I believe that my dear friend, nutritionist Gayle Black, would be alive today if she had received this treatment for her breast cancer. The saddest thing is, she didn’t die of cancer. With the help of a brilliant doctor of integrative medicine, they successfully eradicated her cancer. Gayle died a painful death thanks to the complications from multiple radiation treatments. Her traditional doctors insisted they were necessary.

But they weren’t. At the time of her death, she had no traces of malignancy. She died from the ravages of radiation. Her many radiation treatments burned her so badly that her body couldn’t repair itself.

Gayle was a researcher par excellence. If this new treatment had been available, she would have found it and traveled anywhere for it. But it wasn’t. Today, this new protocol for breast cancer is rapidly becoming the standard therapy in more than 200 hospitals throughout Europe. While there are fewer hospitals using this procedure in this country, I expect this to change. It looks like the traditional treatment for breast cancer patients is about to take a major shift.

This shift will save lives, possibly even yours.

A startling announcement made recently at an international conference in Madrid, Spain, is about to re-write the standard protocol for women who have lumpectomies followed by radiation. Dr. Umberto Veronesi, founder of the European Institute of Oncology, announced the results of an eight-year randomized trial that dramatically shortens radiation treatments. It also reduces the harmful effects of radiation on healthy tissues. Let me explain what it is and how it’s different from the usual surgery and radiation protocol.

Single-dose radiation

Traditionally, women with breast cancer have surgery followed by at least six weeks of radiation therapy. This heavy exposure to radiation does more than kill malignant tissues. It frequently damages healthy tissues as well, like it did with Gayle. The current protocol that oncologists are using frequently burns healthy tissues.

This new protocol, on the other hand, uses a single dose of radiation immediately after surgery. The radiation is delivered directly to the site of the tumor by a special machine called the Mobetron. This is an FDA-approved mobile Intraoperative Electron Radiation (IOERT) machine that is wheeled into the operating room.

IOERT

The Mobetron delivers a concentrated beam of radiation right into a patient’s exposed tumors. This eliminates the excessive burns that Gayle experienced. Next, the surgeon removes tumors and any surrounding malignant tissues. If any organs are in the way, the surgeon can simply move them out of the way of the IOERT beam instead of risking damage to non-cancerous tissues. This procedure is extremely effective. One dose of IOERT is equal to two to five weeks of daily radiation — without the damage to healthy tissues!

IOERT isn’t new in Europe. In fact, it’s rapidly becoming standard procedure for breast cancer radiation in many facilities. As usual, we’re lagging behind. In this country, there are fewer hospitals with the Mobetron. And there are few doctors who are even aware of this treatment.

However, the doctors at the famed Mayo Clinics know of the treatment. The Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix, AZ, treats over 100 patients a year. And the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn, has already treated more than 1,500 patients with IOERT.

It’s possible for you to find a hospital that uses this technology. To find one that has the Mobetron — and doctors with the expertise to use it — go to www.intraopmedical.com. There are facilities in California, Indiana, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Ohio.

IOERT isn’t appropriate for all women with breast cancer. It is used when there are localized tumors that haven’t spread. But if you qualify for this treatment, you may avoid much of the damages caused by radiation.

www.intraopmedical.com

www.medicalnewstoday.com

mayo clinic fact sheet IOERT

Taking Antioxidants Could Be Harmful to Your Health

Betty has been drinking a popular high-antioxidant fruit drink every day for the past six months. While the drink is expensive, Betty thinks it gives her more energy. She’s been told it will eliminate her arthritis pain. So despite its high cost, she’s willing to continue taking it to see.

In addition to this drink, Betty takes a number of high potency supplements that contain antioxidants and other vitamins and minerals. The amount of nutrients she was taking could be perfectly fine. Or they could be harmful.

For the past few years, health product marketers have been touting overpriced antioxidant juices and supplements as being miracle cures for every imaginable condition, including aging. And expensive antioxidant products are flying off the shelves.

Are they worth the price? Will a $40 bottle of antioxidant juice that lasts just one week really improve your health? Many of the claims about antioxidant superjuices are based more on testimonials than science. Although small amounts of mangosteen, acai, noni, Maqui superberries, blueberries, and pomegranate drinks and supplements are safe and protective, large quantities could have the opposite effect — and deplete your pocketbook at the same time.

The dangers of too many antioxidants

Normal amounts of vitamin C and beta-carotene have an antioxidant effect. But in large quantities, they can have a pro-oxidizing effect that can suppress your immune system. No one knows how much is too much because our individual needs vary greatly.

What’s more, we don’t know the consequences from taking high doses of antioxidants over a long period of time. We do know that taking lots of any nutrient can upset our body’s natural balance.

Here’s the real problem.

If your cells don’t absorb the nutrients properly, they can’t use these antioxidants. That’s when they can hurt you. You need to know how the nutrients you take function.

I first wrote about this six years ago. The reason I’m writing an update on the
subject is because it explains why so many people who take good quality nutrients and spend huge amounts of money on healthy foods and supplements don’t benefit from them. Fortunately, a simple lab test can change all this.

And I’ve found the only laboratory that can determine how the antioxidants you’re taking are functioning. This way you can know whether or not your supplements are working. If they’re not, the report you receive will explain how to restore nutrient balance and get optimal nutritional support. If they’re being utilized, they may be well worth their cost. If not, less may be better — and safer.

Without this lab, and its tests, you could keep taking the right nutrients and never get better.

This test measures the activity of nutrients in your cells, not in your blood. You can have sufficient amounts of nutrients in your blood, but they may not be effectively transported into your cells. This means that your cells can’t use them properly and they’re ineffective.

Don’t spend your money on antioxidant-rich products until you find out how they are functioning. While you’re at it, the same test can tell you how various vitamins, fats, and amino acids are working, too.

Function counts, not quantity

The lab that measures nutrient function within cells is SpectraCell Laboratory. Their tests are different from those that measure levels only in the blood or tissues. Other tests may show that you have high levels of antioxidants, but you can still have poor antioxidant function. Or your levels could be too high and be toxic.

The folks at SpectraCell have seen both. They’ve noticed that some people who take lots of antioxidants have very little antioxidant function within their cells. They’ve also seen people with a high antioxidant intake who have poor immune system function.

There are many possible reasons for this. Zinc is one of them. Antioxidants support your immune system by fighting free radicals, but without sufficient zinc, some antioxidants can’t respond. Zinc is often low as we age because of reduced intake and absorption or certain prescription drugs. And those superfruit drinks lack zinc.

Functional Intracellular Analysis (FIA™)

SpectraCell’s tests are called Functional Intracellular Analysis, (FIA). They evaluate how well an antioxidant or its cofactors function within lymphocytes. Lymphocytes are protective immune-system cells that carry your genetic identity. They also have the same metabolic pathways as most of our other cells. What this means is that something that works with lymphocytes is likely to work with other cells in your body.

William Shive, PhD, developed these tests two decades ago at the University of Texas. Since then, they have been constantly refined and improved. Let me explain how they work.

First, your local doctor or laboratory draws a sample of your blood. The blood is sent overnight to SpectraCell in a special collection kit. At the lab, they isolate your white blood cells and grow them in a patented media in culture plates.

This culture acts as a control media. It contains optimal amounts of various micronutrients. Then they remove each micronutrient one at a time and stimulate the cells to grow in the culture. If the lymphocytes don’t grow well, it means you’re deficient in that micronutrient. If it grows well, it means you have enough of that micronutrient to help your immune system function well.

SpectraCell offers many tests. I recommend the FIA Comprehensive 5000. It tests total antioxidant function plus the function of numerous vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. It evaluates your body’s ability to metabolize carbohydrates and glucose and your body’s sensitivity to fructose. This test is a good screening to see if your diet and supplements are truly supporting your body — or if they need adjusting. SpectraCell tests are expensive (the FIA Comprehensive 5000 runs about $295.00), but most insurance carriers including Medicare pay for them.

Your doctor can order test kits and get complete information by contacting SpectraCell at 800-227-5227 or by going to their website: www.spectracell.com. If you don’t have a doctor who will work with you to get this test, call SpectraCell and they’ll help you find someone in your area.

Betty’s evaluation indicated a lack of important nutrients needed for her anti-
oxidants to work. It also indicated an impaired immune system. When both were corrected, her arthritis pain was greatly reduced and her health improved greatly. Nutrient function could be the key to solving your health problems. Now there’s a way to measure it.

Boerner, Paula, PhD. “Functional intracellular analysis of nutritional and antioxidant status,” Journ of the Amer Nutraceutical Assn, 2001.

Reduce or Eliminate Your Back Pain for 10 Cents a Day

If you have chronic back pain, I have good news for you. I’ve found an effective therapy backed by literally thousands of scientific studies. In spite of all the research on this therapy, few doctors and other health care providers know about. It’s not another painkiller. It’s a nutrient that addresses the core reasons for some types of back pain. What’s more, it’s readily available and costs around 10 cents a day.

Pain sends more people to their doctors than any other complaint. Much of it is chronic back pain. In spite of all the available therapies, more than 25% of chronic pain patients are dissatisfied with their treatments. Along with surgery, analgesics and other drugs are the usual remedy. However, they’re not necessarily your best solution. As you may know, even commonly used aspirin and acetaminophen can have serious side effects, such as bleeding in the stomach and liver toxicity. What’s more, many of the stronger prescription drugs are expensive.

My problem is that pain medications treat your symptoms, not the underlying cause of your pain.

Recently, Stewart B Leavitt, MA, PhD, editor of Pain Treatment Topics authored a report on this nutrient published last June. Its focus was chronic muscular skeletal back pain. He based the report on 22 clinical trials. Eight experts in pain control peer-reviewed the report, and it passed their scrutiny.

Leavitt’s conclusions are likely to be dismissed by most medical doctors. Even those specializing in pain control. Why? Because this solution doesn’t come from pharmaceutical companies. And representatives from drug manufacturers with their free samples “educate” doctors about their high-priced drugs. They don’t discuss inexpensive nutrients.

So what is the nutrient? It is none other than vitamin D — the “sunshine” vitamin that appears to have a never-ending number of uses including relieving back pain. Let me explain the association between this vitamin and back pain.
You’ve probably heard that vitamin D helps build strong bones. Well, when vitamin D levels are low — and they are in many people — it can cause a cascading effect of chemical reactions that affects bone metabolism. The result is that the surfaces of bones become softer. This condition is called osteomalacia, and osteomalacia causes backaches and pain.

This softening of bones can be so mild it’s subclinical — which means you can’t identify it yet. But it could still be responsible for your pain. The problem stems from a lack of circulating calcium caused by insufficient vitamin D. So the solution is to take more D, not to take more calcium.

One of the studies in Leavitts’ report examined vitamin D levels in 360 study participants with back pain. All of them had insufficient D. When the researchers gave them supplemental vitamin D for three months, 95% of them improved! Some people found their pain completely disappeared, while others noticed a significant improvement. Every single one of the participants with the most severe deficiencies experienced relief.

But that’s not all.

Researchers in Great Britain analyzed pain scores in nearly 7,000 men and women. Women with high vitamin D levels (between 75 and 99 ng/ml) had the lowest rates of pain. Women with the lowest levels (less than 25 ng/ml) had the most pain.

If you have chronic pain, you may want to begin by getting your vitamin D levels checked with a simple blood test called 25-hydroxy-vitamin D — or 25(OH)D. Your level should be at least 50 ng/ml. Although Dr. John Cannell, one of the country’s leading experts in vitamin D, says that 80 ng/ml would be even better.

How much vitamin D should you take if you have low levels and are experiencing back pain? No one knows for sure. Your need for vitamin D is affected by age, skin color, and the severity of any deficiency. But we do know that extremely high amounts — up to 50,000 IU/day — are non-toxic and don’t appear to interfere with medications. To give you a point of reference, someone who spends hours in the sun can get 10,000 to 20,000 IU of vitamin D3 a day. And prolonged or every day exposure to sunlight doesn’t result in any vitamin D toxicity.

The recommended daily intake of vitamin D — 600 IU — is outdated and too low to correct any deficiencies. And it doesn’t take into account the fact that people are avoiding the sun and slathering themselves with sunscreen. Both of these lower their bodies’ ability to make enough vitamin D.

This vitamin, which functions like a hormone, affects bones, muscles, nerves, and numerous organs. Limit your intake and you run the risk not only of pain, but of osteoporosis, cancer, and heart disease as well.

Most knowledgeable sources today say to take 1,000 to 2,500 IU/day. I agree with Dr. John Cannell’s recommendation of 5,000 IU/day for people over the age of 50 who don’t spend time each day in the sun. Cannell said that the majority of pain patients deficient in vitamin D experienced relief after taking 5,000 to 10,000 IU/day for three months.

As we get older, our need for nutrients including vitamin D increases. If you find you have less back pain with this amount and want to lower your intake to 1,000 to 2,000 per day, do so. Personally, I take 5,000 IU every day.

You can find vitamin D3 supplements (the best absorbed form) in most health food stores. Or order 5,000 IU tablets by calling 800-728-2288.

A word of caution: Don’t throw out your medications yet or stop other treatments. Vitamin D may be all or a part of your answer. Since it won’t interfere with any other pain therapies, you may want to add it to your present regime. Then, if it reduces your pain, discuss your improvement with your doctor and decide upon your next step together. Be sure to take this article to your doctor so he or she can read Leavitt’s report.

Safe, and often effective, vitamin D may be just what you need to reduce or eliminate your pain. And at just 10 cents a day, it’s extremely affordable.

NUTRITION DETECTIVE

What You Can Learn About Stress Reduction From Emergency Room Nurses

Nurses who work in hospital emergency rooms (ERs) are under a tremendous amount of stress. This is especially true in winter months. That’s when people suffer from more respiratory problems and cardiac cases. These patients often need immediate attention. Anything that reduces an ER nurse’s level of stress is something that can benefit you and me as well.

A group of nurses from Queensland, Australia, have found a way to reduce stress levels in ER nurses. How well does it work? Remarkably, it lowered stress levels from 65% (in winter) and 54% (in summer) to an amazingly low 8%!

What’s their secret to stress reduction? A combination of massage, music, and aromatherapy. Some of the more progressive hospitals in this country are just beginning to use these therapies.

The researchers in this study randomly chose participants to receive massages from trained massage therapists. They had a massage two days a week for four months. The therapists massaged their shoulders, mid-back, neck, forehead, and temples. The participants also listened to relaxing music through headphones. The massage therapist sprayed essential oils above their heads before beginning the massage. The nurses could chose between rose, lavender, lime, or a combination of lavender, ylang ylang, bergamot, and patchouli.

If you’re under a lot of stress, look for a massage therapist who can give you this kind of treatment. It shouldn’t take much longer than 15-30 minutes. Or find a friend and give each other this brief relaxing massage. Don’t forget to turn on some relaxing music. While this study used New Age music, classical music should work beautifully.

In the past, we used to call aromatherapy and massage “alternative medicine.” Now it’s finally hitting mainstream. It’s about time!

Cooke, et al. “The effect of aromatherapy massage with music on the stress and anxiety levels of emergency nurses: comparison between summer and winter.” Journal of Clinical Nursing. 16, pages 1695-1703 (September 2007).

LETTERS

Q: My doctor says I have H. pylori. He prescribed antibiotics, but I would like to avoid taking them. Do you have any suggestions? — M.H.D., College Station, TX

A: H. pylori is a bacterial overgrowth in the stomach that upsets the body’s balance of good and bad bacteria. Left unchecked, it can lead to ulcers or even stomach and esophageal cancer.

Low stomach acid can contribute to this condition, so it’s best not to take an antacid while you’re eradicating H pylori. In fact, speak with your doctor. You may need to be taking supplemental hydrochloric acid (HCl).

Bismuth subsalicylate, the active ingredient in Pepto-Bismol, can also work. Doctors typically prescribe bismuth along with antibiotics. He can usually give you a stronger bismuth formula than Pepto-Bismol. Or you may find one at your local health food store. Follow the directions on the label.

Your best alternative to antibiotics is their opposite — probiotics, or friendly bacteria. I suggest you take the strongest one I know, Dr. Ohhira’s 12-Plus probiotic formula by Essential Formulas. Studies show it’s effective in eradicating H. pylori. You can order it by calling Gail Pruitt at 877-262-7843. She can help you with specific information on how much to use and for how long to it. Mention me or this newsletter for a nice discount. Chew two capsules twice a day, morning and night, on an empty stomach. It has a pleasant taste, and by chewing it, the probiotics get into your stomach, not just in your intestines.

Finally, mastic gum (500 mg twice a day after meals) and zinc-carnosine (75 mg twice daily between meals for two months) are often helpful in ridding the body of H. pylori, according to Hyla Cass, MD, in her excellent book, Supplement Your Prescription (Basic Health, 2007). Look for these nutrients at your natural foods store.

Because H. pylori is so difficult to control, even with antibiotics, I suggest you use a combination of these products for at least two months. Then have your doctor re-evaluate you. If necessary, repeat the protocol.

Q: I want to take your MycoPhyto Plus, but I have Candida. Can I take it? — N.M., North Carolina

A: Yes. There’s a big misunderstanding about Candida, mushroom supplements, and eating mushrooms or any fermented foods.

Many people think that mushrooms and fermented foods feed Candida. They don’t! Only one thing feeds Candida: sugar. So you need to avoid sugar and honey, and limit your sweets to one piece of fruit a day (at most).

The only time you should avoid mushrooms and fermented foods is if you're particularly sensitive to them. In fact, you should avoid anything that you're sensitive to, as it lowers your immune system. This means that if you have a sensitivity to wheat, eliminate every trace of it. If dairy is your problem, stop all dairy. Even though these won't feed Candida, they can lower your immune system. And that affects your body's ability to fight Candida.

If you're not sensitive, medicinal mushrooms improve your immune system and cause absolutely no problems in people with a Candida overgrowth. I've used it successfully for many years with my Candida patients.

You can order MycoPhyto Plus from Advanced Bionutritionals at 800-728-2288.