Mapping the Link Between Alcohol, Cancer

(HealthDay News) -- New research suggests that alcohol may boost the progression of cancer by stimulating a pathway inside cells.

The findings could have meaning for the prevention and treatment of cancer, which has been linked to alcohol use in some cases. In particular, scientists suspect that alcohol is connected to colon and breast cancer, although it's not known exactly how.

A new study, published online in advance of the January 2010 issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, says that a pathway known as the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) could play a role in the process in which cancer cells affected by alcohol grow and spread. Read more...

Ayurstate for Prostate Care

vassociated with reduced five year mortality

An article published online on July 13, 2009 in the American Journal of Epidemiology reported the results of a study conducted by researchers at Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center which found that vitamin C and vitamin E supplement users had a lower risk of dying over a five year period than those who did not supplement.

For their analysis, Gaia Pocobelli and colleagues evaluated data from 77,673 participants in the Vitamins and Lifestyle Study of men and women aged 50 to 76. Questionnaires completed between 2000 and 2002 provided information on the participants' supplement use over the previous ten years. Deaths that occurred over the following five years were classified as being due to cardiovascular disease, cancer, or other causes. Continue Reading

Review affirms multiple benefits for resveratrol

A review scheduled for publication in the September, 2009 issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research summarizes the health-promoting effects of resveratrol, a polyphenol compound found in red grapes, wine, and other plant foods.

University of Queensland School of Biomedical Sciences associate professor Lindsay Brown and colleagues conclude that resveratrol may help protect against a wide array of diseases and conditions. "The breadth of benefits is remarkable – cancer prevention, protection of the heart and brain from damage, reducing age-related diseases such as inflammation, reversing diabetes and obesity, and many more," Dr Brown stated. "It has long been a question as to how such a simple compound could have these effects but now the puzzle is becoming clearer with the discovery of the pathways, especially the sirtuins, a family of enzymes that regulate the production of cellular components by the nucleus. 'Is resveratrol the only compound with these properties?' This would seem unlikely, with similar effects reported for other components of wine and for other natural products such as curcumin. However, we know much more about resveratrol relative to these other compounds." Continue Reading

New model of cancer development proposed

In an article scheduled to appear in the Annals of Epidemiology, epidemiologist Cedric Garland, DrPH and his associates at the University of California San Diego's Moores Cancer Center propose that cancer, rather than commencing with genetic mutations, is initially caused by a reduction in the of ability of cells to stick together.

Research has shown that inadequate vitamin D can result in a loss of stickiness between cells as well as a loss of differentiation, which causes cells to revert to a stem cell-like state. Additionally, extracellular calcium ions are necessary for intercellular adherence.

"The first event in cancer is loss of communication among cells due to, among other things, low vitamin D and calcium levels," explained Dr Garland, who is a professor of family and preventive medicine at the UC San Diego School of Medicine "In this new model, we propose that this loss may play a key role in cancer by disrupting the communication between cells that is essential to healthy cell turnover, allowing more aggressive cancer cells to take over." Continue Reading

DHA reduces tumor growth

In an article published online on April 1, 2009 in the journal Cell Division, Egyptian researchers report that the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), found in fish and the algae they consume, not only offers its own protection against tumor growth, but improves the chemotherapeutic effects of cisplatin while reducing its toxicity.

Professor A. M. El-Mowafy of Mansoura University’s Department of Biochemistry and associates administered 125 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) DHA, 250 mg/kg of DHA, cisplatin alone, cisplatin combined with 125 mg/kg DHA, or a control substance to groups of 8 to 10 mice implanted with mammary carcinoma cells. A group of mice not implanted with tumor cells served as controls. Serum C-reactive protein (CRP, a marker of inflammation), white blood cells, and MDA (a marker of lipid peroxidation) were measured, and tumor development was assessed after 20 days. Continue Reading

More from the Sister Study

In the March 17, 2009 issue of Life Extension Update, we reported the finding from the Sister Study, a cohort of healthy sisters of breast cancer patients, of a beneficial association between multivitamin use and telomere length, a biomarker of aging. Telomeres, which are repeating DNA sequences that cap the ends of chromosomes, shorten with increased cellular aging.

In articles published in the February and March, 2009 issues of the journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, further findings from the Sister Study concerning the impact of lifestyle on telomere length were revealed. In the February, 2009 issue, Christine Parks, PhD, of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and her associates evaluated the effect of stress on telomere length in 647 Sister Study participants. Telomere length in DNA from blood samples was measured, and stress hormone levels in urine were assessed. Questionnaires completed by the subjects provided information on perceived stress levels. Continue Reading

Selenium may protect against bladder cancer

Boosting selenium levels may help to significantly reduce a woman’s risk of developing Bladder cancer, new research suggests. ... Continue Reading

Greater flavonoid intake linked with lower risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma

The May 1, 2008 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published the finding of investigators from the National Cancer Institute and other research centers of an association between a greater intake of dietary flavonoids and a lower risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), the fifth most common cancer in the United States. Flavonoids are polyphenolic plant compounds that have antioxidant and metal chelating properties. Some of these compounds have also been shown to have antiestrogenic and anticancer effects.

Four hundred sixty-six men and women with non-Hodgkin lymphoma were matched for age, gender, and other factors with 390 Medicare and Medicaid patients who did not have the disease. Dietary questionnaires completed by the participants were analyzed for intake levels of flavonoids (flavonols, flavanones, flavan-3-ols, and anthocyanidins), proanthocyanidins (monomers, dimmers, trimers, 4-6mers, 7-10mers and polymers), and isoflavones. Other than fruits and vegetables, sources of flavonoid intake in this study included wine, tea, nuts and chocolate. Continue Reading

Berries protect against carcinogen-induced gene changes

The August 1, 2008 issue of the journal Cancer Research published the finding of researchers at Ohio State University that consuming black raspberries can prevent some of the genetic changes that result from carcinogen exposure, thereby reducing the risk of cancer.

Professor of pathology and human nutrition Gary D. Stoner and his associates fed rats a normal diet or a diet that contained 5 percent freeze-dried black-raspberry powder for three weeks. “Freeze drying the berries concentrates these elements about ten times, giving us a power pack of chemoprevention agents that can influence the different signaling pathways that are deregulated in cancer,” Dr Stoner noted.

During the third week of the diet, half of the animals were injected with the carcinogen N-nitrosomethylbenzylamine, and genetic changes in the esophagus were measured. Among rats that received the carcinogen, 2,261 of 41,000 genes examined showed a 50 percent or more change in activity, yet in animals that received berry powder, 462 of these altered genes demonstrated near-normal activity. Continue Reading

Researchers Discover That A Protein In Grape Skins Can Kill Cancer Cells

It's well known that drinking red wine in moderation can have some health benefits, mainly attributed to a compound called resveratrol. Now, scientists at the University of Virginia Health System have discovered how. ... Continue Reading

Where does cancer come from?

Cancer cells arise from a toxic chemical, biological, or radiation exposure. Their DNA has been mutated, and they begin to reproduce abnormally fast. Normally, the immune system recognizes cancer cells and isolates and destroys them without intervention. But if there are too many, or your immune system is compromised, they reproduce rapidly and then spread using a protein-dissolving enzyme called protease. Continue Reading >>

High dose vitamin C injections slash tumor growth in mice

An article published in the August 5, 2008, issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reported that injections of ascorbate (vitamin C) reduce the weight and growth rate of tumors by half in mouse models of ovarian, pancreatic and Brain cancer, while leaving normal cells unharmed.

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) tested ascorbate in 43 tumor and 5 normal cell lines to determine a concentration that decreases cell survival in cancerous cells without resulting in toxicity to healthy cells. They subsequently injected a dose of 4 grams ascorbate (neutralized with sodium hydroxide) per kilogram body weight once or twice per day into immune-deficient mice with implanted ovarian, pancreatic and glioblastoma (brain) tumors. "At these high injected doses, we hoped to see drug-like activity that might be useful in cancer,” explained lead author Mark Levine, MD, who is the chief of the Molecular and Clinical Nutrition Section of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at the NIH.

Dr Levine’s team found that injecting the animals with ascorbate decreased tumor growth and weight by 41 to 53 percent. While metastases occurred in 30 percent of the mice with brain tumors, none appeared in animals injected with vitamin C. No adverse effects of vitamin C treatment were noted. Continue Reading

Orthomolecular Medicine - For Health and Mental Illness

Orthomolecular medicine describes the practice of preventing and treating disease by providing the body with optimal amounts of substances which are natural to the body. The term "orthomolecular" was first used by Linus Pauling in a paper he wrote in the journal Science in 1968. This paper first described the theoretical foundations for what was later to become a specialty within complementary medicine.

The key idea in orthomolecular medicine is that genetic factors are central not only to the physical characteristics of individuals, but also to their biochemical milieu. Biochemical pathways of the body have significant genetic variability in terms of transcriptional potential and individual enzyme concentrations, receptor-ligand affinities and protein transporter efficiency. Diseases such as atherosclerosis, cancer, schizophrenia or depression are associated with specific biochemical abnormalities which are either causal or aggravating factors of the illness. In the orthomolecular view, it is possible that the provision of vitamins, amino acids, trace elements or fatty acids in amounts sufficient to correct biochemical abnormalities will be therapeutic in preventing or treating such diseases.Want to learn more? The following essays give a more detailed overview of the nature, efficacy and history of orthomolecular medicine. Continue Reading >>

Higher plasma vitamin C levels linked with lower diabetes risk

In the July 28, 2008 issue of the American Medical Association journal Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers at Addenbrooke’s Hospital and the University of Cambridge in England report an association between higher plasma vitamin C levels in middle-aged adults and a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

The study included 21,831 healthy, nondiabetic participants in the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer-Norfolk study, which was created to examine the association between diet and cancer. Vitamin C levels were measured in plasma, and food frequency questionnaires were administered upon enrollment between 1993 and 1997. Over a twelve year follow-up period, 423 men and 312 women developed diabetes.

Analysis of the data revealed a strong protective effect of high vitamin C levels against diabetes. Participants in the top 20 percent of plasma vitamin C had a 62 percent lower adjusted risk of developing diabetes compared with those in the lowest fifth. Fruit and vegetable intake also emerged as protective. Those whose intake was in the top fifth had a 22 percent lower diabetes risk than subjects whose intake was lowest. Continue Reading

Orthomolecular Treatment of Cancer

Between 1978 and March, 1999 I have seen over 1040 patients suffering from cancer who came to me for nutritional and psychiatric counseling. This is no longer a surprising combination as it was when I first started to practice psychiatry in 1952. I attended my first annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in Los Angeles, in 1952. I did not meet another psychiatrist there with a PhD in Biochemistry. Since then many more scientists with the double degrees have become active in this field but of these very few actively pursue this particular combination. Orthomolecular theory and practice drives these two together. I have retained my interest in the biochemistry and clinical aspects of nutrition combining this with my education in medicine and later in psychiatry. The recovery of my first patient in 1960 from terminal bronchiogenic cancer of the lung arose from this coalescence of these two disciplines. Continue Reading >>

Daily aspirin reduces estrogen receptor positive breast cancer risk

A report published online on April 30, 2008 in the journal Breast Cancer Research concluded that the use of aspirin on a daily basis reduced the risk of estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer, which makes up 75 percent of breast cancer cases. These cancers have receptors on their surface for female hormone estrogen, which fuels the tumors’ growth.

Gretchen L. Gierach and her colleagues at the National Cancer Institute evaluated data from 127,383 women aged 51 to 72 who were enrolled in the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study, which examined the relationship between diet, health-related behaviors and cancer. Questionnaires completed upon enrollment between1995 and 1996 provided information on diet history, demographic characteristics and other data. A second questionnaire completed between 1996 and 1997 collected information concerning medication use, including aspirin and nonaspirin nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Breast cancer cases were identified through cancer registry information through the end of 2003. Continue Reading

Study finds high incidence of vitamin D insufficiency in breast cancer survivors

In article published in the July, 2008 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, scientists at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, the National Cancer Institute, and other research centers report a high incidence of vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency among female breast cancer survivors.

The current study utilized data from 790 participants in the multiethnic Health, Eating, Activity, and Lifestyle (HEAL) study of breast cancer patients, which sought to determine the effect of diet, hormones, and other factors on breast cancer prognosis and survival. Blood samples collected within three years following the participants’ breast cancer diagnosis were analyzed for serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels, the primary biomarker used to evaluate vitamin D status. Dietary questionnaires were used to obtain information concerning vitamin D intake levels from food and supplements. Continue Reading

Clinical trial to test vitamin C against non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and the Kimmel Cancer Center in Philadelphia, in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health, are initiating a trial to test the effects of high dose vitamin C in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). The study will be the first to test the effects of the vitamin when administered intravenously to NHL patients.

A team led by Daniel Monti, MD, who is the director of the Myrna Brind Center of Integrative Medicine at Thomas Jefferson, plans to enroll twenty patients for whom standard non-Hodgkin lymphoma therapy has been unsuccessful. Trial participants will receive varying doses of intravenous vitamin C three times per week while being monitored for disease progression. Continue Reading

Time to take on time

To significantly reduce disease, we must slow the aging process, according to a team of experts who published their conclusion online in the British Medical Journal on July 8. In an article entitled, “New model of health promotion and disease prevention for the 21st century,” Professor S. Jay Olshansky of the University of Illinois at Chicago and his associates suggest that the current focus on preventing and curing individual diseases will become outmoded as people in developed countries live longer and develop the multiple chronic illnesses that come with aging.
“The change in strategy we are calling for requires a systematic attack on aging itself,” they write. “Evidence in models ranging from invertebrates to mammals suggests that all living things, including humans, possess biochemical mechanisms that influence how quickly we age and that they are adjustable.” Due to a greater life expectancy in developed countries, the increased incidence of diseases related to aging has resulted in a dramatic rise in health care costs. Dr Olshansky and colleagues note that if an extended life span is combined with health, it could result in a number of economic, social, and other benefits, which they call “the longevity dividend.” They propose increased funding for studies that will increase our knowledge concerning the relationship of aging to such diseases as type 2 diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and most cancers, in addition to research into the processes that control aging itself. Continue Reading

When Oxidants Can Increase Risk of Death

1. When Antioxidants Can Increase Risk of DeathThe truth about these nutrients - their benefits and risks

Antioxidants have long been considered good news, helping to reduce the 'oxidative' damage caused by everyday living that ages and eventually kills us. We are encouraged to eat foods (especially our 'five a day') that provide rich sources of antioxidant nutrients, and a massive market for antioxidant supplements has sprung up with literally thousands of studies to affirm their benefits.

But in the last few years, a number of big trials have apparently shown that taking extra antioxidants in the form of supplements doesn't work. They have reported that antioxidants, far from staving off the big killers such as cancer and heart disease, can actually make them worse. A recent review of a number of studies gave rise to media headlines such as "Antioxidants can kill".

So what is going on?
After numerous studies that showed extra antioxidants reduced risk of disease, some more recent research started to look at their effect on two particular 'at-risk' groups - people who smoked and those with cardiovascular disease.

Several of these trials showed that the risk of cancer in smokers increased slightly when they were given beta-carotene. Other studies suggested a small increased risk of heart attack in heart patients who were on medications such as statins and taking vitamin E.
What's interesting to note, however, is that far from putting the nail in the coffin of antioxidants, these studies give us an interesting insight into how these nutrients work - and why people who smoke or take statins are at risk, unless they adapt (rather than stop) their supplement intake.
For example, the recent Cochrane Review by Bjelakovic et al actually found that people who took BOTH multivitamin AND antioxidant supplements showed no increased risk, and in some cases, a significant decrease in risk. Now why should that be, and what does it tell us about the way antioxidants work?

I believe it points to a simple explanation as to why high-dose vitamin E increases cardiovascular risk, why beta-carotene increases smokers' risk, and why multivitamins eradicate this risk.
With this month's 100%health newsletter, I have produced a Special Report which looks in detail as these issues.

Find out:
. Why statins make high-dose vitamin E dangerous
. The nutrients that can reduce disease risk for smokers
. Why the Cochrane review is flawed
. The reactions to the review's findings from scientists whose studies were included
. The positive findings that went unreported
. And most importantly, what you can do to protect yourself - whether you're taking statins or smoking, are elderly or young, in good health or bad.

Click here to make sure you receive your copy.
My July newsletter also tackles the controversial issue of Childhood Vaccinations and looks at the evidence behind the guidelines so many parents are questioning.
I'll also be exploring the latest research into anti-ageing to bring you the best tips to help you turn the clock back and stay youthful.

And there's another Special Report on the plant compounds Salvestrols - a new discovery that could provide a major breakthrough in the prevention and treatment of cancer.
To ensure you receive all this - plus a whole range of exclusive member benefits - click here to join 100%health.

2. Two days is all it takes to change your life. Book now to qualify for Early Bird discounts
Learn how to build up your energy, control your weight and beat nagging problems that plague your health.

Our ever popular 100%health Weekend Workshop will give you manageable tools to combat the obstacles in your life that are holding you back. All you need is the desire and determination to transform your life. We do the rest by tailor-making a new life plan for you.

The next workshop is on 27th/28th September in London and I will spend two days taking you through a step-by-step guide to the eight key areas that will lead you to optimum health including information on the best foods to eat, why eating low-GL is best, cookery demonstrations and a personalised Health Action Plan. Plus a follow-up online health assessment to help you track your progress.

What you'll achieve
By the end of the weekend you will know exactly what you need to do to achieve the boundless energy, sharp mind, balanced mood, stable weight and glowing skin that are the hallmark of great health. We give you the tools to do it and the confidence to follow it through.
Book today and take the first step. I very much hope you will join me on the next 100%health Workshop in London on 27th/28th September. Places strictly limited - book your ticket now to qualify for the Early Bird discount of £50! Click here for more details and how to book.
Don't forget - if you're a member of 100%health you'll automatically save a further £30 on your booking - click here to join.

3. Are you interested in becoming a nutritional therapist?
The Institute for Optimum Nutrition offers a 3-year part time foundation science degree in nutritional therapy.

If you are interested in studying nutrition to qualify as a nutritional therapist , the Institute for Optimum Nutrition have asked me to let you know there are still some places available on their excellent course commencing this September. To find out more book your place on one of the remaining open days see the ION website for more details: http://www.ion.ac.uk/open_days.htm
Wishing you the best of health,
Patrick Holford