July 02, 2009

Green Tea’s Anti-Prostate Cancer Potential Gains More Support

A small study conducted in Louisiana could have a big impact on prostate cancer patients. Researchers at Louisiana State University show that polyphenols in green tea may play a role in cutting back levels of compounds in the body that are associated with the progression of the disease.

That’s great news for the large number of men who struggle with prostate cancer. The National Cancer Institute estimates there will be 192,280 new cases of prostate cancer in the U.S. this year and 27,360 deaths caused by the disease.

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June 25, 2009

Antioxidant vitamins may protect against cancer of the uterus

Statistics show that some 40,000 women will be diagnosed with uterine cancer this year, and more than 95% will have endometrial cancer, the most common type. In fact, approximately 7,000 American women die from endometrial cancer each year.

The National Cancer Institute says: "Uterine cancer usually occurs after menopause. Being obese and taking estrogen-alone hormone replacement therapy can increase your risk. Treatment varies depending on your overall health, how advanced the cancer is and whether hormones affect its growth. Treatment is usually a hysterectomy, which is surgery to remove the uterus. Other options include hormone therapy and radiation."

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June 18, 2009

Research Update: Herbal Hope for Those Suffering with Depression

Depression affects millions of people, leaving some more devastated than others. The disease also touches the lives of friends and family of the depressed person, often causing stress and worry.

The Cochrane Collaboration, in a review of studies dealing with depressed persons, stated: "Depression is characterized by depressed mood and or loss of interest or pleasure in nearly all activities and a variety of other symptoms for periods longer than two weeks."

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June 11, 2009

Research Update: Tomato Lycopene May Prevent Osteoporosis

People have been searching for a "fountain of youth" or a magical "elixir for life" throughout history. Tales abound in foreign lands, like Ethiopia, of flowing waters that prevent aging. Even in the U.S. the legend of Ponce de Leon's search for the fountain of youth in Florida is a story that continues to be told.


Today, of course, we have other means to at least minimize the appearance of aging. Special creams and surgical procedures abound as people seek a way to stay young, or look young.

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June 07, 2009

Heart Health, Collagen and Vitamin C

Recent events involving people close to me have caused me to take a fresh look at research in the field of cardiovascular health. I've been reading books, medical journals, web sites - boy, we sure aren't lacking in information these days! All this effort, however, has served only to remind me and strengthen my support of a decades-old controversial theory put forth by Dr. Linus Pauling and his colleagues.

I've written about Dr. Pauling here in the past. He's one of the reasons my family got into this business. The only man ever to win two unshared Nobel prizes, he amazingly continued producing groundbreaking scientific work right up until his death in 1994 at the age of 93. In fact, his theory of cardiovascular health was published just a mere five years before he left this earth.

Dr. Pauling's "unified theory" centers on collagen, something most people would not even consider when thinking about heart health. But did you know that collagen is the most abundant protein forming the most prevalent tissue in the human body? Pauling's theory, far too complex for me to describe here in detail, suggests that it is collagen breakdown within the arteries that opens the door for the development of arterial plaques. Cholesterol is not the culprit in Pauling's theory; it's merely a bench player that would have no cause to get into the game if it weren't for injured collagen.

Click here for an easy-to-understand video that explains the mechanism in Dr. Pauling's theory. For an article on the subject by my friend and colleague Dr. Joseph Mercola, click here.

According to the unified theory, or collagen breaks down and we subsequently develop arterial plaques for one simple reason: we don't produce vitamin C and lysine, two vital components in the maintenance and repair of healthy collagen fibers. Dr. Pauling firmly believed that we could reduce and perhaps eliminate our risk of cardiovascular concerns through daily supplementation of these two very simple, yet very important, nutrients.

As I said earlier, it's a controversial theory. But when it was made public late in 1989 it caused a stir that continues to this day. It also makes as much if not more sense to me than many of the more convoluted explanations being bandied about today.

It's interesting, isn't it, how many ways we come full circle as we progress through our lives? Yes, science moves forward, new discoveries are made and we advance to a new and brighter future. But so often those ideas we encounter early in our lives, sometimes the simplest of all, prove more resilient and more relevant the older we become. As I reach the age my father was when he began following Dr. Pauling's work and taking daily doses of vitamin C, I'm proud and humbled to find that these same ideas are as important to me and my peers now as they were to him and his generation then.

June 04, 2009

Research Update: Selenium linked to lower skin cancer risk

There are several types of skin cancer, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma are the most common, although melanoma is the most dangerous.

It’s estimated that more than one million new cases of nonmelanoma skin cancer will be diagnosed in the United States this year. In fact, the number of new cases of nonmelanoma skin cancer appears to be increasing every year while the number of new cases of melanoma has stayed about the same since the 1990s.

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May 28, 2009

Research Update: Vitamin B-6 may slash colorectal cancer risk

Colorectal cancer is a term used to describe cancer that starts in either the colon or the rectum. Together, they affect nearly one million people worldwide.

The National Cancer Institute reports that an estimated 106,100 new colon cancer cases will be reported in the U.S. during 2009, as well as 40,870 cases of rectal cancer.

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May 21, 2009

Research Update: Omega-3, vitamin C and zinc help ease childhood asthma

When a friend of mine was a youngster, his pediatrician told him that he had asthma. It troubled him on and off during his childhood, but as he grew up, the asthma seemed to disappear. While he has been lucky, experiencing very few attacks during his adult life, he still has asthma.

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May 14, 2009

Research Update: Study supports prostate benefits from vitamin K

2008 saw more than 186,000 new cases of prostate cancer and nearly 29,000 deaths from the disease. According to the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF), it is estimated that there are more than two million American men currently living with prostate cancer.

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May 07, 2009

Research Update: Carotenoids may cut risk of metabolic syndrome in half

Metabolic syndrome is sweeping the country. In the United States it’s estimated that 32% of the adult population has the condition. In Europe the numbers are lower with about 15% of adults affected.

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