Cancer and Mitochondria

 Western medicine is focused on damage to DNA of cells as the cause of cancer. An ever increasing number of scientists are taking a look at damage to the mitochondria as a cause of cancer. Thomas Seyfried writes, "The tumorigenic phenotype is suppressed when normal mitochondria are transferred to the tumor cell cytoplasm. On the other hand, the tumorigenic phenotype is enhanced when tumor mitochondria are transferred to a normal cell cytoplasm. These findings further suggest that tumorigenesis is dependent more on mitochondrial function than on the types of mutations in the nucleus." In other words, Seyfried found that putting normal mitochondria into cancer cells resulted in their return to normal cells, while inserting mitochondria from cancer cells into normal cells converted them to cancer cells. This research is a good warning to eat healthy foods, use good supplements, and avoid exposure to toxic substances that can damage the energy production of the cells.

Seyfried article.

Allium Benefits: Garlic and Onion

 The Allium family includes approximately 500 members. Commonly used allium vegetables include garlic, onion, leeks, chives, and scallions. These vegetables have a wide spectrum of health benefits. They can kill or inhibit a wide range of microbes including fungi and bacteria. They can inhibit harmful blood clotting. They tend to lower blood fats. Allium vegetables have anti-inflammatory activity and have been shown to help prevent arthritis. They can also lower blood sugars. Current research is looking into how these vegetables reduce or inhibit cancer activity in both the test tube and also in living animals. Garlic and onion are particularly potent in this regard.

The anticancer activity of allium vegetables appears to be tied to the presence of allylsulfides, flavonoids and polyphenols. The chief compound in garlic is allicin which then breaks down into many other compounds. Allicin gives garlic its odor. While deodorized products are commercially popular, most of the research focuses on the smelly stuff as being most potent.

The most abundant chemical in onions is the flavonoid quercetin although the food is also a treasure trove of sulfur compouds containing cysteine which boosts the production of glutathione, one of the body's major antioxidants and detoxifiers.

One of the principles of good nutrition is that sulfur compounds make us healthier. Common foods which contain sulfur include not only the allium family, but also cruciferous foods like cabbage and broccoli, ginger, and eggs.

The study referenced below comments, "Studies in experimental animals indicate that the benefits of Allium vegetables are not limited to one species, tissue, or carcinogen. Organosulfur compounds can hinder activation of active carcinogen from precursors, increase its metabolic detoxification, or prevent its reaction with vulnerable target cells....Overall, evidence shows that allium vegetables have strong cancer-preventive activity but there are many horizons that still need to be explored."

I am often asked why I recommend NeoLife Allium Complex for cancer prevention. An article by Boivin concluded the following: "The extracts from cruciferous vegetables as well as those from vegetables of the genus Allium inhibited the proliferation of all tested cancer cell lines whereas extracts from vegetables most commonly consumed in Western countries were much less effective....These results thus indicate that vegetables have very different inhibitory activities towards cancer cells and that the inclusion of cruciferous and Allium vegetables in the diet is essential for effective dietary-based chemopreventive strategies."

Article on allium and cancer.

Link to article by Boivin

Phthalates, Cancer, and Diabetes

 Substances called phthalates are found in fragrances in cosmetics and laundry products. The are known to increase the risk of hormonally associated cancers such as those of the breast and ovary. A recent study also found that these substances increase the risk of diabetes, particularly in white women. The increased risk is 30-63%. These hormones also promote obesity.

NeoLife skin care is organic avoiding these toxic compounds. NeoLife also has a complete line of cleaning products including a light duty cleaner for dishes (LDC) and a heavy duty cleaner for grease (Super 10) as well as a laundry product (G-One). All of these are free of harmful fragrances and biodegrade easily. They are also concentrated and last much longer than other cleaning compounds one would buy. NeoLife Green is a personal care cleaner made from sea vegetation and should be in everyone's home for safety of animals, children, and the rest of the family.

References:

https://studyfinds.org/chemical-shampoo-soap-diabetes/

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/988109

CoQ10 and Aging

 CoQ10 is a little understood nutrient by the average individual. It plays a crucial role in the generation of cellular energy. The energy factory of the cell is called the mitochondria. The generation of energy involves the risk of generation of free radicals which can damage the cells leading to chronic diseases including heart disease and cancer. CoQ10 is a fat soluble antioxidant that accumulates in the mitochondria reducing the generation of free radicals and protecting the cells. This nutrient has been shown to enhance the immune system and benefit individuals facing potential heart failure.

Ageing, poor eating habits, stress, and infection all affect the body's ability to produce adequate amounts of CoQ10. After the age of about 35, the body begins to lose the ability to synthesize CoQ10 from food and deficiency develops. Many researches suggest that using CoQ10 supplements alone or in combination with other nutritional supplements may help maintain health of elderly people or treat some of the health problems or diseases associated with aging.

Reference:

Summary article on CoQ10 importance.

Tea and EGCG

 People sometimes wonder why NeoLife developed a tea product. The EGCG compound is tea has been heavily researched an shown to protect neurons including those in the brain. It also helps prevent cancer, reduces the risk of heart disease and protects against developing diabetes. Tea drinking is a habit with a benefit while so many nutritional habits do more damage than good.

The referenced article concludes: "Tea polyphenols, especially EGCG has been the focus of research owing to it multiple protective effects against cancer and other diseases such as diabetes, neurological and cardiovascular diseases. Large amount of epidemiological and clinical studies have indicated that supplementation of green tea has significant protective effects against chronic diseases."

Reference:

Khan, Naghma, et al., Tea Polyphenols in the Promotion of Human Health, Nutrients, Nutrients 2019, 11, 39; doi:10.3390/nu11010039.

Hot Peppers and Cancer

 The media has recently been focusing on research which suggests that hot peppers have anti-cancer effects. It is true that studies have found that chili peppers do have anti-cancer effects. There are also studies, however, that suggest that hot peppers may increase the incidence of stomach cancer. I would suggest caution on using hot peppers as a treatment for cancer. Many other food components have anti-cancer properties and are much safer. Many of these beneficial food compounds will be found in NeoLife's Phytodefense supplement.

Reference:

Reference to article on cancer and chili consumption.

Vitamin E Complex and Nitric Oxide

 NeoLife has always maintained that vitamin E should be supplemented as a complete complex. There are 8 members of the family. Each member has an affinity for different tissues and functions differently. Nitric oxide is a chemical produced by the immune system to fight cancer and infectious agents. The only problem is that this compound is so unstable that is is converted to nitrate or nitrite within 10 seconds. Both of these can be a source of dangerous nitrogen based free radicals.

Gamma-tocopherol and gamma-tocotrienol, two lesser known members of the vitamin E family prevents the conversion of NO to these dangerous cancer promoting chemicals. Alpha-tocopherol does not. This may explain why Stephan Christen found that supplementing laboratory animals with large amounts of synthetic vitamin E increased the incidence of tumors by depleting the body of gamma-tocopherol. Nature knows best when she combines nutrients into complexes and vitamin E is one of the clearest examples of this important nutritional principle.

References:

Papas, Andreas, The Vitamin E Factor, New York:HarperPerennial, 1999, p.37.

Christen, Stephan, γ-Tocopherol, the major form of vitamin E in the US diet, deserves more attention, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Volume 74, Issue 6, December 2001, Pages 714–722, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/74.6.714

Vitamin E Deficiency

Vitamin E has been called the vitamin without a disease. Dramatic cures as one sees with scurvy when vitamin C is added to the diet were not seen. Early research showed that deficiencies of the vitamin developed slowly and symptoms generally tend to appear only after extensive and often irreversible damage has taken place.

It takes a long time to increase tissue levels of vitamin E. This reminds me of the story of Earl Pearson who was diagnosed with emphysema. After supplementing with large quantities of vitamin E for five years under his doctor's supervision he was told he no longer had the disease.

The following warning by Papas should encourage us to make sure the vitamin E intake is adequate: "We have learned...that vitamin E deficiency may go unnoticed for years without clinical symptoms....unnoticed muscle and nerve damage can pile up...depleted tissues get replenished slowly and the nerve tissue even more slowly. When clinical symptoms appear it is usually too late for repair!"

References:

Papas, Andreas, The Vitamin E Factor, New York:HarperPerennial, 1999, p.14-15.

Pomegranate Polyphenols

 Pomegranate contains a rich supply of polyphenols, many of which have inhibitory effects upon various cancers. A fairly recent review article noted that pomegranate had anticancer effects in test tube studies, in living animals, and in clinical trials. Anti-cancer activities included fighting the proliferation of cancer cells, inhibiting the spread of cancers (metastatic properties), and inhibiting invasive activities. The research summary discusses the role of pomegranate in breast, prostate, lung, colon, skin, and liver cancers. The article concludes, "All parts of the fruit were reported to have therapeutic activity including anticancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-atherogenic, anti-diabetes, hepato (liver) protective and antioxidant activity, etc."

References:

Link to Article on pomegranate and cancers in Oncology Reviews.

 

Angiogenesis Inhibitors and Cancer One of the hottest areas of cancer research is in the area of angiogenesis inhibitors. These are substances the block the ability of cancers to recruit blood vessels. Cancers can not grow if they can not get a blood supply. Pharmaceutical firms and government are interested in promoting the development of patent-able pharmaceutical drugs that rob cancers of their blood supply. There are many natural substances which inhibit angiogenesis which may explain why some supplements and foods block cancer growth. Many of these nutrients are found in NeoLife supplements like Allium Complex and Phytodefense. The work behind Phytodefense was Dr. Arthur Furst who developed oral chemotherapy for cancer. References: Government report: Angiogenesis Inhibitors Natural Compounds and Angiogenesis Boivin Article

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Fruits, Fruit Juice, Soft Drinks

Consumption of 100% fruit juices was associated with increased risk of cancers comparable to the risk associated with sugary soft drinks like regular coke. A glass of orange juice and regular coke have about the same sugar content. The study looked at 101,257 French adults, 79% of whom were women. Consumption of 100 ml of sugary drink consumption was associated with an 18% increased overall cancer risk and a 22% increased risk of breast cancer. Orange juice is healthier than a coke due to the antioxidants present, but the heavy content of rapidly absorbed sugars is a problem. It is better to consume fruits whole. The fiber slows the absorption of sugars and decreases the total amount of sugar it is possible to consume due to the bulk of the food. Researchers suggested follow-up to this research needs to be done.

Reference: BMJ Article on Fruit Juice.

Lay article on fruit juice and cancer from Science Daily.

 Wisdom of Cancer Specialists

Nutrition and Cancer Aggressiveness

     Russell Blaylock whom I have had the opportunity to meet at clinical nutrition meetings is a leading cancer researcher. The following are quotes you will probably find of interest from an interview with Blaylock in Suzanne Somers book Knockout, pages 153-160. Regarding cancer and nutrition he says the following: "...the one thing that's known in oncology that the general public doesn't know is that tumors can change their characteristics based on these factors (nutrition and toxin exposure). With good nutrition, a tumor will become very benign in its behavior. In labs, the animal will live much longer. But if you take the same animal and give it a bad diet and toxins, the tumor will change its characteristics and become highly aggressive, highly invasive, and kill the animal very quickly."

Flavonoids and Cancer

     The NeoLife Flavonoid Complex was shown to slow breast cancer cell growth in culture by over 90% in one study by the Southern Research Institute. Blaylock has the following to say about flavonoids which supports this finding: "If you look at the molecular action of flavonoid combinations and vitamin combinations, it's all been worked out down to the exact cell signaling method--what happens in the cell, why it only affects cancer cells, and why it doesn't affect normal cells. The beauty of flavonoid combination treatment is that it protects normal cells and kills and suppresses cancer cells. It's very selective. This is information oncologists have always claimed they have looked for, but chemo drugs are not selective at all."

Some Studies

Lung Cancer

     Flavonoids reduced the risk of lung cancer by almost half. Results were even more dramatic among  people under 50 and nonsmokers.

     Knekt, Paul, et al, Dietary Flavonoids and the Risk of Lung Cancer and Other Malignant Neoplasms,   

Journal of Epidemiology, 1997;146(3):223-230.

Colon Cancer Recurrence

      The combined recurrence rate for cancer was 7% (1 in 14) among patients treated with flavonoids and 47% (7 of 15) among controls. These results suggest that long-term supplementation with flavonoids may reduce the rate of cancer recurrence in patients with resected colon cancer.

     Hoensch H, Kirch W, et al,  

Prospective cohort comparison of flavonoid treatment in patients with resected colorectal cancer to prevent recurrence, World J Gastroenterol, 2008; 14(14): 2187-93. 

 

 

Ovarian Cancer

    

  

  

  

  

  

The highest intake of five flavonoids was associated with a 25% reduced risk of ovarian cancer.

     Gates MA, Hankinson SE, et al, A p

 

rospective study of dietary flavonoid intake and incidence of epithelial ovarian cancer,Int J Cancer, 2007; 121(10): 2225-32.

Why is Cancer Progress so Slow?

     

     "The problem is that it has gotten to be such big business. If we found the cure to cancer there would be a terrible economic impact....The impact would be hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars....that is what keeps research from following a course that would lead to truly curing patients."

      When people ask me about cancer I always tell them that the best prevention possible is a good diet with lots of fruits and vegetables. The best supplements are the compounds in Phytodefense, Betagard, and Cal-Mag with vitamin D.