Pancreatic Cancer and L-Arginine Supplementation
Nutritional supplementation with the amino acid arginine is commonly recommended by natural healers, but for some people arginine can be harmful, rather than helpful.
Arginine is an "essential" amino acid in infants, in the elderly, and in people undergoing stress. The human body can convert arginine into nitric oxide, which "opens up" circulation, or into L-ornithine, which is used in creating new tissues. In cancer treatment, arginine supplementation is part of a strategy of giving cancer cells the amino acids they "don't want" while depriving them of amino acids they need to proliferate. The important consideration, however, is that different kinds of cancer cells have different metabolic requirements.
Specialists in the surgical treatment of cancer have been studying the use of supplemental arginine in cancer treatment since the early 1990's. In 1992, these scientists reported that the only time they observed recovery of the immune system from surgery for cancer in the upper digestive tract was when patients received a combination of arginine, RNA, and omega-3 fatty acids.
And in another study of cancers in the lower digestive tract, specifically colorectal cancer, researchers found that giving cancer patients 30 grams (that's 30,000 mg) of arginine for 3 days caused cancer cells to grow more receptor sites where white blood cells could identify and destroy them. So is taking supplemental arginine a good idea in pancreatic cancer?
The answer is no.
In other digestive cancers, the cancer cell uses arginine to make ornithine, which creates new structures in the cell. Among those structures are the receptor sites on the surface of the cell that may make it more susceptible either to chemotherapy or to the action of the immune system.
In pancreatic cancer, the cancer cell ordinarily repairs its structures very slowly, so it is more likely to use arginine to make nitric oxide. This chemical opens the microscopic blood vessels surrounding the cancer cell, then the cancerous tumor, allowing it greater nourishment and an avenue to spread throughout the pancreas and out into other parts of the body. In at least one strain of pancreatic cancer cells, arginine demonstrably increases growth, and application of an enzyme to stop cells' use of arginine slows cancer growth.
While it is not a good idea for people with pancreatic cancer to take supplemental arginine, it is not necessary to avoid foods that are relatively high in arginine (such as sesame seeds, spirulina, pumpkin seeds, soy, gelatin, fried pork skins, cod, almonds, and, to a lesser extent, most meats), at least it is not necessary to avoid them because of their arginine content. That's because the amount of supplements needed to make a difference in cancer treatment provides 4 to 15 times the amount of arginine you can get from food. Only supplemental arginine needs to be avoided in pancreatic cancer.
Are Chemical Fertilizers Causing Ovarian Cancer?
Talk about chemical fertilizers shouldn't just be limited to our gardens. Time and time again, new studies reveal the damaging effects of chemical fertilizers on human life. A study conducted at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research in Brisbane, Australia compared over 800 women with ovarian cancer and found surprising results.
What researchers found is that women who ate two or more eggs per week had double the risk of ovarian cancer. The culprit? The abundance of chemical fertilizers routinely used by chicken farmers. (This shouldn't come as a surprise if you know anything about the effects of chemical fertilizers.)
Dr. David Purdie, a researcher at the institute, believes that chickens exposed to fertilizers or pesticides while they forage for food may pick up the poisons in these agricultural products and transfer them to their eggs. Easily passed from the mother hen, chemical fertilizers or pesticides make their way into the egg. We then eat the eggs, unaware of the hazardous chemicals that we are consuming. Although many of the substances thought to cause ovarian cancer have been since banned, these chemicals have a tendency to stay in the environment for a very long time.
Interestingly, the study also suggests that these women who were diagnosed with ovarian cancer were actually first exposed to these chemicals by eating contaminated eggs twenty or thirty years ago. What happens is that these harmful chemicals accumulate in the body and are never disposed of. Years later, their harmful effects surface in the form of cancer, specifically of the ovarian kind.
Thankfully, the risk of cancer from eating eggs is probably less now than it was decades ago because chicken farmers have since recognized that a lot of fertilizers used to grow chicken feed are, in fact, dangerous. It also helps that many farmers are now using all-natural fertilizers which guarantee healthy, organic eggs for consumers.
So what can you do to avoid this risk? Eat eggs marked organic. We have more options at the grocery store than we had decades ago. Be selective of the eggs you buy in your local grocery store. Check the labels first. Don't settle for something that may cause you cancer twenty or thirty years from now.
Can Cancer Be Prevented And Cured?
While the answer to the question regarding the cure for cancer remains not guaranteed even by the experts, there are still ways that this second deadliest disease can be prevented. After all, prevention is supposed to be better than the cure, right?
Cancer prevention can start by not using any products related to tobacco, by choosing to eat healthily, maintaining ideal weight, exercise, avoiding too much sun exposure, and discussing with your doctor regarding the new developments for cancer cure, prevention, and treatment. Still, there are other risk factors that may not be avoidable (i.e. genetic or hereditary conditions), it still pays that you know something on how you can attempt to prevent it from worsening or even starting.
According to Dr. Gerson, you can also incorporate proper eating habits in your diet in order to get cured from cancer.
In your search for an effective cure for cancer, you may have come across alternative treatments, too. Probably one of them being the Gerson diet. Basically, it is based on Dr. Max Gerson's belief that cancer and autoimmune diseases are commonly caused by malfunctions in the metabolism of your cells. By addressing these malfunctions, he stated that their restoration can be possible through a diet that is low in sodium and high in potassium.
The Gerson diet recommends a high consumption of fruits and vegetables without cooking them too much. Aside from that, the diet omits the consumption of animal products, fats, dairy products, and sugars. Dr. Gerson believed that in order to cure cancer, the body needs to undergo detoxification from agents that caused it to be susceptible to cancer cells and bacilli. Through detoxification brought about by the diet, your body can naturally eliminate those abnormal substances that have caused cancer.
The Gerson diet is considered by some as a natural yet powerful treatment that can boost the body's immune system that won't just heal cancer but also other diseases and disorders like allergies, arthritis, heart disease, etc.
You see, Dr. Gerson is known for his "Gerson Therapy", a metabolic therapy that utilizes a special diet including coffee enemas and supplements to cure terminal cancer patients. According to statistics, around 90%-95% of Dr. Gerson's cases were terminal but his cure rate was around 50%. This number is considered exceptional because he took into consideration all of his patients and not just the ones who were able to live longer for more than a year. Furthermore, this number is recognized to be higher compared to the typical medical treatments but still higher than the other forms of alternative cancer therapies.
The Lung Cancer Spread to the Brain
Brain metastasis refers to when a cancer has extended to the brain from another location in the body, most usually the lung or breast. There could be one or more than one metastases to the brain, and the cancer can go to different areas of the brain.
Primary lung tumors represent 50% of all metastatic brain tumors. Lung cancer is the most widespread origin of metastatic disease. Of patients of cancer of lung who survive for more than 2 years, 80% will get brain metastases.
The average time interval between the diagnosis of primary lung tumor and brain metastases is 4 months. Fascinatingly, small cell carcinomas, which are simply 20% of all cancers of lung, account for 50% of brain metastases from the cancer. In a retrospective study, 6.8% of the first cancer reappearance was in the brain.
Metastatic illness from the breast, renal cells, thyroid, and colon are more generally found as a single metastatic lesion, while metastatic illness from lung cancer and melanoma are more generally found to be multiple lesions. Testicular tumor is a rare cancer and yet it more often metastasizes to the brain as compared with cancer of lung.
Lung cancer may also pass through the bloodstream to other areas of the body, most generally the liver, adrenal glands, brain, spinal cord, or bones. The spread of cancer of lung may happen early in the course of disease, particularly with small cell lung cancer. Symptoms-for example headache, seizures, confusion, and bone pain-may grow before any lung problems become evident, making an early diagnosis more difficult.
If cancerous cells break away from the original tumor, travel, and develop within other body areas such as the brain, the process is known as metastasis. People with metastatic brain tumors have different options of treatment. The treatment depends essentially on where the cancer begun.
Natural Cancer Remedy – 5 Helpful Foods That Fight Cancer
I think anyone diagnosed with cancer of any kind would like to find a natural cancer remedy, so I have gathered a list of 5 beneficial foods that may not be as well known as most you might run across.
1. Pineapple. This fruit contains vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant, meaning it thwarts free radicals which are unstable oxygen molecules that can cause damage to cells and contribute in the development of cancer cells. Everyone has heard of eating oranges and citrus fruit but few reach for this little-known fruit that contains quite a lot of vitamin C. A glass of pineapple juice contains 60 milligrams!
2. Okra. Now here is a vegetable we don't hear a lot about, and who would ever think of this as a natural cancer remedy, but okra contains a compound called glutathione which, first, is an antioxidant which we have already discussed, and second, this compound prevents chemicals called carcinogens from damaging DNA. Studies have shown that persons consuming the highest amount of glutathione were 50 percent less likely to develop oral and throat cancers than those who consumed a lower level.
3. Potato peel. The peelings of potatoes contain an anticarcinogenic compound called chlorogenic acid. Studies show this acid helps the fiber in potatoes absorb benzoApyrene, a potential carcinogen often found in smoked foods.
4. Nuts. An example is the walnut which contains a compound called ellagic acid. This is an antioxidant, so we know this is helpful, and it also helps to detoxify potential cancer-causing substances while at the same time preventing cancer cells from dividing (and growing and multiplying).
5. Pumpkin. This popular vegetable is much more than a pie ingredient! It is also a great source of beta-carotene and the lesser-known carotenoids such as lutein and zeaxanthin. Carotenoids neutralize harmful free radicals and can help prevent both heart disease and cancer. So now you can enjoy your holiday pumpkin pie without guilt, and with the knowledge you are actually doing something good for you health.
Cancer – When Medical Treatments Did Not Cure Anything
Cancer is a serious illness. It is also a "misrepresented and misunderstood" illness. Patients go to their doctors hoping to be cured of their cancers. Often, they failed to find that elusive cure. My experience showed me that those patients who have cancer for the first time and who have no relatives or friends with cancer before, have the misconceived notion that medical science can cure cancer. They would say: "What is the problem, with my money and the best doctors, the best hospitals and the best chemo-drugs, the problem can be easily fixed."
For more than twelve years now, I have been involved with terminally ill cancer patients who come to seek my help after medical science have failed them. It is very frustrating to know that patients are just na
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