May 14, 2009 - 2 Comments - permalink
Gallbladder Problems
The gallbladder is a digestive organ located in the upper right portion of the abdomen, directly underneath the liver. It is responsible for storing and concentrating bile that is produced by the liver. Bile is a greenish-yellow color and is composed of bile acids, water, electrolytes, bilirubin, cholesterol, and phospholipids. As food enters the small intestine, hormonal and nervous system activity causes the gallbladder to contract and sends bile through the common bile duct into the beginning portion of the small intestine, known as the duodenum. Bile has several different functions, which include the digestion and the absorption of fats, and the absorption of fat-soluble nutrients, the retention of water in the colon to promote bowel movements, the excretion of bilirubin (degraded red blood cells), the elimination of drugs and other compounds in the body, and the secretion of various proteins involved in gastrointestinal function. As you see, dysfunction in bile production and secretion can result in many different health problems.
The most common problem associated with the gallbladder is gallstones. It is estimated that 20 percent of people over the age of sixty-give have gallstones. Every year, more than 500,000 people have surgery to remove their gallbladders. The symptoms of gallstones can greatly vary, from person to person. Most people with gallstones often have no symptoms throughout their lives, as the stones pass without problems. Symptoms may include right-sided abdominal pain (or pain anywhere in the abdomen) and radiating pain that goes to the right shoulder blade. Abdominal bloating, gas, belching, and recurrent pain are common, too. Most often, gallstones have been found with a routine exam, and if they are causing no symptoms, they are left alone. Gallstones that cause pain and other symptoms are treated conventionally, with surgery (often using laparoscopy), bile acids taken orally (for stones that are noncalcified), or, more commonly, lithotripsy, the use of shock waves to fragment the stones so that they will pass.
Gallstones are formed as a result of the bile becoming saturated with cholesterol and calcium. This can be due to an increase in cholesterol secretion or decreased bile and lecithin secretion. This then causes other particulate matter to attract cholesterol and sets the stage for stone formation. As you will read in this chapter’s treatment section, there are natural ways to decrease the saturation of cholesterol in the bile via diet and nutritional supplementation.
Risk factors for gallstones include:
· Sex: women are two to four times more likely than men to have gallstones. This, in part, may be due to the use of oral contraceptives and synthetic hormone replacement.
· Race: Gallstones are more common in women of North American Indian ethnicity.
· Obesity: Causes an increased secretion of cholesterol into bile. Also, it should be noted that rapid weight loss (during the initial phases) can contribute to gallstone formation.
· A Western diet is a contributing factor.
· A positive family history predisposes one to this problem.
· Digestive tract diseases, such as Crohn’s disease, increase one’s risk.
A persistent obstruction of the bile duct can also result in fever, nausea, and vomiting. At this point, the condition is termed acute cholecystitis. This is an acute inflammation of the gallbladder wall as a response to the gallstone obstruction. In rare cases, infection and pus may fill the gallbladder or cause perforation of the gallbladder wall. These situations are dangerous and require immediate surgery. While most cases of acute cholecystitis are surgically treated, people who improve greatly within one to two days may not require surgery if the gallstones are small enough to pass through into the intestinal tract. Ultrasound and x-rays are used to diagnose gallstones and acute cholecystitis.
The natural approaches in this chapter are highly successful in preventing further gallstone formation and gallbladder inflammation/attacks, as long as the present stones are not too large. People with asymptomatic or ”silent” gallstones should not require surgery, if the proper diet and supplemental measures are followed.
One study found that 100 percent of a group of patients were symptom free after following an elimination diet that included beef, rye, soy, rice, cherries, peaches, apricots, beets, and spinach for one week. Eat more fiber to rid the body of cholesterol. Foods that were most likely to cause gallbladder symptoms in this study included eggs, pork, and onion. Other common triggers included fowl, citrus fruits, milk, coffee, corn, beans, and nuts. Dr. Breneman believes that food allergies cause inflammation and swelling of the bile duct, which restricts bile flow from the gallbladder.
Once study found that men who drank coffee had a lower risk of gallstones that men who did not drink coffee. However, coffee initiates gallbladder contractions, so people with known gallstones should avoid its use.
Super Prescriptions – Gallbladder Problems
· Prescription #1 – Wild yam root (Dioscorea villosa)
Take 2 to 3 ml or 500 mg of the capsule form every hour for the relief of gallbladder spasm and pain. Wild yam root has an antispasmodic effect on the bile duct.
· Prescription #2 – Milk thistle
Take a milk thistle extract standardized to contain a daily total of 420 mg a day. Milk thistle increase bile flow and decreases bile cholesterol saturation.
· Prescription #3 – Lipase enzymes
Take 1 to 2 capsules of lipase enzymes with each meal to improve fat digestion.
· Prescription #4 – Homeopathic China
Take a 30c potency twice daily for two weeks and then stop using it, unless symptoms return. This remedy is helpful for people with gallstones and gallbladder disease that causes bloating, nausea, flatulence, and diarrhea, as well as gallbladder pain.
· Prescription #5 – Dandelion root (Taraxacum officinale)
Take 2 ml of tincture or 500 mg of the capsule form with every meal. Dandelion root improves bile flow.
· Prescription #6 – Turmeric (Curcuma longa)
Take a product standardized to contain 150 mg of curcumin with each meal. Turmeric has anti-inflammatory properties, improves bile flow, and relaxes the bile duct.
· Prescription #7 – Globe artichoke (Cynara scolymus)
Take 1 to 2 ml of the tincture or 500 mg of the capsule form with each meal. Globe artichoke improves bile flow.
Prescription #8 – Magnesium
Take 250 mg daily.
- 12 Comments - permalink
Cancer
May 14, 2009
Almost all the cells in our bodies must be replaced on a regular basis. Some cells, like those that make up the intestinal lining, die out quickly and are replaced every few days. In other parts of the body, the cells live for years before they divide and form new ones. Under special circumstances, such as an injury or an illness, healthy new cells may grow more quickly than usual to replace those that are damaged. When the area is healed, the cell growth slows back down to normal rate.
Normally, the genes that control the growth of cells automatically know when to start and stop the replication process. But when those genes are mutated—perhaps because of an inherited flaw. Or more commonly, because of dietary and environmental factors—cells may begin to multiply and divide at an unusually fast rate. Eventually, these cells form a lump. Sometimes lumps are benign (meaning that they are non-cancerous and relatively harmless), as in the case of warts or uterine fibroids. Other growths, however, are malignant. They pull nutrients away from the healthy tissues that surround them, and they interfere with the body’s normal functions, to a potentially life-threatening extent. If a tumor continues to grow, its cells may spread via the blood vessels or the lymphatic system to other parts of the body, where they form new tumors. Once this process, called metastasis, is underway, there is a risk of dying from the complications that can occur. Although many cancers can be treated successfully when caught early, the sad fact remains that they are the second-leading cause of death in the United States. Every minute, another person dies of some form of the disease.
The word cancer refers to the process of uncontrolled cell division, but, technically, it is not, in itself, the name of a specific disorder. Instead, cancer is an umbrella term that refers to more than one hundred different kinds of diseases, which are generally named according to the area where a tumor first appears. In men, prostate cancer is most common; in women, breast cancer is most frequent. But both of these cancers can be highly treatable when caught early. Lung cancer is common and one of the deadliest. Cancer also tends to strike the skin, the urinary tract, the colorectal region, and the reproductive organs, although it can attack anywhere. It’s beyond the scope of this book to discuss each individual type of cancer, but the suggestions here apply to anyone who is fighting off a tumor, wants to keep cancer in remission, or hopes to avoid developing cancer in the first place. We also have recommendations on what to take if you are undergoing chemotherapy and/or radiation, to reduce side effects and optimize immune function, as well as outcome.
Scientists break cancers down into four very broad categories, and if you’re trying to communicate with your doctor or keep up with medical literature, it’s helpful to understand the differences among them. Carcinomas affect soft tissues in organs and glands, like skin, the breasts, the lungs, and the pancreas. Sarcomas, which are quite rare, occur in solid tissue, especially bone, muscle, and cartilage. Lymphomas appear in he lymphatic system. Leukemia’s are cancers of the tissues that form blood; these cancers are unusual, in that they don’t form hard tumors.
As with so many other chromic and deadly diseases, researchers have not been able to pinpoint the cause of uncontrolled, cancerous cell growth, despite decades of hard work and billions of dollars in funding. It’s likely that there isn’t just one cause. We know, for example, that faulty genes play a role in some cancers—but most people with genetic flaws aren’t doomed to develop cancer; they simply have a greater chance of doing so. Although a family history of cancer carries with it increased risk, most cancer researchers agree that as a sole cause, genetics is relatively insignificant, accounting for only 5 to 15 percent of cancers. It appears that most cancers are caused by largely controllable factors, such as nutrition, lifestyle, and environmental factors. One of the critic’s of conventional medicine in preventing and treating cancer is that diet, lifestyle, stress, and the ability to rid the body of environmental toxins rarely are addressed in a comprehensive fashion. Yet these factors are both most influential and most controllable in the prevention of cancer, and they play important roles in the recovery from cancer. To reduce the risk of developing cancer, we all need to reduce free-radical formation in the body, limit exposure to dietary and environmental sources of free radicals, and increase our intake of antioxidant nutrients.
We also know that environmental carcinogens like cigarette smoke, man-made food, and pollution can have a divesting effect on the body. These toxins encourage the formation of free radicals, and many experts now believe that these unbalanced molecules contribute to uncontrolled cell growth. People with strong immune systems and high levels of antioxidants—the substances that neutralize free radicals—are in much a better position to stave off tumor growth. But again, not everyone exposed to high levels of carcinogens or with a weakened immune system will necessarily suffer from cancer. An increasing amount of research is demonstrating how the effects of stress may be the root cause for some people. In all probability, a combination of several factors leads to this group of diseases.
Since we can’t control the genes we inherit (not yet, anyway), it’s wise for people who are battling cancer or who want to prevent it to turn their attention to things we can control. First things first: Early detection is the key to successful treatment, so have regular checkups and cancer screenings, as are appropriate for your age, sex and medical history. Learn the warning of cancer, and contact a doctor immediately if one shows up on your body. Aside from these common-sense strategies, you must do everything you can to support your immune system and increase your intake of antioxidants, while minimizing your exposure to environmental toxin. You should also cleanse your body by drinking lots of clean water and eating plenty of fiber. Periodic fasts will further detoxify your system. Your liver is one of the most crucial organs for cancer defense; under normal conditions, it filters out toxins and helps them pass out of the body. But when unhealthful food, pollution, or other carcinogens overtax it, some of those toxins are reabsorbed into the body, where they may encourage cancerous growths. Good nutrition and a detoxification plan will support your liver, but you’ll also want to give it a boost with cleansing herbs. And because stress can produce free radicals and lower immunity, it’s also important to find measures that release tension and get your stress levels under control.
As most of us know, the conventional measures for treating cancer—chemotherapy, radiation, and surgical removal of the tumor or the affected organ—are extremely harsh and sometimes even life threatening. There are also highly promising reports of dietary and supplementation therapies that have caused cancer remission in some people, but as yet, we have few studies that can actually prove their effectiveness. Talk to your doctor, do some research, and weigh the pros and cons of the different treatments, available for your type of cancer. If you choose to undergo chemotherapy or other conventional treatments, try to find a doctor who is sympathetic to your desire to incorporate natural strategies into your healing process. Dietary changes, herbs, and other natural treatments can significantly reduce your discomfort and boost your ability to fight the disease.
ROOT CAUSES
There is no single cause of cancer, but the factors that are tied to a greater likelihood of developing cancer are listed as follows:
· Genetic flaws
· Environmental toxins, including pollution, toxic metals, and radiation
· A poor diet, especially one high in fat, additives, pesticides, and improperly prepared meats
· A toxic liver
· Viruses and other stealth infections
· A weakened immune system
· Stress
· Poor digestion and detoxification
· Lack of exercise
· Nutritional deficiencies
· Certain medical therapies (such as synthetic hormone replacement related to breast cancer)
Testing Techniques
The following tests help assess possible reasons for cancer:
1. Immune system imbalance or disease—blood
2. Genetic defects—blood, saliva
3. Hormone testing (thyroid, DHEA, cortical, testosterone, IGF –1, estrogen, progesterone)—saliva, blood, or urine
4. Intestinal permeability—urine
5. Detoxification profile—urine
6. Oxidative stress—urine or blood
7. Vitamin and mineral analysis (especially magnesium, B12, iron,
and CoQ10)—blood
1. Digestive function and microbe/parasite/candida testing—stool
analysis
2. Food and environmental allergies/sensitivities—blood,
electrodermal
3. Blood sugar and insulin balance–blood
SYMPTOMS
Cancers often grow for years, even decades, before they manifest in symptoms. Nevertheless, there are some early warning signs you should watch for. If you experience any of the following symptoms, don’t panic. Most likely, you don’t have cancer: the symptoms of cancerous growths are similar or identical to the symptoms of many other illnesses, often ones that is much less frightening. Nevertheless, you should see your doctor right away for an accurate diagnosis, If you do have a cancerous growth, the sooner you start treatment, the better your chances of sending the disease into permanent remission.
· A mole, wart, or a blemish that changes in diameter, shape, color, or thickness
· A sore that doesn’t heal within three weeks
· A lump or a swelling under the skin
· Thickening of the skin on any part of your body
· Chronic indigestion or difficulty swallowing
· A change in bowel or bladder habits
· Blood in the urine or the stool
· Rectal bleeding
· An unexplained vaginal discharge or bleeding between periods
· Recurring headaches
· An unexplained loss of weight or appetite
· An unexplained pain, especially in the bones
· A persistent low- grade fever
· Recurrent infections
· Hoarseness that lingers for more than a week
· A persistent cough or a cough that brings up blood
· Persistent fatigue, nausea, or vomiting
TREATMENT
Diet
Dietary therapies for cancer seek to return your body to its natural state of balance and health. Focus on a diet of whole foods, as outlined in this chapter, which optimize immune function and detoxification.
Recommended Food
Wherever possible, eat clean, live foods. Look for food that’s organically grown. If your eating poultry, check the label to be sure the animal was not raised on antibiotics or other unnatural substances. When buying fish, ask whether the product comes from a clean water source.
When the liver processes toxins, cancer-promoting free radicals are produced in high quantities. Of all the antioxidants, glutathione is the best at counteracting the free radicals created during this process. Asparagus, avocados, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, and walnuts are all excellent sources of glutathione. Make it a priority to put one or more of these foods on your menu everyday.
Eat as many as raw vegetables and fruits as possible, especially those that have deep, rich colors. These foods are high in fiber, which helps flush toxins from your system, and they’re potent sources of antioxidants. When you eat them raw, you will also retain their natural enzymes, which help you digest food and absorb the maximum amount of nutrients into your bloodstream.
For even more fiber, eat plenty of whole grains, including oats, and brown rice. Eat wheat germ, nuts, and seeds for their vitamin E content. Vitamin E is another powerful antioxidant.
Garlic, onions, and legumes will help keep your liver functioning at optimum capability.
Fermented soy products, such as tofu, tempeh, and miso appear to have anticancer properties, based on population studies. Consume these products three to four times weekly, unless you are sensitive to soy products. (But don’t take isoflavone extracts. Their effects on the body are still unknown.)
If your battling cancer, you don’t need to be told how important it is to keep up your strength and energy. Eat lean protein from beans, eggs, tofu, poultry, or fish. People undergoing unconventional cancer therapy require increased protein intake to prevent tissue wasting.
Studies in Japan show that in areas where people drink green tea, there are significantly lower rates of stomach, esophageal, and live cancer. It also acts as a mild stimulant of the immune system.
Tomatoes are high in lycopene, a substance that’s been shown to prevent and even help counteract prostate cancer. Cooked tomatoes are higher in lycopene than raw ones are.
Make sure to drink plenty of clean water to promote healthy detoxification. Fresh juicing with vegetable and fruit juices is highly advised. Try to consume 8 to 10 ounces a day of a variety of juices. Researchers have also tracked 1455 patients in Shanghai for up to 6 years and found that those with a history of taking ginseng were 30% less likely to die from the cancer. Women who began taking it after being diagnosed with cancer have report that they have more energy and better sleep than patients who didn’t use ginseng.
For extra fiber and cancer-fighting phytonutrients known as lignans, take 4 tablespoons of ground flaxseeds daily with 10 ounces of water.
Another form of cancer treatment that uses Vitamin C and amino acid Lysine to keep cancer cells from destroying the good cells if you are going to get cancer it can be contained. The failure of currant cancer treatment does not attempt to contain the cancer cells consequently, it metastasizes, and that is the killer in cancer.
· Vitamin C – 2000mg daily
· Lysine- a amino acid 10g daily
Food to Avoid
Do not eat foods that don’t come from nature. Processed food, junk food, and anything containing chemicals, additives, or dyes should be banished from your menu.
Make every effort to avoid foods that have sprayed, waxed, or otherwise treated. If you absolutely cannot avoid eating these foods, at least be sure to remove their peels, skins, or outer layers and to wash the food thoroughly in clean water before eating. While there’s no evidence that refined sugar directly causes cancer, we do know that too much of it is significantly depresses your immune system. A weak immune system may leave you vulnerable to cancer, and it can also sap your ability to handle aggressive cancer treatment. Do not eat products containing refined sugar. This includes sodas, candy, cakes, and cookies, as well as store-bought juices and many processed foods. You should also restrict your intake of natural sugars. Go easy on homemade fruit juices and baked goods sweetened with molasses or honey.
Saturated, hydrogenated, and partially hydrogenated fats are linked to most degenerative disorders, and cancer is no exception. High consumption of these “bad” fats (as opposed to the “good” essential fatty acids found in cold-pressed oils and some fish) has bee strongly linked to several types of cancer, including breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers. Avoid red meat, butter, margarine, shortening, and products made with these foods. Especially carcinogenic are meats that have been grilled, charcoal-broiled, cured, or smoked. If your trying to prevent cancer and want to enjoy red meat as an occasional treat, it would be wise to stay away from meats prepared in any of these manners, including hot dogs, cold cuts, and luncheon meats, as well as most types of bacon, ham, and sausage.
Be wary of alcohol. Heavy use is linked to mouth and throat cancers possibly to cancer of the stomach, the colon, and the rectum. If you’re a healthy person trying to avoid cancer, limit yourself to a glass of two of wine per week. If you have cancer, it’s been to avoid alcohol entirely, as it depletes much-needed nutrients from your body.
Detoxification
If you’ve been diagnosed with cancer, make regular detoxification a priority. Do a 3-day juice fast once every month; once every 6-month, do a longer fast—-for 5 to 7 days. People who are in advanced stage of cancer should use common sense: although it’s normal to have some bodily response like headaches or nausea while fasting, you should stop if those responses become severe or unbearable. Instead, simply add juices to your normal good diet.
None of us can completely avoid exposure to toxins, no matter how well we eat or change our lifestyle habits, so a person hoping to avoid cancer would do well to practice regular short fasts. You do not need to undertake the longer fasts recommended for a person diagnosed with cancer. Try doing a three day fast once a month, or fast one day out of every week. These should be done under medical supervision.
Randy’s Health News
