July 25, 2011

124 Chlorella – the Almost Perfect Food [25 July 2011]

Chlorella vulgaris is an edible single-celled green fresh-water algae. Chlorella has been called an almost perfect food because of its nutrient content and medicinal properties. Chlorella is 60% protein, containing all the essential amino acids. It is rich in vitamins and minerals, especially folate, B12, GABA, beta carotene (in a wide spectrum of carotenoids), iron, iodine, magnesium and zinc. It is also very high in chlorophyll.

Chlorella has a wide range of health benefits:
• Boosts your immune system
• Increases your energy levels
• Improves your digestion
• Helps heal GI tract conditions like ulcers, colitis, Crohn’s and diverticulosis
• Balances (alkalizes) your body’s pH
• Enhances your mental focus and concentration
• Normalizes your blood sugar and blood pressure
• Lowers cholesterol and reverses atherosclerosis
• Reduces cancer risk and shows anti-cancer activity
• Freshens your breath

I consider chlorella’s most useful property to be its ability to eliminate toxins from the body, including heavy metals like cadmium and mercury. Ideally chlorella should be taken with every meal of seafood to bind and eliminate any mercury before it’s absorbed. A Rosetown hairdresser uses chlorella to prevent headaches from perm chemicals.

Sources: www.mercola.com and www.evolutionhealth.com.

This article is intended for educational purposes only; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

July 18, 2011

123 The American War on Cancer [18 July 2011]

In 1971 the American government under President Nixon declared war on cancer. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the American Cancer Society (ACS) promised to slash cancer mortality in half by 2000. They constantly reassured the American people that great progress is being made while calling for ever increasing funding. So 40 years and billions of dollars later, is America winning the war? Sadly the statistics show otherwise.

Incidence rates (% change) for major cancers between 1975 and 2007 show a reduction for Male Lung Cancer (-22) but increases for other major cancers: Childhood (+30), Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (+82), Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (+67), Postmenopausal Female Breast (+23), Testes (+60), Thyroid (+145), Melanoma (+163), Kidney (+107), and Female Lung (+110).

Dr. Samuel Epstein in his 2011 book NCI and ACS: Criminal Indifference to Cancer Prevention and Conflicts of Interest explains why America is losing the war on cancer. The focus of the NCI and ACS is on pharmaceutical treatments rather than prevention. Less than 3% of NCI’s budget was allocated to environmental causes of cancer, and ACS actively defends known and suspected carcinogens like pesticides and cosmetic ingredients (possibly because its major corporate supporters are chemical and pharmaceutical companies?). Epstein documents many other conflicts of interest within the NCI – e.g. board members with ties to chemical and pharmaceutical industries.

Instead of using tax and charitable money to research promising non-patentable nontoxic cancer treatments, NCI actively blocks their funding. The ACS goes further and attacks doctors who are successfully treating cancer with “unproven” therapies. Dr. Epstein concludes that prevention is the easiest and most effective way to reduce cancer incidence and death, but the war effort has been sabotaged.

See http://cancerdefeatedpublications.com/newsletters/11/071011.html for a review of Epstein’s book.

This article is intended for educational purposes only; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

July 11, 2011

122 MS & Vitamin D [11 July 2011]

Multiple Sclerosis is a chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system affecting the brain, spinal cord and optic nerve. The myelin sheath covering nerve fibers is damaged by inflammation, affecting nerve impulses. There has been much in the news lately about the CCSVI theory of MS and Dr. Zamboni’s “Liberation Treatment” (a topic for a future column), but another theory links MS to a vitamin D deficiency.

Several facts and observations link MS to vitamin D:
• MS is more frequent at high latitudes (such as Saskatchewan)
• Increased sun exposure is associated with a reduced risk of MS
• More frequent MS symptoms are reported during winter and spring
• A 2011 British study found that UVB exposure [the sunlight that creates vitamin D] could explain 61% of MS prevalence in England
• Lower levels of vitamin D are linked to a higher risk of MS

Vitamin D is believed to affect MS by suppressing cytokines, which reduces inflammation. A 2009 study found that Vitamin D controls a gene variant known to increase the risk of MS, and suggested that a deficiency of vitamin D during fetal development and early childhood may increase the risk of developing MS. While vitamin D’s role in preventing MS is clear, its use as a treatment is controversial. The official line is that there is no evidence supporting amelioration of symptoms by supplementation; many people with MS, however, have reported improvements. Dr. Joseph Mercola recommends optimizing vitamin D levels to between 50-70 ng/ml for healthy adults, and even higher for people with chronic auto-immune diseases His preferred source is sunbathing; with high D3 supplementation he strongly recommends blood levels be monitored to avoid overdosing.

For more information, see vitamindcouncil.org and mercola.com

This article is intended for educational purposes only; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

July 4, 2011

121 Seabuckthorn [4 July 2011]

Seabuckthorn is a hardy shrub native to northern Eurasia where its orange berry has been used as food and medicine for millennia. Modern research is uncovering many nutritional and medicinal properties of this beneficial plant.
• The bright red berry oil contains at least 18 different antioxidant carotenoids, several flavonoids, and both families of Vitamin E (tocopherols and tocotrienols).
• The berry, and its juice, is one of the richest sources of vitamin C.
• The clear golden seed oil is high in Omega 3 EFA (linolenic acid), and contains vitamins K, B12 and vitamin E (both tocopherols and tocotrienols), phospholipids, and over 17 phytosterols (including beta sitosterol).
• The seed oil has strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
• The seed oil is light and readily absorbed making it ideal for skincare products. It has been found beneficial in the treatment of acne, rosacea, eczema, psoriasis and dermatitis.
• The berry oil is a rich source of a rare Omega 7 EFA (palmitoleic acid) which is a component of skin fat. It supports wound healing and is beneficial for the mucous membranes of the digestive, urinary and reproductive systems.
• Seabuckthorn leaves also contain many beneficial compounds and have been used medicinally in Asia for skin conditions including burns, bedsores, eczema, and radiation injury. Many Chernobyl victims were treated with seabuckthorn.
• Seabuckthorn juice was used by the early Russian cosmonauts, and by Chinese athletes in the 1988 Olympics, to improve endurance and to better handle stress.
• Seabuckthorn is now grown in Saskatchewan where it thrives in our climate and soil. It is available in health food stores as berry juice, berry oil & capsules, seed oil & capsules, and in a variety of cosmetics.
For more information see www.seabuckthorn.com
This article is intended for educational purposes only; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.