For many people with cancer, surgical removal of a primary tumor offers the best chance for survival. But what you may not know is that this procedure can backfire. Surgery can do more than get rid of the tumor. It can actually cause remaining cancer cells to spread to other areas. And this secondary metastasis is often more dangerous than the original tumor.

Once you understand the nature of the problem, though, you can take steps to protect yourself from surgery-induced metastasis. But unless you do, you’re at an increased risk for a recurrence that can be fatal.

We all have cancer cells in our bodies, but not all cancer cells form into tumors. A series of events that occur naturally within us keeps most harmless cells from turning into cancer cells that can adhere to the lining of blood vessels and become metastatic. But surgery can alter these steps.

Cancer surgery can lead to a lethal recurrence of cancer. And it can take years after the surgery for it to appear. When you have surgery, it can increase cell adhesion, suppress immunity, grow new blood vessels to feed malignant cells, and increase inflammation. Any of these can create an environment that puts you at risk for a potentially deadly recurrence.

Increasing adhesion: There are adhesion molecules like the one called galectin-3 that sit on the surface of cancer cells and allow cancer cells to stick together and form tumors. They can also allow malignant cells to stick to the lining of blood vessels. In both cases, they take individual cells that are unable to clump into tumors and alter them so that they can. One study showed that surgery could increase the adhesion of cancer cells to blood vessel linings by 250%! And this comes at a time when your body produces additional blood vessels to help heal wounds. More blood vessels and greater adhesion is a deadly combination.

Fortunately, there is a natural substance that can prevent this adhesion. It’s the one supplement I give every patient with cancer. I also give it to anyone who has had cancer in the past or who is at an increased risk. The nutrient is modified citrus pectin (MCP). MCP binds to the adhesion molecules on the surface of cancer cells and prevents them from sticking together. Unless they can form clusters, cancer cells will die.

The strongest MCP product, and the one I suggest for pre- and post-surgery protection, is PectaSol-C from Econugenics (800-308-5518). It is the only galectin-3 inhibitor used in scientific studies. The suggested dose is five grams, three times a day taken five days before and after surgery.

Use this heartburn medicine
to make MCP work better

An unlikely, effective, partner to MCP is cimetidine, known as Tagamet®. You’ve probably heard of Tagamet, as most doctors use it to treat heartburn. This acid-suppressing drug blocks an adhesion molecule on the lining of blood vessels. When taken by a group of colon cancer patients for just one week at the time of surgery (800 mg/day), cimetidine increased survival significantly. I would use both.

Suppressing immunity: Natural killer cells (NK) are white blood cells whose job it is to seek out cancer cells and destroy them. After surgery, when immunity is most vulnerable, NK activity plummets. Researchers found that women with breast cancer have half as many NK cells the day after surgery.

It may be even more important to boost your immunity before a diagnosis. One study found that people with low NK activity before colon cancer surgery had a 350% increased risk of metastasis during the next 2½ years. And surgery, itself, suppresses NK activity, so a strong immune system will protect you from cancer and its recurrences.

A number of substances enhance NK action according to numerous studies. These include MCP, garlic, glutamine, lactoferrin, and medicinal mushrooms. MCP tops my list, followed by medicinal mushrooms.

My personal favorite mushroom formula is MycoPhyto^® Complex — a combination of mushrooms grown on immune-enhancing herbs. I’ve used this formula successfully to boost immunity with patients, friends, and family for nearly a decade. I suggest taking two capsules or more three times a day for protection from surgery-induced metastasis as well as for anyone who wants a stronger immune system. You can get it from Advanced Bionutritionals (800-791-3395).

Growing new blood vessels: In order to survive, cancer cells need food. Tumors get their food from blood vessels. If there are none nearby, the body makes them from existing blood vessels. This process is angiogenesis.

Now, here’s where surgery’s connection comes in. When there’s a primary tumor, something in its very presence inhibits angiogenesis. But when the surgeon removes the tumor, angiogenesis is able to take place. It becomes easier for cancer cells to attract new blood vessels — and now the cancer can spread to other areas.

The idea with surgery is to remove a tumor without causing renegade cancer cells to migrate to other areas, take hold, and grow. There are supplements and medications that can help prevent this surgery-induced metastasis.

Among the substances found in studies to stop angiogenesis are MCP (in the form of PectaSol-C) and EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate), a substance found in green tea. Angiogenesis is such a vital component of cancer metastasis that I would use both.

PectaSol-C has excellent studies on its ability to inhibit angiogenesis (5 grams, 3 times a day). It tops my list. Next, I’d use green tea (2-3 cups a day), green tea extract (800-791-3395), or its active ingredient, EGCG (found in health food stores). Take either as directed for added support.

Causing inflammation: Cancer surgery increases the production of inflammatory chemicals and enzymes. One of these enzymes, COX-2, increases both angiogenesis and cancer cell adhesion to blood vessel walls.

COX-2 inhibitors include Celebrex® and NSAIDs like aspirin and ibuprofen. The problem is that they all have side effects I’ve talked about before. While they may reduce inflammation, they can have consequences. There are safer anti-inflammatories like curcumin, EGCG, fish oil, and resveratrol. Some of these are even more effective than pharmaceuticals.

For example, in a study at New York’s Memorial Sloan-Kettering Center, resveratrol completely blocked COX-2 activity, as well as its production within human breast cells. This is significant when you realize that levels of COX-2 are higher in cancer cells than in healthy cells by as much as 150%.

I have talked about these supplements extensively in past newsletters, and they’re available to you for free on my website. To protect against surgery-induced metastasis, I suggest strong anti-inflammatory herbal formulas like Reduloxin with curcumin and Advanced Resveratrol Formula (800-791-3395). If you’re also on a diet that reduces inflammation, two capsules of each twice a day should be helpful.

Your diet plays a pivotal role in lowering inflammation. Begin by eliminating two key triggers: sugar and gluten. Sugar is cancer’s food. Stop feeding those hungry cells. Stevia and Xylitol are two safe substitutions. Avoid cane sugar, honey, and alcohol, and limit your fruit to one or two pieces of whole fruit a day. I’ve seen gluten sensitivity (found in wheat, rye, and barley) in many people with serious chronic illnesses like cancer. To reduce inflammation I suggest you stop all gluten today and remain gluten-free until at least one month past cancer surgery. Longer would be better.

For more information on a program to guard against surgery-induced metastasis, along with suggested doses, see www.lef.org/cancersurgery. Studies on PectaSol-C are available through EcoNugenics (www.econugenics.com/pectasolc).

www.lef.org/cancersurgery

How a High-Fat Diet Destroys Bone, and Which Fruit to Eat to Increase Your Bone Density

Every woman over the age of 50 I talk to is concerned about preventing or reversing bone loss. But few of them know that high cholesterol can be a risk factor. This is unfortunate. You see, there’s a connection between cholesterol and osteoporosis. Although we’re finding that high cholesterol is not necessarily a predictor of heart disease, you should know that it can cause your bones to become thinner. The good news is that there is a food that can help prevent bones from breaking.

We know that people with osteoporosis tend to have elevated cholesterol. And we also know that drugs that lower cholesterol reduce bone fractures. So one way to protect your bones is to reduce your cholesterol. Not your total cholesterol. That’s not a sign of bone loss. And not your HDL (healthy cholesterol), but your LDL (lousy cholesterol). The problem is with high amounts of oxidized LDL cholesterol — the most harmful kind. I’ve talked about it in detail in past articles available on my website.

Researchers at the David Geffen School of medicine at UCLA were aware that this connection existed, but they wanted to understand why. They focused a study, published in Clinical Immunology (Aug 20, 2009), on what happens when T cells come into contact with oxidized LDL cholesterol. T cells, you might remember, are white blood cells that are an important part of the immune system. Now we have additional information to support and better understand their findings.

Originally, this team mixed T cells from the blood of healthy humans with
oxidized LDL and watched with fascination as the T cells produced a chemical called RANKL. RANKL is a chemical that is involved in the immune response — and this is a good thing. But it also stimulates cells whose only purpose is to destroy bone!

The researchers’ next step was to focus on oxidized cholesterol and repeat this experiment with laboratory animals along with measuring their bone density. They observed mice over a period of 11 months that were fed either a normal diet or a high-fat diet. Those on a high-fat diet not only had high cholesterol, their bones were also thinner than those in the mice that ate a healthier diet.
And that’s not all.

They saw that the T cells from the mice that ate more fats actually turned on the gene that makes RANKL. Head researcher Rita Effros explains, “It’s normal for our T cells to produce small amounts of RANKL during an immune response. But when RANKL is manufactured for long periods or at the wrong time, it results in excessive bone damage.” The high cholesterol caused by a high-fat diet increased their oxidized LDL which triggered the T cells to keep making RANKL.

Step One: reduce oxidized cholesterol

Not smoking and avoiding deep fried foods is your first step in reducing oxidized LDL. The next step is to include a lot of antioxidants in your diet and supplements.

Dietary antioxidants are found in all fresh fruits and vegetables. But scientists have found that one fruit surpasses all others in preserving and increasing bone density. I think it will surprise you as it did me to hear that prunes offer you the greatest protection against osteoporosis.

That’s right, prunes.

They out-performed figs, dates, strawberries, and even raisins. No one knows exactly why.

Researchers at Florida State University gave 55 women 10 prunes a day for one year. The control group of 34 women ate an equivalent amount of dried apples. Both groups took just 500 mg of calcium and 400 IU of vitamin D.

At the end of the year there was a considerably greater increase in bone
density in the spine and forearms of the women who ate the prunes. These scientists believe that prunes slow down bone breakdown. So pack up a baggie of prunes for snacks mid-morning and early afternoon. Or add them to your breakfast.

Step Two: boost your immune system

You’re at an increased risk for osteoporosis when a low immune response is added to high levels of oxidized cholesterol. So an important and often overlooked part of the osteoporosis solution is to have a healthy immune system. This becomes more of a challenge during the winter months when we’re exposed to colds, flu, and bacteria. Two supplements that will help support your immune system and protect your bones are probiotics (friendly bacteria) and medicinal mushrooms.

Take them morning and evening so they remain in your bloodstream throughout the day. There are many products to choose from that you can find in health food stores. The ones I take and have found give exceptional protection are Advanced Probiotic Formula and MycoPhyto Complex from Advanced Bionutritionals (800-791-3395). I have my patients take two of each, two or three times a day at the first sign of a cold or flu.

Osteoporosis is not merely a bone disease. It’s a sign of other imbalances within your body.

When Good Foods Are Bad for You

When I heard a talk on raw foods given by Canadian dietician and cookbook author Vesanto Melina, I was shocked to hear that some of the foods we think of as being particularly healthful can have the opposite effect. I’ve known Vesanto for more than 30 years, so I knew that like me, her information is always based on the latest sound science. If she was saying that these foods were not as safe as we thought, I knew you’d want to know about them.

Vesanto is a pioneer and expert in vegetarian, vegan, and raw foods diets. Along with Brenda Davis, RD, she has written Becoming Vegetarian, Becoming Vegan, and now Becoming Raw (Book Publishing Co, 2010). Ever since I met her, Vesanto has been a vegan (vegetarian with no dairy), but she doesn’t promote any particular diet for others except a healthful one. She’s interested in getting clear information out so that people can make their own informed choices. That’s where knowing about these not-so-beneficial foods comes in.

Many people believe that raw foods are more healthful than cooked foods. This is not always the case. Some raw foods contain toxins that are eliminated by heating them. Take sprouts, for instance. We think of them as being packed with valuable nutrients. And they are. But they also contain substances that can have nasty side effects. Here are a few foods that are not as good for you as you may think when they’re eaten raw.

Alfalfa sprouts are often used in sandwiches instead of lettuce because they’re so high in nutrients. Higher, in fact, than lettuce. In the past few years, alfalfa sprouts have been implicated in cases of food poisoning. Like just about all other foods, they can become contaminated with pathogenic bacteria. But that’s not why you may want to avoid them — or at least keep your intake of them low.

Alfalfa sprouts contain L-canavanine (LCN), which is a nonprotein amino acid that can interrupt enzyme activity and metabolism. If you eat a lot of them often, or if you have an autoimmune disease like lupus, you could have side effects like pain in your joints, rashes, fatigue, and flu-like symptoms. These symptoms generally occur when you eat several cups of alfalfa sprouts daily, but they have been seen in people who take alfalfa tablet supplements. My recommendation: avoid alfalfa tablets and eat alfalfa sprouts sparingly.

Buckwheat sprouts contain a toxin called fagopyrin that can cause extreme sensitivity to light. This sensitivity can cause swelling, itching, and skin irritation. Since you need to eat a good quantity of buckwheat sprouts to get a reaction, you might think this is a non-problem. But they’re used frequently in raw vegan diets. And more people are adding nutrient-filled foods made for specialized diets to their own diets. Some are growing their own sprouts. If you do, be sure to sprout them in the dark. Light causes the sprouts to be greener — and increases the fagopyrin. My recommendation: Avoid buckwheat sprouts in juices and supplements, and eat them sparingly.

Sprouted soybeans and chickpeas are two raw legumes to avoid, although many others can also make you sick. These two legumes are highest in substances that block the absorption of nutrients like hemagglutinins and trypsinn inhibitors. The only way around this is to cook legumes thoroughly.

Sprouted chickpeas may sound healthful, but they’re not. To be safe, you need to boil the presoaked beans for half an hour, or simmer them for two hours. Side effects from uncooked or undercooked beans may include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

While peas and lentils do not appear to contain these toxic substances, a good rule of thumb is to eat only well-cooked legumes. Soaking or sprouting them is not enough to make all of them safe to eat. Two legumes that can be safely sprouted and eaten raw are lentils and mung beans.

Shiitake mushrooms can boost your immune system and fight cancer or they can have the opposite effect. It all depends on whether they’re raw or cooked. Raw shiitake mushrooms contain hydrazines, which are carcinogenic and toxic to your liver. They cause photosensitivity and dermatitis in some people.

The shiitake contains another toxic chemical that will surprise you: formaldehyde! Other fruits and vegetables do, too, but to a much lesser degree. The amount of formaldehyde that was found in raw shiitake mushrooms exceeded safe limits according to one study reported by Vesanto in Becoming Raw. Just cooking them for six minutes is enough to significantly reduce the formaldehyde.

If you use dried shiitake mushroom powder or capsules, don’t take too much of them. Daily consumption of one tablespoon of the powder, or sixteen capsules, has caused abdominal discomfort and abnormal blood count in participants of two studies.

This is not meant to discourage you from using shiitake mushrooms as part of a healing program. Just make sure you either cook them or don’t overuse them in supplements. I take as much as two capsules three times a day of the powerful medicinal mushroom blend MycoPhyto Complex. It contains some shiitake as
well as other mushrooms. This formula is perfectly safe. You can get more information on it from Advanced Bionutritionals (800-791-3395).

NUTRITION DETECTIVE

The High-Cholesterol Food That Saves Your Heart

Most doctors tell you to avoid high cholesterol foods. When it’s fried in oil, this is a good idea. But not all high cholesterol foods are bad for you. In fact, one of my favorite high-cholesterol foods can protect your heart.

Let’s begin by understanding that moderately high cholesterol — in the low 200s — is not necessarily a risk factor for heart disease. And foods that are naturally high in cholesterol do not necessarily raise your blood levels of cholesterol, either.

Your liver manufacturers most of the cholesterol in your body. The more congested your liver, the more cholesterol it makes. There’s no need to completely avoid animal products that contain cholesterol. The key is to keep your intake of foods high in animal fats low, and balance them with plenty of vegetables and fruits. This keeps your liver from getting congested and making more cholesterol than your body needs.

High-cholesterol foods have received a bad rap. This is unfortunate, because some can be downright beneficial. Take eggs, for instance. They protect your heart and brain and lower high blood pressure.

Egg yolks are one of the most misunderstood foods. They’re higher in choline, a nutrient that can protect you from breast cancer and memory loss, than any other food. Adding eggs into your diet can be much more beneficial than harmful.

A report published in the ACS’ Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry found that eggs can reduce your blood pressure. And high blood pressure does put you at increased risk for heart disease.

Canadian researchers found that enzymes in the stomach and small intestines make several different natural ACE inhibitors when they come into contact with some of the proteins in eggs. ACE inhibitor prescription drugs lower blood pressure. So eggs are natural ACE inhibitors — and don’t have any side effects.
So far, research on eggs and blood pressure has been limited to laboratory tests. I expect we’ll see human studies in the future. Meanwhile, if you enjoy eggs and have high blood pressure, try eating one or two eggs a day. By the way, fried eggs had higher ACE inhibiting activity than boiled eggs. We don’t know why.

Wu, J. and K. Majumdeer. “Angiotensin: Converting enzyme inhibitory peptides from simulated in vitro gastrointestinal digestion of cooked eggs,” Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, February 11, 2009.

LETTERS

Q: When I told my doctor I thought I should take extra vitamin D because I don’t spend much time outdoors, he gave me a prescription for Drisdol. Is that the same as the vitamin D in my neighborhood health food store? What’s the best vitamin D, and how much should I take?— S.W., e-mail

A: It’s nice that your doctor recognized you have a need for supplemental vitamin D. But Drisdol is a poor choice. Not only is it an expensive prescription drug (around $2/pill vs. $10/month), a large comparative analysis of 50 scientific studies found it’s only one-third as effective in raising vitamin D levels as the vitamin D3 you can buy in any drug or health food store. No wonder. Drisdol, which is vitamin D2, is made by irradiating fungi and plants, while vitamin D3 is produced naturally.

How much vitamin D you need depends on your year-round exposure to sunlight as well as your age. As we get older, our skin is less able to produce vitamin D from sunlight. And few places in the world have enough sunlight to meet our body’s needs. So the older you are, the more vitamin D you may need. I take 5,000 IU of vitamin D3 from Advanced Bionutritionals (800-791-3395) every day. That’s what my body needs according to blood tests. And it’s what most people need.

A few people may be able to get away with 2,000 IU/day, but probably not less. A blood test will tell you if you can take the lower amount. Your levels should be from 60-70 ng/mL, according to Dr. John J Cannell (www.vitamindcouncil.org). Less than that can cause symptoms of a deficiency. These can include osteoporosis, cancer, and diabetes.

Q: I like your multivitamin, but I try to stay away from plastic. I have had cancer in the past and I know that some plastics are carcinogenic. I would like to know why your Women’s Vitality supplements come in little plastic bags. Would you consider packaging it without the plastic? — A.L., e-mail

A: Good news! Healthy Resolve, which used to be called Women’s Vitality, is no longer packaged in plastic bags, so you can order them again. The old packaging was a way of combining one serving of the multi along with a single essential-fat formula. But with new information about fish oils and cardiovascular disease, many people, like me, take more than two capsules of these beneficial fats a day. Others may feel that they get enough from their diet.

So we’re now making each of these two formulas available in separate bottles. You can get capsules of purified fish oils (Daily Omega) guaranteed to contain absolutely no contaminants from Advanced Bionutritionals (800-791-3395) to go with your Healthy Resolve multi. Together, these two supplements give the same protection as Women’s Vitality did — without the plastic bags.

I’m not convinced that putting supplements in little plastic bags is a risk for breast cancer since there’s no heat that comes in contact with them. Heat causes the BPA in some plastics to break down and become a risk factor. But I believe in erring on the side of caution. So I’m with you. I prefer using supplements that don’t come into contact with plastics. The plastic bottles that all supplements from Advanced Bionutritionals come in are all BPA-free.