The Unknown Anti-Cancer Mineral

By Joni Bell

One of the most effective naturally occurring weapons against cancer is, like most healthy things, something many of us are not getting enough of. The mineral selenium has been shown in multiple studies to be an effective tool in warding off various types of cancer, including breast, esophageal, stomach, prostate, liver and bladder cancers. Not many people get the recommended dose of 200 micrograms a day. Most Americans only get between 60 and 100 micrograms of selenium daily from dietary sources

Selenium was first used in conventional medicine as a treatment for dandruff, but our understanding of the mineral has come a long way since then. Today, research shows selenium, especially when used in conjunction with vitamin C, vitamin E and beta-carotene, works to block chemical reactions that create free radicals in the body (which can damage DNA and cause degenerative change in cells, leading to cancer).

Selenium also helps stop damaged DNA molecules from reproducing. In other words, selenium acts to prevent tumors from developing. In addition to preventing the onset of the disease, selenium has also been shown to aid in slowing cancer's progression in patients that already have it. The use of selenium during chemotherapy in combination with vitamin E and vitamin A reduces the toxicity of chemotherapy drugs. The mineral also helps enhance the effectiveness of chemo, radiation, and hyperthermia while minimizing damage to the patient's normal cells.

The mineral not only help protect against all types of cancer, it has a particularly powerful impact on prostate, colorectal and lung cancers.

If our bodies have too high an intake of selenium it can actually be toxic to our system, but the majority of us are not getting enough of this essential mineral. Since this is the case, how can we get a good balance so as not to overdo but make sure we are getting enough to help our bodies fight cancer? There are some good dietary sources of selenium such as mushrooms, egg yolks, seafood, poultry and kidney, liver and muscle meats. Vegetables like garlic, onions, broccoli, asparagus, tomatoes and others as well as whole grains and seeds can also be good sources of selenium.

The amount of selenium in vegetables and grains depends on the selenium content in the soil in which they are grown. The selenium content is largely dependent on the content of volcanic ash in the soil on which the food was grown, with higher volcanic ash content yielding higher selenium levels.

Suggestions as to part of the reason American men are five times more likely than Japanese men to die from prostate cancer could be because, in general, the Asian diet contains four times the amount of selenium as the average American diet. Another reason for lack of selenium in the American diet is the processing that many of our foods go through before it becomes available to the public. One way to get more selenium in your diet might be to eat more organically grown foods, which some studies have shown to contain more selenium as well as higher levels of beta carotene and vitamin E.

Simply adding more selenium-rich foods, such as organically grown vegetables and fruits to your diet, along with supplements, can help reduce your risk of cancer and have mood improvements.
Try implementing a couple of Brazil nuts into your day, eating just one shelled Brazil nut, grown in the selenium-rich soil of central Brazil, provides 120 micrograms of the mineral, getting you that much closer to the daily target of 200 micrograms.

So go ahead, have some Brazil nuts during the holiday season, you deserve it.

Jonathan Bell appreciates any questions or comments at http://www.askjonibell.com

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Cancer Alternatives - Graviola

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Keith_Scott-Mumby]Keith Scott-Mumby

An exciting cancer alternative remedy comes from the seeds, leaves, bark and stem of the South American plant Annona muricata, generally known as Graviola. In fact there are many other plants in this genus, various of which yield extremely potent cytotoxic substances. These are especially effective against prostate and pancreatic cancers and work well even against lung cancer.

Much of the research on Graviola focuses on a novel set of phytochemicals called annonaceous acetogenins (annonaceous just means form Graviola plants). The potent antitumor and pesticidal properties of these annonaceous acetogenins have been reported and patented.

Purdue University has conducted a great deal of research on annonaceaous acetogenins, much of which has been funded by The National Cancer Institute and/or the National Institute of Health (none of it clinical trials, please note).

In 1997, Purdue University published information with promising news that several of the Annonaceous acetogenins: "not only are effective in killing tumors that have proven resistant to anti-cancer agents, but also seem to have a special affinity for such resistant cells."

In several interviews after this information was publicized, the head Purdue pharmacologist in Purdue's research explains that cancer cells that survive chemotherapy may develop resistance to the agent originally used against them as well as to other, even unrelated, drugs.

"The term multi-drug resistance (MDR) has been applied to this phenomenon," he says. He explains that such resistance develops in a small percentage of cancer cells when they develop a "P-glycoprotein mediated pump" capable of pushing anti-cancer agents out of the cell before they can kill it.

"A multi-drug resistant cell requires a tremendous amount of energy to run the pump and extrude things out of the cell," Purdue head pharmacolgist says. "When we mess with the energy supply, it kills the cell!"

You will hear claims that one exciting study at Purdue showed that an acetogenin in Graviola was selectively cytotoxic to colon adenocarcinoma cells in which it showed 10,000 times the potency of adriamycin (a chemotherapy drug).

What Dr. X.X. Liu and colleagues actually stated in 1999 was that: "Annoglacins A and B were selectively 1000 and 10,000 times, respectively, more potent than Adriamycin against the human breast carcinoma (MCF-7) and pancreatic carcinoma (PACA-2) cell lines in our panel of six human solid tumor cell lines."

But these were annoglacins, from a different tree altogether! (Annona glabra, a Polynesian tree called the pond or alligator apple).

There is no question, however, of the power of derivatives of the annona species. Another study showed that six acetogenins (four known and two newly discovered) exhibited significant activity in cytotoxic tests against two human hepatoma cell lines [J Nat Prod. 2002 Apr;65(4):470-5].

Another review in the Skaggs Scientific Report 1997-1998 states, "Annonaceous acetogenins, particularly those with adjacent bis-tetrahydrofuran (THF) rings, have remarkable cytotoxic, antitumor, antimalarial, immunosuppressive, pesticidal, and antifeedant activities.

Mode of action studies in three separate laboratories have shown that acetogenins are superb inhibitors of the mitochondrial electron transport systems from several tissues and organisms, including tumors. Mitochondria are the life energy machines within the cells, so screwing up that mechanisms would be expected to have disastrous effects on a cell.

The great thing is that Graviola is pretty non-toxic (unlike chemo). The dose required to kill cancer cells is way below that which will injure healthy human cells.

As an MD with over 30 years experience prescribing cancer alternative remedies (not simply herbs) I recommend Graviola for anyone battling cancer. But please remember what you get in capsules bought on the Internet may bear little relation to the strength of substances used in these trials.

Keith Scott-Mumby is an internationally-known British MD, now resident in California. He is author of several books on alternative health, most notably in the field of diet, allergies and nutrition. The European media dubbed him the world's "Number One Allergy Detective". His main website is http://www.alternative-doctor.com A masterful and comprehensive synopsis of cancer alternative therapies can be found at: http://www.CancerConfidential.com
Scott-Mumby is professor of nutrition at the Open International University for Complementary Medicines and was professor of energy medicine at the demised Capital University of Integrative Medicine, Washington DC.
He was elected fellow of the Royal College of Practitioners, Colombo, for his contributions to alternative medicine.

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