Researchers claim commuting to work on a bike cuts your risk of cancer by almost half

Researchers from the University of Glasgow have delivered good news for avid cyclists everywhere. Taking your bike to work could reduce your risk of cancer by 45 percent, as well as your risk of heart disease by 46 percent, the investigative team revealed.

For the purposes of their study, the researchers evaluated the data of over 264,337 people from the UK Biobank project, an international health resource. The team then questioned the participants on their methods of traveling to work. From there, the researchers maintained contact with the participants for five years. The average age of the participants was 53 years at the beginning of the study. Any cases of heart attacks, cancer, and deaths that occurred during that time period were carefully analyzed and then connected to the participants’ mode of travel, reported CNBC.com.

By the end of the study, the researchers discovered that commuters who covered ground by way of a bicycle had a 41 percent reduced risk of premature death. Similarly, walking to work had been linked to lowered risks of developing heart disease (27 percent) and dying from heart disease (36 percent); there were no significant reductions to the risks of cancer nor premature death, however. According to the Independent.co.uk, of the 2,430 people who died during the course of the study: 496 deaths were from hearth disease while 1,126 deaths were from cancer. Moreover, 3,748 people developed cancer over five years while 1,110 underwent events that related to heart disease, like a stroke or heart attack.

In a statement, Dr. Jason Gill, Associate Academic at the Institute of Health and Wellbeing, said: “Cycling all or part of the way to work was associated with substantially lower risk of adverse health outcomes.”

Dr. Carlos Celis-Morales, Research Associate at the Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, added: “Walking to work was associated with lower risk of heart disease, but unlike cycling was not associated with a significantly lower risk of cancer or overall death. This may be because walkers commuted shorter distances than cyclists — typically six miles per week, compared with 30 miles per week — and walking is generally a lower intensity of exercise than cycling.” (Related: Stunned researchers discover that the impact of walking dramatically boosts blood flow to the brain, boosting cognitive function)

If their findings are indeed causal, Gill has said that “policies designed to make it easier for people to commute by bike, such as cycle lanes, city bike hire, subsidized cycle purchase schemes and increasing provision for cycles on public transport may present major opportunities for public health improvement.”

“A shift from car to more active modes of travel will also decrease traffic in congested city centers and help reduce air pollution, with further benefits for health,” said Professor Lars Bo Andersen, a professor at the Department of Sports Medicine in the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences.

Jason Torrance, Policy Director of cycling charity Sustrans, has told the Independent.co.uk that cycling to work was “a proven way for people to improve their health, to help their local economies and to improve their productivity at work,” before adding “There’s an urgent need to improve road conditions for cyclists and transforming local roads and streets into places that people feel safe and want to be. Some cities are taking a leading role in doing that, like London and Manchester, which are doing some fantastic things. But more needs to be done.”

If there are any further developments in the world of health, then you can read all about them at MindBodyScience.news.

Sources include:

CNBC.com

Independent.co.uk

Gla.AC.uk

BMJ.com

Decrease your risk of breast cancer by avoiding these foods

As with any disease, breast cancer is a condition full of complexities and nuances. Factors such as genetics and family history are uncontrollable factors that can make one more susceptible to developing breast cancer. Smoking habits and diet are individual decisions that can greatly affect one’s chances of acquiring the disease; and according to MedicalNewsToday.com, avoiding these foods may help.

Avoid

• Red meat and processed meats: Compounds in grilled red meat, heterocyclic amines (HCA), spur on cancers, states NBCNews.com. The amino acids present in red meat are also said to increase the risk of cancer by increasing oxidation and promoting insulin production within the body. Most processed meats and cold cuts often contain high amounts of fat, preservatives and salt, none of which are favorable for cancer prevention. Some of these foods include beef, pork, ham, hot dogs, and bacon, which also contain sodium nitrite, a cancer-causing additive.
• Sugar: In a study administered by researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, they found that mice that ate sugar-rich diets are more likely to develop mammary gland tumors. Sugar can elevate blood glucose levels, forcing the body to deliver more insulin. The insulin produced encourages growth in cancer cells and can also raise estrogen levels. As reported by FoodForBreastCancer.com, sugar consumption also contributes to other breast cancer risk factors like increased breast density and systemic inflammation.
• Alcohol: Regular consumption of alcoholic beverages can cause damage to DNA cells and increase estrogen level, according to BreastCancer.org. A woman’s genetic makeup can also greatly affect her chances of acquiring the disease, as fast metabolizers of alcohol were shown to be at higher risk than slower metabolizers. At the most, one can drink a glass of wine every other day with food.
• Fats: While not all fats are bad—vegetable and fruit fats are usually associated with a decreased risk— some are worse than others. Similar to alcohol, large and routine consumption of foods containing trans-saturated fats increases the chances of developing breast cancer. Trans-saturated fats are often used in fast foods and processed foods like pastries and snack foods.

There are many other foods that experts have warned against. Grapefruit has many health benefits, but some researchers believe that its estrogen level-boosting properties make it a prime candidate in increasing breast cancer risk. Dairy products like milk, butter, and cheese (which are often from pregnant cows with hiked-up estrogen and progesterone levels) are also sometimes prescribed against. Experts also urge avoiding other meat-derived foods such as gravy and lard because of certain protein that can stimulate cancer cells to grow. Some vegetable oils like soybean and sunflower are high in polyunsaturated fats; even foods with partially hydrogenated oils, like mayonnaise, peanut butter and margarine, can be risky. Learn more about cancer prevention at Prevention.news.

If you can’t totally cut these foods out of your diet, severely limiting them will help. Making other conscious body choices can also contribute to your risk of getting or preventing this deadly disease. Simple things like regularly exposing yourself to sunlight to absorb vitamin D and becoming more physically active can make a difference. Adding certain foods like dietary fiber, fatty fish, and green tea are recommended. (Related: Green Tea and Breast Cancer Prevention: What the Experts Say)

No single food can cause or prevent breast cancer. The culmination of different foods does. Tiny, seemingly innocent selections will add up in time. That hamburger you had yesterday can become a problem for you, several years down the line. Awareness of what you put in your body is your greatest form of protection against breast cancer.

Sources:
MedicalNewsToday.com
NBCNews.com
FoodForBreastCancer.com
BreastCancer.org
MDAnderson.org

Researchers reveal that brushing your teeth may help prevent cancer

Being mindful of oral health care —  brushing, flossing, and regular dental check up — may help prevent the onset of cancer, experts say. Various studies have shown that oral bacteria may be a contributing factor to the development of certain types of cancer. As such, gaining insight on the connection between oral bacteria and cancer may help health care practitioners determine a person’s cancer risk just by examining the bacterial composition in his mouth.

Dr. Jiyoung Ahn, an Associate Professor of Epidemiology at New York University School of Medicine, confirmed in an article in DailyMail.co.uk that examining body’s microbiome composition is a relatively new field in health care science. According to Dr. Ahn, various studies from the past five years showed that 80 percent of bacteria living in the human body cannot be grown in a lab dish. While certain risk factors such as smoking and alcohol intake may alter the oral microbiome, researchers still hope that changes in the mouth’s bacterial composition may one day improve cancer diagnosis and aid in the development of potential treatments. (Related: Know more about potential cancer treatments at CancerSolutions.news).

Bacteria in mouth may cause breast, pancreatic cancer

A 2011 study revealed that oral bacteria may play a major role in breast cancer onset. Data on more than 3,000 women aged 30 to 40 years revealed that the risk of developing breast cancer was more than doubled in women who had chronic gum disease or had lost teeth due to periodontal disease compared with those who had healthier gums. The results were published in the Journal of Pharmacy & BioAllied Sciences.

Health experts at the University of Buffalo in New York also found that gum disease-causing bacteria may trigger breast cancer onset. Researchers examined  73,000 postmenopausal women and found that women who had the gum disease had a 14 percent increased odds of developing breast cancer. The study also revealed that among women who quit smoking with the past twenty years, those who suffer gum disease had a 63 percent elevated risk of breast cancer. According to the scientists, oral bacteria may enter the body’s circulatory system, which then negatively affects breast tissues.

Poor oral health was also associated with increased risk of developing pancreatic cancer, another study found. According to the study, people with higher levels of the oral bacteria P. gingivalis were 60 percent more likely to develop pancreatic cancer compared with those who had lower levels. Data also revealed that the oral bacteria  A. actinomycetemcomitans was tied to an increased risk of pancreatic cancer. The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Oral bacteria may trigger esophageal, bowel cancer

A 2016 study revealed that an oral bacteria called fusobacterium may raise the odds of developing bowel cancer. The bacteria was known to cause gum bleeding, and was found to be more common in cancerous tumors that normal cells.

Another study showed that the oral bacteria F. nucleatum may influence the onset of esophageal cancer. Researchers at the Kumamoto University in Japan assessed DNA in cancer tissue samples of 325 patients. Data showed that patients who tested positive for the oral bacteria had shorter survival times than those who tested negative for the bacteria.

“This study suggested that the oral cavity bacterium F. nucleatum may be involved in the development and progression of esophageal cancer via chemokines. It should be noted that it is still unknown whether F. nucleatum itself causes esophageal cancer. Further analysis by more institutions, preferably world-wide, is desired since intestinal flora differs between individuals. In future research, after elucidating the role of F. nucleatum in esophageal cancer development in more detail, we should be able to develop new drugs to better treat this form of cancer,” said lead researcher Professor Hideo Baba, as reported in AsianScientist.com. 

Sources:

DailyMail.co.uk

NCBI.NLM.NIH.gov

AsianScientist.com

These 15 edible plants could save your life in a dangerous situation

You never know what life is going to throw at you. One moment you may be trekking through the mountains, while seconds later you could be fighting for your life as the wilderness takes over. Whether you are lost in the wild or bugging out, knowing your plants might show a crucial skill in times of survival.

If you are familiar with survival shows like “Man vs. Wild,” you may think it’s easy to rely on the land and survive in the wilderness. However, things are not always as they seem. When you see Bear Grylls searching for food and water, seemingly with ease, know that he is highly trained in martial arts and served as a soldier in the British Special Forces, serving with 21 SAS. He also has a small crew and helicopter at his disposal.

When you are placed in a similar situation, having to survive in the wild, you will have to rely on yourself and things might not turn out so easy. Try to be on the look out for these 15 plants that may save your life one day. (RELATED: Find more survival tips and trick at Survival.news.)

Plant Medicine that can save your life

1. Aloe vera

The sticky gel inside its thick succulent leaves has strong antibacterial properties to treat insect bites, cuts, and burns. Aloe can also prevent deadly infections from building up in wounds.

2. Bee balm

Bee balm’s reddish purple flowers can be steeped in some hot water to create a fever-reducing tea with antibacterial properties.

3. Blackberries

Blackberries are not only a delicious and nutritious food source, but they can also help stop diarrhea, which can become deadly if not treated. If blackberries are not in season, you can dig up the roots and chew on them to find relief.

4. Boneset

A tea brew from boneset’s leaves can treat the most severe episodes of fever, such as those caused by dengue fever. Gray Line Alaska, however, warns that you should be cautious when using this plant for medicinal purposes. Too much of it can be lethal.

5. Butterfly weed

When you are hungry and in survival mode, you may have nibbled on a berry or root you should not have eaten. If that is the case, the milky sap from butterfly weed can help you throw up and empty your stomach of any harmful substances.

6. Catnip

Catnip is another great plant that can reduce fever and clear your head, helping you to find a way out of your pesky situation.

7. Plantain

Plantain is a common weed that can draw out venom from insect bites. Just chew on a few leaves, then spit them out and hold them on the affected area for a few minutes.

8. Sage

When you are trying to survive, diarrhea is the last thing you need. Just as blackberries, a tea brewed with sage leaves may solve your tummy issue.

9. Yarrow

If a tourniquet is not an option, chew on some yarrow leaves and place them on the wound to help stop major bleeding.

Survival food sources

10. Acorns

Acorns are an excellent source of fat and protein. The Native Americans used to soak them for days in the running water of a river to get rid of the tannic acid. However, if time is of the essence, you can peel and boil them in some water, making sure to replace the water when it turns brown.

11. Clover

While clover blossoms are delicious and protein-rich in their raw state, you might want to cook the leaves to improve their taste.

12. Dandelion

The entire plant is edible and used in many kidney and liver cleansing remedies. Given its bitter taste, Gray Line Alaska recommends starting with the leaves as they taste best. It can also be brewed into a tea.

13. Pine

Tea made of boiled pine needles makes an excellent vitamin C-rich survival drink. Furthermore, the nuts of many pines are edible, and its inner bark is delicious when cooked.

14. Prickly pear cactus

The peeled fruit of the prickly pear cactus is a delicious and edible survival treat.

15. Purslane

If you are looking for an energy-rich, plant-based source of omega-3, then the stems, flowers, and leaves of the purslane weed are what you need.

Sources:

GrayLineAlaska.com

BearGrylls.com

Coconut Oil: A New Cure for Colon Cancer

Colon cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer in the United States. It is also one of the most difficult ones to treat – often, patients are unaware of early warning signs of this disease or are not compliant with regular colonoscopies to visualize and diagnose possible cancerous or pre-cancerous lesions. Thus, by the time the disease is diagnosed, it is well-advanced and leaves patients and clinicians with few options for treatment.

However, there are natural ways to help prevent and treat colon cancer. Keeping a healthy weight and eating a diet that is high in fiber and antioxidants as well keeping hydrated are all good ways to reduce the risk. And now a new study has come out about another possible natural cure for this disease: coconut oil.

The New Research

The new research which has so many people talking involved a study where scientists studied the effect of lauric acid from coconut oil (this constitutes about 50% of coconut oil) on colon cancer cells. It found, amazingly, that this acid was able to kill around 93% of these cancerous cells after 48 hours of exposure. It was found that the lauric acids acted on the cancer cells to kill them in two important ways: first, it decreased levels of glutathione in the cells, then increased their oxidative stress, which the cancer cells were more susceptible too after their glutathione levels were lowered. It apparently was an extremely effective strategy.

More research needs to be done on lauric acid, with a view to developing a nature-based cancer treatment, the preliminary results from this study are certainly intriguing, particularly if similar studies are applied to other, common forms of cancer such as cancer of the breast or prostate.

More on the Health Benefits of Coconut Oil

Another, indirect way in which coconut oil likely helps fight cancer is through improving the body’s general health to make it easier for it to fight off disease and mutation. Coconut oil, for instance, is great for heart health, lower LDL while raising HDL cholesterol levels to improve the overall cholesterol ratio. It is also an effective weight loss aid, particularly for the loss of stubborn abdominal fat, and weight loss is a great way to prevent many kinds of cancer, including that of the colon. In short, it is of great worth for a variety of bodily ailments.

So, while coconut oil is not a panacea, it certainly comes close. More studies on the anti-cancer effects of lauric acid should certainly be conducted in order to give patients more information on what natural therapies are available, not only for cancer but for neurological and cardiac conditions as well.

Sources:

naturalnews.com

thevirgincoconutoil.com

coconutresearchcenter.org

complete-health-and-happiness.com

Coconut Oil Kills 93% of Colon Cancer Cells In Vivo

In this newly published lab study, lauric acid (coconut oil is about 50% lauric acid) killed over 93% of human colon cancer cells (Caco-2) after 48 hours of treatment. Intriguingly, the lauric acid poisoned the cancer cells by simultaneously unleashing profound oxidative stress while strongly reducing their levels of glutathione (which is exactly what the cancer cells needed to protect themselves from the increased oxidative stress).

While we are just now discovering coconut oil’s full anti-cancer potential, its many health benefits have already been well established through medical research. It naturally kills multiple viruses,bacteria, fungi and parasites. It aids digestion and liver metabolism, reduces inflammation, and promotes healthier skin and faster wound healing when applied topically. It may also be an effective aid for diabetes , as it has been shown to raise levels of the beneficial cholesterol HDL in women, improve their LDL:HDL ratio, and resulted in superior weight loss and abdominal fat lass compared to soybean oil.

Coconut oil is now being used in clinical trials for improving cholesterol in patients with chronic heart disease, in fighting Alzheimre’s, and for improving blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Coconut oil is unique in that it is about 50% lauric acid, a medium chained triglyceride that is otherwise very hard to find in our diets (palm kernel oil is also about 50% lauric acid). Interestingly, lauric acid makes up about 2% of the fat in cow’s milk but 6% of the fat in human milk, implying that humans may have a naturally higher need for this fatty acid.

These studies don’t necessarily mean coconut is the panacea of cancer what it means is that nature has provided many natural ways to combat disease and the more research we can do and the more information we can share with others gives us opportunities to possibly find cures and preventive measures using Mother Nature instead of simply putting our faith in the medical communities singular approach to disease.

Sources:

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

www.edenprescription.com

How To Out-Smart Cancer & What The Medical Industry Isn’t Telling You

There is a cold, hard truth about cancer: It’s a massive industry.

Many have speculated over why would the pharmaceutical companies want a cure for something that generates billions of dollars annually? Sadly, many signs are pointing to the fact that they don’t want a cure.

Today, the average cost of doctor recommended cancer treatment is in the tens of thousands, although sometimes effective, these drug treatments are often making things worse and at times even being the main cause of death.

The Truth About Alternative Cancer Treatments

The term ‘alternative’ usually comes with much speculation and connotation. But one of the most common misconceptions about alternative treatments for cancer is that they are not based on any real science.

However, many would be shocked to discover that this isn’t true, and that many alternative treatments have more sound science behind them than conventional methods do.

Author Tanya Harter Pierce, M.A. MFCC, reveals in her article, Why Alternative Cancer Treatments Are So Effective, “that there are several well-established scientific principles which various alternative cancer treatments are based on, and these have been demonstrated in scientific tests, as well as proven by countless cancer cures in patients using alternative treatments based on these principles.”

Most of the public are unaware that many alternative cancer treatments were developed by highly respected physicians or scientists (including microbiologists, chemists, and in one case a physicist).

In her book, Outsmart Your Cancer, Pierce states the scientifically proven common characteristics of all cancer cells, and reveals that anyone can make their cancer ‘go away’ if they understand how cancer works and target these characteristics.

To summarize, let’s discuss two important characteristics of cancer cells that must be understood to eradicate cancerous environments in the body.

Dr. Beard discovered that pancreatic enzymes actually eat away at the protective protein coating around cancer cells that normally make them resistant to our immune system.

The Trophoblast Principle

In 1902, Scottish embryologist, Dr. John Beard, observed that cancer cells are virtually indistinguishable from pre-embryonic cells known as “trophoblasts.”

To give a little background on this, within the first five days after fertilization, human embryonic cells differentiate into two groups; embryoblasts, and trophoblasts. The first function of the trophoblasts is that they are the cells that form the umbilical cord and placenta during early pregnancy. One of the unique attributes of trophoblast cells is their ability to grow rapidly and their ability to “hide” from the mother’s immune system. This is necessary so that the mother’s body won’t interfere with the development of the placenta and umbilical cord.

Interestingly, the way that trophoblast cells hide from the mother’s immune system is also the same mechanism, Beard observed, that cancer cells use to hide from our immune system when we have cancer.

Dr. Beard discovered that both trophoblast cells and cancer cells hide from the immune system by producing a protective protein coating around themselves that carries a negative electrostatic charge. In other words, each trophoblast cell of early pregnancy and each malignant cell of any type of cancer is surrounded by a protein coating with a negative electrostatic charge.

The interesting thing is that all of the white blood cells in our bodies, which are of course a key component of our immune system, are also negatively charged. They are therefore electrostatically repelled by trophoblast cells of early pregnancy as well as by cancer cells. This is akin to the way the negative end of a magnet repels the negative end of another magnet.

Since all malignant cancer cells have a protein coating that is negatively charged, and the white blood cells of our immune system also carry a negative charge, the cancer cells are able to electrostatically repel the white blood cells and remain un-attacked. This is a sound scientific principle that is ignored by conventional cancer medicine.

So if a person can somehow get rid of the protein coating around their cancer cells, then the cancer cells will be much more vulnerable to attacks by the person’s own immune system.

Dr. Beard also discovered that a key organ involved in stopping the uncontrolled growth of trophoblast and cancer cells alike is the pancreas. This is because pancreatic enzymes, as they normally circulate throughout the bloodstream, EAT AWAY the negatively charged protective protein coating around these fast-growing cells. Thus, pancreatic enzymes render cancer cells defenseless to the body’s immune system.

A healthy cell breathes oxygen for energy. A cancer cell shuns oxygen and ferments sugar instead for its energy requirements.

The Anaerobic Cell Principle of Cancer

Another very important scientific principle of all malignant cancer cells that is the basis of more than one alternative cancer treatment is the

principle behind the remarkable liquid formula called Protocel approach as well as the very powerful Cesium High pH Therapy approach.

All cells of the body must be able to meet their energy needs by a process known as “cell respiration.” We tend to think of respiration as referring to breathing, but on the cellular level, cell respiration simply refers to how the cell obtains energy for itself.

There exist many different pathways that cells can do this, but these can be separated into two broad categories: those that require oxygen (referred to as aerobic cell respiration) and those that do not require oxygen (referred to as anaerobic cell respiration.)

Under normal, healthy conditions, all of the cells of our body obtain the energy they need through aerobic respiration, while only damaged or unhealthy cells obtain the energy they need through anaerobic cell respiration. (With the one exception being muscle cells that can temporarily revert to anaerobic respiration under conditions of great exertion when not enough oxygen is getting to them quickly enough)

In the 1930s and 1940s, the Nobel prize-winning scientist, Otto Warburg, demonstrated that all cancer cells share the important trait of being primarily anaerobic and that they cannot revert back to normal aerobic functioning. Whereas all healthy cells in our bodies require an oxygen-rich environment, Warburg was able to show that cancer cells actually thrive in an oxygen-depleted environment.

He further proved that, rather than using oxygen, cancer cells use a pathway of cell respiration called “glycolysis,” which is the fermentation of glucose. Without glucose to meet their energyneeds, cancer cells die.

This is why every cancer patient should avoid eating refined sugar in any form, no matter whether they are pursuing an alternative approach to cancer or are being treated by a conventional doctor. Sugar feeds cancer. It is a travesty that mainstream oncologists are not in the habit of telling all their cancer patients to avoid eating sugar, and it’s also more evidence that our cancer industry actively avoids the real science about how cancer works.

Not all alternative cancer therapies exploit the cancer cell’s dependency on anaerobic functioning, but as Tanya Pierce mentions, both Cesium high pH therapy and Protocel do. Some of the most remarkable cancer recovery stories are presented in her book, Out Smart Your Cancer. 

Thus, there are sound scientific principles upon which many alternative cancer therapies are based. And they have proven themselves over and over again in countless human cancer cases. Furthermore, in contrast to the toxic conventional approaches of radiation and chemotherapy, alternative approaches are able to rid the body of cancer without damaging a person’s healthy cells and are much more able to bring about long-term cures.

source

Research: Plants Cure Cancer, Not Chemicals

Unbeknownst to most, a Copernican revolution has already taken place in cancer theory. Today, the weight of evidence indicates that plants and not chemicals are the solution for reversing the global cancer epidemic.

Our understanding of what causes cancer has undergone something akin to a Copernican revolution in the past decade. Biological fatalism has been the predominant force in medicine over the past half century, where most conditions including cancer were believed predestined ‘in the genes,’ and therefore impossible to reverse. Instead of looking for root cause resolution of disease (RCRD), we resigned ourselves to ‘finding it early’ and in the case of cancer, when doing so (even when it was benign), we waged war against it, quite literally using weapons grade materials (mustard gas- and nuclear materials-derived agents). Now, however, in this post-Genomic era, factors above (epi-) the control of the genes – epigenetic factors – are taking center stage; these include environmental exposures, stress, nutritional factors, and various lifestyle-based variables that are within the ambit of our control and volition, and which are often reversible.

In other words, cancer is now being understood as epigenetic dysfunction, a direct and even adaptive response to the post-industrial, carcinogen-saturated environment, in addition to a diet of faux, mostly chemically-produced ‘food,’ combining to produce an environment – ‘inner terrain– within the body ideal for cancer promotion.

Indeed, in a new study published in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology titled, “The use of plant-derived bioactive compounds to target cancer stem cells and modulate tumor microenvironment,” the authors note the powerful implications of this new epigenetic view of cancer:

“A fundamental aspect to be taken into account is that epigenetic changes can possibly be reversed by modifying epigenetic factors, such as diet and lifestyle. Nowadays, identification of these factors is crucial to develop epigenetically-based preventions and more effective anti-cancer intervention strategies.”

Moreover, they note that natural interventions are once again (after countless millennia of worldwide use), at the cutting edge of medical intervention:

“Virtually, all dietary compounds have the ability to act at the epigenetic level in cancer cells thus influencing the epigenome in a positive or negative way. Particularly, plant derived compounds, such as polyphenols, have the capacity to reverse adverse epigenetic mutations in cancer cells, to inhibit tumorigenesis progression, to prevent the metastatic process or to sensitize cancer cells to chemo and radiotherapy (Vanden Berghe, 2012).”

The new study highlighted the following points, the implications for the future of cancer treatmentare truly revolutionary:

• Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are chemo-radiotherapy resistant, causing tumor relapse.
• CSCs are known to reside within specific hypoxic and acidic tumor niches.
• Phytocompounds affect CSC self-renewal, metabolism and microenvironment.
• Phytocompounds might be exploited for cancer prevention and Treatment.

As we have covered extensively in previous posts, the discovery of a subpopulation within tumors of cells known as cancer stem cells, reveals that our half-century old war on cancer, officially inaugurated in 1971 with Nixon’s signing of the National Cancer Act, was extremely misguided. The notion that cancer is simply a byproduct of cells within the body going rogue due to DNA damage and replicating clonally through fundamentally chaotic – stochastic – processes, has been called into question by the discovery that tumors are actually sophisticated, hierarchically organized communities that express highly intelligent, survival-based behaviors, albeit evolutionary ancient in origin. The establishment views cancer as something ‘you have or don’t have,’ and the equivalent of being infected by ‘terrorist-like’ cancer cells that must be treated as an enemy and obliterated by any means necessary. This treatment ensues regardless of the collateral damage to the patient. The emerging and far more nuanced cancer stem-cell based perspective, precipitated primarily by epigenetic factors – e.g. chemical exposure, dietary incompatibilities, metabolic acidosis and low oxygen (hypoxia) – offers a far more promising and empowering view of prevention and treatment.

If cancer is not something that fatalistically ‘happens to the body,’ due to ‘bad’ inherited genes passed down from distant ancestors, but is something the body does adaptively to survive anthropogenic exposures that diverge from millions, if not billions of years, of bodily prehistory, suddenly the solution to overcoming the burgeoning, global cancer epidemic is in regaining and/or reproducing the ideal bodily and psychospiritual conditions within the body that is no longer conducive to carcinogenesis. As proposed in the book I co-authored, Cancer Killers, we don’t get sick because we have cancer; we get cancer because we are already sick.

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