September 2012 Newsletter

If we accept the premise that environmental toxins are linked to many diseases and that the foods we eat are affected by this condition, then reversing those problems should reverse the disease. If foods we consume, grown with extra hormones or pesticides, cause cancers, then eating pure foods that have no pesticides and no additives can certainly “uncause” cancer.

Logical? Yes. Possible? Absolutely.

 

One of the most prevalent causes of death in our present society is cancer. Cancer is basically the failure of the repairing and defense systems of our body.

The body’s ability to heal itself is a result of optimal nutrients that keep our system functioning. Quality foods provide those nutrients-quality being the key word.

In 1988, the U.S. Surgeon General declared that diet helps prevent cancer as well as other diseases.

Cancer-fighting foods were flying high in every newspaper, but critics emerged proving that our foods were often empty foods. Many of the cancer-fighting nutrients we cherished in our foods were gone forever!

The supplement business soon began to boom. Recently our government’s health agencies finally recognized that our foods were not giving us what we need and endorsed adding nutrients to our diet. Let’s look at some of these nutrients to see how they truly affect our health.

• Beta Carotene: Found in carrots, leafy green vegetables, sweet potatoes and spinach, has interactions that reduce cervical, most oral, stomach and lung cancers.

• Calcium: Contained in most dark-green vegetables, seeds, nuts and salmon, promotes cell metabolism along with healthy bones. The research shows that it is helpful for colon cancer.

The problem with milk and dairy products as calcium sources is two-fold: added growth hormones and the inability for some to digest dairy. It’s not by accident that with the added growth hormones in dairy, children (especially girls) are having extreme hormonal acceleration. Growth hormones, it has been documented, may contribute to multiplication of tumors. Don’t think twice-if you drink milk or eat any dairy, buy organic!

• Vitamin B6, in all sweet potatoes, leafy green vegetables, bananas, apples and carrots, assists with cervical cancer prevention and increased immune function.
• Vitamin C, found in citrus fruits, vegetables, broccoli and green peppers, improves the immune system.
• Flax seed oil contains essential fatty acids that help balance prostagladins which regulate fat metabolism, hormones, inflammation as well as the immune, cardiovascular and central nervous systems. It’s best to use either flax seed or the flax oil tablets (organic of course).

Foods that contain flax (omega-3 fatty acids) are fish, salmon, cod, haddock and, if you’re brave, sardines. Flax oil prevents breast cancer and promotes good cell function.

Selenium is a trace mineral found in vegetables and fruits which aids the body in the production of glutathione perioxidose, an enzyme that aids detoxification.

Research has been running in high gear on selenium and cancer prevention; many researchers believe selenium can make a huge difference in cancer prevention. 

At the annual meeting of the American Societies for Experimental Biology held in Washington D.C. in 1996, Dr. Larry Clark presented the results of a pioneering 10-year clinical study showing that the effects of selenium significantly cut cancer incidences and cancer death rates.

Dr. Richard Passwater reviewed numerous selenium cancer studies representing evidence that selenium dramatically cuts cancer incidence.

He summarized several studies that showed selenium had the following effects: stimulation of immune response, maintenance of cellular respiration, protection of the liver and detoxification of environmental mutagens or carcinogens.

Many of the studies show that selenium is also critical in preventing prostate cancer. Selenium receives our medal of honor for fighting cancer.

It’s obvious that food power is only as good as the quality of the food. Do we need to take nutrients? Yes! But we also need to become affiliated with productive power foods-organic, organic, organic!

Don’t listen to the hype that organic food is a waste of your money. It is not. It’s actually a waste of our lives to not eat as much organic as possible. Consider growing your own organic foods; even a small plot can yield numerous non-pesticide grown veggies.

Proper cooking is also essential. Lightly steaming veggies and eating your fruits separately all provide productive power foods.

Above all, and with great determination, work diligently at setting up a supplemental nutrient program that gives you a source of protection from our environmental ills. Develop a personalized program supervised by a holistic practitioner.

Don’t depend upon your doctor to give you permission to take nutrients-in most medical schools they have but one class on nutrition. It may be time to practice an integrative and complementary approach to your healthcare that includes both your doctor and your holistic practitioner.

Some say that believing in the more natural approach to healing is like believing in miracles. I leave you with a quote from David Ben-Gurion: “Anyone who doesn’t believe in miracles is not a realist.“

Mary Jo Ruggieri, PhD, BCPP

Wondering what to do with all of those Tomatoes in your garden? Here are some great recipes from Robyn Openshaw!

Reference: http://blog.greensmoothiegirl.com/2012/09/07/its-tomatoes-galore-at-my-house-recipes-for-you/

 

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According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, since 2007 the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum disorder has increased by 78%. Discussions in the media about Autism tend to focus on whether or not vaccines play a role, but researchers have been focusing on other factors.

One focus has been the immune system where researchers have made some extraordinary breakthroughs in discovering a link between inflammatory disorders and autism for at last one-third and maybe more of those affected. The research is well summarized in a recent New York Times article, An Immune Disorder at the Root of Autism.

Read some of the research:

Rose S, Melnyk S, Pavliv O, Bai S, Nick TG, Frye RE, James SJ.  Evidence of oxidative damage and inflammation associated with low glutathione redox status in the autism brain. Translational Psychiatry. 2012 Jul 10;2:e134. doi: 10.1038/tp.2012.61.

The August 2012 issue of Nature  discussed study results that point to the age of the father as a factor in gene mutation that could also be related to autism.  The article includes a podcast link to an interview with  Kári Stefánsson, chief executive of deCODE Genetics in Reykjavik.

About Herbal Healthcare

Herbology is the use of plants for health and wellness thus encompasses many forms of practice. It is fundamental to primary health care worldwide.

Herbology is a natural, non-toxic way to bring balance to a person’s health. It is a Holistic system of healthcare and embraces all levels of an individuals physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health.

An herbal practitioner takes a holistic approach, accessing the whole person rather than just symptoms. This is based on a philosophy that suppression of symptoms alone may not lead to complete health, because underlying problems are not addressed.

 Herbology may be used not just when ailments occur, but also to maintain the general health and vitality of patients. It is suited to people of all ages, from babies to the elderly.

Herbal health is the use of plants as the basis of the practice. It is fundamental to primary health care worldwide. It is holistic, meaning it treats the whole person, embracing all levels of an individual: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.

 

The majority of the world’s population relies on herbals as its primary form of treatment, and indeed most modern drugs originate from isolated phytochemicals (phyto – plant: a phytochemical is a chemical constituent of a plant).

Herbalism is both an ancient art and a modern science. Plants provide the principal ingredients in medicines used in most medical traditions globally. According to the World Health Organization, 80 per cent of people in the world use herbal healthcare as their primary form of healthcare.