Herbal Medicine and Prevention of Cancer

Here we look at specific herbal cancer preventatives
Individual Herbs in Detail
Also, guest articles

——————————————–

Primary statement regarding cancer
Alan Hopking MA MNIMH offers herbal medicine for the treatment of all illnesses and prevention of serious diseases. But it must be stressed at the outset of this document that neither Alan Hopking nor herbal medicine nor the Herbactive Clinic is hereby making a single claim or offer to the curing of any cancer, the treatment of cancer, advice as to how to treat or cure cancer, or having any herbal medicine or prescription in connection with the treatment of any cancer. Our aim for all people and patients is to help prevent the onset of cancer.

There are specific herbal medicines to help the prevention of serious disease and abnormal cells and growths, including:
HerbShield
Caisse – ACT
BreastShield
Black Salve
ProstateLess
LymphCleanse
LungShield
Cannabis (Hemp) CBD Oil – see our store – for info email info@herbactivehealth.com
ABC Daily Herbal NutriPowder Plus – are you taking it every day? Buy it now on the store as Powder or as Liquid
BowelShield – find info on our store
StemCell Tonic – more info on our store
White Blood Cells
Red Blood Cells
SpleenShield

Fluid retention in the lungs and elsewhere (Ascites Tonic)

———————————————-

Dear Alan, I visited you in the Autumn when I had had a metastatic breast cancer diagnosis. I thought you may like to know that my last CT scan showed bone tumours shrunk almost beyond recognition and bones grown back, exceeding all expectations. The oncologist said I should live a long life. Thank you for your help on my journey back to health. I recommend you to many people. Alison A

—————————————-

Cancer Stem Cell Killing Herbs

Nutrients in our diet can nurture or starve the development of cancer cells in our bodies. This is because they affect the various mechanisms which promote cancer. Cancer cells are hyperactive: to multiply, repair, differentiate and even to aevade apoptosis (programmed cell death). The recent discovery of cancer stem cells has scientists looking at a whole new approach to preventing and treating cancer.

Cancer stem cells have a pro-survival strategy involved in promoting cancer cell invasion, growth and metastasis (9). These cancer stem cells are unlike typical stem cells because they are designed to promote cancerous activities including: (4, 12)

The ability to self-renew
Resistant to chemotherapeutic drugs
Self-sufficient
Not influenced by anti-growth signals or by contact with other stem cells
Not regulated by normal cell functions including apoptosis
Promote inflammation
Regulated by tissue invasion and metastasis
Sustained by angiogenesis (new blood vessel formation) and flawed cellular energy

Fortunately, cancer stem cells are affected by phytochemicals (herbal medicines) and the nutrients in our diets. These nutrients are designed to prevent and treat the pro-survival cancerous properties which equip a cancer stem cell to function. The following 12 nutrients are phytochemicals found in our diets which manipulate the communication pathways between the cancer stem cell and the corresponding cancer cell.

1. Holy Basil (Ocymen sanctus) and ursolic acid

The active constituent in holy basil which targets cancer stem cells is ursolic acid. This is a dietary compound also found in the waxy coat of fruits like apples. Exhibiting powerful anticancer potential, this herb with its ursolic acid has been effectively shown to treat the following cancers: (1)

Colon
Skin
Breast
Lung
Cervical
Pancreatic
Prostate
Myeloma
Esophagus

The way in which ursolic acid is capable of preventing and treating these cancers is not yet fully understood. However, researchers are aware of sacred basil’s ability to reduces enzymes which promote inflammation in the body that contribute to abnormal cell cycles, reduce the expression of genes and which cause cellular apoptosis in the cancer stem cell thus triggering “cell suicide” to occur in cancerous cells as well as inhibit DNA replication from occurring, which is responsible for the progression of tumor growth and metastasis. ( 1)

Furthermore, this herb with ursolic acid has been shown in studies to reduce tumor size and spread.

Many experts use a dosage of 150-300 mg, 3 times daily for optimal benefits. This is significantly more than you could get from using apple peels and taking holy basil (also called Tulsi) which have between 5-10 mg of ursolic acid per serving. Apple peels and holy basil do have a number of other phytonutrients that are beneficial for the bodies immune system and should continue to be used. Holy basil and Tulsi tea.

Holy basil is known in natural medicine as an adaptogenic herb in that if helps the body to better adapt to stress. Adaptogenic herbs don’t affect an individual’s mood but they help the body function at its optimal level during times of stress. They do this by modulating the production of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline (1, 2).

Chronic, low-grade stress is a modern day epidemic that creates sluggish metabolism, chronic inflammation and abnormal immunity. High cortisol creates digestive problems and leaky gut syndrome, increased appetite, weight gain, thyroid disorders and accelerated brain degeneration (3).

This is a common finding in the brains of those with anxiety disorders, depression and other psychological disorders. Many autoimmune conditions and cancer are also linked to chronically elevated stress hormone production as a catalyst for this abnormal immune response (4, 5).

2. Black Pepper (Piper nigra) and piperine

The mortality rate of colorectal cancer worldwide is estimated to be more than 639,000 people annually ( 1). Perhaps partly responsible for this very high statistic is that a carcinogenic bacteria known as H. pylori (see HP-Less Tonic) invades the gastrointestinal lining of half of the global population. Piperine, known as the “King of Spices” may help to lower the incidence of cancers relating to the stomach and breast. In fact, piperine has been identified as one of the major compounds which target cancer stem cells of breast tumors (4). (2)

Piperine is a compound found in black pepper which has anecdotally been used to treat common ailments such as colds, fever and most recently has been studied for its anticancer properties. Piperine inhibits H. pylori from adhering to a surface within the gastrointestinal tract and therefore prevents this bacterium from releasing toxins which cause stress, inflammation and promote carcinoma cells. One possible mechanism of piperine antimutagenic properties is that it prevents proteins from binding, which would cause genes to express factors promoting cancer. (2)

Reap the benefits of piperine by adding black pepper into your diet daily. Crack fresh black pepper onto salads, flavor meat, and add into fresh sauces, dips and soups.

Actions of Black Pepper

antioxidant

loosens mucus

supports immune health

prevents water retention

improves kidney and liver function

antibacterial

boosts metabolism

improves the action of other herbs e.g. curcumin

improves digestion and weight loss

Black pepper (Piper nigra) herbal tincture is included in Herbactive “shield” formulations.

3. Tomato extract (Lycopene)

Tomato extract, which is a Herbactive concentrated Lycopene tincture, is a bioactive compound which has been shown by science to destroy cancer cell activity. Lycopene gives fruits and vegetables their red fleshed pigmentation. Some of these lycopene rich food sources are tomatoes, watermelons, pink grapefruit and red oranges.

Anticancer properties of lycopene stem from its ability to cause cytotoxic and pro-apoptotic effects in the cancer stem cell. In other words, lycopene can disrupt cancer stem cell’s communication pathways which enable a cancer cell to live and cause it to die. Lycopene has been shown to protect against cancers including: (3, 4)

Prostate
Lung
Colon
Cervix

Consuming a diet rich in biologically available nutrients such as lycopene is as simple as snacking on watermelon in the summer months or supplementing breakfast with a bowl of grapefruit in the winter. Although the benefits of lycopene can be achieved from juicing, it is always best to consume the pulp from citrus foods by adding this back into your drink. When preparing a homemade sauce, increase the availability of lycopene to be absorbed by your body by cooking down tomatoes with their skins on to optimize their nutrient content.

Lycopene is found in the following foods: tomato, carrot, apricot, guarva, watermelon, also a small quantity in asparagus and parsley.

If you choose to take a supplement, the anticarcinogenic properties of lycopene have been shown to increase when combined with vitamin E and selenium (4). If you are looking to reduce unnecessary carbs and stay on a ketogenic diet, you may consider supplementing with 30-50 mg of lycopene, 1-2 times daily. This is roughly the same amount you would get from eating 2 servings of organic tomato sauce. Or order our Lycopene tonic.

Lycopene tincture is part of the shields and other formulations of Herbactive tonics.

Lycopene extract tincture is used for:

prostate cancer (ProstateLess Tonic)

stomach cancer (BowelShield)

cardiovascular disease Heart and Circulation, Atherosclerosis Tonics)

stroke (NerveShield, BrainMore Tonics)

4. Isothiocyanates

Isothiocyanates are synthesized in our bodies by compounds with strong antioxidant potential. One such form of isothiocyanates is sulforaphane. Cruciferous vegetables contain this anti-cancer compound which promote detoxification, activate cancer inhibiting agents, boost immunity and protect the body against breast, stomach, spleen, prostate and colon cancer. (7)

Isothiocyanates inhibit cancer in the following ways: (7, 8)

Stimulate Nrf2signaling pathways associated with blocking tumor formation
Induce phase 2 enzymes which increase powerhouse antioxidants including glutathione
Improve healthy gut microflora by reducing carcinogenic bacteria such as pylori linked to stomach cancer
Improve antioxidant potential
Reduce inflammation
Remove carcinogens

When seeking to achieve the benefits of isothiocyanates to prevent and treat cancer, aim to consume at least two servings of cruciferous vegetable sprouts daily for optimal impact. Not all sprouts are created equal and consider eating broccoli, cauliflower, kale and brussel sprouts. Broccoli and cauliflower sprouts alone contain up to 100 times more of the compounds required to create isothiocyanates (8).

If you would like to supplement with sulforophane, many health practitioners recommend to take 300-600 mg, one to two times daily. This is especially good for hormone sensitive cancers as the isothiocyanates are powerful estrogen metabolizers.

Best to take ABC daily herbal nutripowder plus to get this nutrient.

5. Curcuma (Curcumin) turmeric root.

Herbactive Curcumin Tincture is 95% pure curcumin, strengthened (potentized) with black pepper extract. It is an extract found in the spice turmeric and possesses antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer abilities. Curcumin helps to prevent chronic inflammation from occurring which is repeatedly evident in the development of cancer. By interacting with the signalling pathways of the cancer stem cell genetics, curcumin is noted in regulating the various factors involved in cancer stem cell activity.

Curcumin has the strong action to work against the development of inflammation, prevent tumour invasion, hinder cancer cell growth, turn off factors which suppress apoptosis in cells, prevent angiogenesis and inhibit metastasis (cancer cell spread). Curcumin is another herb that has been shown to target cancer stem cells. It is particularly indicated in regulating the following cancers such as: (13)

Breast – BreastShield
Cervical – OUC-Shield
Colorectal – BowelShield
Pancreatic – PancreasMore
Lung – LungShield
Liver – LiverDetox, TotalDetox
Prostate – ProstateLess
Ovarian – OUC-Shield
Kidney – KidneyShield
Bladder – KidneyShield
Brain – BrainMore, NerveShield
Rectal – BowelShield
Leukemia – WhiteBloodCell (WBC-Less)
Non-Hodgkins lymphoma – LymphCleanse

Take advantage of the cancer stem cell targeting properties of curcumin and add turmeric root to all of your dishes. Many practitioners recommend supplementing with 500-3000 mg doses – 1-2 times daily with food. Curcumin and turmeric should always be mixed with peperine from black pepper and taken with a fat based meal for optimal absorption.

6. Matcha Tea (Camellia sinensis) with EGCG

Our highest quality matcha tea tincture is found in many of our shield tonics and contains an abundant source of a polyphenol called epigallaocatechin-3-gallate, better known as EGCG. The antioxidant potential of EGCG has been linked to a variety of health benefits with anti-cancer properties. Drinking green tea regularly may be responsible for reducing the risk of some cancers including breast, colon, prostate and lung cancer. (14)

EGCG works by interrupting the signalling pathways associated with cancer stem cells. Consequently, this nutrient prevents cancer cell proliferation, inflammation and metastasis. Studies show that EGCG inhibits vital proteins required for cancer stem cell survival and shuts off the mechanisms which trigger their growth (15).

Try sipping on green tea in the morning to reduce inflammation or adding green tea as a base for your smoothies. Opting for matcha green tea is the best strategy as it contains up to 10 times more EGCG than commercial green tea.

Matcha tea powder is also in the ABC Daily Powder.

If using supplemental EGCG than go with a dose of 400-800 mg of ECGC, 1-2 times daily. Always use this earlier in the day as it is slightly stimulating. Green tea does reduce folate absorption so it is advisable to consume extra raw green veggies (rich in folate) in salads or juices or supplement with an extra 400-500 mg of methyl-folate or calcium folinate if using green tea.

7. Japanese Knotweed root (Polygonum cuspidatum) and resveratrol

A naturally occurring phenolic compound called resveratrol is found in grape skins and red wine, but, with even greater action, in Japanese knotweed. Resveratrol has a profound ability to prevent and heal metabolic conditions especially relating to cancer cells. This amazing plant with its constituent resveratrol works strongly against cancer cellular development, and protects the normal cellular ability to repair damage and extends their lifespan. (16)

Japanese knotweed root, with its constituent resveratrol, has shown protective properties from cancer of the prostate, liver, pancreas, colon, skin and many other organs (17). This strong extract tincture is included in Herbactive Shield tonics and other remedies.

Resveratrol supplementation may be recommended for patients combating cancer to take upwards of more than 200 mg daily. Otherwise healthy individuals may consume a supplemental dosage of 20-100 mg a day to receive optimal cancer stem cell reducing health benefits.

8. Vitamin D₃

Each day the body produces approximately 10,000 cancer cells which have the ability to invade, proliferate and spread (6). One of the most common factors involved in the pathogenesis of cancer is vitamin D₃ deficiency. Receiving adequate amounts of vitamin D₃ daily is necessary to destroy cancer stem cell activity.

Supplemental dosage of 20,000 I.U. vitamin D₃daily may be a reliable therapy to slow the progression of cancer and reduce systemic inflammation ( 5). Vitamin D₃ supplementation is perhaps most vital in its need for proper GcMAF production. GcMAF is a protein which improves the natural immune system response and treats cancer. GcMAF requires a steady intake of vitamin D₃ in order to eradicate tumors completely. ( 6)

Today, our health is dominated by high doses of pharmaceutical drugs which decrease the ability for our bodies to naturally absorb vitamin D from the sun and from our diets. Combined with our lack of time spent outdoors and decreased oxygen supply to cells, our bodies can provide a suitable environment for cancer stem cells to produce tumors. Increase the ability for your body to better absorb vitamin D not only through natural supplementation of dietary intake, but also reducing stress and synthetic drug intake.

It is best to get your vitamin D3 (25-OH) between 60-100 ng/ml with ideal ranges between 80-100 ng/ml for individuals looking to prevent or slow cancer growth. As a general rule, many practitioners recommend taking 1,000 IU’s per 25 lbs of body weight to slowly raise your vitamin D levels into range or take 2,000 IU’s per 25 lbs of body weight to quickly raise your vitamin D levels. This is an intelligent approach to reduce cancer stem cell activity.

You can buy vitamin D3 from our webstore.

9. Ginger root (Zingiber officinale) and 6- Gingerol

Adding ginger to your tea, meat marinades and vegetable dishes such as coleslaw and salad dressings is an excellent way to boost the chemopreventive properties of your meals and beverages.

A major compound contained in ginger is 6-gingerol. This phytonutrient decreases peroxynitrite (ONOO-) production, which is a powerful free radical formed by the reaction of nitric oxide (NO) and superoxide dismutase (O2-), which wreaks havoc and stress on cells and processes in the body.

As a result, 6-gingerol protects against free radical damage and has exhibited strong neuroprotective properties in research. 6- Gingerol enhances the antioxidant defense system by contributing pharmacological activity to protect cells from carcinogens and cancerous activity. (10)

I recommend adding fresh ground or dried ginger to meat marinades or on vegetable dishes. It is also a great practice to consume a cup or two of ginger tea everyday. I am also a huge fan of fermented ginger, which is commonly used in Asian dishes such as sushi and in the Korean dish kimchi.

10. Milk Thistle seeds (Silybum marianum) with silymarin

You may better know this healing nutrient as milk thistle. We make a tincture of this plant seeds. Silymarin is a flavonoid highly concentrated in milk thistle which protects the body from both skin and colon cancer by acting as a powerful detoxifying agent. The primary use of milk thistle is designed to promote liver, kidney and functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. Silymarin has also been therapeutic in the prevention and treatment of cancer cell growth of the skin, prostate, breast and cervix. (11)

The chemotherapeutic effects of Silymarin is a result of its ability to improve oxygenation in blood cells and promote enzymatic activity of antioxidants such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione. Silymarin prevents toxins from accumulating in the detoxifying organs of the body and improves their ability to function and reduce the risk of cancerous cell growth. (11)

Consider taking 200 mg of milk thistle daily to protect your body from carcinogens and inflammation and to lower your risk of developing cancer. This is another great cancer stem cell treatment option.

11. Quercetin

A dietary antioxidant quercetin is found in a variety of vegetables, fruits, teas and wine. Quercetin targets cancer stem cells by interfering with signalling pathways related to free radicals such as reactive oxygen species. Quercetin exhibits cancer prevention and treatment properties by improving the production of other antioxidant levels including glutathione and SOD which further scavenge free radicals involved in the signalling pathways of cancer stem cells. (18, 19)

Researchers have shown that high dose quercetin has the potential to impair the expression of genes which activate cancer cells associated with leukemia (20). Often it is heard that an apple a day will keep the doctor away. Truth be told that this old saying has some validity because apples, more specifically the peels of apples, contain quercetin.

Other quercetin rich foods are raspberries, green tea, red onion, and dark colored tomatoes. Due to its tremendous impact on relieving inflammation, quercetin supplements are often marketed to prevent the release of histamine associated with immune cell responses (20).

The ideal supplemental range for quercetin is thought to be 400-500mg – 2-3 times per day. This is a powerful cancer stem cell killing therapy!

12. Bilberry extract (Vaccinium fruct.) and their anthocyanins

Over 600 types of anthocyanins occur naturally in plants such as berries (especially bilberries), grapes, eggplant, tea and even certain types of oranges. Anthocyanins exhibit anticancer potential by supporting gene function which in turn inhibits the tumor growth pathway in cancer stem cells. Anthocyanins also trigger apoptosis by manipulating the communication between cancer stem cells and tumors. (9)

Anthocyanins equip the body with a natural healing ability to treat colorectal cancer, reduce breast cancer tumors and limit leukemia cells from spreading. These dietary components have the ability to control cancer stem cells which otherwise are uncontrollable. Anthocyanins boost the productivity of genes which suppress tumors, induce apoptosis in colon cancer cells and create dysfunction in leukemia cells. (9)

Consuming both fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables containing these powerful phytochemicals can protect your body from developing cancer and treat already present tumors. Additionally, the anthocyanins freeze-dried berries may exhibit chemopreventive properties and suppress tumor development (21)!

Sources for this Article Include:

1. Prasad S, et al. Ursolic Acid Inhibits Growth and Metastasis of Human Colorectal Cancer in an Orthotopic Nude Mouse Model by Targeting Multiple Cell Signaling Pathways: Chemosensitization with Capecitabine. Clin Cancer REs. 2013 Sep; 18(18):4942-53. PMCID: 3677707

2. Tharmalingam N, et al. Inhibitory effect of piperine on Helicobacter pylori growth and adhesion to gastric adenocarcinoma cells. Infect Agent Cancer. 2014 Dec 16;9(1): 43. PMID: 25584066

3. Dourado GK, Stanilka JM, Percival SS, and Cesar TB. Chemopreventive Actions of Blond and Red-Fleshed Sweet Orange Juice on the Loucy Leukemia Cell Line. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2015;16(15):6491-9. PMID: 26434864

4. Scarpa ES, and Ninfali P. Phytochemicals as Innovative Therapeutic Tools against Cancer Stem Cells. Int J Mol Sci. 2015 Jul; 16(7): 15727-42. PMCID: 519921

5. GcMAF Science Link Here

6. FIRSTiMMUNE Link Here

7. Yanaka A, et al. Dietary Sulforaphane-Rich Broccoli Sprouts Reduce Colonization and Attenuate Gastritis in Helicobacter pylori-Infected Mice and Humans. Cancer Prev Res (Phila). 2009 Apr;2(4):353-60. PMID: 19349290

8. Fahey JW, Zhang Y, and Talalay P. Broccoli sprouts: An exceptionally rich source of inducers of enzymes that protect against chemical carcinogens. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 1997 Sep;94(19)10367-72. PMCID:23369

9. Sehitoglu MH, et al. Anthocyanins: targeting of signaling networks in cancer stem cell. Asian Pac J Cancer PRev. 2014;15(5):2379-81. PMID: 24716988

10. Yao J, Ge C, Duan D, Zhang B, Cui X, Peng S, Liu Y, Fang J. Activation of the phase II enzymes for neuroprotection by ginger active constituent 6-dehydrogingerdione in PC12 cells. J Agric Food Chem. 2014 Jun 18;62(24):5507-18. PMID: 24869427

11. Post-White J, Ladas EJ, Kelly KM. Advances in the use of milk thistle (Silybum marianum). Integr Cancer Ther. 2007 Jun;6(2):104-9. PMID: 17548789

12. Moselhy J, et al. Natural Products that Target Cancer Stem Cell. Anticancer Res. 2015 Nov; 35 (11): 5773-88. PMID: 26503998

13. He Y, et al. Curcumin, inflammation, and chronic diseases: how are they linked? Molecules. 2015 May 20;20(5):9183-213. PMID:26007179

14. Na HK, and Surh YJ. Intracellular signaling network as a prime chemopreventive target of (-)- epigallocatechin gallate. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2006 Feb; 50(2): 152-9. Link Here

15. Tachibana H. Molecular basis for cancer chemoprevention by green tea polyphenol EGCG. Forum Nutr. 2009; 61:156-69. PMID:19367120

16. Howitz KT, Bitterman KJ, Cohen HY, Lamming DW, Lavu S, Wood JG, Zipkin RE, Chung P, Kisielewski A, Zhang LL, Scherer B, Sinclair DA. Small molecule activators of sirtuins extend Saccharomyces cerevisiae lifespan. Nature. 2003 Sep 11;425(6954):191-6. PMID:12939617

17. Singh CK, Pitschmann A, Ahmad N. Resveratrol-zinc combination for prostate cancer management. Cell Cycle. 2014;13(12):1867-74. PMID:24866157

18. Nieman DC, et al. Effects of Quercetin and EGCG on Mitochondrial Biogenesis and Immunity. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2009;1467-1475. DOI: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e318199491f

19. Prior RL. Fruits and vegetables in the prevention of cellular oxidative damage. Am J Clin Nutr. 2003 Sep;78(3):570S-585S. PMID: 12936951

20. Walle T, Walle UK, and Halushka PV. J Nutr. 2001 Oct;131(10):2648-52. PMID: 11584085

21. Wang LS, et al. Anthocyanins in Black Raspberries Prevent Esophageal Tumors in Rats. Cancer Prev Res

With many thanks to Dr David Jockers from whom this article was inspired and adapted by AN Hopking

———————

Information article:

Keto and Cancer 101: Can the Ketogenic Diet Help Fight Cancer?

By Ty Bollinger (TTAC Founder)*
January 10, 2022

Ketogenic diets – also known as keto diets, or keto – are the topic of heavy conversation these days. A typical keto diet recommends getting 75% of calories from healthy fats, 20% from protein, and only 5% from carbs.
On Google, searches for keto now outrank those for paleo.¹
Keto recipe books rank high on bestseller lists and believe it or not, high-fat snacks have become a flourishing business.It may surprise you to learn that what we know today as the keto diet was developed as a clinical tool just under a hundred years ago. It all began in the early 20th Century, when patients with various illnesses were seen to benefit from short fasts.²For instance, doctors noticed that children with epilepsy stopped having seizures after two days of absolute fasting at a point when their bodies would have been forced to enter a physiological state known as ketosis. This is believed to be an evolutionary adaptation to help us through times when food is scarce.
Promisingly, fasting was also found to have positive effects on their body fat, blood sugar, cholesterol, and hunger levels.
In 1921, Dr. R.M. Wilder at the Mayo Clinic proposed a diet for the treatment of epilepsy – which he referred to as a ketogenic diet – in which most of the calories were derived from fat, mimicking the biochemical changes of fasting.² Today, children resistant to anti-epileptic drugs are still advised to follow keto diets to prevent seizures, always under the management of well-trained dietitians, of course. Indeed, according to the Epilepsy Society, the keto diet is considered to be a medical treatment.³Scientists and clinicians have now begun to explore other potential health applications of the keto diet. Recent evidence suggests it can help to lower the risk of diabetes, heart disease, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), neurological diseases, and cancer, among others.⁴A recent news article describes the experience of Jan Vyjidak, who has been on the keto diet for nearly a decade, with the goal of better managing his health and improving his athletic performance.¹“It transformed my life,” he says. “It wiped out my constant hunger, and I was able to stop all medication for my asthma and psoriasis within six months.”
Strong evidence from the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study – a large, epidemiological study of over 1,350,000 individuals aged between 35-70 years from 18 countries – indicates that cutting down on refined carbs and increasing healthy fats can be beneficial to overall health.⁵PURE study results showed that high carb consumption was associated with a greater risk of death, whereas consumption of total fat and individual types of fat were counterintuitively linked to a lower risk of death. Total fat and types of fat were not linked to a greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease, including heart disease.
Intriguingly, greater consumption of saturated fat was associated with a lower risk of stroke.

How Does the Keto Diet Work?

Normally our body uses sugar, also known as glucose, for fuel. However, we cannot make glucose in our body and only have about 24-36 hours’ worth stored in our muscle tissue and liver. Once glucose is no longer available from food sources and we’ve exhausted our internal stores, we begin to burn stored fat, or fat from our food.
Of course, if we consume more carbs than we need for our daily activities, the extra glucose gets stored as body fat and results in unwanted weight gain, with all its unwelcome health consequences.
A keto diet is based on the minimal consumption of carbs, especially refined carbs. Instead, adherents of this diet consume:

Plenty of “healthy” high-fat foods such as grass-fed butter, avocado, olive, coconut, and palm oils, nuts, and seeds
Moderate amounts of grass-fed meat, wild-caught fish, cage-free eggs, bone broth, organ meats, and cheese, and
Carefully managed amounts of high-fiber, low-carb, non-irradiated, non-GMO vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, zucchini, kale, and other leafy greens.

Foods rich in antioxidants are also allowed as long as they do not contain high levels of sugar. The specific details of a typical keto diet can be found here.⁶By minimizing carb consumption, we change the very fuel our body uses to make energy, from glucose to fat. Our liver breaks down fat to fatty acids and glycerol, which are further broken down into chemical molecules known as ketones or ketone bodies – and these are used as fuel by muscles and other tissues in our body instead of glucose.

Ketones are also capable of crossing the blood brain barrier and are an excellent fuel for our brain cells.

When our blood ketone levels reach a certain point, our body is said to enter a state of ketosis, typically three to four days after eliminating carbs or minimizing their consumption. Ketosis has been shown to help people lose weight and excess body fat rapidly – along with making many significant health gains – even while consuming lots of healthy fats and sufficient calories for their needs.

In order to maintain ketosis, carb intake must be restricted to less than 50 grams daily.

As protein can also be broken down into glucose in our body, moderate consumption of proteins is another aspect of this diet. Even fruit intake has to be carefully monitored, as many fruits have been bred for their sweetness and contain a lot of sugar.
Unfortunately, thanks to the widespread prevalence of the standard American diet (SAD) – characterized by high consumption of red meat, processed meat, pre-packaged foods, butter, fried foods, high-fat dairy products, refined grains, potatoes, corn, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), and high-sugar drinks – the incidence of obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and many forms of cancer are skyrocketing in the U.S.
As we shall see, the keto diet might just be the magic bullet.

What is Cancer and What Causes It?

Cancer is not a single disease, but rather a group of diseases all of which share the common feature of abnormal cell growth. Cancer cells either stay put where they are formed or spread to other parts of the body. In the U.S. alone, it is estimated that nearly 2 million new cases of cancer will have been diagnosed in 2018, while over 600,000 people will have died as a consequence of this disease.⁷Normal, healthy cells in our body grow and divide to form new cells, but only as and when our body needs them. When these cells grow old or become damaged, they die, and new cells typically take their place in an orderly fashion.
With cancer, however, this orderly process breaks down. Old and damaged cancer cells continue to live on when they should be dead, and new cells keep forming even though they are not needed. All of these cells, young and old, divide continuously without stopping to form masses of abnormal cells known as tumors.
Conventional medical thinking based on extensive scientific research over the past two to three decades states that many thousands of different types of errors in DNA – including so-called point mutations, amplifications, and deletions – are responsible for cancer formation.⁸Some of these errors are believed to occur in genes in our DNA that control the way our cells function, especially how they grow and divide. These errors are believed to either turn on “oncogenes”, which promote cancer growth, or turn off “tumor suppressor genes”, which act to prevent cancer growth.

Metabolic Requirements for Cancer

Most of the DNA errors that lead to cancer appear to modify cellular metabolism in cancer cells, by targeting a dozen or so signaling pathways. Metabolism is a term used to describe chemical reactions that help to keep our cells and, by extension, our body, alive. Many of these metabolic changes are absolutely essential for cancer cell formation and survival.

For instance, rapidly dividing cancer cells have three fundamental metabolic requirements that they cannot live without.⁸

They need to make a lot of ATP, and quickly, to support their high requirements for energy. Adenosine triphosphate, also known as ATP, is a compound that provides energy to drive hundreds of thousands of biochemical processes in living cells. Found in all forms of life, ATP is often referred to as the chemical energy “currency” that powers metabolic activity.
Cancer cells need to keep making plenty of structural “macromolecules”, which are necessary for building more cancer cells as the tumor grows.
Cancer cells need to carefully maintain their “redox status”. Redox status is the balance between oxidants and antioxidants. Oxidants, including free radicals and other “reactive” chemical species, are made continuously in every living cell as a byproduct of metabolic activities. Several antioxidant systems have evolved in our body to specifically counter the harmful actions of these oxidants.

For cells to maintain a healthy status, oxidants and antioxidants have to be in balance with each other. When this equilibrium is tilted toward an oxidized state, it leads to oxidative stress, in which an excess of oxidants can damage cellular structures and affect the health of the cell. Even cancer cells need to safeguard themselves against this.

Metabolism in Cancer: The “Warburg Effect”

Otto Heinrich Warburg (1883-1970) was a German physiologist and medical doctor who received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1931. In total, he was nominated for the Nobel prize an astonishing 47 times over the course of his career!
Back in the 1920s, Warburg conducted experiments in which he measured oxygen consumption and lactate production in tumor slices. Surprisingly, even in the presence of oxygen, rapidly growing tumor cells consumed glucose at a very high rate when compared to normal cells and produced lactate.⁹Warburg proposed that this process, which he called “aerobic glycolysis”, was caused by the failure of mitochondrial metabolism in cancer cells. Further, he boldly claimed that aerobic glycolysis was in fact the actual cause of cancer cell formation.
In his 1956 paper in the scientific journal Science, Otto Warburg wrote:

What was formerly only qualitative has now become quantitative. What was formerly only probable has now become certain. The era in which the fermentation of the cancer cells or its importance could be disputed is over, and no one today can doubt that we understand the origin of cancer cells if we know how their large fermentation originates, or, to express it more fully, if we know how the damaged respiration and the excessive fermentation of the cancer cells originate.”

Every normal cell in our body produces several ATP molecules from just one glucose molecule – two via glycolysis, two via the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, and 34 via a process known as oxidative phosphorylation in mitochondria.
Mitochondria are the main power generators in our body’s cells and also play a prominent role in antioxidant activities and calcium buffering. The number of mitochondria present in any cell is directly related to its metabolic requirements and can range from a solitary mitochondrion to thousands of them. In fact, mitochondria enable cells to generate up to 15 times more ATP than they could otherwise!
Mitochondria generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) during their metabolic activities. In normal cells, the production of ROS and their elimination by antioxidants are kept in balance.¹⁰ Intriguingly, a higher incidence of errors, or mutations, in mitochondrial DNA have been observed in many human cancers, likely as a result of uncontrolled ROS production and oxidative stress.¹¹As a result, cancer cells are unable to make ATP via oxidative phosphorylation in mitochondria and instead resort to making ATP solely via glycolysis, even when oxygen levels are normal. This is the well-known “Warburg effect”.⁹Although ATP production by glycolysis is quicker, it is much less efficient in terms of how much ATP can be generated per unit of glucose consumed. Also, glycolysis requires an abnormally high supply of glucose to meet the increased energy, macromolecular, and redox needs of cancer cells.
Some experts now feel that impaired energy metabolism may be the defining common factor in nearly all cancers, regardless of their origin.^12,14 They believe that cancer, rather than being caused by errors in DNA, is fundamentally a metabolic disease caused by a disruption in a cancer cell’s ability to get the energy it needs from mitochondrial respiration like a normal cell would.
Further, these experts believe that DNA mutations, uncontrolled cellular growth, and other hallmarks of cancer are a consequence, not the cause, of impaired energy metabolism. They suggest that the poor rate of success in the “War on Cancer” has to do with mainstream medicine’s failure to recognize mitochondrial dysfunction as the underlying cause of cancer.
However, others still feel that DNA errors are indeed the main cause of cancer, and impairment of mitochondrial metabolism at best offers secondary survival advantages to cancer cells.
While this debate rages on, what is the relevance of impaired mitochondrial metabolism in cancer cells to the keto diet?
The simple answer is this – the keto diet places sugar-dependent cancer cells at a significant disadvantage by specifically targeting the Warburg effect and depriving them of their preferred fuel source.¹⁵ This fat-rich, low-carb diet reduces glucose levels in the bloodstream, while increasing levels of ketone bodies and inducing ketosis.
As a result, cancer cells – which can only use glucose, but not ketones, for fuel – are starved of energy, while normal cells are able to adapt their metabolism to use ketones for fuel and do just fine.
Further, both ROS production and oxidative stress are predicted to increase in cancer cells when confronted with the keto diet, damaging them as they try to make their ATP via their defective mitochondrial metabolism.
Based on this logic, the keto diet appears to be a safe, inexpensive, easily implementable, and effective approach to selectively target cancer cells. Promisingly, multiple studies show that the keto diet reduces tumor growth and improves survival in animal models of multiple cancers, along with enhancing the effects of other forms of anticancer therapy.^11,15 Similarly, fasting has been shown to enhance responsiveness to chemotherapy, along with reducing some of the side effects in preclinical cancer therapy models.¹¹

Let’s take a closer look at some of these studies.

A Closer Look at the Ketogenic Diet

It’s interesting that the “dietary religious fanatics” who believe everyone should eat a 100% plant-based diet seem to lose their mind when someone even suggests that the ketogenic diet might help reverse cancer, which many many studies indicate that it does.

Back in 2008, researchers tested the effects of a no-carbohydrate ketogenic diet (NCKD) relative to western and low-fat diets on prostate cancer growth in 75 mice with severe immunodeficiency.¹⁶

Despite consuming equal calories, NCKD mice were seen to lose up to 15% of their body weight relative to mice fed with either the low-fat or Western diet. Further, prostate tumor sizes were 33% smaller in NCKD mice relative to mice fed a western diet. NCKD mice also survived the longest of all.

Other studies have also shown the anticancer effects of a keto diet in combination with caloric restriction. For example, one such combination reduced the growth rate of a type of childhood cancer known as neuroblastoma and also prolonged survival in mice.¹⁷

Interestingly, these neuroblastoma cells showed low levels of mitochondrial metabolism as predicted by the Warburg effect.

Similarly, mice with a type of brain tumor known as malignant glioma lived longer when fed a keto diet, relative to control animals on a standard diet. The combination of the keto diet plus radiation therapy was seen to be additive, indicating that ketosis significantly enhances the anti-tumor effects of radiation.¹⁸

In a 2013 laboratory study, a keto diet alone was shown to significantly reduce blood glucose, slow tumor growth, and increase survival time by 56.7% in mice with systemic metastatic cancer.¹⁹ Metastatic cancers are cancers that can migrate from their place of origin to other areas of the body via the bloodstream or lymph.

Further, combining the keto diet with hyperbaric oxygen therapy was seen to lead to a further reduction in blood glucose, tumor growth rate, and a nearly 78% increase in mean survival time of these mice, relative to controls.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves breathing pure oxygen in a pressurized room or tube and is a well-established treatment for decompression sickness after scuba diving. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is also used to treat serious infections, bubbles of air in blood vessels, and wounds that don’t heal as a result of diabetes or radiation injury.

Similarly, in a 2015 study, mice receiving a combination of hyperbaric oxygen and dietary ketone supplementation showed a clear reduction in tumor growth rate and metastasis.²⁰ Also, these mice lived twice as long as control animals. Based on these results, the study authors state that further investigation into the effectiveness of this combination therapy as a potential treatment for late-stage metastatic cancers is urgently required.

Dietary ketone supplementation has been shown to lower growth rate and survival of highly metastatic cancer cells implanted into mice and prolong their lifespan, even in the presence of high glucose.²¹

Last but not least, a meta-analysis of 12 studies on the effects of keto diets on mouse models of cancer concluded that “there was an overall tumor growth delaying effect of unrestricted KDs (keto diets) in mice”.²²

Are There Adverse Effects of the Keto Diet?

Keto diets do show some side effects, including lethargy, nausea, and vomiting due to intolerance of the diet, especially in children, who may also exhibit low blood sugar and nausea.² But more often than not, these are symptoms of “keto flu” and are generally a short-term reaction to the drastic change in diet.

In adults, GI discomfort is a common side effect due to the high fat content of the diet. A prospective pilot study on keto diets reported a significant, progressive increase in cholesterol levels after a year. In some instances, dramatic weight loss and liver dysfunction were seen.

Studies have also reported deficiencies in trace minerals like selenium, copper, and zinc in patients on keto diets. It’s important to remember that consuming enough mineral-rich foods and supplementation of trace minerals is likely necessary while on the diet.

Important Note: Remember, it’s advisable to talk to your doctor or a dietitian before beginning the keto diet, or any other diet, especially if you have been diagnosed with cancer. The fact is that different diet plans work well for different people, and your doctor or dietitian is best placed to help you decide whether the keto diet can help you reach your specific health goals.

Looking for more about the ketogenic diet?

Article Summary

Ketosis is believed to be an evolutionary adaptation to help us through times when food is scarce.
Once we’ve exhausted our internal stores of glucose, we begin to burn stored fat or fat from our food.
The fat is broken down into ketones, which is excellent fuel for our brain cells.
Some experts believe that impaired energy metabolism may be the defining common factor in nearly all cancers.
The keto diet places sugar-dependent cancer cells at a significant disadvantage.
Promisingly, multiple studies show that the keto diet reduces tumor growth and improves survival in animal models of multiple cancers.
Remember to talk to your doctor or a dietitian before beginning the keto diet, or any other diet, especially if you have been diagnosed with cancer.

[+] Sources and References

agree to the Terms and Conditions & Privacy Policy.

*About Ty Bollinger
Ty Bollinger is a happily married husband, the father of four wonderful children, devoted Christian, best-selling author, medical researcher, talk radio host, health freedom advocate, former competitive bodybuilder and also a certified public accountant.After losing several family members to cancer (including his mother and father), Ty refused to accept the notion that chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery were the most effective treatments available for cancer patients. He began a quest to learn all he possibly could about alternative cancer treatments and the medical industry. Ty has now made it his life mission to share the most remarkable discovery he made on his quest: the vast majority of all diseases (including cancer) can be easily prevented and even cured without drugs or surgery. Ty speaks frequently to health groups, at seminars, expos, conferences, churches, and is a regular guest on multiple radio shows and writes for numerous magazines and websites. Speaking from personal experience and extensive research, Ty has touched the hearts and changed the lives of thousands of people around the world.

20 Natural Herbs That Help Prevent Serious Disease

– more information about treating serious disease with herbs can be found below

Health Warning! Herbs are not without side-effects. Herbs may conflict with some drugs. However, you should seriously consider the usefulness of herbs as a part of your integrative cancer-fighting programme. The information below just provides general information and you should always go to an expert cmedical herbalist for clear and informed advice – see the National Institute of Medical Herbalists website for a herbal practitioner near you www.nimh.org.uk

——————————————–

Cancer cells work opposite to the normal healthy body cell. The key to the difference is that cancer cells are anaerobic (they do not like oxygen). Normal healthy cells in our body love breathing oxygen. In fact the more oxygen in the body the quicker cancer cells are destroyed. This is the basis of the acid-alkaline understanding of disease. If we allow ourselves to become acidic we become vulnerable to disease and serious illness. If we support the alkalinity in our body we keep healthy. It’s that simple.So what are we to avoid to dodge become acidic; and what are we promote to enjoy an alkaline body with health and happiness? It’s not rocket science but the things to avoid we know well: junk food or a poor diet, smoking, little or no exercise, stress, too much alcohol, too much sugar and refined carbohydrates. These in a nutshell produce acidification within the body’s organs and cells. Likewise we know what it is to keep healthy: good proteins like organic meats, fish, nuts and cheese, plenty of raw foods and greens, fresh herbs like parsley, marjoram, basil, watercress, and so on, very little carbohydrate (cut back on potatos, bread, root veg, etc), cut back on all forms of sugar and hidden sugars as in banana, apple, pears, grapes, etc eat more berry fruits, lots of good natural water, take plenty of exercise, and meditate to relax the mind and body – all these bathe the body in the fresh meadow breeze of oxygen. This strengthens the immune system and keeps your body in a healthy alkaline state. This is the recommended change of lifestyle for everyone wanting to avoid illness and serious illness and for those who are ill and want to regain health. For more information make a consultation with Alan Hopking, medical herbalist.
The following herbs have been found to help people to regain their health and a healthy consciousness.

———————

About nine months ago, my husband was scheduled to have a suspected bcc (basal cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer) removed surgically. I had read about your Black Salve and persuaded him to try it. He applied it for several days, the lesion scabbed over and the scab dropped off after a couple of weeks, leaving new, normal skin underneath which was reddish to start with but faded to normal skin colour after a few months. When he attended his hospital appointment, the consultant was surprised to see that the lesion had all but disappeared and concluded that no treatment was necessary. Subsequently, my husband has applied the Black Salve to another suspected bcc and two suspected solar keratosis spots (as diagnosed by the consultant). Exactly the same thing has happened to these subsequent lesions.
Susan Tindale

———————

Treatment with Herbs

Herbs described below are as follows: Sutherlandia (Cancer Bush Herb), Cat’s Claw, Astragalus, Curcuma, Chaparral, Bee Propolis, Mistletoe, Neem, Noni, Echinacea, Flax Seed Oil, Essiac (Caisse), HerbShield.
This is for information only, so that you can made an informed choice about your fight to beat serious disease. We make no medical claims for the effectiveness of these herbs.

———————-

Hi Alan, I have been taking your herbal tonics but the breast tumour has actually grown in size and got very hard. What do you think has happened? Fiona

Dear Fiona, I understand your distress and need to know more about the action of the herbs.
These tonics work synergistically. They help the body’s own physiological functions to function better. They would never actually cause a condition to worsen or deteriorate. The body wants to get better and the herbs in your tonics help to promote this. What has happened it would seem is that the body has isolated this mass in order to deal with it and break it down. The herbs will help in this process of detoxification and clearing of the breaking down activity. Fasting and healthy lifestyle activities will also help to enhance your defences. Providing the body’s own defences are strong and well-supported, the gradual clearance of abnormal masses usually take place without further disruption of function and can take a long time, even years. So there is quite a high demand on you to keep up this support on all levels of your life. I hope this helps. Blessings, Alan Hopking

———————-

CANCER BUSH HERB (SUTHERLANDIA) – NB this herb is no longer available and is not used in Herbactive tonics

Sutherlandia frutescens is regarded as the most profound and multi-purpose of the medicinal plants in Southern Africa. Because of its efficacy as a safe tonic for diverse health conditions it has enjoyed a long history of use by all cultures in Southern Africa.

Sutherlandia powerfully assists the body to mobilize its own resources to cope with diverse physical and mental stresses, and it should therefore be more correctly known as an adaptogenic tonic.

The traditional Tswana name Phetola alludes to this: Phetola means it changes, meaning that the plant changes the course of many illnesses into a favorable outcome. (Similar to the European concept of an alterative). The North Sotho name Lerumo-lamadi means the spear for the blood meaning that Sutherlandia is a powerful blood-purifier or all-purpose tonic.

This plant is one of the most talked about in the ethnobotanical world because it has a strong reputation as a cure for serious disease and now increasingly as an immune booster in the treatment of HIV/AIDS. Research on its properties is ongoing.

It has long been known, used and respected as a medicinal plant in southern Africa. The original inhabitants of the Cape, the Khoi San and Nama people, used it mainly as a decoction for the washing of wounds and took it internally to bring down fevers. The early colonists regarded it as giving successful results in the treatment of chicken pox, stomach problems, and of internal cancers. It is also known to have been used in the treatment of eye troubles, the eyes being bathed with a decoction of the plant. It continues to be used to this day as a remedy for the above-mentioned ailments. It is still used as a wash for wounds, to bring down fevers, to treat chicken pox, for internal cancers, and farm workers in the Cape still use it to treat eye troubles. It is also used to treat colds, ‘flu, asthma, TB, bronchitis, rheumatism, rheumatoid arthritis and osteo-arthritis, liver problems, haemorrhoids, piles, bladder, uterus & ‘women’s’ complaints, diarrhoea & dysentery, stomach ailments, heartburn, peptic ulcers, backache, diabetes, varicose veins and inflammation. It is also used in the treatment of mental and emotional stress, including irritability, anxiety and depression and is used as a gentle tranquillizer. It is said to be a useful bitter tonic and that a little taken before meals will aid digestion and improve the appetite. It is considered to be a good general medicine.

There is as yet no scientific support for the numerous claims and anecdotes that this plant can cure cancer, but there is preliminary clinical evidence that it has a direct anti-cancer effect in some cancers and that it acts as an immune stimulant.

Sutherlandia should not be regarded as a miracle cure for cancer, its real benefits are as a tonic that will assist the body to mobilize its own resources to cope with the illness. It is known to decrease anxiety and irritability and to elevate the mood. Cancer patients, as well as TB and AIDS patients, lose weight and tend to waste away. Sutherlandia dramatically improves the appetite and wasted patients start to gain weight. It is also known to improve energy levels and gives an enhanced sense of well-being. It is hoped that treatment with sutherlandia will delay the progression of HIV into AIDS, and even remission of the disease is hoped for.

The indigenous, folk, and contemporary uses of Sutherlandia include use as a tonic for:

* enhancing well-being
* immune support
* longevity
* stress, depression and anxiety
* wasting from cell distortions, TB, and AIDS
* quality-of-life tonic for abnormal cells, HIV/AIDS and TB
* appetite stimulant in wasted patients, but not in healthy people.
* influenza
* Chronic Fatigues Syndrome, ME Syndrome and Yuppie Flu
* viral hepatitis
* asthma and bronchitis
* type 2 diabetes
* mild to moderate hypertension
* rheumatoid arthritis
* peptic ulcer, gastritis, and reflux oesophagitis
* hot flashes and irritability in menopause

Sutherlandia is included in HerbShield – this herb is not available

Sutherlandia Tincture – this herb is no longer available from us

BLOODROOT

Sanguinaria canadensis. Research shows consistent anti-neoploastic activity. It is effective against tumours, and can shrink them; and has proven useful with skin tumours, breast cell abnormalities and sarcomas. It is the major herb (with chaparral) in Black Salve which is becoming a popular method to fight external rogue cells and breast disease. See more information about the amazing actions of bloodroot and Black Salve.

CAT’s CLAW (Uno de Gato)

Boosting the Attack

Alkaloids are very powerful natural plant compounds and there are six oxindole alkaloids in Uno de Gato bark. This natural compound is found in the Peruvian rain forest and China. It is known to be anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, an antioxidant and an immune stimulator.

An excellent Immune System booster

A common misconception is that merely stimulating the immune system will be enough to kick out a cancer. But, by and large, the problem with cancer is two-fold – true, the immune system is weak, BUT …….the cancer evades the immune system because of the low immune system response capacity. (In English – the bad guys can’t be ‘seen’, no matter how many good guys you produce. The issue is to make lots of good guys AND identify the bad guys in such a way that they appear on the radar screens).
So, in Herbal Medicine two therapeutic requirements are essential for the prevention of rogue cells developing – Immuno-modulating herbs, and Adaptogenic herbs, and BOTH are required to work synergistically.
Cat‘s Claw is an immuno-modulating herb – it is known to increase various white cell levels stimulating the production of Natural Killer Cells. Four alkaloids in particular boost phagocytosis where the white cells attack, wrap up and carry off the rogue cells in the body – be they microbes, viruses, antigens and even abnormal cell masses.
Research studies have shown the herb to be very powerful in its use with AIDS and serious disease therapies. Research shows an action in decreasing the size of some tumours.

Protects healthy cells during radio-and chemotherapy

Can reduce the damaging side effects from radiotherapy and chemotherapy as it seems to offer protection to healthy cells and enhances the attacking and prevention of cancer cells.
As an anti-carcinogen aid it can also be combined with wild yam and aloe vera forming a very strong anti-viral, anti-bacterial immune boosting force.
It has also been shown to boost the body’s natural energy modulating levels.

Cats Claw is included in HerbShield

Prices of Cats ClawTincture

————————

Flax Seed Oil

Flax seed – also known as Linseed – is an annual plant found originally in India but now grown worldwide. It grows to just over a metre tall and produces true blue flowers and dry fruit capsules that each contain several glossy, brown, apple-pip-shaped seeds 4-7mm long. Flax is grown for its seeds and fibre and has been used over the centuries in the manufacture of a myriad of products including fabric, dye, varnish, paper, medicines, soap and fishing nets!
There are two varieties of flax seed – brown and yellow (otherwise known as ‘golden’) – both of which can be eaten. Cold pressed flaxseed oil is also suitable for human consumption and is often taken as a supplement in capsule form.

Nutritional Properties of Flax

Brown and yellow flax seeds have similar nutritional values and are a good source of omega-3 essential fatty acids. Oily fish are also a source of omega-3’s, but there is a difference. Those from fish are ‘long-chain’ omega-3’s, whilst those from plants are ‘short-chain’. The numerous expert research studies of Vane and others on the benefits of omega-3’s with inflammation, Cox-2 and eicosanoids have all shown that long chain is the active form and short chain is inert. That is not to say that plant omega-3’s do you no good; far from it. In the body there is about 12 per cent conversion from short to long and flax is especially important in populations with low fish diets. The only exception is a variety of yellow flax called solin, which provides relatively little omega-3. Omega-3 acids are also very important in maintaining a healthy diet as they reduce cholesterol, blood pressure and plaque formation in arteries.
Besides providing omega-3s, flax seeds are an excellent source of protection against cancer – phytonutrients called lignans. Lignans also act as prebiotics, feeding the populations of certain beneficial bacteria in the colon and stimulating the immune system. Populations with a high intake of phytonutrients have been found to protect and have a lower incidence and mortality rate of breast, colon and prostate cancers. One such population is the Japanese, who typically consume a low-fat, high-fibre diet rich in isoflavonoids from soya beans and lignans from vegetables and grains. Studies linking flax consumption with a protection in breast, colon and prostate cancers have been carried out and are summarised as follows:

Breast Cancer

Studies have shown that women with a history of breast cancer have significantly lower levels of the mammalian lignans enterodiol and enterolactone, which are made from the plant lignans secoisolariciresinol diglycoside (SDG) and matairesinol diglycoside (MDG) when flax seeds are consumed. In addition, lignans have been found to reduce levels of oestrogen, the lifetime exposure to which has strongly been linked with prevention of breast cancer.

Colon Cancer

Since the colon is the region where mammalian lignans are produced from plant lignans, a number of studies have been carried out to find out whether flax plays a role in the prevention of colon cancer. The tests have revealed that cell proliferation – a precursor to tumour growth – was significantly less likely when flax seeds were part of the diet.

Prostate Cancer

In a preliminary clinical study, 25 men with prostate cancer were each given 30g of flax a day for a month as part of a low-fat diet. At the end of the month it was found that prostate cancer cell proliferation had decreased (preventative action), while cancer cell death had increased among these men as compared with a control group.

Cooking with Flax

Flax is very versatile when it comes to cooking. You can do all of the following…!
· Caramelise ground flax, mixed nuts and malt barley extract for a great muesli topping
· Dip chunks of fruit in a mixture of ground flax and desiccated coconut, then stick them on wooden skewer to make fruit kebabs
· Mash an avocado and one tablespoon of ground flax to make a healthy sandwich spread
· Add one tablespoon of ground flax to a hummus mixture for extra goodness
· Sprinkle ground flax on a fruit salad or over fruit purées for a quick dessert
And why not try my recipes for Flaxseed Cookies and Flaxseed and Green Tea Muffins…?

Flaxseed Cookies
Ingredients
250g oats
110g wholemeal flour
50g ground flax seeds
50g raisins
50g cashew nuts
100g brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon baking powder
200ml organic coconut oil
200ml water or Oat Milk (other non-dairy milks are good, too)
Directions
Pre-heat the oven to 200°C. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add oil and mix. Stir in water or milk to make a firm mixture. Place heaped spoonfuls on a baking tray and then flatten. Dust with extra ground flax. Bake for 12-15 mins, then cool and serve.

Flaxseed and Green Tea Muffins
Ingredients
125g ground flaxseed
125g self-raising wholewheat flour
1 egg
50g brown sugar (optional)
2 tablespoons of soya yogurt
100g sunflower oil
1 tablespoon loose green tea (ground to powder in a coffee grinder)
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
Directions
Pre-heat the oven to 190°C. Mix the yogurt and egg, then add the flour, flaxseed, sugar, green tea and lemon. Spoon the mixture into muffin cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes.
Note that ground flaxseed naturally flavoured with blueberries or apple and cinnamon can be ordered from Nutrichef at www.nutrichef.co.uk

Flax Seed Oil is included in HerbShield

Prices of Flax Seed Oil

———————–

Astragalus – An all rounder

Astragalus has been around in Chinese medicine for two thousand years. It is known as ‘haung qi‘, or chi, because it boosts natural body energy levels. Astragalus is taken from the root of a perennial plant (Astragalus membranaceous) needing four to seven years to mature before the root is harvested in early spring. The root is not unlike a garlic bulb. Traditionally, this herb is known to boost the immune system and has benefits in cases of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and respiratory infections. It is also used as a general tonic and to treat burns, abscesses and for hepatitis.

An excellent Immune system booster

Its wide usage in China as an immune system booster brought interest from Europe, Japan and America. Original Chinese studies dated back to 1981, when a study by Hou et al showed that Astragalus taken orally induced greater quantities of interferon and leukocytes in the blood stream.
A common misconception is that merely stimulating the immune system will be enough to kick out a cancer. Maybe, in a few cases it will. But, by and large, the problem with cancer is two-fold – true, the immune system is weak, BUT …….the cancer evades the immune system because of the low immune system response capacity. (In English – the bad guys can’t be ‘seen’, no matter how many good guys you produce. The issue is to make lots of good guys AND stimulate the bad guys in such a way that they appear on the radar screens).
So, Medical Herbalists rightly point out that two therapeutic requirements are essential – Immuno-modulating action, and Adaptogenic action, and BOTH are required to work synergistically.
Astragalus seems to be able to do both jobs. Firstly, it has phenomenal immune system modulating effects. In tests at the Hiroshima School of Medicine in Japan, it was shown to directly increase B-lymphocyte and T-lymphocyte levels, interleukin and antibody production.
But, not only does it increase the number of various white cells and in particular the ‘hunter’ T-cells it also helps identify the viruses, bacteria and other rogue cells. The University of Texas has shown that Astragalus seems to be an adaptogenic herb ’offering up’ viruses, bacteria and even malformed cells to be seen by the immune system.
Astragalus contains bioflavonoids, choline and a polysaccharide, asragalan B, amongst other active ingredients. Astragalan B controls bacterial infection, viruses and other such ‘rogue’ bodies by binding to their outer membranes. This has two effects – it weakens their internal systems, and by sitting on the membrane it thus helps the T-cells identify rogue cells.
All this also makes its use as an adjunct to fight AIDS increasingly important.

FDA to approve role in cancer

A considerable amount of detailed German and American research has confirmed the herb’s powers, and identified an important potential role in cancer preventon therapy. For example:

Researchers from the University of Texas, Houston, have reported that cancer patients receiving Astragalus have twice the survival rate of those only receiving placebos.
It is often used in conjunction with other herbs. In a 1994 Italian study (Morazzoni, Bombardelli) breast abnormality patients were given a combination of Iigustrum and Astragalus. Patients given this mix showed a decline in mortality from 50% to 10%.
In another study of patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer all undergoing chemotherapy, the group taking the dual herb mix showed an average life span increase of 130%.
Astragalus doesn’t merely enhance interferon levels; there is strong scientific evidence that it benefits liver function (often impaired in the cancer sufferer). In China, Astragalus is widely used in the treatment of hepatitis. It seems to reduce toxin levels significantly, boost interferon levels and inhibit viral protein expression whilst having little or no effect on normal DNA. (Zhang 1995, Fan 1996)

The FDA is currently granting it approval as an anti-cancer agent for help in the protection against developing cancer..

Improves the effectiveness of Radio- and Chemotherapy

One extremely important conclusion from several US studies is that Astragalus seems to help the immune system differentiate between healthy cells and rogue cells, thereby boosting the body’s total ‘cancer fighting system’. One effect of this is the added benefit of improving the effectiveness of radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatments.

In Chinese hospitals Astragalus is now routinely used to help people recover from the negative effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
MD Anderson Cancer Center (Texas) researchers reported that some patients undergoing radiotherapy had twice the survival rates if they took astragalus during the treatment.
In the West some herbalists routinely provide chemotherapy and radiotherapy patients with Astragalus, and apart from boosting the immune system (which of course both orthodox treatments damage) it also seems to stop the spread of malignant cells to secondary healthy tissues.

There are no known conflicting effects with drugs. Astragalus should be taken with meals at a total intake of 2,000 to 3,000 mgs per day.

Astragalus beats the flu
Clinical Applications: Astragalus is antiviral, carminative, antispasmodic, and hepatic. It improves glucose tolerance and acts as a vasodilator. In China, astragalus has been used as an energy tonic for deficient spleen qi and yang conditions. It has been used to treat wasting and thirsting conditions, as well as diarrhea, fatigue, and prolapse of the uterus. Astragalus is used to control fluids in cases of excess sweating and to reduce fluid retention.
– Fundamentals of Naturopathic Endocrinology by Michael Friedman, ND

Other Chinese doctors have found that astragalus offers more effective relief than the drug nifedipine (Procardia) for angina pain. More than 80 percent of angina patients improved on astragalus treatment without the dizziness, giddiness, heartburn, or headache that nifedipine can cause. Animal studies suggest that astragalus can help prevent the development of cholesterol plaques after an arterial wall has been damaged, which can keep the coronary arteries from becoming too narrow. Astragalus also is useful in the treatment of viral myocarditis, a flulike infection that affects the heart.
– Prescription for Herbal Healing: An Easy-to-Use A-Z Reference to Hundreds of Common Disorders and Their Herbal Remedies by Phyllis A. Balch, CNC

Also, since flu vaccines are formulated based on viruses that have caused outbreaks in the past, they may or may not be effective in preventing flu caused by this year’s virus. Astragalus helps to build the immune system, and thus make you less vulnerable to the flu. Take 250 to 500 milligrams in the morning three times a week during the flu season. Note: Do not take this herb if you have a fever. American ginseng helps to boost the immune system and strengthen the body. Take 200 milligrams one-half hour before breakfast once or twice a week during the winter months.
– Smart Medicine for Healthier Living : Practical A-Z Reference to Natural and Conventional Treatments for Adults by Janet Zand, LAc, OMD, Allan N. Spreed, MD, CNC, James B. LaValle, RPh, ND

Consider taking ginseng or astragalus to promote health, stamina, and viral immunity. Take colostrum, beta-glucan, and other immune-boosting supplements. Take extra vitamin C and zinc. Follow the recommendations in this book on how to take natural medicines for beating the flu. For frail, older people, reduce the dosage by half.

Astragalus is included in HerbShield

Prices of Astragalus Tincture

——————————

Chaparral

is an evergreen desert shrub, long used by native Americans to treat everything from colds to cancer has now been shown by the Medical University of South Carolina to, indeed, have the ability to shrink some tumours. In the 50’s to 70’s, Chaparral tea was used as an anti-cancer drink but the FDA warned people off it, claiming possible liver and kidney damage.
Chaparral has now been shown to have the ability to shrink some tumours
This latest research used injectable refined extracts of Chaparral injected into patients with head and neck cancers that had not responded to previous treatments. No negative effect with either liver or kidneys was seen.

“Clinical trials of M4N (a refined extract taken from Chaparral) will be important”, said a spokesman at Cancer Research UK.

Chaparral is included in HerbShield

Prices of Chapperal Tincture

————————–

Bee propolis and pollen

Propolis has always had a pretty healthy image. After all, honey was one of the staple foods in the Middle Ages and is known to have significant anti-viral and anti-fungal benefits. Only recently, we covered a story in icon that Christie Hospital, Manchester was to use Manuka honey for patients who had had chemotherapy or radiotherapy and were suffering from infections of the throat and mouth. It is also applied to leg ulcers, although I prefer to combine it with antibacterial and wound healing herbs for extra strength.

What is Bee Propolis?

Propolis is a natural compound produced by bees from the buds of plants and mixed with wax and resin. It is used to repair the hive, and to protect it from predators like viruses, bacteria, fungi and various microbes and diseases. It maintains the temperature and health of the hive (Park et al 2002).
Not surprisingly it can be extremely useful in fighting various infectious diseases. A range of safe and positive effects has been identified – for example, it is highly effective with:

wound healing
skin infections
tissue repair
gastro-intestinal problems

The actual content of bee propolis depends on the geographic location of the bees and the time of year (Banskota et al 2000). Propolis often comprises more than 180 natural compounds, many of which are concentrates of powerful antioxidant plant flavenoids and phenols. This finding, through chromatographic analysis for example, has led to many new and research-proven benefits over the last 8 years. (Castaldo and Capasso, 2002)
Bee propolis is now also known to have:

anaesthetic benefits
immuno-modulating benefits
anti-inflammatory benefits
antioxidant benefits
cardiovascular benefits
cancer prevention benefits

Brazilian bee propolis (Green propolis from Baccharis Dracunculifolia) has been the subject of a number of many serious clinical studies, and according to PubMed, accounts for over 26 per cent of all new research. The next group of major researchers is in Japan.
Because the ‘ingredients’ of bee propolis can vary greatly, I will confine the rest of this article to Brazilian green propolis. Much of the research detail comes from an article published in the International Journal of Cancer Research 3 (1); 43-53 2007.

Anti-Cancer Benefits for Prevention

Brazilian bee propolis has significant and varied anti-cancer benefits (prevention), some of which will surprise many orthodox experts. Overall, research has indicated benefits in each of the following areas of the cancer process:

Anti-inflammatory
Anti-viral; anti-yeast (candida albicans)
Wound Healing
Immune stimulant
Free radical scavenging
DNA protection
Anti-tumour effect
Preventative action against abnormal cell development and induce apoptosis should this occur
Anti-metastatic activity.

Furthermore, it has been shown to enhance the benefits of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, having a protective effect on healthy cells and an enhancing effect on chemotherapy action.

(i) Anti-inflammatory action
Inflammation is a usual precursor to cancer and may be caused by a number of factors such as eicosanoids (e.g. Prostaglandins), cytokines (e.g. leukotrines), quinines, free radicals histamines and serotonin. Propolis has been shown to inhibit prostaglandin, leucotrine and histamine release. (Khayyal et al 1993; Mirzoeva and Calder 1996; Hepsen et al 1999. Indeed all these inflammatory conditions have been suppressed in clinical studies – and in each case the response was as good as the recommended prescription drug (Menezes et al 1999). Propolis was even found to overcome formaldehyde induced arthritis. Typical active ingredients were the flavenoid hesperidins (Hata and Beyer 2004).
(ii) Anti-viral; anti-yeast
Various research studies have confirmed bee propolis effectiveness against all the principle strains of Staphylococcus, Escherichia coli, salmonella, E coli, candida albicans and even HIV. A number of flavenoids seem particularly important, especially kaempferol, pinocembrin and galangine. Again controls were taken using prescription drugs such as AZT the anti-AIDS drug. Moronic acid in propolis had significant anti-HIV effect, out-scoring the AZT drug.
(iii) Wound Healing
Propolis has been found to have antiseptic, anaesthetic and healing powers. It has been shown to have a healing effect in the tissue repair of oral mucosa (Bretz et al 1998) – hence the use of Menuka by Christie Hospital. It is also effective as a 5 per cent mouthwash after dental surgery (Carvahlo 1994). Post operative wounds – for example after cancer surgery – in subcutaneous tissues were more quickly healed with a compress of propolis, honey and comfrey ointment (Magro-Filho 1987).
(iv) Immune Stimulant
The ester of caffeic acid (CAPE) is one of the main active compounds of propolis, along with the flavenoid ingredients Quercitin and Hesperidine. They seem to have two actions. Firstly, they seem to inhibit cellular growth and secondly, they can increase the presence of certain white immune cells like T-lymphocytes, increasing hydrogen peroxide production without any simultaneous and damaging nitrite production, which usually occurs with macrophage activity. (Than et al 2003; Ansorge et al 2003)
(v) Free Radical Scavenging
Flavenoids are known to have powerful antioxidant benefits. Matsushige et al 1996 isolated a compound from propolis to show that it had a stronger antioxidant benefit that vitamins C and E. The Brazilian propolis seems to have stronger antioxidant powers than those of China, Peru and Holland. The antioxidant capacity can prevent the free radicals acting on the cell lipids, proteins and even the DNA.
(vi) DNA Protection
CAPE – even when used in low doses – can prevent cellular mistakes in healthy cells and induce apoptosis (cell death) in abnormal cells. Thus it seems to have a double benefit of protecting healthy cells whilst killing rogue cells. (Chen et al 2003)
Fitzpatrick et al (2001) also showed that propolis could protect healthy DNA and restrict macrophage activity. This selective effect was also shown by Su et al 1995.
(vii) Anti-tumour effect
The ability to protect healthy DNA was confirmed by Banskota et al 2001, and by Suzuki et al, in 2002. They both also noted that propolis had anti-tumour activity. The ability to kill rogue cells has been shown both in vitro and in animal in vivo studies. The particular ingredient responsible is Artepillin C, which leads to malignant cells’ DNA fragmentation (Kimoto et al 1998). Kimoto has also shown that intra-tumoural injections of 500 mgs of Artepillin C produced apoptosis and an increase in immune defenses.
CAPE and another 20 ingredients of propolis were tested by Nagaoka et al 2002. 4 were found to cause abnormal cell death. Where CAPE was taken orally by mice with lung tumours, a reduction of tumour size of 50 per cent was noted. Researchers similarly tested another group of mice using the drug cisplatine. No difference in effectiveness was noted, but the mice taking the drug had significant weight loss, a side-effect not noted with propolis (Nagaoka et al 2003). It was concluded that CAPE had a cytoxic effect, and could also block the invasive, metastasis noted with these tumours.
(viii) Enhancement of orthodox chemotherapy approaches
Propolis has biological effects that act in synergy with chemotherapy drugs such as 5-fluorouracil (Suzuki et al 2002).Importantly Santos and Cruz 2001 showed that the antioxidant properties of propolis could reduce the side effects caused by chemotherapy drugs without any detriment to the therapeutic effects.
Suzuki researched two drugs in experiments with mice and cancer (mitomicine C and 5- fluoresce) and showed that the combination of drug plus propolis had by far the greatest regression effects especially in advanced stages, over the drugs used on their own. The propolis usage resulted in higher levels of white and red cells and less side effects. The conclusion of the research was that propolis increased the bio-availability of the drugs. The desired effect could therefore logically be achieved on smaller doses and with even less side effects.
Orsolic and Basic (2005) used mice with breast tumours to show antioxidants can enhance the performance of both radiotherapy and chemotherapy, by using water soluble bee propolis. This supports the work of Chan noted above, that CAPE has a cytoxic effect and can cause cell death, whilst protecting the DNA of healthy cells. ‘Chemotherapy agents used in anti-metastatic activity have their benefits enhanced’. was again the conclusion. The authors recommended clinical trials should take place as all the indications were for greater effect in radio and chemotherapy, whilst minimising blood cell declines and other side effects.
Padmavathi et al (2005) studied the drug paclitaxel with propolis, in DMBA-induced mice breast cancer and concluded that the two combined suppressed breast cancer, decreased lipid peroxidation, and increased the activities of antioxidant enhanced super oxide dismutase and vitamin C. They concluded that the combination of paclitaxel and propolis offers maximum effect in DMBA-induced breast cancer.

It’s a wonder oncologists aren’t all rushing to use propolis – or at least conduct clinical trials. What have they got to lose?
Unfortunately if these results are borne out in real life, it would explode the myth that they have been uttering for too long – that antioxidants get in the way (are counter-indicated) for their wonder drugs and radiotherapy. We have quoted research in the past in icon from UCLA and MD Anderson (several studies) before saying antioxidants are beneficial to orthodox therapies. Now the research on the use of propolis, with 180 concentrated ingredients, many of which are antioxidants is the final sting in the tail. But will they take notice? Sadly, given the consistency of these findings, it’s the patients who are losing out if propolis is not used by patients to prevent cancer. The drugs and radiotherapy are less effective, and the side effects are worse.
Hippocrates must be turning in his grave.

Herbactive Propolis/Bee Pollen is a liquid making it easy and highly effectiive to take – made in organic vegetable glycerine (alcohol-free tincture). You can buy it from us and a low price.

Propolis/Bee Pollen is included in HerbShield

Prices of Bee Pollen Tincture

—————————

Mistletoe

is a semi-parasitic plant that has been used for centuries in Europe to treat many human illnesses. Although the berries and the plant itself are poisonous, a whole variety of extracts has been prepared and these seem to avoid the toxicity and side effects.
The extracts are manufactured and marketed as injectable prescription drugs under a variety of names including Iscador, Isorel, Isucucin, Helixor, Plenosol and Eurixor. Some extracts are, in fact marketed under more than one name. Iscador, Isorel and Plenosol are sold as Iscar, Vysorel and Lektinol respectively. The chemical composition of the extract also depends on the host tree, and extract variants are prepared by tree type.
The extracts can be in aqueous solution or in solutions of water and alcohol. They may also be fermented.
The FDA has not yet approved mistletoe extracts and regards them as homeopathic drugs.

Why The Interest?

Two components of mistletoe, lectins and viscotoxins, provide the probable active ingredients for the extracts, which have been shown to kill abnormal cells in vitro, and to boost the immune system in vitro and in vivo.
Open quotes Some extracts are, in fact marketed under more than one name Close quotes
Viscotoxins are small proteins that appear to kill certain cells by combining with their nucleic acids whilst also stimulating the immune system. Lectins are larger and more complex molecules made of carbohydrate and protein (galactosides). They appear to be able to bind to the surface of immune cells and stimulate activity, in common with all glycoproteins. Glycoproteins improve intercellular recognition systems, activating natural killer cells/T cells and other white cells to produce interleukin 1 and 6, and also tumour killing factors. One study reviewed lectins’ ability to release superoxide from certain white cells.

Does It Work?

There have been over 30 European trials on mistletoe, none without a little bit of controversy. In 1994 a review of the trials found that there was insufficient evidence to recommend the use of mistletoe extracts in the prevention of cancer.
However a recent study (Maticek; Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine May/June 2004) involving both randomised and non-randomised samples and 10,266 patients changed all that.
A continuous recruitment of patients between 1973 and 1988 in Germany for the study based at the Institute for Preventative Medicine, United Nations, Heidelberg matched people treated with Iscador and those without with strict control of age, sex, tumour type, year of diagnosis, chemotherapy etc. A further follow up in 1998 reviewed survival times.
Those who continued on a long term basis saw a doubling of survival time.
Both test groups showed an increased survival time of 39 per cent for those taking Iscador. Those who continued to use Iscador on a long term basis saw a doubling of survival time. By contrast, short usage times seem to provide little effect, possibly since stimulation of the immune system requires time.
Another study with patients having malignant melanoma is ongoing.

Treatment

Iscador is given as subcutaneous injection 2-3 times per week. Side effect are relatively mild and include a slight irritation or reddening around the injection site. There may be a rise in patient temperature.

The use of Iscador with a variety of illnesses has been studied; from breast to brain tumours; from pancreatic to bladder illnesses, and we recommend interested parties to review the extensive research on mistletoe. The level of research and conclusions would surprise most UK oncologists.
You can buy organic Mistletoe Tincture from us.

Mistletoe is included in HerbShield

Prices of Mistletoe Tincture

———————————-

Curcuma

is the ‘active’ ingredient of the Indian/Asian curry spice Turmeric. To put this technically, curcumin is the principal curcuminoid in turmeric. Curcuminoids are polyphenols. Turmeric powder is ground from the root of a plant called Curcuma Longa, which is a member of the ginger family and is found throughout Southern Asia, even growing wild in the Himalayas.
This vivid yellow to brown spice was used, like many Asian spices and chillies, to hide the taste of stronger tasting meats and fish – even those that might have gone a little ‘off’ in such hot climates. Like many such spices, it also performed a necessary and functional role – it was a cleanser, a ‘bacteria-killer’ in the stomach, protecting against ‘tainted’ foods!

Wide activity

Curcumin first caught my attention when I read a research report on its ability to prevent the ‘crossed wires’ of Alzheimers, through blocking a certain peptide forming. Therapeutic doses seem able to prevent, and also reverse, early stages of the disease. (My father had the disease, in case you wondered!). As I started to do my homework, I found clinical trials for all manner of ‘illnesses’ from cystic fibrosis to reduction of risk in stomach and colorectal cancers.
Curcumin/turmeric has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years as a ‘cleanser of the body’. It appears to work at a number of levels:
1. It can inhibit unwanted bacterial action in the stomach and intestine:
For example (i) , University of Chicago researchers have shown it inhibits Heliobacter Pylori, a bacterium known to be responsible for stomach ulcers and some stomach cell malformation. In Ayurvedic medicine, curcumin was used in poultices for this same reason – to kill unwanted bacteria.
2. It is a significant anti-inflammatory:
Arachidonic acid is a precursor/stimulator of the production of bad eicosancids (see our reviews of omega 3 and vitamin D) and thus to inflammation, which is itself a precursor to certain cell abnormality. Curcumin has been found to inhibit several of the pre-inflammatory enzymes (e.g. COX–2 and iNOS) in vitro and in vivo with animals. Japanese research suggests it works in much the same way as salicylin. (ii)
3. It boosts crucial cellular glutathione levels:
Glutathione is a crucial intracellular antioxidant, helping the cell maintain its correct oxygen levels and ‘fight off’ the effects of stress hormones. Research has shown that curcumin can prevent the action of an enzyme that limits glutathione production.
4. It is a powerful antioxidant:
“Turmeric extract tested more potent than garlic, omega 3 and cat’s claw (devil’s claw)” said German research. (iii)
5. It can prevent cancer:
“Curcumin can suppress tumour initiation, promotion and metastasis. Extensive research over the last 50 years has indicated it can prevent cancer”. So says the mighty MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas. ‘The anti-cancer potential stems from its ability to prevent a wide variety of tumour cells, down-regulate transcription factors, down-regulate enzymes such as COX-2 and other inflammatories, chemokines, cell-surface adhesion molecules, down-regulate growth factors”, etc., etc. (iv)
It’s not just MD Anderson that are fans:
Tufts have conducted research with breast abnormality patients concluding that curcumin and isoflavanoids seem to inhibit the action of environmental oestrogens. (v)
UCLA have researched its potential with colorectal carcinoma (San Diego – Chauhen).
Kentucky University researchers report on its inhibition of B lymphoma cells. (vi)
Sloan-Kettering (New York) even offered that green tea spiced with curcumin was a double anti-cancer prevention strategy!
There are a dozen or more studies where curcumin has caused cell death in rogue cells; and even more where it prevents tumours forming a blood supply.
However as always, some things seem too good to be true; and despite the euphoria of major hospitals in the USA, a few words of realism have to be added.
Firstly, much of the work uses cell cultures. Most other studies use a variety of animals. There have been human trials, even clinical trials, primarily with cervical malformed cellular lesions and with gastrointestinal rogue cells; however, these are limited. So, although the biochemical knowledge is vast, the use of oral curcumin to prevent cancer is essential to take seriously.
Next, there is a problem maintaining ‘effectiveness’ inside the cells; there are several studies that show oral consumption needs to be maintained in order to maintain blood and cellular levels. So it’s curry every day, then!

Supplementation

Actually, a single curry meal delivers very small amounts of active curcumin, so you would have to maintain daily consumption. Or you can supplement. (Research from Taiwan shows that even 8 gms per day for three months is ‘safe’. In one UK clinical trial a variety of doses from 0.45 to 3.6 gms per day was used with colorectal C patients, all having no adverse effects.
Curcumin supplements may be heavily contaminated – with everything from pesticides to other spices – so you must choose a reliable supplier, ideally of curcuma longa. If you are thinking of buying Curcuma Longa you might like to look at the Natural Selection Product of Choice. You can do this by clicking here.

Counter indications

Some supplements contain piperine, supposedly to increase bio-availability. This can interfere with certain drugs.
Curcumin can inhibit coagulation in vitro and so may be inadvisable if you are taking anti-coagulants. It might increase the risk of bleeding.
It might also be advisable not to take it if you are pregnant or lactating.

In summary

Clearly there is a huge enthusiasm, even expectation, overseas for curcumin, if not in British hospitals and oncology departments. But the real issue is can you take enough of it orally to deliver it in adequate doses to your breast or prostate cells? Certainly curcumin (curcuma longa) was seen to be an important herb in the natural and successful prevention of prostate cancer. We will just have to wait and see whether this longstanding Ayurvedic medicine will curry favour with the UK medical fraternity.
(i)Magad et al, Anticancer Res 2002. 22(6C) 4179-81
(ii)Vane: Nobel Prize 1982
(iii) J Pharmacology 2003 55; 981-6
(iv) Aggarwal et al Anticancer Res. 2003. 23; 363-98
(v) Environ Health Perspective 1998; 106. 807-12

To buy our Turmeric tincture go to our store
To buy curcumin (concentrated extract) see more about the CurcurminUltra tablet we have on offer or go to our store to order

(vi) Clin. Immun. 1999. 93; 152-61

Curcuma is included in HerbShield

To order Curcuma Root as a strong organic tincture:

Prices of Curcuma Root Tincture

——————————

Neem – A Powerful Tree for All of Us

By Linda Yates, Herbalist, Kissimmee, Florida, USA
I’ve worked with many wonderful botanicals over the past 40 years, but seldom have I seen one with as many amazing qualities as Neem. Unfortunately, though, it’s relatively unknown to the western world! I’d like to change that fact.
The more I learn about Neem, the more I am amazed. It’s a tree, native to Burma, and grows widely in northern India, where its curative powers are recognized by almost everyone. In fact, some folks refer to it as “The Village Pharmacy”, so wide is its sphere of action. Many parts of the tree are used – leaves, bark, roots – all with somewhat different propensities and areas of healing.
Neem is used over much of the world as an insect repellant and anti-fungal in agriculture, where its safety far surpasses any chemical products and is thus a great boon to our planet!
But its human applications are striking. Most of us have a strong disinclination to consider the idea that we harbour parasites, fungi, and all sorts of other nasty things, but that doesn’t change the fact that we do. And they are causing major illness, including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, strokes, immune dysfunction, and many other serious or life threatening maladies.

Neem Can and Does Help!

Therefore, it behoves all of us to explore what the Neem tree, an inexpensive, safe, beneficial, plant, can do for us! Neem trees grow along roadsides all over India and are common in many households.
Neem is a tree, native to Burma
Amazingly, the pollution of traffic doesn’t seem to matter – the leaves have their own protection seemingly built in by Nature. Also, as the leaves are basically medicinal, they can be stored for a long time under low temperature conditions. Many Indian families will take five clean, washed leaves, grind them into a paste, and take them upon rising, as a preventive medicine. Amazingly, they are used very potently in the care of diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, and other ailments.
WHY? Because they are anti-fungal, and a growing consensus of reports worldwide has concluded that fungi and their resulting mycotoxins are the cause of most of modern society’s scourges. And why do we all have so many fungi? One major reason is our diet, which is way too high in grains, sugars, and other carbohydrates. Fungi love sugars and this fact links to many findings concerning their involvement in diabetes. Many cancers too are said to be linked with the draining presence of fungi, whose presence can be also encouraged by a variety of chemicals from antibiotics in our diets to chemotherapy treatments.
To quote the National Research Council in Washington, DC, which has released a report titled Neem: Tree for Solving Global Problems, the NRC Panel feels Neem is “one of the most promising of all plants, and the fact that it is may eventually benefit every person on this planet. Probably no other plant yields as many strange and varied products or has as many exploitable by-products.”
This is exciting information, and I am happy to say that the results I’ve personally experienced with it are dramatic! Those who have sought it from me are also very excited with the changes they are seeing personally from its use, which include major improvement in blood sugar levels for diabetics (this is my speciality, actually), sense of wellbeing, getting rid of chronic fungal infections and major clearing up of long standing skin problems.
Probably no other plant yields as many strange and varied products
Modern science has now identified Azadirachtin as the key ingredient in Neem. I can’t pronounce it, but I know it’s good for me! I only market an extract of the leaves which is 100% Azadirachtin, as this is the most potent form I’ve found for human consumption. Neem also comes in other forms, but this is the best, easiest, and most economical for our healing purposes.
I hope I have sparked some interest in everyone about what Neem can do for all of us. It’s safe, effective, easy to take, and produces wonderful changes in our bodies as we rid them of the fungi, parasites, and mycotoxins which are slowly reducing our ability to function optimally.

Neem is included in HerbShield

To order Neem Leaf as a strong organic tincture:

Prices of Neem Leaf Tincture

—————————————

Essiac – The Medicine Man’s Prevention of Cancer

Essiac, which we call Cassie-ACT after Mrs Caisse (because the word Essiac is now trade marked), (ACT means Alcohol-free Concentrated Tincture), quite simply is a natural, herbal tea. Currently, it is unapproved for marketing in the United States. However the Resperin Corporation, now owners of the formula, has a special agreement with the Canadian Health and Welfare department, which permits “emergency releases of Essiac on compassionate grounds to cancer sufferers”.
Well does it work, or doesn’t it?!
The original formula was given to Nurse Rene Caisse by a hospital patient who claimed her cancer had been healed some 20 years before by an Ontario Indian medicine man.
Essiac quite simply is a natural, herbal tea
Caisse used the blend of herbs to treat patients for a number of years, setting up her own clinic in 1935 in Braceridge. Caisse’s view was that it alleviated pain, and at the same time broke down nodular masses to form a more normal tissue. (Eventually the tumour would start to soften after an earlier hardening. Patients frequently reported a discharge of large amounts of pus and fleshy material as the tumour broke down.)
Her clinic was free, and by 1938 supporters tried to win Government approval for her work, failing in parliament by three votes. Nine doctors had petitioned the Canadian federal health department as early as 1926 asking that Caisse be allowed to test her cancer remedy on a broad scale. In their signed petition they testified that the herbal treatment reduced tumour size and increased life expectancy.

Caisse’s own view was that, if it doesn’t actually cure cancer, it does afford significant relief. Whilst in Canada Caisse treated her own 72 year old mother with the tea under the supervision of Dr Roscoe Graham, consultant and specialist. The tea was administered 12 times a day for 10 days, and her mother lived to 90 years of age.
By 1942, without official approval and fearing arrest, Caisse shut her clinic, although she continued to treat patients at home. In 1959 at the age of seventy she went to the Brusch Medical Centre in Massachusetts, where she treated cancer patients under the watchful eye of 18 doctors. Dr Charles Brush, who treated President Kennedy amongst other members of New England’s elite, reported in 1991 that he had been taking Caisse’s formula since 1984 when he himself had cancer operations.
If it doesn’t actually cure cancer, it does afford significant reliefThis must be interpreted for the UK as “It doesn’t actually cure cancer but can afford significant prevention,” – Alan Hopking

The original herbal ingredients were:
Burdock root – A well-known blood purifier which has been reported by Hungarian and Japanese scientists to decrease cell mutation and inhibit tumours. It has a reasonably high Selenium content.

Sheep Sorrel – A traditional Indian remedy for everything from eczema to ringworm; it does have an effect in herpes, ulcers & abnormal cell development seemingly by stimulating the endocrine system.

Slippery Elm – Calcium, magnesium and vitamin rich, it has a healing effect on the lungs and internal organs. It also helps reduce acid ash in the body.

Indian Rhubarb – Very cleansing to the liver and intestinal system. It also helps transport oxygen throughout the body and has an antibiotic and anti-yeast action and reduces inflammation. In 1980 studies showed that it also had a clear anti-tumour effect.
The ingredients of Essiac Caisse-ACT, if nothing else, make it an excellent all round immune system booster and preventative tonic

Without proper clinical trials it is impossible to come to any definitive conclusion about Essiac and a degree of mythology has clouded some of the story.
What is apparent though is that the ingredients of Essiac, if nothing else, make it an excellent all round immune system booster and, whilst the specific anti-cancer claims may still need some hard supporting evidence, few people could argue with the proven track records of the ingredients. I can understand the banning of a cancer clinic without clinical trials, but hardly the banning of such a good all round cleanser and immune booster.

The medical authorities only play into the hands of the cynical and the “alternative” health brigade when they refuse to conduct full and open clinical trials to clear up the outstanding issues once and for all.

The Essiac herbs are included in HerbShield

Would you like to order Essiac now called Caisse alcohol-free concentrated tincture?

Prices of Caisse Alcohol-Free Concentrated Tincture

——————————

Noni – The Root of Life?

Morinda citrifolia, or Noni, has a knobbly fruit widespread in tropical countries from Tahiti through Asia and back to Hawaii. In the Caribbean it is called ‘dog dumpling‘, but this sounds a lot less appetising! It can be eaten as the natural fruit but is more widely consumed in liquid form.
Noni contains a number of enzymes and alkaloids in quite large quantities. It would appear from several research studies to have four main benefits:
Firstly, it directly stimulates the immune system increasing the production of both B – and T-lymphocytes. Furthermore, Noni contains pro-Xeronine, which can be converted to Xeronine by natural enzymatic action in the body’s tissues. Xeronine, produces a strong immune response as a preventive to cancer cells in laboratory experiments.
Secondly, it appears to inhibit tumour development. Research conducted by Drs. Hirazumi and Furasawa at the Department of Pharmacology in the University of Hawaii, showed conclusively that the high polysaccharide content of Noni inhibits tumours in mice. Bromelain, an alkaloid and enzyme also found in pineapples and used in some dietary cancer therapies, is found in high levels in Noni and it is known to weaken the walls of abnormal cells. The undoubted strength of Noni lies in this multi-polysaccharide, alkaloid and high phytochemical content. Dr DL. Davis, the senior science advisor to the US Public Health Service is very clear that, “phytochemicals can take tumours and diffuse them”. Thirdly, Noni helps regulate cell function and cell regeneration. Dr Neil Solomon MD, PhD. conducted research with mice and showed that those fed Noni live live 123% longer than normal.
Noni is a knobbly fruit widespread in tropical countries

He believes this is due to Noni enhancing the body’s natural healing processes and balancing the body’s pH. Noni, in its concentrated form, provides a strong residue of alkaline ash in the body when consumed. This would serve most people well as their normal Western lifestyle and diet produces an acid body. A slightly alkaline pH is essential for the peak efficiency of the cellular biochemistry, and for the effective functioning of the immune system.
In a paper ‘The Pharmacologically Active Ingredient of Noni’, R.M. Heinicke of the University of Hawaii concludes that Xeronine protects and keeps the shape of protein molecules, which after passage into the cell, can be better used to make healthy tissue. Xeronine may also help protein molecules pass into cells by enlarging the membrane pores and, so the theory runs, the bigger the pores, the larger the protein molecules ‘feeding’ the cells and so the healthier they become. The juice must be drunk on an empty stomach as the pepsin and acid of the stomach will destroy Xeronine and pro-Xeronine. In fact, you should not eat anything for about two hours before and about half an hour after taking Noni.
Finally, Noni acts as an analgesic for headaches and as a healing agent for open wounds. Researchers in France have found that it is 75% as effective as morphine sulphate without the addictive side effects. In South East Asia, Noni is drunk to aid digestion and neutralise foreign bacteria in the stomach. And it is also used to put on cuts and wounds to speed up the healing process.

We sell the Noni Root with all its mystery and wonder deep under ground!

Noni root is included in HerbShield

Prices of Noni Root Tincture

———————-

Echinacea – The Immune Boosting Herb

Although Echinacea was a favourite of Native American Indians for centuries, it lost its position as an immune system booster when antibiotics came along. Originally claims were made for its excellence in aiding relief from anything from colds to preventing cancer.
Over the last twenty years it has been the Germans who have pioneered all the new research work with literally hundreds of studies. This is a very well researched herb!
The German Federal Health Agency has approved echinacea as a supportive treatment for colds and influenza, hard-to-heal skin wounds and urinary tract infections. Almost all the research uses liquid preparations or tinctures. Other research studies have noted an effect in eczema, candidiasis, rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis.
However in 1999 a paper by M J Verhoef in Neurology volume 52, reported the successful study of echinacea in neurological disease and in brain tumours, and this led scientists to refocus their attentions to test to prevent cancer.

An excellent Immune system booster

Most common, the purple cornflower, is a native plant to America and was first officially used there in medical practice in 1887. Both the roots and the leaves have medicinal properties.
It boosts the immune system directly due to a number of active chemicals like polysaccharides, alkylamides, flavenoids, caffeic acid derivatives, polyacetylenes and essential oils. For example, arabinogalactan, is a very powerful immuno-modulating polysaccharide and is effective in activating macrophages, interleukin and interferon with an increase in T-cell activity. It can boost the immune system to attack and kill microbes, cause abnormal cell death (apoptosis) and more and more studies are showing positive effects to prevent brain tumours.
Several studies have indicated this increase in levels of interferons, whilst highlighting increases in the ingestion of foreign particles by the white cells (phagocytosis).
The University of Munich has shown that it stimulates interleukin and increases levels of white B and lymphocytes, the latter (the cells that can hunt down cancer cells) by 30 per cent.
It can also be used to reduce secondary infection during and after radio and chemotherapy.

Dosage

Recommended dosage appears to vary from 900 mgs to 1200 mgs per day divided into three equal doses. No significant side effects have been reported in the German research. Echinacea tincture can be used long-term )rder on our webstore). It is also available in health shops in capsules and teas.
Known stimulant for immune system, research shows effects post orthodox treatments and with brain tumours. Although Echinacea was a favourite of Native American Indians for centuries, it lost its position as an immune system booster when antibiotics came along. Originally claims were made for its excellence in aiding relief from anything from colds to preventing cancers. Over the last twenty years it has been the Germans who have pioneered all the new research work with literally hundreds of studies. This is a very well researched herb! The German Federal Health Agency has approved echinacea as a supportive treatment for colds and influenza, hard-to-heal skin wounds and urinary tract infections. Almost all the research uses liquid preparations or tinctures. Other research studies have noted an effect in eczema, candidiasis, rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis. However in 1999 a paper by M J Verhoef in Neurology volume 52, reported the successful study of echinacea in neurological disease and in brain tumours, and this led scientists to refocus their attentions to the preventative action of echinacea to cancers.
Also available in a 100ml 300ml 555ml and Litre sized bottles from Herbactive.co.uk
Ingredients: Organic tincture of Echinacea Root 1:5 extraction
Dosage: half to one teaspoon (2.5-5ml) or 10-20 drops, in water once or twice a day on an empty stomach
HEALTH WARNING
Please be clear we do not believe any of these products is a cancer cure. None of the above claims, which are taken from the packaging, have been approved by the FDA or any other equivalent national body. Please consult your practitioner before taking any supplements, or consult Alan Hopking, medical herbalist for over 35 years.

Echinacea is included in HerbShield

Prices of Echinacea Tincture

————————-

HerbShield

Specific herbs have been chosen to boost the defenses of the body as a preventative against cancer. There are many types of cancer but the herbs in these tonics traditionlly help prevent and eliminate developing rogue cells by activating each person’s unique combination of defenses against cancer cells. Herbal Tonics can help to protect tissue cells against viruses, toxins, radiation and bacterial invasion. The herbs support the cells perform their normal functions. The herbs protect against the triggers (from the intake of toxic chemicals) initiated by injured cells which cause mutation of the cells resulting in cancer. Herbs in HerbShield and our other cancer-resisting (preventative) tonics have quercetin flavonoids and other powerful nutrients to resist cancer taking hold in the body. There are also herbs in these tonics acting preventatively in the body to resist the carcinogenesis stage of angiogenesis (where the tumor forms its own blood vessels) by the use of anthocyanins. There are certain herbs with specific compounds that activate the “watch-dog” genes that “turn off” cancer cells. This in itself is a good reason to take this preventative tonic. In addition, most cells have an “address” specified by adhesion proteins that “glue” cells into their proper position. For a cancer cell to spread, it must have DNA instructions that allow it to break the bonds of that glue and to make new adhesion proteins before entering other tissues. There are some herbs, for example Mistletoe (Viscum album) and foods like citrus pectin, that provide lectins, that compete with cancer’s “glue” and prevent cancer cell adhesion. The modern use of herbal medicine in cancer prevention relies on painstaking research. For example, scientists have identified compounds in herbs that protect the watch-dog genes from damage. There are also herbal remedies that stimulate the immune system as preventative activators against cancer and preventing cancer cells from establishing themselves in new tissues. Herbal medicine to prevent cancer is best used as part of a holistic regime of health treatment. Herbal treatment tonics can make the taking of harsh chemotherapy or radiation therapy easier. These tonics may be used beneficially alongside conventional cancer therapy. These herbal tonics offer a measure of protection against recurrent cancers of most types; they slow the process of angiogenesis in new tumours and ideally should be used before recurrent tumours reach a detectable size. Often combining your specialist oncologist’s expertise with these preventative tonics and holistic treatment can provide the greatest opportunity for remission, recovery, and future health.

Prices of HerbShield Tincture

Drinking smoothies will also help your condition – find out more about smoothies

—————————-

One of the biggest herbs to fight cell mutation is Cannabis. This plant has been in the headlines for years (often for the wrong reason). It is an illegal herb in its original form. However, over the many years, strains of the cannabis plant have been cultivated to increase the CBD content in the bud, while at the same time diminish the strength of the THC (the illegal, psychoactive) content. This has now been achieved. It has taken over 10 years of development in the farming field. There are licensed farms in Europe and America which supply the CBD market. This plant strain is now considered a health supplement and is legal to dispense. Even some big chain health food stores in England now sell CBD oil (low strength versions). Herbactive supplies low and high strength CBD oil which you can find in the Herbactive web store. More about CBD please call me on 01424 613436 to order
Uses: tumour prevention, cancer prevention, nerve diseases, all forms of pain, and many other actions. It can be used both internally and externally.
. More about CBD Call Herbactive or email to order

—————————-
—————————-

EXTERNAL HERBS FOR CANCER PREVENTION PATIENTS

Soapwort – Pure Herbal Soap for Skin and Hair

Avoid all the chemicals, petrochemicals and animal products (tallow) found in commercial soaps and shampoos, even found in so-called ‘natural’ products.

Soapwort’s native range extends throughout Europe to western Siberia. It grows in cool places at low or moderate elevations under hedgerows and along the shoulders of roadways. Soapwort was originally grown near woollen mills so it was handy for washing wool. Plants have also been found near the sites of old Roman baths. Flowers smell somewhat like Cloves.
The root is rich in saponins and produces a natural soapy lather in water. Not just used for making soap, the plant can also be used to make a shampoo for dry, itchy scalp – although try to avoid getting shampoo in the eyes as it can irritate them. It is the preferred washing method of those who would prevent cancer. Soapwort contains a natural fungicide.

Our SkinClear Soap is simply a mixed powder of soapwort root, comfrey, slippery elm powder, marshamallow root, oats and lavender flowers – all perfect for your skin’s health and cleanliness. It is gentle on the skin, healing for skin problems and a highly effective natural cleanser – for eczema, psoriasis, fungal infections (ringworm/tinia), and general health. Place some of the powder in your hand, add a little water and wash your whole body; or you can put some of the powder in a flannel or loofah, perfect!

Then you can wash your hair with our soapwort shampoo. Made from soapwort root, yucca and lavender – nothing else – pure and simple. Yucca is known for its help in hair loss, hair thinning and baldness (including tinea or ringworm in the scalp which causes bald patches). Washes and softens your hair and cleanses your scalp; conditions and cleans – couldn’t be more natural.

Buy our unique SkinClear Soap Powder: see prices

Buy our SkinClear Shampoo Powder: see prices

—————————————————————-

EATING A KETO DIET FOR HEALTH – A HERBACTIVE GUIDE

Health benefits of Keto Diet confirmed by science: cancer resistant, lowers blood pressure, improves cardiovascular health, cures diabetes type 2 and improves type 1, resists Alzheimer’s, clears general inflammation, clears arthritis, clears indigestion, improved mental clarity, removes depression, prevents parasitic infestation, improves skin tone, regulates hormones, improved metabolism and fat loss, etc, etc. All this is due to the ketones produced in your liver when following a strict Ketogenic Diet. The ketones are used as your primary energy source rather than glucose (from sugar and carbs).

Tips Before Starting
For most normal people, the amounts of fats and protein will be enough to naturally keep you satiated and naturally keep you in a calorie deficit. That said, it doesn’t always allow you to lose weight when you are consuming more than your own body is expending.
“Macros” is a shortened version of macronutrients. These are the “big 3” – fats (80%), proteins (15%), and carbs (5%). You can use an online calculator based on your present weight, to find out how much or how little of each you need in order to attain your goals. A lot of people take their macros as a “set in stone” type of thing. You shouldn’t worry about hitting the mark every single day to the dot. If you’re a few calories over some days, a few calories under on others – it’s fine. Everything will even itself out in the end. It’s all about a long-term plan that can work for you, and not the other way around.
To increase calorie intake is easy – increase the amounts of fat you eat. Olive oil, coconut oil, macadamia nuts, and butter are great ways to increase fats without getting too much of the other stuff in the way. Drizzle it on salads, slather it on vegetables, snack on it, do what you need to do to make it work in your favour! See our comprehensive list below. To decrease calories, you will have to think about what you need. Most likely, you will need less protein as well. So, keep in mind the portions of sizes of meals. Decrease them as you need to or see fit.
Last, but certainly not least, is sticking to the diet! Ketosis is a very healthy change that happens in your body. You can’t just have “that one” cheat meal. If you do, it can hamper progress for up to a week before your body is back in ketosis and normally functioning again. You want to keep your cheats to none. Be prepared, make sure you’re eating what you need to be satiated (“full”), and make sure you’re satisfied with what you’re eating. If you have to force yourself to eat something, it will never work out in the end. This is just a guideline on how you can eat on a ketogenic diet.

Keep the net carb count around 20g or less a day, this would be a great way to quickly get yourself into ketosis.
Do intermittent fasting (IF), it has huge health benefits, and weight loss benefits, and the like. People normally use intermittent fasting for both the energy and mental clarity it can offer. But it’s not just good for that. It can help to breakthrough plateaus and even benefits in nutrient uptake in exercise. IF can be 12, 18, 24 or 36 hours. Try it!
Products used regularly: Almond Flour, Milled Flaxseed Meal, Coconut Flour, Erythritol, Liquid or white Stevia (buy from Herbactive.co.uk).

Meal Plan Introduction

Breakfast. For breakfast, you want to do something that’s quick, easy, tasty. Eggs. (“Naked, organic”) Bacon. Or, simply, Keto Coffee (which will last you all day, providing you drink water or herb tea every hour), see below how to make it.

Lunch. Most of the time, it’ll be salad and meat, slathered in high fat dressings. You can use leftover meat from previous nights. If you do use canned meats, try to read the labels and get the one that uses the least (or no) additives! Fish or hard cheese. A small salad.

Dinner. Dinner will be a combination of leafy greens (e.g. broccoli, kale, spinach) with some meat or fish. Again, we’ll be going high on the fat and moderate on the protein. Fish. Lamb. Beef. Greens. P.S. No dessert for the first 2 weeks. Then have just a few berries with double cream or mascarpone or cream cheese with stevia.

Keto coffee. This is a mixture of coconut oil, butter, and heavy cream in your coffee (also add MCT Oil if you can). This is how you make it: Add to your blender: a cup of piping hot coffee. 1Tbsp grass fed butter (or organic ghee). 1Tbsp Coconut oil (and MCT oil). 1Tbsp double cream – optional. Some cinnamon. (Also add 1tsp turmeric for a tweak to the taste). A little stevia to sweeten. Pinch of salt and pepper. 15-20 seconds in your blender, and you’re ready to enjoy it. This concoction is not as strange as it sounds. Butter, after all, is made out of cream. So when you blend the oil, butter, and cream together it just adds a decadent richness to your coffee that you’ll really like! It will help you get into ketosis (and start losing weight).

Remember low or no carbs: no grains, no root veg, no fruit (except a few berries) allowed (you will get a few carbs from greens, proteins, cheese, and seeds and nuts (i.e. only eat a little!).
Foods to eat: grass fed lamb, beef, wild game, fowl, fish, hard cheese, cream cheese, full fat double cream butter, coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil, avocado, nuts, seeds, green leafy veg and salad, fresh kitchen herbs, spices. Full fat mayo. Organic cider vinegar. But be aware of calories – don’t overdo it.
Make soups with veg, dry herbs, beans, lentils, marmite, meat stock, etc then strain off the liquid to drink in place of a meal.
Drink water 3-4L per day (this may include herb teas, coffee, herb coffee); no milk (use cream instead).
Sweeten with pure white stevia (buy from Herbactive).
Remember: only eat when you’re hungry; and only eat until you’re satisfied (don’t overeat), then stop.

FOODS TO EAT (but be careful with some of them as they have more carbs! Proteins also can turn into carbs!)
Here is more detailed info about what is acceptable for a healthy Keto Diet (try and buy organic, grass fed, free range):
Fat (80% of your plate): avocado, avocado oil, blue cheese, brie cheese, butter, cocoa butter, coconut butter, coconut oil, red palm oil, salad dressing, cream cheese, duck fat, eggs – all kinds (boil, fry, scramble, omelette, baking, etc), ghee, lard, macadamia oil, MCT oil (more about this below), sesame oil, tallow, walnut oil, double cream.
Protein (15% of your plate): (Naked) bacon, beef, cheese, chicken, cottage cheese, deer, deli meat, duck, goat, goose, lamb, pepperoni, pheasant, pork, quail, rabbit, salami, sausages (>80%), turkey, veal, wild boar; bone marrow, heart, kidney, liver, tongue, tripe.
– Fish: anchovies, bass, cod, eel, haddock, halibut, herring, mackerel, salmon, trout, tuna, sole, and all the others.
Sea food: abalone, caviar, clams, crab, lobster, mussels, oysters, scallops, shrimp, squid, octopus.
– Nuts and seeds: almonds, brazils, chia, hazels, hemp seeds, macadamia, peanuts, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, nut butters, sesame, sunflower seeds, tahini, walnuts.
Vegetables: artichoke, arugula, asparagus, beet greens, bok choy, broccoli, brussels sprouts, lettuce, cabbage, celery, chard, chives, olives cucumber, dandelion greens, eggplant, endive, fennel, garlic green beans, jicama, kale, kimchi, kohlrabi, leeks, leafy greens, mushrooms (all kinds) mustard greens, okra, lives, onions, parsley, peppers, radicchio, radish, rhubarb, sauerkraut, scallions, seaweed (all sea veg), shallots, spaghetti squash, spinach, swiss chard, tomatoes, turnip greens, watercress, zucchini.
Berries (only a few/day): blackberry, blueberry, cranberry, lemon, lime, raspberry, strawberry, black and red currents.
Liquids: water (>2.5L/day), coffee (black or with double cream), mineral water, tea – black or herb teas, almond milk, broth (chicken, beef, bone), club soda, coconut milk.
Other: almond flour/meal, cacao nibs, cacao powder, coconut flakes, coconut flour, fish oil, fermented veg, fish sauce, gelatine, tamari sauce, mayo (full fat), mustard, pickles, stevia (to sweeten), vanilla extract, vinegar.
Vegan proteins: hummus, lentils, mushrooms, nut butters, seed butters, protein powders (pea, hemp), seeds, spirulina, sprouted beans, tofu/tempe (organic fermented).
MCT Oil (medium chain triglycerides, mainly caprylic acid) separated from organic coconut oil, it is very healthy; it stops the deposition of fat in the cells; it turns into ketones to become the body’s main source of energy in place of glycogen (sugar and carbs); it increases thermogenesis (burns fat for energy); increases energy, endurance; improves memory and brain clarity; helps to prevent Alzheimer’s, cardiovascular disease; increases HDL and lowers LDL cholesterol; improves digestion and nutrient absorption; has a balancing effect on the microbiota; it is antiviral, antifungal, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory.

All other foods should be avoided because they will pull you out of the benefits of burning ketones as energy and burning fat, and you will start to burn glucose (glycogen) and start storing fat and water again, and feel low and look bloated.

Once you start this and experience the many benefits, you’ll wonder why you didn’t start it years ago!

Best of health, Alan Hopking

—————————-

More info about the Keto Diet from The Truth About Cancer website

There’s no doubt that nutrition plays a huge role in preventing and treating cancer. But did you know that one popular diet actually STARVES cancer cells?
It works by eliminating cancer’s favorite food and creating an environment in your body that’s unfriendly to cancer. It’s quickly becoming understood as one of the most cutting-edge ways to fight cancer.
It works by kick-starting your own body’s “cleaning” system to remove damaged cells, including cancer cells. Even better, it stimulates stem cell production for improved overall health. And best of all, studies show it can do even more…. boosting weight loss… balancing blood sugar levels… and even reversing your body’s aging clock for a younger YOU!

What is the Ketogenic Diet?
The Eskimos and Maasai group are cultures we often look at to learn how their scant consumption of carbohydrates sustained their bodies through harsh weather conditions. It turns out that their low carb diet switched their metabolism to burn fat instead of sugar or glucose.

This created a metabolic state known as ketosis, a process in which the body burns ketones to make energy, instead of relying on sugar or carbohydrates.

Ketones are metabolized by fatty acids in the liver for energy. (This source of fuel is capable of crossing the blood brain barrier and is an excellent form of energy for neurons.) When the body lacks glucose, which is its first source of fuel, ketones are created in its absence.

Ketosis was a beneficial process the human body developed as an adaptation to times when food was unavailable (such as for these hunter-gatherers). However, you can effectively produce ketones too by limiting the carbohydrates in your diet to less than 80 grams daily and protein to no more than 1.2 grams of protein/per kg lean body mass. As the body adapts to the use of ketone metabolism over time, the hormone in the liver that is essential to ketone metabolism (known as FGF21) becomes more efficient.

The Ketogenic Diet Starves Cancer
Otto Warburg was a leading cell biologist who led to the discovery that cancer cells are unable to flourish using energy produced from cellular respiration, but instead from glucose fermentation. Dr. Thomas Seyfried and other cancer researchers agree, and have further discovered that cancer cells are also fueled from the fermentation of the amino acid glutamine.

With ketogenic diets, lowering carbohydrates will reduce your levels of glucose, the fuel that feeds cancer cells. This will put your body into ketosis and will assist in depleting cancer cells of their energy supply.

Cancer cells are unlike normal cells in many ways, but one of their traits that is most unique regards insulin receptors. They have ten times more insulin receptors on their cellular surface. This enables cancer cells to gorge themselves in glucose and nutrients coming from the bloodstream at a very high rate. As you continue to consume glucose as your primary diet source, cancer cells will continue to thrive and spread. It is no surprise that the lowest survival rate in cancer patients is among those with the highest blood sugar levels.

Cancer cells have damaged mitochondria and lack the ability to create energy from aerobic respiration. They cannot metabolize fatty acids for energy. For this reason, cancer cells thrive in oxygen-depleted environments. Instead, cancer cells metabolize glucose and amino acids. Restricting glucose or the amino acid glutamine is essential to starve off cancer.

Intermittent Fasting and Cancer Prevention
The ketogenic diet is particularly effective when combined with periods of intermittent fasting. Fasting increases ketone production and can starve cancer cells. Late stage cancer patients can further weaken their cancer cells by completing a lemon water cleanse for three to seven days.

In today’s modern diet, snacks and meals have us eating up to five times a day, preventing any sort of intermittent cell fasting. As nutrition is constantly supplied, blood sugar levels remain elevated, insulin levels remain high, and the fuel source needed for cancer cells to develop and grow remains a constant threat.

A lifestyle of fasting may involve an individual eating for a period of only 4-8 hours in one day. A 20-hour fast may involve eating food between 3pm and 7pm each day. This regular intermittent fasting lifestyle allows the body to produce ketones in order to fuel the entire body. The 20-hour fast may be optimal for individuals with the diagnosis of cancer, but may otherwise be incorporated into your lifestyle using a 16 to 18 hour fasting period.

Article Summary
Research continues to show that sugar is the main source of fuel which feeds cancer and contributes to an inflammatory environment.

A low carbohydrate diet produces a metabolic state known as ketosis. This is a process in which the body burns ketones to make energy, instead of relying on sugar or carbohydrates.

You can effectively produce ketones by limiting the carbohydrates in your diet to less than 80 grams daily and protein to no more than 1.2 grams of protein/per kg lean body mass.

Carbohydrates are broken down into glucose which feeds cancer cells. By removing carbohydrates from your diet, you can also deplete cancer cells of their energy supply. The lowest survival rate in cancer patients is among those with the highest blood sugar levels.

The ketogenic diet is particularly effective when combined with periods of intermittent fasting. Fasting increases ketone production and can starve cancer cells.

Diets high in protein can also feed cancer. A moderate protein diet is recommended on the ketogenic diet. You can starve cancer by practicing a ketogenic diet consisting of an abundance of healthy fats (about 75 percent), 20 percent protein, and no more than 5 percent carbohydrates.
With thanks to The Truth about Cancer website.

—————————————————————-

Recommended Supportive Health Information for Serious Illness :
HerbShield
Caisse – ACT
BreastShield
Black Salve
ProstateLess
LymphCleanse
LungShield
Cannabis (Hemp) CBD Oil
White Blood Cells
Red Blood Cells
SpleenShield
ABC Daily
WheatGrass
Total Detox
LiverDetox
WormLess Anti-parasitic Method
Adaptogenic (herbal blood cleanser)

See all the prices and buy all our products from our online Herbactive Store

Herbal Medicine in the Prevention of Cancer
The Immune System
Herbal Prevention of Cancer

* Email for more information
* Ask Questions to Herbactive Herbal Practitioner Alan N Hopking MA MNIMH (over 35 years in practice)

Herbal Medicine and Prevention of Cancer

Cancer Stem Cell Killing Herbs

1. Holy Basil (Ocymen sanctus) and ursolic acid

2. Black Pepper (Piper nigra) and piperine

3. Tomato extract (Lycopene)

4. Isothiocyanates

5. Curcuma (Curcumin) turmeric root.

6. Matcha Tea (Camellia sinensis) with EGCG

7. Japanese Knotweed root (Polygonum cuspidatum) and resveratrol

8. Vitamin D3

9. Ginger root (Zingiber officinale) and 6- Gingerol

10. Milk Thistle seeds (Silybum marianum) with silymarin

11. Quercetin

12. Bilberry extract (Vaccinium fruct.) and their anthocyanins

Sources for this Article Include:

1. Prasad S, et al. Ursolic Acid Inhibits Growth and Metastasis of Human Colorectal Cancer in an Orthotopic Nude Mouse Model by Targeting Multiple Cell Signaling Pathways: Chemosensitization with Capecitabine. Clin Cancer REs. 2013 Sep; 18(18):4942-53. PMCID: 3677707

2. Tharmalingam N, et al. Inhibitory effect of piperine on Helicobacter pylori growth and adhesion to gastric adenocarcinoma cells. Infect Agent Cancer. 2014 Dec 16;9(1): 43. PMID: 25584066

3. Dourado GK, Stanilka JM, Percival SS, and Cesar TB. Chemopreventive Actions of Blond and Red-Fleshed Sweet Orange Juice on the Loucy Leukemia Cell Line. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2015;16(15):6491-9. PMID: 26434864

4. Scarpa ES, and Ninfali P. Phytochemicals as Innovative Therapeutic Tools against Cancer Stem Cells. Int J Mol Sci. 2015 Jul; 16(7): 15727-42. PMCID: 519921

5. GcMAF Science Link Here

6. FIRSTiMMUNE Link Here

7. Yanaka A, et al. Dietary Sulforaphane-Rich Broccoli Sprouts Reduce Colonization and Attenuate Gastritis in Helicobacter pylori-Infected Mice and Humans. Cancer Prev Res (Phila). 2009 Apr;2(4):353-60. PMID: 19349290

8. Fahey JW, Zhang Y, and Talalay P. Broccoli sprouts: An exceptionally rich source of inducers of enzymes that protect against chemical carcinogens. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 1997 Sep;94(19)10367-72. PMCID:23369

9. Sehitoglu MH, et al. Anthocyanins: targeting of signaling networks in cancer stem cell. Asian Pac J Cancer PRev. 2014;15(5):2379-81. PMID: 24716988

10. Yao J, Ge C, Duan D, Zhang B, Cui X, Peng S, Liu Y, Fang J. Activation of the phase II enzymes for neuroprotection by ginger active constituent 6-dehydrogingerdione in PC12 cells. J Agric Food Chem. 2014 Jun 18;62(24):5507-18. PMID: 24869427

11. Post-White J, Ladas EJ, Kelly KM. Advances in the use of milk thistle (Silybum marianum). Integr Cancer Ther. 2007 Jun;6(2):104-9. PMID: 17548789

12. Moselhy J, et al. Natural Products that Target Cancer Stem Cell. Anticancer Res. 2015 Nov; 35 (11): 5773-88. PMID: 26503998

13. He Y, et al. Curcumin, inflammation, and chronic diseases: how are they linked? Molecules. 2015 May 20;20(5):9183-213. PMID:26007179

14. Na HK, and Surh YJ. Intracellular signaling network as a prime chemopreventive target of (-)- epigallocatechin gallate. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2006 Feb; 50(2): 152-9. Link Here

15. Tachibana H. Molecular basis for cancer chemoprevention by green tea polyphenol EGCG. Forum Nutr. 2009; 61:156-69. PMID:19367120

16. Howitz KT, Bitterman KJ, Cohen HY, Lamming DW, Lavu S, Wood JG, Zipkin RE, Chung P, Kisielewski A, Zhang LL, Scherer B, Sinclair DA. Small molecule activators of sirtuins extend Saccharomyces cerevisiae lifespan. Nature. 2003 Sep 11;425(6954):191-6. PMID:12939617

17. Singh CK, Pitschmann A, Ahmad N. Resveratrol-zinc combination for prostate cancer management. Cell Cycle. 2014;13(12):1867-74. PMID:24866157

18. Nieman DC, et al. Effects of Quercetin and EGCG on Mitochondrial Biogenesis and Immunity. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2009;1467-1475. DOI: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e318199491f

19. Prior RL. Fruits and vegetables in the prevention of cellular oxidative damage. Am J Clin Nutr. 2003 Sep;78(3):570S-585S. PMID: 12936951

20. Walle T, Walle UK, and Halushka PV. J Nutr. 2001 Oct;131(10):2648-52. PMID: 11584085

21. Wang LS, et al. Anthocyanins in Black Raspberries Prevent Esophageal Tumors in Rats. Cancer Prev Res

———————

Information article:

Keto and Cancer 101: Can the Ketogenic Diet Help Fight Cancer?

How Does the Keto Diet Work?

What is Cancer and What Causes It?

Metabolic Requirements for Cancer

Metabolism in Cancer: The “Warburg Effect”

A Closer Look at the Ketogenic Diet

Are There Adverse Effects of the Keto Diet?

Looking for more about the ketogenic diet?

Article Summary

[+] Sources and References

You may also like to read…

20 Natural Herbs That Help Prevent Serious Disease

Treatment with Herbs

BLOODROOT

CAT’s CLAW (Uno de Gato)

Flax Seed Oil

Astragalus – An all rounder

Chaparral

Bee propolis and pollen

Mistletoe

Curcuma

Neem – A Powerful Tree for All of Us

Essiac – The Medicine Man’s Prevention of Cancer

Noni – The Root of Life?

Echinacea – The Immune Boosting Herb

HerbShield

Soapwort – Pure Herbal Soap for Skin and Hair

Login

Register

8. Vitamin D₃