Giving and Taking Care

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Giving and Taking Care

 

Health Sciences Institute e-Alert

 

September 16, 2004

 

Dear Reader,

 

When you kill flies with a bazooka, you might get rid of the flies,

but then you may have a problem with broken furniture and large

holes in the wall.

 

The same is true of treating cancer with radiation; by any measure

a harsh therapy that sometimes solves problems while creating

others. I was reminded of this when I received an e-mail from an

HSI member named Mary whose father is getting radiation

treatment for lung cancer. Mary is also giving him an herbal

therapy called N-TENSE, which contains the botanical graviola; a

proven cancer-fighter.

 

By and large, Mary's father is coming along well. But he's

developed a new problem that Mary needs a little help with.

 

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No time to lose

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In her e-mail, Mary writes: " The doctor says the radiation

treatments are working great. My Dad also had a tumor in his

throat and near his bladder. They are gone. I believe the N-TENSE

took care of those already. He has been taking the N-TENSE for as

long as he's been taking the radiation to his lungs, for about three

weeks now.

 

" The problem is that he has lost all of his appetite, and is getting

weaker and weaker each day. Everything smells bad and tastes bad

to him. His Doctor gave him an appetite enhancer, but it caused

severe loose bowels and dehydration. They had to take him off of

it. What can I do to improve his appetite and increase his

strength? "

 

One of the well-known side effects of radiation therapy is appetite

loss. But I wondered if N-TENSE might play a role here as well. I

called on HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D., for his thoughts, and he

began by saying that graviola – an " excellent herb for trying a non-

toxic approach against cancer " – probably has nothing to do with

the loss of appetite.

 

As for a plan of action for Mary and her father, Dr. Spreen offered

these suggestions:

 

" The key thing right now is to make certain that ALL calories

ingested are highly nutrient dense, especially since there isn't much

appetite. Also, digestion will be adversely affected, so the foods

eaten should be as easily digested as possible. The solution to both

is the use of any of the 'green foods,' such as chlorella

(inexpensive and excellent), spirulina, barley green, or mixtures of

them. There are several brands out there, and they can be mixed

with most anything. The foods are almost pre-digested and highly

nutrient dense.

 

" I'd also throw some L. acidophilus culture in there, in powder

form, maybe 1/4-1/2 tsp before eating, to make certain that the low

appetite is not due to highly altered gut flora (it can do that

sometimes, and radiation will kill those 'good guy' bacteria also).

 

" There are also several herbs that can be tried as appetite

stimulants, but they tend (in my limited experience) to be less

effective for radiation-induced anorexia than in other situations.

Nettle, chamomile, Gotu kola are three, but there are many others

that can be tried. "

 

And one other tip for Mary: Rather than coaxing her father into

eating three full meals each day, she'll probably have better luck in

getting him to eat small amounts several times each day, especially

if he's having problems with nausea as well.

 

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Tropic of cancer

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The appetite issue aside, Mary is obviously enthusiastic about what

she feels are the positive effects of N-TENSE in her father's

progress. But because her father is also getting radiation, we'll

never know which treatment is doing more to fight his cancer: the

radiation or the N-TENSE. What we do know is that research has

revealed that graviola – the primary active ingredient of N-TENSE

– is a powerful anti-cancer agent.

 

In the e-Alert " Drug Company and Cancer Institute Hid Possible

Cure for 25 Years " (1/31/01), I first told you about graviola, the

small evergreen tree that grows in the tropical areas of North and

South America.

 

More than 25 years ago, the National Cancer Institute (NCI)

included graviola in a plant-screening program that showed extracts

of the leaves and stems of the plant to be effective in attacking

and destroying malignant cells. But the results were part of an

internal report and were never released to the public.

 

Years later, a major pharmaceutical company began extensive

graviola research. They learned that certain extracts of the tree

actually seek out, attack, and destroy cancer cells, without harming

healthy cells, inducing nausea, or causing hair loss. But the natural

extracts of graviola (or any other plant) cannot be patented, and the

company struggled unsuccessfully to create a synthetic copy that

could be as effective as the cancer-fighting components of

graviola.

 

Since then, in vitro research has produced very promising results,

with indications that graviola may effectively fight solid breast

cancer tumors, as well as prostate, lymphoma, pancreatic, liver and

colon cancer.

 

Graviola is one of the most popular topics on the HSI Forum, and

in tomorrow's e-Alert I'll feature a few of the many comments

from HSI members regarding their experiences using this

remarkable botanical.

 

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....and another thing

 

Your bones enjoy getting zinced.

 

In the e-Alert " Waiting to Exhale " (9/13/04) that I sent you earlier

this week, I told you about a study that showed how the use of an

inhaler – also known as inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) – to treat

asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease may contribute to

fracture risk due to weakened bones.

 

That study was conducted at a Veterans Administration hospital, so

nearly all the subjects were men. Now I've come across a study

that shows how an adequate intake of dietary zinc may help men

maintain a healthy bone mass density (BMD).

 

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, recruited

nearly 400 men between the ages of 45 and 92. The BMD was

measured for each subject at the outset of the study, and again four

years later. Dietary habits were assessed with food-frequency

questionnaires, and zinc levels were measured with blood tests.

Analysis of the data showed that both dietary zinc intake and

plasma zinc both had a positive association with BMD in men.

(Previous studies have already associated low zinc intake with

osteoporosis in women.)

 

In this study, the average dietary zinc intake was just over 11 mg

per day, which is the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for

males over the age of 19. The best source of zinc is animal protein.

Oysters deliver the highest amounts of zinc, followed by red meat

and chicken. Other sources include fish, whole grains, nuts and

beans.

 

But men, don't let anyone tell you that the RDA of zinc – or even

triple the RDA – will cause prostate cancer.

 

In the e-Alert " Double Blind " (7/9/03), I told you about a study

that warned of elevated prostate cancer risk for men who had a

daily zinc intake of 100 mg or more. But the study also found that

an intake of zinc less than 100 mg per day had no association with

the risk of prostate cancer.

 

And who takes more than 100 mg of zinc daily? Very few people, I

would guess. Certainly no one who is paying attention to the

widely-published warnings that zinc may be potentially toxic over

a prolonged period at daily doses of more than 100 mg. At that

level, research shows heart problems and anemia can occur.

 

But unless you go out of your way to add extra zinc to your

vitamin regimen, chances are you're not getting anywhere close to

100 mg. Most multivitamin supplements provide well under 50 mg

of zinc. And you would need to eat dozens of oysters along with a

few servings of beef every day to even approach 100 mg of dietary

zinc.

 

Meanwhile, the zinc that you are getting is very useful. In addition

to enhancing the immune system, zinc helps repair damaged

tissues, inhibits the abnormal clotting that contributes to

cardiovascular disease, and is one of the key nutrients needed for

DNA reproduction and repair. Zinc also helps keep your vision

healthy.

 

And for those of you who already include zinc in your daily

supplement intake: it's a good idea to add a little copper as well.

 

In the e-Alert " Aim High " (5/7/03), Dr. Spreen noted that zinc can

create a copper deficiency, and vice versa. And Jonathan V.

Wright, M.D., agrees, stating that, " Zinc supplements should

usually be offset by a small amount of copper, 1-2 mg daily. "

Fortunately, many multivitamins already take care of the dual

zinc/copper need with a low dose of copper.

 

To Your Good Health,

 

Jenny Thompson

Health Sciences Institute

 

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Sources:

" N-TENSE Better than Graviola Alone! " Raintree Nutritionals,

rain-tree.com

" Zinc Intakes and Plasma Concentrations in Men with

Osteoporosis: The Rancho Bernardo Study " American Journal of

Clinical Nutrition " Vol. 80, No. 3, September 2004,

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

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