We’re all aware of advertisements of acidophilus as a supplement to keep the bowel healthy. It is promoted as a treatment for diarrhea, yeast infection and lower cholesterol levels. And here’s what can floor you, it is advertised that acidophilus can prevent cancer.

We have billions of good bacteria in our intestines that produce essential nutrients necessary for health. One such nutrient is Vitamin K that aids in blood clotting. Also, acidophilus maintain the balance of intestinal flora and keep the harmful bacteria at bay. A good balance of good and bad bacteria prevents illnesses of the gastrointestinal tract.

Acidophilus became popular because of the observation that Balkan people consume large amounts of food with acidophilus. Consequently, they had long life spans.

Research facts

Milk fermentation with acidophilus bacteria produces dairy products like yogurt. Laboratory research has shown that consuming these acidophilus products prevents skin and breast cancers.

The action of the acidophilus is the protection of DNA from damage. The DNA contains the vital genetic information that is transferred during replication to daughter cells. A faithful transfer of genetic material assures that the process of cell replication is normal. If the DNA is damaged, the replication process would produce aberrant cells. This initiates the development of cancer.

However, there aren’t any clinical trials conducted as evidence that acidophilus indeed prevents cancer.

Additionally, researches have shown that acidophilus products are great to combine with chemotherapy or radiotherapy. During antibacterial therapy, the normal intestinal flora is destroyed resulting in a decreased production of some nutrients. So also, during chemotherapy and radiation, the normal flora of the intestines is wiped clean. As an effect, diarrhea ensues. As such, it protects against diarrhea that is all too common during radiation and chemotherapy.

Acidophilus supplementation doesn’t have any deleterious side effects except for bloating.

The product is sold over the counter as a dietary supplement. The FDA cannot enforce strict quality control over the marketing of the product. Hopefully, standardization should be in effect in the near future.

Is it a Scam ?

It seems a waste of money to buy the encapsulated product. I’d rather stick to yoghurt which contains the same acidophilus and enjoy its delicious taste too. Yummy!

Most cancer patients use a variety of supplements. These maybe multivitamins, minerals, herbal remedies or antioxidants. Experts still maintain that instead of concentrated supplements, eating a variety of fruits and vegetables is the best.

I’m aware of products circulating the net, promising a miracle cancer cure. Sometimes, we’re taken by their sales pitch until some side effects ensue. How will you know if they are indeed genuine? Are they really effective?

Signs of concern

The American Cancer Society recommends four basic signs to find out whether a product is fraudulent. So before you get yourself duped consider the following:
1. Miracle cancer cure
Be wary if the product is advertised as a miracle cure, a breakthrough discovery or a new discovery. New drugs undergo long term clinical trials that involve many participants before being introduced in the market. Then, the drug would be watched by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) for any reported undesirable effect. There’s no such thing as a breakthrough without a long term clinical study. So, think before you purchase. If a product is touted as a miracle cure, it might be fraudulent.
2. No side effects
The product claimed no undesirable side effects. But when you tried it, you experienced some itchiness, tingling in your extremities, numbness and wheezing. Genuine products have warnings of undesirable side effects written legibly on the labels.
3. Cure all
If the product claims to cure not only cancer but all other illnesses, then be suspicious. This is a preposterous claim.
4. A big secret
The product advertises a secret ingredient or method of manufacturing. They claim this is the secret in curing your condition and why it is pricey.

What you can do

If you’ve been persuaded to buy such a product inform your health care provider. Some supplements react unfavorably with chemotherapy and radiation. If you can’t remember the name, take the bottle with some samples to show your doctor.

If you’ve experienced some undesirable side-effects, you can report it to the FDA. Request your doctor to furnish you important health information to help with your report. Then go to http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/HowToReport/ucm053074.htm and file your report.

Doing this would benefit you as well as others who have bought the product. What’s more, you’ll be helping clear the net off deceptive products.

Food supplements including multivitamins and minerals are popularly sold online. Believing the claims of these supplements, unsuspecting cancer patients consume them like magic pills only to end up frustrated when their expectations aren’t fulfilled.

When it comes to cancer prevention, the best is still a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. As I have discussed in an earlier blog, vegetables eaten along with anti-cancer medications proved to be very beneficial in the fight against cancer. But, Vitamin B12, folic acid, even Vitamin A, carotene and Vitamin E proved to be harmful for cancer patients when taken in concentrated and capsule form. more…

In my quest for foods that fight cancer, I was able to discover two unlikely plant foods, though worlds apart but highly effective against prostate cancer, namely, the pomegranate and the soy based tofu.

Pomegranate is a native of Iran and found in the Mediterranean while tofu is an Asian delicacy common to Chinese, Korean and Japanese cuisine.

Pomegranate

Numerous studies and researches conducted on the anti-carcinogenic properties of the pomegranate have convinced me that there is a wealth of knowledge here that would highly benefit prostate cancer patients. In one study, cancer cells were exposed to pomegranate extract and these cells failed to thrive but were killed. The more concentrated the pomegranate extract was, the more potent it was in killing the cancer cells. more…

It is proven that fruits and vegetables have anti-cancer properties and are beneficial in preventing certain cancers.

Increase plant phytochemical

I came across a cancer research study that cites that there are about 20,000 to 30,000 phytochemicals – the cancer fighting compounds found in plants. Ironically, phytochemicals are produced as a defense mechanisms of plants when they are cut up, destroyed, bruised or are exposed to adverse temperatures, or are lacking in essential nutrients to thrive. When plants are exposed to Ultraviolet light and high temperatures anthocyanins, flavones, sinap esters, isoflavonoids and psoralens are activated and produced as a defense mechanism for the survival of the plant. At low temperatures anthocyanins are produces or when attacked by pathogens such as bacteria, fungi and viruses a number of pytochemicals such as pterecarpans, isoflavans, prenylated isopflavones, coumarins and a lot more are produced as defense against these pathogens. The same is true when nutrients in the soil are lacking. Low nitrogen soil content makes the plant produce flavonoids, isoflavones, a low phosphate soil content produces anthocyanins while a low iron causes pheolic acids to be produced. Like wise when plants are wounded numerous chemicals are produced. more…

Fast and Furious

One of the treatment regimens of prostate cancer is to lower testosterone levels. It is believed that high testosterone levels in prostate cancer patients increases the aggressiveness of prostate cancer activity.

Cancer treatment

One treatment option for prostate cancer is aimed at blocking the production of testosterone. It includes medications to antagonize the release of Luteinizing hormones which spurs the Leydig cells to manufacture testosterone. Additionally anti-androgens and the female hormone, estrogen are utilized.
It is believed that testosterone makes the cancer cells thrive. Your doctors are intent to keep your levels of testosterone low so you’d have a better survival rate. Wouldn’t you be happy with it? You’d even do anything to keep it low so long as you’d triumph over your fight with prostate cancer.
more…

Genes are responsible for the expression of our health conditions. Health conscious people, like ourselves are so interested to know the diseases that they may have inherited from their ancestors. Certainly, forewarned is being forearmed. But, be obsessed and anxious, to think that once they have the gene for a certain disease, they are destined to suffer and die as their relatives did. Maybe by inaction! But when I reviewed recent studies, this shouldn’t really be your scenario. I really think that if you have a gene for a certain chronic illness you can prevent its full blown expression. more…

Obese people are prey to a lot of degenerative fatal diseases like diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases and a lot more.

A causative factor of cancer including prostate cancer is obesity. Somehow, fat cells induce the formation of inflammation, the initial beginnings of mutation of prostate cells that starts the abnormal replication leading to cancer. Those fat cells also produce proteins called cytokines that enhance the inflammatory process. Evidently, losing weight shrinks the weight of fat cells in your body.

Exercise burn fat?

People think exercise can do the trick to make you lose weight. Without doubt, exercise has lots of benefits. It improves the functioning of your cardio-vascular system, relieves your stress and decreases your risk of developing diabetes among others.
more…

Most of us think that all fruits and vegetables are created equal. To ascertain this, I did some research and surprisingly, I discovered that highly colored fruits and vegetables are more saturated with phytochemicals. As we all know, phytochemicals are highly effective in preventing chronic illnesses and prostate cancer.
more…

Image source: www.Flu.org

The big bad wolf

All the media around us warn us to be aware of the H1N1 flu. Everybody got an idea of how devastated this virus can be with half a million deaths in the State and over 30 million worldwide. However, the majority of deaths in the 1918 flu pandemic were the result of secondary bacterial pneumonia, which can be now treated by antibiotics due to the discovery of penicillin in 1928, attributed to the Scottish scientist and Nobel laureate Alexander Fleming. Consequently, new types of influenza developed in the world due to mutation and re-assortment of the influenza viruses from both animals and humans.
In flu history, in 1968 and 1969, the H3N2 Hong Kong flu emerged, killing an estimated 1 million people worldwide, 100,000 in Hong kong or 15 percent of the population and 33,800 in the USA. more…