Vitamin D May Prevent Breast Cancer

There are two new reports by cancer prevention specialists at Moores Cancer Center, Univsrsity of California, suggest that vitamin D in new prescriptions may prevent up to one half of all cases of breast cancer.

The study is published online in the current issue of The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. It pooled data from two earlier studies by the Harvard Nurses Health Study and the St. George’s Hospital Study that alleged that people with the highest levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, 25(OH)D, had the lowest incidences of breast cancer.

The research was based on 1,760 cases of individuals in the two studies and divided them into five equal groups, from the lowest 25(OH)D at less than 13 nanograms per milliliter, to the highest group with 52 nanograms per milliliter.

"The data were very clear, showing that individuals in the group with the lowest blood levels had the highest rates of breast cancer, and the breast cancer rates dropped as the blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D increased," said study co-author Cedric Garland, Dr.P.H. "The serum level associated with a 50 percent reduction in risk could be maintained by taking 2,000 international units of vitamin D3 daily plus, when the weather permits, spending 10 to 15 minutes a day in the sun."

However, women are warned not to run out and start supplementing their diet. There may be other factors that were overlooked in these studies. While the reports are valid, and the research solid, they only represent 1,760 people out of the entire population.

"Meta-analysis is an important tool for revealing trends that may not be apparent in a single study," said co-author Sharif B. Mohr, M.P.H. "Pooling of independent but similar studies increases precision, and therefore the confidence level of the findings."

The authors recommend further research to study individuals for the effect of vitamin D from sunlight, diet and supplements on the risk of cancer.

The dose-response data on 1,448 people in the study were put into order by serum 25(OH)D level and then divided into five equal groups, from the lowest blood levels to the highest.

Co-author Edward D. Gorham, Ph.D said: "We project a two-thirds reduction in incidence with serum levels of 46ng/ml, which corresponds to a daily intake of 2,000 IU of vitamin D3. This would be best achieved with a combination of diet, supplements and 10 to 15 minutes per day in the sun."

Vitamin D3 is available through diet, supplements and exposure to sunlight, or ultraviolet B (UVB) as long as the skin does not tan or burn. In a white woman, it will only take 10 minutes at noontime on a clear day, with 50 per cent skin exposure, to absorb adequate vitamin D. Darker skin will require up to 25 minutes.

It is important to eat a balanced diet. Vitamin D is linked to Calcium absorption, so overdosing on one will throw out the balance and may result in a depletion of one vitamin.

The reports continued and measured Vitamin D’s ability to prevent colorectal cancer and found similar results.

Peanuts Loaded With Anti-Oxidants

Research now claims that peanuts rival many fruits when it comes to their antioxidant value, according to the University of Florida’s research. Peanut not only contain a wide variety of helpful antioxidants, but they contain the ‘good’ fat.

"When it comes to antioxidant content, peanuts are right up there with strawberries," said Steve Talcott, assistant professor of food science and human nutrition at the University of Florida. "We expected a fairly high antioxidant content in peanuts, but we were a bit shocked to find that they're as rich in antioxidants as many kinds of fruit."

The study researched a dozen different varieties of peanuts measuring their ability to block the aging effect of free radicals that occur naturally in the body and damage living cells causing heart disease, stroke, and some cancers.

Antioxidants became popular when reports started hailing them as a miracle weapon in the battle against cancer. This lead many people to add more orange and red fruit to their diet and increase vitamins A, C, and E which are recognized as antioxidants.

Peanuts are a good source of Vitamin E.

University of Florida researchers studied peanuts and found that they contain high concentrations of polyphenols. Roasting increases the levels, boosting their antioxidant content by 22 per cent, to the levels of blackberries and strawberries. In fact, the report goes on to state that roasted peanuts out-do apples, carrots and beets.

"If you compare them (peanuts) to other foods people think of as rich in antioxidants mostly fruits and berries peanuts come out somewhere in the middle," Talcott said. "They're no match for the foods at the top of the scale, such as pomegranate, but they do rival other foods that people eat just for their antioxidant content."

"We already know from previous studies that including peanuts and peanut butter in a healthful diet can lower cholesterol, help people lose weight and prevent type 2 diabetes," said Kristen Ciuba, a nutritionist for the Peanut Institute, a nonprofit organization in Albany, Ga., funded by the peanut industry.

“It's certainly worth looking into further," said Gorbet, a co-author of the study. "The big question is not whether it can be done the question is whether the demand is there. So far, people haven't been seeking out peanuts for their antioxidant content, but maybe in the future they will be."

Not everyone is willing to move peanuts to the list of life-saving, healthy foods. Dr. Mercola, author of Total Health Program has a word of warning for people who want to increase the amount of peanuts they eat.

Dr. Mercola states that peanuts are heavy in Omega-6 fats that distort the Omega 3:6 ratio, and they may contain a carcinogenic mold called aflatoxin, as well as pesticides. All of these cause serious health problems and disease.

He continues to tell people to eat organic peanut butter, pour the oil off the top of the peanut butter jar to lower the Omega-6 content, and even mixing in Brewer’s yeast.

Vaccine for Cervical Cancer

A women's medical group is fighting cervical cancer by issuing guidelines that call for inoculating all girls ages 11 and 12. More than 10,000 new cases of cervical cancer will be diagnosed in the United States this year. At least 3,500 women will die.

However, a controversy has started a year, or more, before the vaccine will be ready for the public. In the hopes of heading off a confrontation, officials from the developing companies -- Merck & Co. and GlaxoSmithKline -- are meeting with advocacy groups to try to relieve their concerns. Merck is creating the drug to be used on 11 – 26 year old women.

"The guidelines state that routine vaccination with Gardasil is recommended for 11- and 12-year-old females and for females ages 13 to 26 who have not previously been vaccinated or who have not completed the full series, and that vaccination with Gardasil can be started at nine years of age," Merck said in a news release.

The American Medical Women's Association recommends that doctors check all women 30 years and older for the human papillomavirus, or HPV, that may cause the cancer. The 14,000-member group is also lobbying insurance companies to pay for the vaccine.

The group is planning on re-directing attention to the benefits of new tools to fight cervical cancer, which has a kill rate of 230,000 women annually. The association is taking a stand in favor of the vaccine. A politically volatile topic -- HPV can be transmitted through sexual contact.

"We wanted to reaffirm that girls really do need access to this vaccine," said Dr. Susan Ivey,the association's president and an adjunct associate professor at UC Berkeley's School of Public Health. "We wanted to frame the discussion in a public-health context, where what you really want is to make your population resistant to diseases and one way to do that is through vaccination."

The American Medical Women's Association is the first non-government body to recommend routine vaccination for young girls. Doctors say the vaccine is most effective when given before sexual activity starts.
The vaccine targets four strains of human papillomavirus. Many women carry HPV through their entire lifetimes, but most women are able to fight off an infections before they ever realize they have the virus.


Beyond the vaccine, the American Women's Medical Association is advocating wider use of a relatively new test that goes beyond the standard Pap smear that typically is used to check women for cervical cancer.

Christine Baze 38, underwent surgery and radiation and chemotherapy to treat an advanced case of cervical cancer. She hope the vaccine and HPV test will help a hundreds of women avoid her suffering.

"It's incredible the tools that are available to prevent cancer now," she said. "I just don't want anybody to have to go through what I went through ... and the good news is, they don't have to. We have an amazing opportunity to eliminate this cancer."

While the idea of a mandatory vaccine for a sexually transmitted disease has ignited a worldwide moral debate, the release of the drug was approved in the USA in June 2006.
At the moment, Canada is the only country actively proposing the vaccine for both boys and girls as it causes a cosmetic blemish when given to boys.

Good Attitude + Good Health = Success

You were overlooked for a promotion again. It was no surprise. Mr. X leads a charmed life. Work is finished before deadlines. They always have enough energy to attend seminars and workshops. They work late whenever needed. They always look great, are full of energy, and happy.

It is not fair that some people are gifted – or are they? Next time the flu hits your office, look at the people who stay home and those who end up taking days home from work. There will be some startling revelations.

Statistically, the group who miss work are complainers, they are stressed, they work hard on projects but never make-the-grade. These people rarely smile. Ask what music they listen too. Is it happy, or is it hard and abrasive? Do they make friends, or hide in their cubicle?

Now, compare this to the group who remained at work and picked up the slack. There are trends here, too. These people are more likely to listen to classical music. They probably talk about things such as massage therapy, exercise, stress busters, healthy eating, and they laugh or smile – a lot.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but studies have proven that poor stress management skills, feelings of helplessness, poor eating habits, and poor social skills.

In fact, researchers have proved that stress cut years from your life.
Scientists are proving in clinical studies what traditional healers have known for centuries. The mind and body are linked, and when one is weak, the other suffers.
One field has made great strides since 1970 in understanding the connection between emotions, well-being, and immune-system function, Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI).

Then Robert Ader, Ph.D., and the department of psychiatry at the University of Rochester, New York, discovered that the immune system can be psychologically conditioned to perform a certain way. In short, you can train your immune system to create a super human body, or teach it to self-distruct.

Ader fed rats saccharine and an immunosuppressive drug that caused an upset stomach. After just one incident, the rodents avoided saccharine. The study was repeated with only saccharine, and many rats died.

Even when the drug was absent the rat’s bodies associated saccharine with the suppression of immune function. The saccrin weakened their immune systems.

Ader conditioned an immunosuppressive response. So, the brain turned a perfectly healthy food into poison. The experiment created a radical conclusion: The mind and the immune system are linked.

"There were lots of responses to our study--and some of them you can't print," Ader says today. "But our results showed you've got to deal with the whole adaptive system of the organism and not just a single element of the system."

And they changed the immune research community forever.

What does that mean for you? It reaffirms exactly what life coaches have been telling you for years. If you want to succeed then you need to change your mindset. You can train your body to accomplish more, remain healthier, manage stress better, if you change your mindset. Still not convinced?

Candace Pert, Ph.D., a scientist at Johns Hopkins University discovered receptors that allow the body to create natural opiates. That’s right. Next time you meet someone who is always on a ‘high’ – maybe they are.

Mesthelioma Cancer

I've finished my research on Mesthelioma Cancer - for now. We did get a good scare when we renovated our home. We never thought that our 'dream home' could be the death of us. The plaster and Lath, while it is still pre 1920, we are covering the rest.

Mesthelioma Cancer is preventable, for the most part. Common sense, but we wish that someone had warned us. All the hardware stores we walked into, all the magazines we read, and nothing warned us not to pull the plaster and Lath off. It was mere chance that we found information suggesting that we were putting our lives in danger.

Mesthelioma Cancer seems to be one of the cancers they are finding a cure for. It appears that people are living longer.

I know that, after 40, there are no guarantees. There is the blessing that you can say goodbye, but who wants to say goodbye knowing that the grief could have been postponed.

I want to grow old with my children like my grandfather did, active into his 90s. I do not want to waste away in a nursing home, or on the couch like my 73 year old father.

What is Mesthelioma Cancer?

Exposure to asbestos particles in the air increases the risk of developing malignant mesothelioma. Asbestos is the only known cause of mesothelioma. This type of cancer causes a tumor infecting the lining around the internal organs like the lung and abdomen.

People who are diagnosed with mesothelioma may be entitled to compensation from asbestos companies, insurance companies, and employers. Asbestos manufacturers have been aware of the heath risks since the 1920s. They covered up the problem until the 1970s.

Asbestos companies continued asbestos production after the seventies. They exposed millions to the mineral that has proven the be lethal if airborne. Since the late 1970's and early 80's individuals suffering from asbestos related diseases have filed legal claims against producers of asbestos products. Monetary settlements are awarded to plaintiffs and their families to compensate for medical bills, which average $200,000 annually.

People with asbestos-related diseases may qualify for financial help, under state workers’ compensation laws. Eligibility varies in each state, workers need to contact their state workers’ compensation program. The following link will help you find the workers’ compensation program http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/owcp/wc.htm
You do not need to have cancer to qualify for a settlement Victims are suggested to get assistance right away, especially if they believe they are exposed and at risk, but their local doctors do not take the threat seriously.

Are You At Risk of Mesthelioma Cancer?

The short answer is yes. Asbestos is a widely used product that has been used in everything from schools and work places, to appliance lining, and anywhere a fireproof barrier is needed. Today, the air, drinking water, and even some consumer products may contain small amounts of asbestos.

Asbestos fibers are also released into the environment from natural deposits in the earth. Wear and deterioration of asbestos products releases more fibers into the air. People who have a single, high-level exposure, incident, or are exposed for a short period of lower levels of asbestos, are not likely to be placed at risk.

How to Be Tested

People who risk exposure to asbestos fibers on the job or at home through family contact need to inform their doctor of their exposure history and symptoms. Asbestos fibers can be measured in urine, feces, mucus (fluid coming out of the body), or material rinsed out of the lungs.

A thorough physical exam, including a chest x-ray lung function tests, may be recommended, but it is not an adequate test unless the body is tested for fibers. A chest x-ray cannot reveal fibers, just changes in the lungs. The x-ray must be sent to an experienced specialist who understands how to look for asbestos-related diseases.

How to Handle Asbestos

Asbestos is not dangerous until it is damaged, or crumbling. The rule of thumb is 'if it is not releasing fibers into the air, leave it alone. This is why so many homes still have duct tape, insulation, siding, roofing, and pipe insulation that contains asbestos. Anyone who finds crumbled asbestos in their home are warned to leave it alone. Do not sweep, vacuum, or mop it up. Hire a professional to do the job.

Too often, homeowners try to take samples themselves. This can take a previously minimal hazard item, like fake ashes and embers for a fireplace, and turn them into a deadly hazard. Once the fibers are released into the air, the risk of contracting Mesthelioma Cancer is greatly increased. Testing should only be done if the material needs to be disturbed, or is damaged, and it is a job for a professional.

Chrysotile is the only form of asbestos that is used in production today. Chrysotile is still being used in cement building materials (90% of the world production of chrysotile), friction materials, gaskets, and certain plastics. Although the asbestos industry proclaims the "safety" of chrysotile fibers, which are now imbedded in less "friable" and "dusty" products, there is no research to back up their claims. No one can guess what the long term effects of current asbestos products. It will take decades before we know whether this product is as safe as manufacturers claim.

The durability and low cost of these products make it difficult to convince industry to stop using it in commercial applications.

Where You Exposed to Asbestos at Grand Central Station?

The most horrific aspect of asbestos related diseases is that the general population can go for years believing they are not at risk.
Where you in New York on 9/11? Were you anywhere near the towers?
Did you need to work in the district while the dust settled?
Do your children attend school in an older building?
Does the siding on your house contain asbestos fibers?
Does the insulation around the water pipes in the basement covered with insulation that contains asbestos?
Does the Vermiculite insulation in the attic contain asbestos?
The fact is, there is asbestos in many of today's homes.

Warning: If you worry that it might, do not touch it. Have a professional test it and remove it if necessary. NEVER try to remove asbestos containing material by yourself.

The truth is, most people have fallen into a false sense of security. They have been lulled into believing that asbestos has been removed from houses, work places, and school. This is far from the truth. Asbestos is still all around us.

Asbestos was a low cost, fire retardant, building material that was widely used. In fact, there are some products that are still made out of asbestos.

Hope for a Cure

The advances in research is promising new hope that a cure could someday be found for mesothelioma, currently a deadly and incurable form of cancer. Although no long-term treatment or cure has been found, short term breakthroughs have increased the average survival rate and lengthened the survival rate of some past the five year mark.

Recent Development for a Cure

The Sydney Morning Herald recently reported on the results of tests on mice where the test mice was injected with mesothelioma cells. A treatment called coramsine, a chemotherapy drug was then administered. Coramsine is still under development, but is offering hope.

Richard Lake, University of Western Australian researcher, reported that the injected mouse actually went on to recover from mesothelioma after being given the treatment along with immune boosting drugs. The mouse not only recovered from the cancer, it rejected attempts of a tumor re-growth.

Dr Lake has stated that the combination of immune system boosting drugs and coramsine has shown extremely promising results so far, and that this can hopefully be applied to human treatment in the future.

Combining these drugs with current treatments like surgery to remove as much of the cancer as possible, even removing a lung, and radiation of the cancer cells, produce more positive results.

Early Warning Signs of Mesothelioma Cancer

People need to realize that all lung cancer is not caused by exposure to vermiculite or asbestos. Only 14 people out of every one million will be diagnosed with Mesothelioma cancer.

Many people suffer the symptoms of Mesothelioma cancer for two to six months before they go see a doctor and are diagnosed. Many people complain of pain in the lower back, chest pain, or a shortness of breath. A small percent of patients complain of a cough, fever, sweating, swallowing, fatigue, and weight loss. The list continues with symptoms like coughing up blood, weakness, sensory loss, and a noticeable swelling in the face and arms.

People who are suffering from peritoneal mesothelioma complain of weight loss, nausea, vomiting, hernia, something that feels like a tumor in the abdomen, and abdominal pain that focuses on the belly region. There may also be a hernia, fluid in the abdominal cavity or a mass in the abdomen.

There are different types of asbestos related cancer. Not all are malignant. Not all are a death sentence. The most important thing for people to do is remain positive. The stress caused by worry and grief are counter productive to the body’s ability to protect itself.

The World Processing Tomato Council (WPTC)

The World Processing Tomato Council (WPTC) issued a press release in support of latest research on the health benefits of tomatoes. The website reports, "This much anticipated and timely publication is already approved and supported by: WPTC, CLFP, CTGA, OPVG and AMITOM and recognized by the EU commission project on lycopene and cardiovascular disease. This is all big 'pomp and circumstance' that only means, tomatoes can protect your health.

The research behind the book is fully reported and documented...(see above links), to be the latest on cardiovascular cell repair and the prevention of prostate cancer. The site gets pretty technical but makes sense.

Since lifestyle diseases are the major causes of most presentable diseases they can be easily prevented by making changes in lifestyle habits.

The poor tomato has taken a back seat to more exotic vegetables - or is it fruits? If it wasn't for spaghetti sauce, most Americans would never eat a tomato. At least, the tomato is not in the same category as the cabbage. This vegetable has proven its worth in the health and fitness world, but most people are turned off by its taste.

Taste is acquired. Exchanging sweet and salty foods for natural foods is a good way to begin a healthier lifestyle. It takes a while, but after a while, you will actually enjoy the taste of a fresh apple, or tomato, over a butter tart or chips.

Cravings Signal Health Problems

It takes a few months to bring body and mind into balance when starting a fitness plan. You are determined to loose weight, the body is not equipped to handle the strain, and things go wrong. Fatigue, depression, pain, and even sever signs like heart palpitations can be the body's way of telling you that something is wrong.

Another method the brain uses to communicate with us is through eating. What we crave and binge on can alert us to serious health problems. I use to have a friend who chewed ice all the time. She was receiving calcium shots, and drank milk by the quart, but her body was constantly deficient in calcium - so she ate ice.

My husband lived on potato chips last winter. Nothing we could do would get him off his kick. Finally, I encouraged him to talk to a doctor. He ate the potato chips and in particularly, high carb foods, because he was low on B vitamins.

There are other cravings that indicate a need for some type of food. Craving food is not a sign that you have an eating disorder, or that you lack the will power to eat a healthy diet. It can be a sign that you are missing a vital element in your body's make up.

Anyone who has embarked on a strenuous fitness training program, or who finds they crave a certain food after a grueling day at work, or a particularly active day, should ask their doctor to check for a deficiency.