More than a dozen years ago, I wrote about a natural alternative to surgery or freezing for removing cancerous and pre-cancerous lesions on the skin. The solution was cancer salves. An herbalist friend of mine had used one product successfully on a nasty tumor on her dog’s face. It responded beautifully to this treatment, and surgery was unnecessary. Then I found out that an oncologist friend who practiced integrative medicine found cancer salves to be safe and effective on many of his patients.

So I wrote about these salves, made from herbs and other natural substances, in my newsletter. They do work.

However, before you make your decision, let me tell you about a new product created by a researcher who has spent the last 25 years perfecting it. It’s not caustic, and it’s both safe and simple to use. Unlike cancer salves, it has been the focus of a number of scientific studies.

Originally created as a remedy for farm animals, this refined eggplant extract, called Curaderm BEC5, has now been studied in Phase III clinical trials both in the UK and in Australia. It passed all tests with flying colors. In one study, when the participants applied this cream twice daily for eight weeks, it eradicated 78% of non-melanoma cancers. After 12 weeks, the success rate was 100%. Its only side effect was a rash in two out of 50,000 patients.

If you’ve been reading my newsletter for long, you know I always prefer information that’s backed with scientific studies. And researchers have tested Curaderm BEC5 on thousands of people.

The vegetable that cures cancer

Dr. Bill E. Cham, PhD, has spent those 25 years researching and developing this cream that treats two common cancers: basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, as well as sun spots and warts. It is not recommended for melanomas, a form of skin cancer that can spread to internal organs and be deadly. But by all indications this cream is both safe and effective for non-melanoma cancers.

Cham based his formula on a purified mixture of chemicals that occurs naturally in eggplants. Many other anticancer drugs work by interfering with the cell division process. Or by slowly starving cancer cells. This cream is unique. It rapidly kills most skin cancers while leaving healthy cells alone.

You can get more information by calling 415-992-5563, or on the Internet at www.curaderm.net. Curaderm BEC5 costs a little over $125 for a 20 ml tube, which is enough to treat around a dozen small skin cancers. It’s available in many health food stores and through www.amazon.com.

You also can get Dr. Cham’s valuable book, The Eggplant Cancer Cure (Smart Publications, 2007) from Curaderm’s website. The book contains numerous pictures of severe skin cancers that were treated with Curaderm BEC5 and completely cured with no recurrence after five years. This cream impresses me. It also impressed Dr. Jonathan Wright, one of the country’s most knowledgeable doctors of integrative medicine, who wrote the forward to this book.

Non-melanoma skin cancers are common, and so are the traditional surgical and freezing treatments. But there are times when you might prefer a do-it-yourself approach, or use a product that leaves minimal if any scarring. Both the cancer salves and Curaderm BEC5 topical cream are options to consider. Just remember to have your dermatologist, plastic surgeon, or other specialist monitor your progress for you.

http://www.bionational.com/library_pages/article-017-Curaderm_Clinical_trial.html

The Drugs That Can’t Prevent Alzheimer’s and Two Nutrients That Can

Over the years, there has been a lot of talk linking high cholesterol to Alzheimer’s disease. If this was the case, then statins, which doctors prescribe to lower cholesterol, should prevent this progressive illness. They don’t. In fact, some studies suggest that statins are partially responsible for Alzheimer’s.

While a few animal studies have found that Alzheimer’s symptoms slowed down when researchers reduced their cholesterol, this wasn’t true when it came to human studies. Still, we’re being told that statins can prevent Alzheimer’s.

Who should you believe? If you want to know whether or not a scientific study has merit, look to see if the Cochrane Collaboration has reviewed it. If they have, pay attention to what they have to say. This is an international organization that evaluates medical research and draws its conclusions based on the study’s content and quality. If a Cochrane report gives its stamp of approval to a study, you can trust their information.

A recent Cochrane review followed more than 26,000 people over a period of three to five years and found that statins didn’t affect their cognition one way or another. Bernadette McGuinness, the study’s lead author, said, “From these trials, which contained very large numbers and were the gold standard … it appears that statins given in late life to individuals at risk of vascular disease do not prevent dementia.”

Statins not only fail to protect against Alzheimer’s, says the Cochrane review, individual cases found them to actually impair cognition. And no studies showed them to be beneficial. Not one. Still, prescribing statins for numerous conditions is on the rise because they make a lot of money for pharmaceutical companies.

In many cases, doctors prescribe statins to lower cholesterol levels that are already perfectly safe in people who have no other risk factors for heart disease. Don’t be fooled or bullied into taking statins for memory protection. Remember that total cholesterol is only one risk factor for heart disease — and then only with oxidized LDL cholesterol. And now we know it doesn’t appear to be a risk factor for Alzheimer’s. Don’t take a statin to protect your memory. There are better — and cheaper — solutions. Two of the best are vitamin D and turmeric.

How vitamin D protects you from Alzheimer’s

Every week, I read another study that links low levels of vitamin D to another chronic illness. Almost everyone has low levels. That’s because you get only small amounts of vitamin D from spending time outdoors. If you use sunscreen, you’re getting even less.

Recent studies have found a direct association with this vitamin/hormone and Alzheimer’s disease. It involves myeloid beta, a main ingredient in the plaque that forms in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients.

Researchers at the UCLA School of Medicine have been examining the role
of vitamin D3 in preventing Alzheimer’s disease. They found that vitamin D3 helps stimulate the production of macrophages, immune cells that eat up amyloid beta and other waste products in the brain.

Past studies found that low levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 appear to be associated with cognitive decline. In some cases, adding vitamin D3 alone was effective. In others, vitamin D3 combined with curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric, worked better.
The researchers believe it’s premature to suggest an ideal dosage of vitamin D, but numerous studies available from the Vitamin D Council, a non-profit educational organization, (www.vitamindcouncil.org) suggest that blood levels of vitamin D3 should be between 50-80 ng/mL. Most people I’ve seen have levels of 30 ng/mL or lower. Traditional medical doctors believe the lower levels are sufficient. I emphatically disagree. Low levels of vitamin D have been found in just about every chronic illness you can name.

I found that taking 5,000 IU of vitamin D3 a day raised my vitamin D levels from 29 ng/mL to 80 ng/mL. My recommendation is to get a blood test so that
you know how much vitamin D your body needs. Your doctor can order a blood test to check your levels, or you can get a kit from ZRT Labs (866-600-1636) without a doctor’s involvement. You can find vitamin D3 in any health food store or pharmacy. Advanced Bionutritionals has vitamin D3 in 5,000 IU doses. That’s the one I use. Blood tests show it takes that much to keep my levels where I want them.

Turmeric and Alzheimer’s

There are two types of macrophages, the immune cells that eat amyloid beta plaque. One type responds to the addition of vitamin D3. The other needs both vitamin D and curcumin, a potent anti-inflammatory chemical found in turmeric. This makes sense, because inflammation is present in Alzheimer’s disease.

Your next step

So if you’re serious about preventing Alzheimer’s, add vitamin D3 and turmeric to your supplement regimen. A drug made with synthetic curcumin, like the one used in this recent study, is more powerful and better absorbed than the turmeric you can find in stores or on the Internet. But I have found a turmeric supplement that is 29 times stronger than others. It’s a patented natural extract called Meriva®. You can find more information on this extract in the October 2011 issue of my newsletter, available on my website.

I take Reduloxin, an anti-inflammatory formula that includes Meriva. The bottom line is, if you want to protect yourself from Alzheimer’s disease — and guard against many other illnesses at the same time — boost your levels of vitamin D and Meriva and forget the statins. You can order both Vitamin D and Reduloxin by calling 800-791-3395.

McGuinness B, et al. “Statins for the prevention of dementia.” Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2009, Issue 2.

University of California - Los Angeles Health Scie. “How Vitamin D May Help Clear Amyloid Plaques Found In Alzheimer’s.” Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 8 March 2012. Web.

How Grief Can Make You Sick or Help You Heal

I was around six or seven years old when I first experienced grief. I knew something was different when I saw mother in the hall near the front door, crying. When I walked over to her, she held me in her arms and sobbed. Primo, our Scottish terrier, had been hit by a car and died, she explained.

Primo’s death was my first introduction to the loss of a loved one. Throughout that afternoon, mother and I held each other and cried. Without knowing what she was doing, mother’s reaction to Primo’s death taught me how to grieve. Usually stoic, this time she let her feelings come out. I did, too, and that’s when our healing began.

Since then, like you, I have met grief many times through the loss of my parents, other relatives, friends, and other pets. And I have seen the chronic stress caused by held-in grief lead to immune problems and other serious illnesses.

But grief does not have to be your enemy. It can help you heal if you move through it. Chronic stress that occurs from getting stuck in grief, not grief itself, is the problem.

How stress makes you sick

I’ve talked many times about how inflammation is at the source of many diseases. And now we know that stress can lead to illnesses. A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed for the first time that emotional stress affects the regulation of inflammation. It does this by decreasing tissue sensitivity to the hormone cortisol.

Study leader, Sheldon Cohen, explains: “When under stress, cells of the immune system are unable to respond to hormonal control, and consequently, produce levels of inflammation that promote disease. Because inflammation plays a role in many diseases such as cardiovascular, asthma, and autoimmune disorders, this model suggests why stress impacts them as well.”

Cohen’s team found that prolonged stress can cause immune cells to become unable to respond to hormonal signals that regulate inflammation. This results in viruses like the common cold as well as more serious illnesses.

But that’s not all. Chronic stress triggers the production of the insoluble
tau protein aggregates in the brain cells of mice — the substance that leads to Alzheimer’s disease. This does not occur with a single episode of stress that comes and goes, but with repeated episodes. That’s why it’s so important to constantly move through your grief.

To do this, you need to find effective ways to grieve.

What’s the best way to grieve?

Some people cry silently or sob, like my mother. Other people scream in their cars or at the ocean where other noises drown them out. Some find that talking with a friend or a therapist is helpful.

Still others write down their feelings in a journal or create a ceremony about their loved one.

Susan Whitmore, founder of griefHaven (www.griefhaven.org), a nonprofit organization that supports parents of children who have died, and siblings whose brothers and sisters have died, says, “The only wrong way to grieve is not to grieve at all.” And the best way to move through grief is to do whatever works for you. She advises that we grieve at our own pace in our own way.

How to grieve and stay well

During this time of grieving, there are things you can do to minimize the effects of stress on your body. We know that chronic stress can make you sick, and “chronic” means anything that lasts more than three months. So the loss of a loved one often results in chronic stress.

No one talks about how to stay healthy during this time of mourning. It’s a time when you may not want to eat, or when you want to overeat junk foods. So I’d like to give you a few tips to keep you from getting sick while you’re moving through the grieving process.

You may have lost your appetite or find that foods are suddenly tasteless. You may not be able to eat a normal diet because there’s a lump in your throat that doesn’t go away. It will, in time, as you let go more and move through your grief.

A loss of appetite can be due to a zinc deficiency, because stress uses up zinc. Take 30 mg of zinc a day to improve your appetite. And treat yourself as though you were just released from the hospital after a serious illness by making easy to digest smoothies and soups. Add protein powder to both and sip them throughout the day. When you can eat more solid foods, gradually introduce them back into your diet.

If all you want is a comfort food like ice cream, eat some – in addition to, not instead of, nutrient-dense drinks.

Don’t forget to drink water throughout the day. Crying is dehydrating. And there’s another reason: your adrenal glands, which sit on top of your kidneys (renals), handle stress and need water to function well. So drink plenty of water or hot herb tea.

Rescue Remedy is a combination of Bach Flower essences that really works to reduce anxiety and stress. It comes in a liquid or in pastilles. You can find it in health food stores. I have used it on myself and on pets, and watched it calm down people in the throes of grief.

Perhaps most important, exercise and breathe. Take a walk — to the end of your block if that’s all you can do. Or simply take two or three slow, deep breaths whenever you think of it.

Grieving is hard work, and it can be debilitating. But it doesn’t have to make you sick. By moving through it, it can even make you stronger.

Cohen, Sheldon, Denise Janicki-Deverts, William J. Doyle, Gregory E. Miller, Ellen Frank, Bruce S. Rabin, and Ronald B. Turner. “Chronic stress, glucocorticoid receptor resistance, inflammation, and disease risk.” PNAS, April 2, 2012 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1118355109

University of California - San Diego. “Protein Aggregates Linked To Alzheimer’s Can Stem From Chronic Stress.” Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 28 March 2012.

NUTRITION DETECTIVE

Poor Follow-Up for Celiacs Means Poor Outcomes

It’s more than a shame. It’s criminal that medical doctors receive so little training in nutrition. Without this knowledge, it’s often impossible for them to do more than diagnose a problem. They certainly don’t know enough to help their patients go on a specific diet and adhere to it.

Some diseases have no solution other than a strict change in diet, and in these cases, doctors are at a loss as to what to do. Many do nothing. Take celiac disease (CD) – a serious digestive condition with no treatment other than strict adherence to a gluten-free diet. Celiacs must avoid all traces of wheat, rye, and barley for the rest of their lives. This includes even most soy sauces, which contain small quantities of wheat. Yet many gastroenterologists — doctors who specialize in digestive problems — don’t follow up on their patients’ progress to make sure they understand their dietary limitations and adhere to them.

In a Mayo Clinic study of 122 patients who had CD — most of whom were women — only 35% received follow-up care consistent with recommendations from the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA). CD is a chronic disease with possible long-term complications, and doctors are not caring for the majority of celiacs.

When celiacs eat even a little gluten, they damage their small intestines and are unable to absorb and utilize protein, calcium, and magnesium. This can lead to osteoporosis and malnutrition. If their doctors monitored their diets more closely and helped them succeed in eating a gluten-free diet, they could allow their intestines to heal.

Doctors aren’t diagnosing CD often enough either. If they can’t even diagnose this condition, how can they follow up to make sure their patients go on a gluten-free diet and stick to it? A Mayo Clinic analysis found that around 1.8 million Americans have this condition, but 1.4 million don’t even know they have it. It’s time to take matters into your hands. If you suspect you have CD, contact EnteroLab (972-686-6869) and ask them to help you get the best test for genetic gluten sensitivity and CD.

Then, if you have CD, read some of my past articles on the subject and go gluten-free. Don’t wait for your doctor to help you. That’s not likely to happen. Instead, work with a medical professional that has a strong success rate in helping celiacs thrive.

American Gastroenterological Association. “Poor Medical Follow-Up in Celiac Disease Often Leaves Patients to Cope On Their Own.” Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 27 July 2012.

LETTERS

Q: You have said that many of us lack sufficient stomach acid, but not which ingredients in Integrative Digestive Formula (IDF) help correct this. — M.V., e-mail

A: IDF is the single supplement I found several years ago that does more than enzymes and/or HCl. It works by stimulating the production of HCl so that your body makes what it needs naturally. The idea is to retrain your digestive process so you don’t need to take additional enzymes and HCl. This is a slower process than simply taking a supplement that addresses your symptoms. It’s correcting imbalances in many aspects of digestion. IDF contains a number of herbs that help with this process. I’ll give you a few examples.

In Chinese medicine, poor digestion is often a sign of a cold, stagnant digestion. Cardamom fruit (Elettaria cardomomum) strengthens HCl secretions and warms the stomach, improving digestion. Pomegranate seed (Punica granatum) strengthens bile flow, which helps you digest fats. It also contributes to the production of HCl.

The herbs in this formula reduce intestinal gas, relieve heartburn and nausea, and provide nutrients like zinc that enzymes need to work. Along with the many ingredients specific to healing the digestive tract and restoring balance, IDF also contains small amounts of enzymes to assist stomach enzymes in the digestion process.

I suggest you try taking one capsule of IDF before one to two meals daily for three to six months and see how much your digestion improves. You can order IDF by calling 800-791-3395.

Q: Once a week my family goes out for Chinese food. But my doctor has told me to avoid white rice because it can cause high blood sugar and lead to diabetes. Is it really necessary to stop eating white rice completely? — S.P., e-mail

A: You may be able to avoid having your blood sugar spike and still enjoy your weekly meal. The glycemic index (GI) rates how fast foods turn into sugar. The faster this conversion, the higher they rate on the glycemic index. White rice is higher on the GI than brown rice. But when you combine a high GI food like white rice with fats at the same meal, this combination turns into sugar more slowly than with a low-fat meal.

Now you’re not just measuring the glycemic index rating. You’re looking at the glycemic load (GL). If your Chinese meal includes some fats, your glycemic load will be low enough to avoid spiking blood sugar.

The more often you eat white rice, the higher your risk is for getting type-2 diabetes. But not all varieties of white rice have a high GI. Basmati rice has a medium GI, while Swarna — a popular variety from India — has a low GI. Low GI foods are those measured 55 and less, medium GI are those measured between 56 and 69, while high GI measures 70 and above.

I expect to see other low GI rice in stores eventually. Meanwhile, buy Basmati rice for those meals you have at home, and include some fats in your weekly Chinese meal to reduce your GL at that meal.

CSIRO Australia. (2012, July 10). “Glycemic Index Varies From One Type of Rice to Another With Most Varieties Scoring a Low to Medium GI.” Medical News Today.