Treating Cancer -- With Herbs

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Treating Cancer -- With Herbs

Many of the chemotherapies used to fight cancer in modern medicine were

developed from natural substances.

For instance:

a.. Taxanes used to treat prostate and breast cancer came from yew trees.

b.. Vinca alkaloids, which are used to treat malignant lymphomas, are made

from periwinkle plants.

c.. The anti-cancer drugs topotecan and irinotecan come from a component of

the Chinese Happy Tree.

Scientists are increasingly focusing on plants used in traditional medicine in

their search for new compounds. About three-quarters of the pharmaceutical

compounds used today came from plants used in traditional medicine.

Professor Dr. Efferth from Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum in

Heidelberg, for example, has begun analyzing 76 Chinese medicinal plants that

are believed to treat malignant tumors and other growths. Extracts from 18 of

the plants were found to significantly suppress the growth of cancer cells.

" With this success rate of about 24 percent, we are way above the results that

could be expected from searching through large chemical substance libraries, "

Efferth said.

Sources:

a.. Eurekalert March 4, 2008

a.. Molecular Cancer Therapeutics January 1, 2008, 7, 152-161

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Most pharmaceuticals that are derived from plants are typically from one

" active " component of the plant that is then isolated and synthetically

replicated. In contrast, most traditional medicine remedies use whole plants in

their natural state, which is a far cry from the lab-produced cancer treatments

used in modern medicine.

While herbal remedies can indeed be powerful, they are typically far safer

than most medications. Still, I do not widely support using them as your primary

healing approach as they rarely address the primary cause. Like drugs, herbs and

other plants are frequently used as band-aids that fail to address the root

cause.

However, when used wisely by someone trained in this science they can be

enormously beneficial adjuncts to the healing process, and I believe that it is

wise to use them. Just be careful to continue to search for the reasons that you

initially acquired the health challenge.

Cancer Treatments: Chemo or Natural?

While I don't normally focus on the details of cancer treatments, it's

worth pointing out that it is very rare for cancer to only have one cause.

Rather than simply being caused by a malfunction in your DNA, or a faulty gene

you " inherited " from your grandmother, cancer is more typically triggered by a

combination of the following:

a.. Nutritional deficiencies

b.. Toxins in your environment

c.. Emotional conflicts

d.. Hormonal imbalances

Often, cancer can actually be treated, and reversed, by addressing these

variables through dietary changes, purifying your environment, and addressing

your emotional state.

Chemotherapy is rarely the best option for cancer treatment, as it usually

doesn't cure cancer or extend life, and it really does not improve the quality

of your life either. Dr. Ralph Moss, who is the author of eight books on cancer

treatment, has reviewed thousands of studies as part of the research for his

books -- and he has not found one single good study that shows chemo cures

cancer or extends life.

What chemo does do, however, is expose your body to toxins that kill all

cells that multiply and divide rapidly. This includes not only cancer cells, but

also other rapidly multiplying and dividing cells, such as bone marrow,

reproductive system cells and hair follicles.

These are powerful drugs that present an assault on your system -- one

that your body must then overcome along with the cancer. And the effects do not

end right after the treatment. One UCLA study found that chemotherapy can

actually change the blood flow and metabolism of your brain in ways that can

linger for 10 years or more after treatment.

Preventing Cancer: 12 Tips to Live By

No one wants to battle cancer, and there is good news because I believe

you can VIRTUALLY ELIMINATE your risk of cancer and chronic disease, and

radically improve your chances of recovering from cancer if you currently have

it, by following these relatively simple risk reduction strategies.

1. Reduce or eliminate your processed food, sugar and grain

carbohydrate intake. Yes, this is even true for whole unprocessed organic

grains, as they tend to rapidly break down and drive your insulin and leptin

levels up, which is the last thing you need to have happening if you are seeking

to resolve a cancer.

2. Control your fasting insulin and leptin levels. This is the end

result, and can be easily monitored with the use of simple and relatively

inexpensive blood tests.

3. Normalize your ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fats by taking a

high-quality krill oil and reducing your intake of most processed vegetable

oils.

4. Get regular exercise. One of the primary reasons exercise works is

that it drives your insulin levels down. Controlling insulin levels is one of

the most powerful ways to reduce your cancer risks.

5. Normalize your vitamin D levels by getting plenty of sunlight

exposure and consider careful supplementation when this is not possible. If you

take oral vitamin D and have a cancer, it would be very prudent to monitor your

vitamin D blood levels regularly.

6. Get regular, good sleep.

7. Eat according to your nutritional type. The potent anti-cancer

effects of this principle are very much underappreciated. When we treat cancer

patients in our clinic this is one of the most powerful anti-cancer strategies

we have.

8. Reduce your exposure to environmental toxins like pesticides,

household chemical cleaners, synthetic air fresheners and air pollution.

9. Limit your exposure and provide protection for yourself from

information-carrying radio waves produced by cell phone towers, base stations,

phones and WiFi stations.

10. Avoid frying or charbroiling your food. Boil, poach or steam your

foods instead.

11. Have a tool to permanently reprogram the neurological

short-circuiting that can activate cancer genes. Even the CDC states that 85

percent of disease is caused by emotions. It is likely that this factor may be

more important than all the other physical ones listed here, so make sure this

is addressed. Energy psychology seems to be one of the best approaches and my

particular favorite tool, as you may know, is the Emotional Freedom Technique

(EFT). German New Medicine is another powerful tool.

12. Eat at least one-third of your food raw.

Related Articles:

How Exercise Protects You From Cancer

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Organic Vegetables are Better for Fighting Cancer