’s phrase “long ago.” We’re talking right now, this minute, in hospitals and clinics all over the world, cancer patients are receiving treatments that might very well prompt further cancers!!!

Dr. Brawley goes on to add: “It is something that the physician must consider when recommending treatment.”

First, HUGE understatement again, Dr. Brawley. (I think he might be board-certified in those!) And second, the physician shouldn’t just consider it, he should be very upfront about it.

My father’s oncologist sounded crazy when he recommended the treatment, but at least we knew exactly what we were facing.

Real Qs & As

Doctors usually rush the decision to use chemo–a decision that’s often assumed to be the only option of scared patients and their families. But nothing could be further from the truth.

It’s incredibly shocking and daunting, but if you’re ever in this situation, please ask questions, including “What other cancers is this form of chemo known to cause?”

And consider your options…because you do have them. For example, there is growing evidence that high doses of intravenous vitamin C fight many forms of cancer — better and safer than chemo.

And if you ever hear this question from a cancer patient: Could this vitamin C give me cancer? For the record, the answer is no.

Longevity secrets from young-at-heart seniors

How to stay alive for longer time?

What is the secret to a long life?

When a New York Times reporter recently put that question to several seniors, she got some well-aged advice.

Esther, 99, says, “Eat in moderation and drink in moderation.” She adds that regular exercise, walking, and yoga helped.

Phil, 100, keeps his sunny side up: “Enjoy every minute that you’re living. I think that’s some good advice.”

My favorite quote comes from Hazel, 100. Her longevity secret: “There’s no secret about it, really. You just don’t die, and you get to be 100.”

Got to love that. Don’t over-think it. Just keep on living.

A new study from Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet concludes with some longevity advice that also requires no over- thinking.

The authors write: “This population-based, prospective study of men with relatively high intakes of dietary calcium and magnesium showed that intake of calcium above that recommended daily may reduce all-cause mortality.”

Simple. Calcium plus magnesium works longevity wonders.

Calcium’s better half

At the risk of keeping it not entirely simple, Dr. Allan Spreen offers three rules for supplementing with calcium.

Rule One: As the Karolinska study shows, calcium must have magnesium.

Dr. Spreen: “Calcium without magnesium doesn’t occur in a natural human diet, so it shouldn’t be introduced to the body that way. Calcium alone has been found in several experiments to be improperly laid down in the body, even affecting arterial walls before setting up in bones.

“Unfortunately for those looking for the simplest solutions, the mineral calcium requires more than just magnesium: It also needs manganese, boron, silica, strontium, usually digestive enzymes, often additional betaine hydrochloride, and ALWAYS vitamin D (and high doses of that last one if a lot of calcium is swallowed).”

Rule Two: Forget about antacids

Dr. Spreen describes the form of calcium in antacids simply as a “problem,” noting that this inferior form actually lowers the acid level (pH) in the stomach, which is necessary for digestion of many nutrients and proteins.

Rule three: Know your calcium forms

Dr. Spreen: “Not all calcium salts are absorbed the same, and in some cases there are pretty big differences. However, it’s usually easier to acquire (and cheaper to take, per amount absorbed) in forms that may cost less than the most absorbable types. By just taking a bit more of it, it’s not that big a deal (as long as the other ‘stuff’ is taken with it).”

Dr. Spreen notes that among the commercially available types of calcium, the best marriage of price, percentage of elemental calcium, and absorption is calcium citrate

For cancer patients, one vitamin could add up to extra years - get free from Sun Light

Vitamin D = best source take a walk in Sun light. At least 3 to 5 days a week walking in Sun Light will help you.

For cancer patients, one vitamin could add up to extra years

Borrowing some time

I’ve told you before that my father suffered with chronic lymphocytic leukemia for more than 20 years.

That’s why this new study jumped off the page at me.

Most CLL patients are diagnosed at an early stage of the disease, just like my dad. And most hear the same two things from their doctors: 1) This is a slow-growing cancer, and 2) Chemotherapy won’t begin until symptoms appear.

Now, new research suggests that in that interval before chemo, one vitamin could have a profound impact on survival time.

Yet another “A+” for D

It’s hard to think in terms of an “upside” of a fatal disease. But if there is one, the upside of CLL is that survival time is often quite long.

And now it seems we may be able to extend that even further thanks to vitamin D–and a new study from the Mayo Clinic.

Researchers evaluated vitamin D concentrations in blood samples taken from 390 newly diagnosed CLL patients. After three years, patients who were deficient in vitamin D were much more likely to have begun chemotherapy. These patients were also twice as likely to die during the study period compared to patients with high D levels.

At this point, there’s no way of knowing if D supplements will slow CLL progression. This is where researchers usually say it’s too early to make any recommendations like that. But the lead researcher told Science Daily that if patients are deficient, “…vitamin D supplements are widely available and have minimal side effects.”

So even though he’s stopping just short of recommending D for CLL patients, I imagine if he were diagnosed with CLL today, he’d be adding vitamin D to his routine.

And for those that prefer more science, the Mayo team is actually planning a study to test D supplement use on patients diagnosed with CLL.

But what we can absolutely walk away with here is that adequate vitamin D levels might help some — if not all — cancer patients have a better outcome.

Science Daily notes research that shows a link between D deficiency and progression of several different types of cancers. And there’s already evidence that the development of some of those cancers has been slowed down by D supplements.

But this very encouraging news has a flipside: Vitamin D deficiency is very common throughout the world.

Knowing that most of us are deficient and it’s a critical weapon in the battle against most illnesses–and especially cancer–why wouldn’t you make sure D is part of your regimen?

Sources:
“Vitamin D insufficiency and prognosis in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)” Blood, Published online ahead of print, 11/3/10, bloodjournal.hematologylibrary.org
“Insufficient Vitamin D Levels in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Patients Linked to Cancer Progression and Death” Science Daily, 11/4/10, sciencedaily.com

Seasonal flu shot guidelines hit new low in utter nonsense

Do not get flu shots if you want to stay trouble free. Why do you want to inject your body with nonsense.

Seasonal flu shot guidelines hit new low in utter nonsense

Don’t shoot!!!

Someday someone at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will just come right out and admit that every autumn they basically turn into a marketing firm.

Their flagship product, of course, is the seasonal flu shot.

But you will NOT believe what they’re trying to sell us this season. I’m serious. If you think you’ve heard it all before, prepare to be flabbergasted.

Everyone invited

In past years, CDC officials recommended the flu shot to the sick and infirm, the very young, and–most especially–-the elderly.

But this year they’ve gone “all in.”

This year the CDC recommends flu shots for everyone over the age of six months. But given the scant evidence that the flu shot actually prevents flu, this isn’t disease control or disease prevention, it’s vaccine sales–pure and simple.

So EVERYONE should get a shot now, according to the CDC. And yes, that’s insanely over the top. But hold on–it gets worse…

This past spring, Minnesota Public Radio reported that–completely contrary to what we’ve always been told–the flu shot does NOT reduce deaths due to flu among people over 65.

And here’s the paragraph of the report that is simply stupefying: “The revelation has been so unsettling that public health officials have not shared the information widely with the public–even though some of the early findings have been a part of the scientific literature for several years now.”

UnbeLIEVable!

Here’s my favorite word in that paragraph: unsettling. Yeah, unsettling in the board rooms of drug companies! Because you can be sure that if millions of dollars weren’t at stake there would be no reason for the CDC to withhold this inconvenient information from the public.

But wait…it gets worse.

MPR also reports on new research that shows no difference in the totals of pneumonia deaths between people who get a flu shot and those who don’t.

So for all these years the CDC has sold the flu shot to seniors by instilling fear of death by flu and pneumonia. And now it appears that few if any of them received any benefit at all from their vaccines.

Try on the XXXXL

So how does the CDC react to all this bad news? Well it’s almost too obvious. Brace yourself for Fluzone High-Dose.

That’s right. Just for seniors–a special flu shot with FOUR TIMES the potency of a normal flu shot.

On a Q&A page about Fluzone High-Dose, the CDC poses this question: “Why is a higher dose vaccine available for adults 65 and older?”

Their answer: “A higher dose of antigen in the vaccine is supposed to give older people a better immune response and therefore better protection against flu.”

“Supposed to”? It’s laughably obvious they have no idea what this vaccine will actually do. So all they can say is what it’s “supposed” to do.

In another Q&A they actually admit: “Whether or not the improved immune response leads to greater protection against influenza disease after vaccination is not yet known.”

So basically they’re saying, “We have no idea if it works, but we recommend it to every senior anyway.”

And finally: “Is Fluzone High-Dose safe?”

They answer that the “safety profile” is similar to that of regular flu vaccines, although in a clinical trial, adverse effects were reported more frequently.

In other words, yes, it’s just as safe as the flu shot, except that it’s not (oh…and the flu shot isn’t necessarily that safe to begin with.).

I wonder if the CDC will win a trip to Hawaii if it sells more than its quota.

Sources:
“Research suggests flu vaccine doesn’t prevent deaths among the elderly” Lorna Benson, Minnesota Public Radio, 4/27/10, minnesota.publicradio.org
“Fluzone High–Dose Seasonal Influenza Vaccine” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cdc.gov