Nature's Aide

The most exciting news in biochemical research today is that numerous studies of safe, natural substances show a number of them to be effective anti-carcinogens in terms of both prevention and treatment.

What does this mean to you?

It means you don’t have to be one of the 76 million Americans now living that the American Cancer Society expects to develop cancer sometime soon, and that’s the best news I could possibly give you.

Today, cancer affects 3 out of 4 families in the United States and more of us face the disease with each passing year. Fear of cancer has become so widespread that the medical community has given it a name: “cancerophobia.”

We have every right to be afraid.

In 1900 cancer struck so few people it didn’t even rate a slot of its own on the cause of death tables. The low numbers were not due to faulty diagnosis as has sometimes been claimed in attempt to gloss over the dismal facts. Granted, advances in medicine and diagnostic techniques allow physicians to diagnose cancer in earlier stages, but
cancers that have progressed to fatal proportions were as recognizable a century ago as they are today.

From this ignominious start cancer had made the charts with a vengeance by 1950 when it not only had its own slot but also accounted for the death of one person in every eight. By 1985 all bets were off. Cancer struck one American in every three.

Today, no one wants to talk about statistics. It’s estimated that in a few years cancer will strike four out of five of us. Shortly thereafter the projection is that all of us—100 percent—will fall victim to some form of cancer. Grim news, indeed. No wonder we’re afraid.

The primary causes of this alarming rise in cancer statistics are found in our homes and offices, in the food we eat, in the water we drink, and in the air we breathe. Cancer researchers state in no uncertain terms that environmental toxins cause most of today’s cancers—around 95 percent.

The clincher to this argument is the methodology of tumor formation. Cells do not suddenly become malignant. Tumor formation is a long process of recurrent damage and gradual changes in the genetic material within the cell. The first stage in the production of a tumor is called “initiation.” Initiation occurs when an outside influence damages cellular DNA, and this “outside influence” is most likely an environmental toxin.

The leading expert in environmental medicine, Sherry A. Rogers, MD, calls us the “first experimental generation Why?” Because the human body was not designed to process the number and variety of chemicals with which we have surrounded ourselves.

Who can do something about this? You can. The quickest way to get the attention of manufacturers and marketers of products that either create toxins during manufacture or contain toxins in the finished form is to threaten the bottom line.

There are safe and sane products for almost every purpose; products that do the job as well or better than those offered by the suppliers of toxins, so quit buying from the polluters. Check out companies like Real Goods, Walnut Acres, and Harmony to find sensible solutions. For more leads try your local health foods store. Employees are
usually aware and informed.

While you’re switching to safe, non-polluting products drop a letter to the corporate offices of the products you used to buy and let them know why you’ve switched. If everyone who reads this booklet writes a letter or sends an email they’ll begin to pay attention. And the sooner they pay attention the sooner the resulting changes will put the brakes on those escalating cancer statistics.

The Best News

By far the best news about cancer concerns the natural substances that fight cancer; substances that may be useful in preventing cancer as well as in fighting established tumors.

A very important factor involving natural anti-carcinogens is that it is not a case of “either/or.” They may be used in conjunction with conventional therapies and may even prevent damage from radiation therapy and chemotherapy.

What are they? Read on. I’ll also tell you where to find these potent anti-carcinogens all wrapped up in one convenient capsule.

Leading Universities like Ohio Med, Case Western, and Rutgers have published raves concerning the anti-cancer benefits of green tea. Shark cartilage (whether or not sharks get cancer has absolutely no bearing on the action of cartilage in the human body) has been proven to cut off the blood supply needed for growth of tumors. The antioxidants in grape seed extract have been shown to protect against carcinogens like cigarette smoke.

Phytochemicals, the substances in plants that fight cancer so well they’ve made the cover of Newsweek. And, a number of herbs have been shown to stimulate an attack on cancer cells.

That’s good news, indeed. Let’s look at some of these substances in depth:

Green Tea Aces Cancer Enzyme in Latest Tests

In study after study extracts of green tea have prevented tumors in laboratory animals bred to develop cancer, shrunk malignancies, and even brought about complete remission of cancer in mice.

The latest results released from the Medical College of Ohio indicate that the polyphenols in green tea inhibit the activity of urokinase, an enzyme needed for tumor growth and one of the most frequently overproduced enzymes in human malignancies. Green tea compared favorably with the urokinase-inhibiting drug Amiloride. Intake of Amiloride must be limited to a maximum dose of 20 milligrams per day or the side effects begin to outweigh the benefits whereas green tea may be consumed in vast quantities without toxic side effects.

This news follows on the heels of a spate of good news arising from an unprecedented flurry of intensive investigation of the cancer-fighting components of green tea. Green tea appears to be about as green as it gets in terms of cancer treatment and prevention.
Initial scientific interest arose from epidemiological studies indicating dramatically lower rates of cancer (and heart disease) in regions where green tea was consumed on a daily basis.

The Japanese, for example, live in one of the most polluted areas of the world. Epidemiologists expected to find cancer rates zooming off the charts in Japan but the statistics went the other direction. In spite of pollution, and the fact that Japanese men are notoriously heavy smokers, the cancer rates in Japan are far lower than in most of the industrialized nations of the world. There were additional surprises. Despite long work hours, smoking, and stressful lifestyles, the Japanese have not only low rates of cancer but also the lowest rate of heart disease of any comparable nation. Not to mention Japanese longevity, which is far greater than ours.

These statistics galvanized research scientists the world over. The race to find the secret was on.

After examining and eliminating genetic factors and the traditional Japanese diet researchers homed in on what might be called the national drink of Japan—green tea. The Shizuoka Prefecture in Japan, the University of Shizuoka, the Serei Mikatabara Hospital, and Mitsui Norin, Co., Ltd. worked cooperatively to launch an unprecedented large-scale research project. Early results were so spectacular that worldwide attention centered on Japan and green tea.

In the United States, George Christakis, MD, of the University of Miami School of Medicine, put together a group of working physicians to review the literature. They, too, caught the green tea “bug” and their findings led to the First International Symposium on the effects of green tea. The symposium, held in New York City in March of 1991 under the auspices of the American Health Foundation, was only the first of many. Green tea was off and running.

Even as early as that first symposium the collected data showed that substances in green tea could actually neutralize cancer-causing agents. In some laboratory studies green tea extracts had prevented cancer altogether, and numerous clinical studies showed that humans who consumed green tea on a regular basis had extremely low rates of cancer of the stomach, liver, pancreas, breast, lung, esophagus, and skin.

At Case Western Reserve University, researchers followed up on Japanese reports that a water extract of green tea prevented the initiation of cells. The group’s target was melanoma, a particularly virulent skin cancer, one of the deadliest malignancies known. Green tea was tested on animals bred to develop melanoma. It was administered in three ways: Applied directly to the skin; given in food; and a treatment combining both topical application and ingestion.

The percentages of success ranged from a low of 20 percent for topical application alone to an astonishing high of 89 percent with combined treatment at the maximum effective dose.

The Case Western team concluded that green tea was effective in preventing the cancerous initiation of cells as well as the progression of tumors. They wrote: “These data suggest that tea components possess anti-mutagenic and anti-carcinogenic effects and that they could protect humans against the risk of cancer by environmental agents.”

This research was verified at Rutgers where green tea polyphenols were found to inhibit tumor formation in the skin, and also in the duodenum, stomach, and lungs of test animals.

At the Medical College of Ohio the effects of green tea extracts were examined in relationship to two cellular responses thought to be important mechanisms of tumor promotion: cell death, and the inhibition of intercellular communication. Liver cells were exposed to paraquat and glucose oxidase, both potent carcinogens. The results clearly showed that green tea polyphenols protected the cells against death and damage. In addition, the effective dose level of the equivalent of 20 cups of green tea per day (600 milligrams) was confirmed. At this amount cell death remained near normal levels even when high concentrations of paraquat were added.

Dr. Hans F. Stich of the British Columbia Cancer Research Center in Vancouver carried studies a step beyond the laboratory. He attempted to simulate conditions to which human groups are frequently exposed by testing the effect of green tea when ingested with nitrite food preservatives (found in salted fish, bacon, hot dogs, and various processed meats). Stich concluded that the mutagenic activity of this preservative as “markedly inhibited if the nitrosation reaction proceeded in the presence of green tea infusions.”

Sounds like it might be wise to consume a cup of green tea with every meal—especially meals laced with food preservatives. It might be a good idea even if preservatives are not present because in other tests green tea decimated the bacteria that cause the most common types of food poisoning and reduced dental cavities in school children in Japan.

The Polyphenols in Green Tea Protect and Preserve With High-Powered Antioxidant Punch

A fresh tealeaf is made up of carbohydrates, proteins, lignin, fats, chlorophyll, polyphenols, methyl xanthines, amino acids, minerals, volatiles, and organic acids. Quite a load for one small leaf.

It is the polyphenols group of bioflavonoids called catechins that are responsible for the remarkable healing properties of green tea.

Catechins are colorless, astringent, water-soluble compounds. The dominant, and most bioactive, catechin in green tea is epigallocatechin gallate, also dubbed EGCG. Numerous tests have been conducted comparing the entire complex of green tea polyphenols (GTP), with extracts of EGCG, and with whole tealeaves. Both extracts outperformed whole tealeaf.

In all studies employing variable dosage, maximum benefits were achieved with the equivalent of 20 cups of tea per day—600 milligrams of polyphenol extract—then the benefits leveled off although no harm was done by higher doses. Green tea is apparently supremely safe.

Nature’s Aide® Green Tea Plus formula contains the full 600 milligrams of cancer-fighting green tea extract you should be taking to ward off the carcinogenic effects of living in the 21st century.

Sixty Percent of Terminal Cancer Patients at Columbia University Went into Remission With Cartilage

Way back in 1985 trials using cartilage were conducted at Columbia University under the direction of Dr. John Prudden. The thirty-one patients (with terminal cancers of the prostate, ovaries, cervix, and rectum) participating in the trial were beyond hope. Standard treatments had been deemed of no further value.

Ninety percent of those terminal patients responded favorably to cartilage and 60 percent of them went into remission. That’s important enough to repeat: An unbelievable sixty percent of the terminal cancer patients written off by conventional medicine went into remission when taking cartilage.

In spite of these results there was no funding for further research because National Cancer Institute representatives shrugged and said the studies “were not sufficiently impressive.” Oh really? Name one—just one—cancer therapy offered by mainstream medicine that has demonstrated anywhere near that record. And, manages to do so without life-threatening side effects. Can’t do it, can you? That’s because there isn’t one. Remember, these cancer patients had already tried all the “miracles” offered by the conventional folks. Without success.

Had Mike Wallace and the 60 Minutes team not traveled to Cuba to film the dramatic progress of thirty terminal cancer patients participating in clinical trials with shark cartilage the campaign to suppress the news about shark cartilage might have succeeded. The television program was too impressive to ignore. Wallace and the crew filmed the actual real-time progress of the patients. The world watched as formerly bedridden invalids raced Mike Wallace around a track. We were able to follow the progress as tumors shrunk and symptoms eased.

Enough public pressure arose from this program to force the Food and Drug Administration to take another look. The good news is that shark cartilage is now in phase III trials (the final step before FDA approval) and within a few years may be available from your mainstream oncologist. Meanwhile, shark cartilage can be found at most health food stores.

Opponents, concerned with the bottom line of the medical/pharmaceutical industry, are still in there fighting, however. Headlines have been popping up ridiculing the anti-carcinogenic properties of shark cartilage because “sharks do get cancer.”. This ridiculous statement arises from the title of a book by one of the earliest researchers—”Sharks Don’t Get Cancer” But, whether or not sharks get cancer has nothing at all to do with the effectiveness of shark cartilage as a cancer treatment. This is just another smoke screen.

Shark Cartilage Starves Tumors Through Anti-Angiogenesis

The first step was when Dr. Judah Folkman of Harvard Med published his now famous and highly regarded hypothesis that solid tumors cannot grow without a network of blood vessels to nourish them. He concluded that inhibiting the development of new blood vessels (anti-angiogenesis) would be a valuable cancer therapy.

All questions concerning the effectiveness of shark cartilage as a prime anti-angiogenesis factor have been rendered moot. Research teams at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and others at Duke University have uncovered the exact mechanism of how and why cartilage works.

The key factor is Troponin 1, a potent tumor-starving protein found in cartilage. Dr. Robert Langer of MIT isolated Troponin 1. His findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Scientists at Duke have found the specific structure on the surface of blood vessel cells to which tumor-starving factors bind. Their studies revealed exactly how the process works.

Now that all the scientific “T”s have been crossed and the “I”s dotted at MIT and Duke there is no longer any question that cartilage is effective in the prevention and treatment of cancer.

Dosages used in medical trials are based on body weight, allowing one gram per day of shark cartilage for every two pounds of body weight. In other words, an individual weighing 150 pounds would take 75 grams per day of cartilage in order to get the maximum anti-angiogenesis effect.

Note—Pregnant women, children, or those recovering from surgery or a heart attack should not consume cartilage.

For Once the Side Effects Are All Good

During clinical trials of shark cartilage patients reported side effects but, for once, the side effects were pure serendipity. Patients reported relief from arthritis (both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis), as well as from psoriasis and eye disorders in which blood vessels proliferate.

These reports were followed up at the University of Miami School of Medicine and showed that shark cartilage (even in relatively low doses of from 5 to 7 grams per day) has a pronounced anti-inflammatory effect. All arthritis patients in clinical trials reported improvement of at least 60 percent in pain as well as their degree of mobility.

Phytochemicals: Cancer Prevention and Treatment From the Kitchen

As the cliché goes you are what you eat and now science can prove it. A recent cover “Newsweek”, “The Search for the Magic Pill” lauded phytochemicals and their potential for promoting vitality and increasing longevity.

Phytochemicals come in all those green, red, and yellow things mothers usually have to urge their children to eat—in vegetables and fruits, even in herbs and spices.

Before the discovery of phytochemicals nutritionists believed the cancer-fighting power in fruits and vegetables as due to nutrients like vitamin C and betacarotene, but it now is apparent that nutrients and fiber are not the only bonus in the recommended five daily servings. We get phytochemicals.

According to the National Cancer Institute what you eat can either promote or prevent cancer. They link at least one-third of today’s cancers directly to diet. Cancer researchers like Richard Doll put the figure higher; as much as 60 percent. Either way, ever since science made the connection between cancer and diet the answers have been coming up “fruits and vegetables.”

Dr. Gladys Block, of the University of California at Berkeley, reviewed over 170 in-depth studies. The evidence was so overwhelming that Dr. Block avers that fruits and vegetables could virtually “wipe out the plague of cancer.”

Strong words, with strong scientific backing.

Pay attention to the color scheme at mealtime because the red in tomatoes or the green in broccoli could save your life.

Lycopene, the phytochemical responsible for the color of tomatoes exhibits strong anti-tumor activity and members of the cabbage family contain isothiocyanate sulforaphanes that help detoxify carcinogens and flush them from the body. Indoles, another bonus from the cabbage family, help prevent breast cancer through anti-estrogenic activity.

There are others, equally important, and more are being discovered as I write these words.

The humble soybean, for instance, is packed with anti-cancer potential. Dr. Ann R. Kennedy of the Pennsylvania School of Medicine, reports that a protease inhibitor in soy is so active against various cancers that she terms it “a universal cancer preventative agent.” Soy also contains more than a mouthful of other phytochemicals.

Genistein has been shown to interfere with tumor formation at every stage. In the test tube soy genistein blocks the growth of all types of cancer cells: breast, lung, colon, prostate, skin, and blood (leukemia). And, recent studies at the University of Alabama indicate that genistein consumed at an early age may serve to “inoculate” against cancer.

The National Cancer Institute endorses the cancer-fighting potential of: garlic, cabbage, broccoli, kale, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, collard greens, soybeans, onions, carrots, and tomatoes. Citrus fruits, cantaloupe, and berries head the list of
anti-carcinogenic fruits.

Believed to be helpful and currently under investigation are: brown rice, flax seeds, oats, barley, cucumbers, mint, oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme, basil, licorice, and tarragon.

Some Foods Are Known Cancer Promoters

According to the American Health Foundation some foods are known to promote cancer. Specifically indicted are most meats, high-fat foods, omega-6 vegetable oils (especially those that have been processed with heat or solvents which includes almost every oil on the shelf at the supermarket), excessive alcohol, and several food preservative in common use.

Certain fats literally feed tumors. In the laboratory, when corn oil (an omega-6) was added to the diet of experimental animals cancer rates zoomed. Unfortunately, the majority of polyunsaturated oils hyped by cardiologists are heat and solvent-treated omega-6 oils. The only “supermarket” oil considered safe as of this writing is olive oil.

Oils are not the only culprits. High concentrations of animal fats consistently pop up in the diets of cancer patients. The Health Foundation bulletins tell us that both animal fats and omega 6 oils depress the immune system’s ability to fight cancerous cells.

From UCLA comes the news that even an occasional alcohol binge can increase the risk of cancers of the digestive system, prostate, liver, and breast. And, because alcohol depressed the immune system it may also stimulate metastasis.

Meat packs a double whammy. Not only is most American-raised beef, pork, lamb, chicken, and turkey laden with saturated fat it also bears a chemical load guaranteed to affect the health of consumers.
Pesticide and herbicide residues on animal feed become a part of the meat and these agricultural chemicals are active carcinogens. The hormones given meat animals to stimulate rapid weight gain can create havoc in the human system (to the point where young boys who chow down on lots of chicken are developing breasts). And, antibiotic levels in most American-produced meats have created dangerous new strains of anti-biotic resistant super-organisms. Meat, for the most part, is bad news. It is wise to give up meat forever unless you can locate a source for organically-raised and produced chicken or turkey.

You are what you eat. Clichés become clichés because they contain an element of truth.

The Grape’s Most Valuable Vintage

This little jar doesn’t come with a label reading “Chateau Lafitte-Rothschild.” The label is not a collector’s item. The bottle contains an extract of grape seeds, a by-product of the winemaking industry that contains vintage antioxidant punch combined with a bonus of skin-tightening effects that have inspired the soubriquet, “face lift in a bottle.”

Grape seed extract contains a mixture of compounds of the bioflavonoids group called proanthocyanidins. Like the catechins in green tea, proanthocyanidins are powerful antioxidants that also intensify the action of other antioxidants like vitamin C.

From the University of Nottingham comes the report that proanthocyanidins slow cellular mutagenesis in skin. Put simply, this means grape seed extract helps prevent skin cancer. In addition, compounds in the extract inhibit the enzyme monooxygenase, a promoter of several highly carcinogenic compounds.

Now for the bonus—extensive studies at the Baylor School of Medicine demonstrated that proanthocyanidins prevent the fragmentation of the elastin fibers that give skin its strength, elasticity, and smoothness. No more wrinkles!

So, the next time you search the shelves for a special vintage, don’t forget to take home the proanthocyanidins.

The Anti-Cancer Herbs

Uncaria tomentosa also known as cat’s claw, is a tough little shrub native to the highlands of the Peruvian Amazon. Dr. Brent W. Davis, one of the American scientists investigating cat’s claw call it, “a world-class herb which has the power to arrest and reverse deep-seated pathology.” At the International Congress on Traditional Medicine, physicians presented case histories of 700 patients with 15 different types of cancer, all of whom had been treated—successfully—with cat’s claw.

In July 1989, US Patent #4844901 was issued for six alkaloids isolated from the roots of Uncaria tomentosa. The patent states that the alkaloids are suitable for stimulation of the immune system and have been used to treat cancer, herpes, and AIDS. Cheldonium majus, a plant in the poppy family called celandine or cheladonia has been a major player in traditional medicine, but the big news about celandine concerns an extract called Ukrain, presently being tested in clinical trials where it is proving to be an immune system stimulant of inestimable value in the treatment of cancer. Ukrain boosts the total number of T cells, normalizes the balance between different types of T cells, and stimulates a “significant increase” in the numbers of natural killer cells, the cells that attack tumors.

Nature’s Aide® Puts The Cancer Fighters All Together In One Convenient Formula

The folks at Nature’s Aide® put together green tea, shark cartilage, grape seed extract, lycopene and sulphoraphane, chelidonia and cat’s claw, and more in one convenient formula called Green Tea Plus. It’s a must for all of us who are concerned about cancer.