Are you getting enough?

Food is the best way to take in the nutrients we need. If you pay attention to your diet, vary the foods you eat, study food labels to glean the nutritional content, then you may not need to worry about suffering any vitamin and mineral deficiencies. However the truth is that most of us have not got the time to be that vigilant.
With hectic modern lifestyles, few of us have the time or knowledge to become our own food scientists. So we are likely to rely on broad advice like eat five portions of fruit and veg a day. Yet the latest national  diet and nutrition survey found that only about a third of the population manages to follow that guidance. In addition, the survey found that intake of oily fish, which is our main source of beneficial omega 3 fatty acids, remains low. That means that most of us could benefit from a little nutritional help, that could protect our long term health from disease and illness like high cholesterol, and cancer.

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Loving After Cancer

Excerpts from an article in the Jerusalem Post about a subject that rarely gets addressed. The whole article is worth reading.

The article refers to the work of two clinicians: Prof. Sharon Bober, a clinical and research psychologist at Harvard Medical School’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Dr. Rivka Klein, a Jerusalem-based clinical social worker and sex therapist who received her PhD in social work at the Hebrew University

How to bring the loving back after cancer

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH

It’s unfortunately an “unmentionable” subject that even makes many physicians blush – and many others avoid raising the subject at all. But as growing numbers of cancer survivors want to resume intimate relations with their partners, raising awareness of the problem and offering clinical help need to be put on the agenda.

... Returning to one’s previous level of intimacy can often be a problem, because surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormonal medications may cause a lot of long-term side effects that interfere with sex.”

Sexuality, she says, is an experience at the junction of mind, body and relationship, and cancer treatment can affect all of those elements. From the first session, she tells patients that sexual dysfunction deserves as much attention as any other quality-of-life issue; that the problems should not cause embarrassment or shame; and that there are treatments that really work.

Cancer treatment may result in heart damage, kidney problems and disruptions of both male and female sexual function.

Men can become impotent, while women who had ovarian cancer can be propelled into early menopause. Other types of cancer can also have side effects.

....the example of one 38-year-old woman who suddenly lost her ovaries to cancer. “She hadn’t been told about what would come next in her life. She wasn’t ready for it. Her doctors told her she should be happy to be alive. But she and her partner suffered from her hot flashes, vaginal dryness, fatigue, dramatic loss of estrogen and lack of libido. She was depressed.”

Usually, either the patient is ashamed to raise the issue or afraid to embarrass their doctor – or the physician doesn’t know enough to raise it or afraid to embarrass the patient.”

The longer patients wait to undergo rehabilitation of their sexual functions, the harder it is to preserve.

“There are a lot of people who specialize in sexual medicine, but only a small subset who work with cardiac and cancer survivors and medical illness. Even younger cardiologists and oncologists may feel no obligation to talk about sexual function with their patients or don’t like to discuss it themselves. We have studied primary care doctors, many of whom weren’t prepared for broaching the subject.”

But “patients usually need psychological treatment, an integrative mind/body model. Women who have had a mastectomy, for example, usually feel very unattractive.

“It would be great if not only doctors were educated and willing to discuss these issues, but patients were also willing to hear about them,” they conclude. “There is no reason why people have to suffer in silence. They have suffered enough already."

Alternative ways of treatment

Alternative ways of treating illness and disease such as cancer and heart disease using natural cures.

There is a cure out there

Ever since I was young I was interested in alternative ways of healing people. In my early days I had a great deal of success in treating my family and friends in a natural way, with minor complaints.
I still think think there are natural cures to yet be discovered in such places as in the Amazon jungle, or in the depths of the oceans.
Some plant, or a fish that heal people with serious illness such as cancer, or heart disease.
The cure may be right in front of us, in our own garden. I eat small amounts of a leaf that is unknown to me, just to see its effect. I do not advise doing this, as some plants, or herbs can be very poisonous.
Holistic cancer cures

Naturopathy can cure disease.

The best natural way to cure disease and illness such as cancer is prevention. You can incorporate naturopathic remedies such as improved nutrition  and vitamin supplements into your recovery strategy.
Various anti-cancer diets share some similar principles: high fibre, low fat, mostly vegan, and avoiding salt and sugar.
Antioxidants are recommended: Beta carotene, found in carrots, high doses of vitamin c and e, and zinc. Grape seed extract, available in supplements is another powerful antioxidant.
Abnormal cervical cells have been linked with a deficiency in folic acid, which is depleted by the pill and smoking.

The latest natural cure.

I am searching for the latest natural cure. A new break-though on a natural way of curing illness and disease such as cancer. If you know of a new way or curing in a natural way please leave your comment below, it should be a cure from 2011.

More natural cures for disease

Turmeric (Curcuma Longa) is a natural healing spice traditionally used by both Indian and Chinese systems of medicine to treat inflammations and cure sprains. It contains a yellow pigment curcumin, an active ingredient that has been used for centuries.

The curcuminoids in Turmeric are a group of phenolic acids that have been found to have unique antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. They retard age-related diseases by preventing free radical damage, inhibit the growth of cancer cells, protect the Liver from toxins, help to dissolve gallstones, and alleviate joint swelling.

Studies with HIV patients have shown that turmaric also has a beneficial effect in the treatment of AIDS.






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RESISTANCE TO DISEASE

Astragalus is a traditional Chinese herb, its root was found to increase resistance to disease by fortifying the immune system. For example, it increases the body's secretion of interferon, which fights viruses. According to Chinese studies, astragalus reduces susceptibility to colds and their duration.

Astragalus is sometimes used together with echinacea and ginseng, for use in degenerative conditions of ageing such as heart disease, cancer and arthritis. Since it is a diuretic, astragalus can be useful to reduce water retention. During the past decade, astragalus has been discovered by Western science, and is increasingly being incorporated into nutritional formulas sold in health food shops.

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Prostate cancer could be linked with a virus

Scientists have identified a virus which they believe could trigger some cases of prostate cancer. Researchers hope that, if proven, the findings could lead to a test and possibly even a vaccine against the deadly form of cancer: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/6151243/Virus-could-trigger-some-cases-of-prostate-cancer.html

The best natural way to stop Prostate cancer is by prevention. You can do this by using the mineral Magnesium and zinc. Magnesium is an important mineral it maintains strong bones and tooth enamel, calms the nervous system, regulates heartbeat, strengthens digestion but more importantly maintains a healthy prostate in men.

Lycopene which is found in tomatoes can also significantly reduce the risk of prostate cancer. It is available in capsule form as a nutritional supplement from health food shops.

The herb Saw Palmetto ( Serenoa Serrulata) has also anti-cancer benefits. The berries from the herb have been found to inhibit the hormonal secretion of the prostate and is therefore used as treatment for enlarged prostate.

More unusual herbal remedies.

Pau D'arco (Tabevulia) is a South American bitter herb which is antibacterial, antifungal and a booster of the immune system. It has traditionally been used to control candida (thrush) and help in the treatment of cancer. It is also used to cleanse the blood, treat liver disease, infections, diabetes, ulcers, allergies and tumours.
Pau D'arco is available as tea bags in many health food shops.

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PoopDoc's Colon Cleanse - Now, an all natural discovery allows you to Cleanse your Colon Effectively

New website Healthtalkonline providing great information.

A new website has been set up providing great information for people diagnosed with illness and disease. It talks about peoples experiences and fears and involves real doctors and is none commercial.

In the past you where told you have an illness or disease such as cancer, given some leaflets and then had to wait in fear for your treatment such as chemotherapy or a major operation. However this website has changed all that, you can now hear from people who have been diagnosed with the same health problem and they can alleviate your fears.
http://www.healthtalkonline.org/

Natural pain control for cancer and chemortherapy.

A Hungarian doctor, Joseph Beres developed a complex supplement of seventeen minerals claiming to have a dramatic pain-relieving effect on a wide range of conditions, including cancer. It is called Beres Drops plus.
Another controversial but more widely available supplement for cancer is ground shark cartilage. This claims to work over a period of some weeks by inhibiting and reducing the growth of cancer cells.
Cats claw (Uncaria Tomentosa) is a herb that has been hailed in recent years as an immune system booster and has been found to be particularly beneficial in the treatment of cancer and AIDS. The herb is currently being researched in several countries. It is available in health food stores as a tea or in capsule form.

Herbal medicine has a number of other herbs that can control the pain of cancer depending on the symptoms of the individual, these include Jamaican dogwood, Bloodroot, Red clover and Pacific island potato. For the best advice see a qualified herbalist.

The homeopathic remedy Nux vomica 6c taken three time daily for a month is said to relieve the discomfort of chemotherapy, particularly nausea.

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Mushroom has powerful effect against tumours and cancer.

Reishi (Ganoderma Lucidum) is a chinese mushroom that has long been highly rated in traditional Chinese medicine.

It is a tonic sedative herb that is expectorant, it lowers blood sugar and cholesterol levels,controls coughing,relieves pain,and stimulates the immune system. It improves heart and liver function, and has anti-allergenic, anti-viral, and anti-bacterial effects.

Reishi contains germanium and is considered to have a powerful effect against tumours and cancer. Recent research has found Reishi to be beneficial in relieving fatigue and stress, treating viral infections and joint inflammations. It is also said to reduce the effects of chemotherapy.

Reishi mushroom is available from good health food stores in capsule form, and are now increasingly incorporated as an ingredient in many multivitamin-mineral supplements.

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What can be done about cancer?

Cancer: The facts
One in three of us will be diagnosed with cancer during our life.
The disease tends to affect older people - but can strike at any time.
Excluding certain skin cancers, there were more than 270,000 new cases of the disease in 2001 - and the rate is increasing by about 1% a year.
Some cancer, such as breast, are becoming more common, while new cases of lung cancer fall away due to the drop in the number of smokers.
However, while the overall number of new cancers is not falling, the good news is that successful treatment rates for many of the most common types are improving rapidly.
BBC News Online has produced, in conjunction with Cancer Research UK, a guide to some of the most common forms of cancer and the treatments used to tackle them.
To learn more about different types of cancer, and to read the experiences of patients, click on the links to the right.

http://my-news-reporter.blogspot.com/

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Hello and welcome. This blog is about using alternative health methods to treat various complaints and diseases. The human body is very complex, so please check with your GP first.
Alternative health offers a variety of ways in which the body can help itself to recover from all types of illness.
I have included a range of remedies including help for cancer, heart disease, and a longevity formula.



5-HTP Is an Amino Acid, that may help to promote the brain chemical Serotonin, and thus producing a mood enhancer, and help for people with anxiety and depression. 5-HTP is made from the grains of the African plant Griffonia simplicifolia.

So who may need 5-HTP? Anyone who seeks to improve his or her mood, behavior,suppress appetite, or help insomnia may benefit from taking 5-HTP. Symptoms of low levels of serotonin include depression, obesity, carbohydrate craving, bulimia, insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep apnea, migraine headaches, tension headaches, chronic daily headaches, premenstrual syndrome, and fibromyalgia.
5-HTP is best taken between meals, for the best effects.



RED CLOVER. Red clover is a wild plant that is used for grazing cattle and other animals. You can buy Red Clover seeds from a number websites online.It is a perennial herb that commonly grows wild in meadows throughout Europe and Asia, and has now been naturalized to grow in North America. The red flowers at the end of the branched stems are usually dried for therapeutic use.
It has a number of medicinal uses, although at this stage more research may need to be done.
Red Clover can help to treat a number of conditions. Traditionally, these have included cancer, whooping cough, respiratory problems, and skin inflammations, such as psoriasis and eczema.

Hope for Cancer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QV67he70YJI

This is a video clip which you may find interesting, but again please seek advice before doing anything.

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NIACIN AND NIACINAMIDE (VITAMIN B3)


Vitamin B3 is made up of niacin (nicotinic acid) and its amide, niacinamide, and can be found in many foods, including yeast, meat, fish, milk, eggs, green vegetables, and cereal grains. Dietary tryptophan is also converted to niacin in the body. Vitamin B3 is often found in combination with other B vitamins including thiamine, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, cyanocobalamin, and folic acid.

Orally, niacin can be used to help reduce high levels of bad cholesterol, protect against stomach ulcers, and also help for hyperlipidemia. It is also used in conjunction with other therapies for peripheral vascular disease, vascular spasm, migraine headache, Meniere's syndrome, vertigo, and to reduce the diarrhea associated with cholera. Orally, niacin or niacinamide is also used for preventing vitamin B3 deficiency, treating pellagra, schizophrenia, drug-induced hallucinations, Alzheimer's disease and age-related cognitive decline, chronic brain syndrome, hyperkinesis, depression, motion sickness, alcohol dependence.

Please be aware that high levels of Niacin,and Niacinamide can course skin flushing at first, this should soon stop.
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Putting Illness in its Place: Betty & Peter's Story of Pancreatic Cancer

Couples dealing with illness understand too well how illness turns a relationship of equals into one of patient and caretaker. Autonomy slides into dependency; activity is regulated not by interest but by stamina, and time gets measured by intervals between medication doses.

Illness gets triangulated into the relationship. The intimate dyad becomes an unwelcome menage a trois in which illness winds up as the master.

Betty was magnetic. Her deep green eyes and glossy black hair made you want to move in close for a better look. Her smile made you want to be her friend. When she told her wonderful stories about life, spirit, and nature you felt as if she were taking you for a ride to a place that was familiar, but beyond where you could ever get to on your own. Betty lived large. She climbed mountains, swam lakes, sang like a diva, and when she listened to you, you felt as if you were part of something special.

Her husband Peter adored her. He loved sitting in a corner and watching her captivate a room of people. Peter was more private and analytic. His world was a place of numbers that usually tallied accurately and led to the expected conclusions. He was Betty's anchor. Betty was his magic.

Over the period of a few months, Betty, who was thin already, started losing weight. Her appetite diminished, and she began having stomach aches. Her clear eyes looked a little cloudy. After several visits to her primary care doctor and a few specialists, she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Cancer soon became the dominant partner in their relationship. Chemotherapy became the organizing principle in their lives. Betty felt as if she had become a character in someone else's story and no longer told any of her own. Instead of reading biographies and books on finance, Peter dedicated his free time to researching pancreatic cancer. They stopped talking about dreams and horizons, and focused their attention on the size of her tumors and ways to mitigate the effects of chemo.

Their life was shrinking while, ironically and luckily, the treatments began to have a positive impact and doctors were offering her more time. Slowly Betty and Peter realized that their trajectory was not going to be a steady descent towards death. They were granted grace periods during which normalcy was possible. The problem was that they had constricted their imaginations and their hopes so much and had been submerged for so long in a world where normalcy was equivalent to pain and illness that they lost touch with how to live.

They began trying to reintroduce pleasure into their lives. One day, as they were driving along the back roads in rural Maine, they stopped for a picnic lunch by one of those astounding, pristine, hidden inland lakes. They noticed an abandoned log cabin on the shore and went to investigate. It was for sale, and they bought it.

The cabin emancipated them. The lake restored them. As they began transforming the cabin from a dilpadated shack into a rustic palace, they were transformed. Instead of monitoring tumor growth, they measured cabinet sizes and plotted out space for a garden.

I like to imagine Betty sitting in a wooden rocking chair on the front porch of the cabin. I can hear the squeaks her chair makes as she gently rocks. Her eyes are half closed. The reflection of the autumn sun bounces off the lake and steaks her raven black hair with blazes of fire.

How do you disentangle illness from the fabric of your relationship? How do you contain illness in its proper place, as intruder, and not as intimate partner? I think we all need to find our equivalent of the cabin by the lake.




Note: This story was inspired by a friend's experience, and thi s post is in honor of her journey . All identifiers have been changed.

When Illness Begets Illness: A Story About Breast Cancer

Five years ago Dave began experiencing headaches for the first time in his life. He attributed the headaches to increases in stress at work. Then he began slurring words and feeling low grade nausea. His doctor diagnosed a brain tumor. Janie, his wife, stayed by his side during the entire ordeal of surgery, chemotherapy, and, eventually recovery. They live "on alert," watching for signs of a recurrence.

Two years ago, Janie was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had a mastectomy, followed by several rounds of radiation. Her prognosis for recovery from this cancer is excellent.

However, her surgeon decided to do a largely unused form of reconstructive surgery. He took some muscles and tissue from her abdomen. Janie, a good patient, pleased with the cancer prognosis, did not research or ask questions about this method of reconstruction.

The newly fashioned breast looked good enough, but Janie was left with chronic abdominal pain. She began to take pain pills.

The story goes on.

The abdominal surgery soon resulted in a hernia, which required further surgery.

The hernia surgery, left behind a gnarled, twisted root system of scar tissue in her intestine.

Her pain is now intense, for most of the day, every day. She is chronically constipated and is now taking the last in the series of drugs available to help push waste through her constricted intestines. She has started having panic attacks. She sees that she is on a path that is heading towards a colostomy and can't tolerate the thought of undergoing more surgery.

This is the story of a couple delighted to have found each other after unhappy first marriages. For years they worked, jogged, played music, and raised a child. They remained loving and supportive through his brain cancer and her breast cancer. They still held hands and stroked each others' hair in the aftermath of her botched surgeries.

Hope has propelled them along. They are not in their 80s. They are not even in their 60s. They are in their late 50s. They had every right to expect health tranquility for another few decades. And when illness intruded, they had faith in doctors, in medicine, and in a bountiful trajectory of life that provides renewal for each incidence of sorrow, until the end.

But they have lived in their current hell for too long now. They see no path to renewal. Their love is strained and may not be able to offer them a solid bridge between panic attacks for much longer.

They have been each others' salvation for so long that they do not know how to take care of themselves as separate individuals. When the stress of illness is so severe and prolonged, it is critical that each partner put in place a support platform for him or herself. When being together pulls each partner down into a vortex of fear, depression, and uncertainty, each person needs to create a separate safety zone that can provide some nourishment. That zone can include friends, work, activities, therapy, meditation, time in the woods or by a river.

Sometimes, in desperate circumstances, partners have to stand alone in order to hold each other up.

Are Certain Illnesses More Likely to Lead to Divorce?

Couples who are dealing with the illness of one partner know well the emotional, physical, financial, social, sexual, and spiritual toll that can take. Some couples find that the struggle to adapt raises them to higher levels of awareness and intimacy. Some couples find that the stresses inherent in this situation fray the tethers that hold them together to the breaking point, and beyond.

I had thought that how a couple weathers illness depends more on the people involved than on the nature of the illness. However, a recent study (reported by Reuters) by some Norwegian researchers presented at the European Cancer Conference in Barcelona found that there are two types of cancer that increase the risk of divorce -- testicular cancer or cervical cancer.

"The research compared divorce rates of 215,000 cancer survivors with those among couples free of cancer over a 17-year period. Women with cervical cancer had nearly a 70 percent greater risk of divorce at the age of 20, a level that fell to 19 percent at 60. For testicular cancer, the divorce risk was 34 percent at 20 and 16 percent at 60, it said.

The reason could be because both diseases affect intimacy and result in decreased sexual activity, said Astri Syse of the Norwegian Cancer Registry, who led the study. Age was another possible factor, because both cancers tended to hit people when they were younger and had not yet forged strong bonds, Syse said."

This made me want to ask the question of readers and fellow bloggers -- are there aspects of the specific type of illness you and your partner are living with (or lived with) that are particularly difficult to deal with? I'd be very interested in your thoughts about this.

Vic and Toni: A Story About Cancer and Love

Here's a story from Freep (the Detroit Free Press online) about a couple who has learned to complement each other's strengths and weaknesses before and during illness.

"After 22 years of marriage, cancer has provided Vic and Toni Mounts an unlikely new chapter that Toni calls 'our new normal.' Cancer, and a love story."

The title of the story: Cancer took his voice, but couple communicates better than ever

I couldn't help but read it and smile, ...initially. Then I began to wonder -- where are the sharp edges? the darkness? the petty aggravations?

The silent moments create the rhythm in the music. The empty spaces give the sculpture depth and movement. The struggles are the crucible in which the relationship can strengthen its bonds.

Am I being too cynical? Maybe Vic and Toni are one of the lucky couples who fit together from the start and let true love guide them the rest of the way.

American Cancer Society Report: People with Inadequate Health Insurance are More Likely to Die

An article on WebMD tells a not unexpected, but still deplorable, story:

Cancer patients without adequate health insurance tend to face grimmer odds than those with good health insurance, says an American Cancer Society report. The American Cancer Society based its report on information from the CDC and from the National Cancer Data Base.

The report shows that people with no health insurance or inadequate health insurance face four main challenges when it comes to cancer:

• They're less likely to get screened for cancer.
• They're less likely to get counseled about cancer prevention.
• They're more likely to get diagnosed late, when their cancer is harder to treat.
• They're more likely to die from cancer than people with adequate health insurance.

Health insurance isn't the only gap in cancer care. Racial and ethnic disparities also affect cancer outcomes.

Ever since I developed a chronic pain condition, and like too many other pain patients, wandered from specialist to specialist, from one health care system to another, from western to alternative treatments, I have been aware that my white, English speaking, educated, middle class, married, insured status served me well.

I was always taken seriously. No one ever intimated that my pain was not real, even though no cause was ever ascertained. With medium effort, I got referrals to specialists outside my provider network. My phone calls to my care team were returned.

My status ticket got me a seat on most every train I wanted to ride. Even though I knew the system was slanted in my favor and that others were disadvantaged, I took my advantage. I was sick, I was in wretched pain every day, and I was willing to do anything to make it stop. Even during my worst periods, I was aware of this unfairness -- and felt guilty and lucky.

Richard, my husband, also played the privilege card, many times - always for my benefit. And I counted on him to play it well, especially when I wanted insurance approval for seeing a pain specialist at Johns Hopkins or when our mail-order drug vendor was taking too long in delivering my medications.

We talked about everything else, but we never talked about this. I think we were both focused on survival and couldn't afford to let ethics dampen our efforts and our access to resources we both knew others weren't getting. Shame would come later - when I began to climb out of the pain pit.

Now I work with hospital systems that are trying to make a difference, trying to bring health care to all members of their community. Are my efforts helping to make things more equitable? Barely - one mini-micro drop of water on a parched landscape. I still feel guilty and lucky - but I have to do something.