From the website www.mercola.com

Interesting...very interesting...

Treating Cancer -- With Herbs

Many of the chemotherapies used to fight cancer in modern medicine were developed from natural substances.

For instance:
Taxanes used to treat prostate and breast cancer came from yew trees.
Vinca alkaloids, which are used to treat malignant lymphomas, are made from periwinkle plants.
The anti-cancer drugs topotecan and irinotecan come from a component of the Chinese Happy Tree.
Scientists are increasingly focusing on plants used in traditional medicine in their search for new compounds. About three-quarters of the pharmaceutical compounds used today came from plants used in traditional medicine.

Professor Dr. Thomas Efferth from Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum in Heidelberg, for example, has begun analyzing 76 Chinese medicinal plants that are believed to treat malignant tumors and other growths. Extracts from 18 of the plants were found to significantly suppress the growth of cancer cells.

“With this success rate of about 24 percent, we are way above the results that could be expected from searching through large chemical substance libraries,” Efferth said.
Sources:
Eurekalert March 4, 2008
Molecular Cancer Therapeutics January 1, 2008, 7, 152-161



Dr. Mercola's Comments:
Most pharmaceuticals that are derived from plants are typically from one “active” component of the plant that is then isolated and synthetically replicated. In contrast, most traditional medicine remedies use whole plants in their natural state, which is a far cry from the lab-produced cancer treatments used in modern medicine.

While herbal remedies can indeed be powerful, they are typically far safer than most medications. Still, I do not widely support using them as your primary healing approach as they rarely address the primary cause. Like drugs, herbs and other plants are frequently used as band-aids that fail to address the root cause.

However, when used wisely by someone trained in this science they can be enormously beneficial adjuncts to the healing process, and I believe that it is wise to use them. Just be careful to continue to search for the reasons that you initially acquired the health challenge.

Cancer Treatments: Chemo or Natural?

While I don’t normally focus on the details of cancer treatments, it’s worth pointing out that it is very rare for cancer to only have one cause. Rather than simply being caused by a malfunction in your DNA, or a faulty gene you “inherited” from your grandmother, cancer is more typically triggered by a combination of the following:
Nutritional deficiencies
Toxins in your environment
Emotional conflicts
Hormonal imbalances
Often, cancer can actually be treated, and reversed, by addressing these variables through dietary changes, purifying your environment, and addressing your emotional state.

Chemotherapy is rarely the best option for cancer treatment, as it usually doesn't cure cancer or extend life, and it really does not improve the quality of your life either. Dr. Ralph Moss, who is the author of eight books on cancer treatment, has reviewed thousands of studies as part of the research for his books -- and he has not found one single good study that shows chemo cures cancer or extends life.

What chemo does do, however, is expose your body to toxins that kill all cells that multiply and divide rapidly. This includes not only cancer cells, but also other rapidly multiplying and dividing cells, such as bone marrow, reproductive system cells and hair follicles.

These are powerful drugs that present an assault on your system -- one that your body must then overcome along with the cancer. And the effects do not end right after the treatment. One UCLA study found that chemotherapy can actually change the blood flow and metabolism of your brain in ways that can linger for 10 years or more after treatment.

Preventing Cancer: 12 Tips to Live By

No one wants to battle cancer, and there is good news because I believe you can VIRTUALLY ELIMINATE your risk of cancer and chronic disease, and radically improve your chances of recovering from cancer if you currently have it, by following these relatively simple risk reduction strategies.

1. Reduce or eliminate your processed food, sugar and grain carbohydrate intake. Yes, this is even true for whole unprocessed organic grains, as they tend to rapidly break down and drive your insulin and leptin levels up, which is the last thing you need to have happening if you are seeking to resolve a cancer.

2. Control your fasting insulin and leptin levels. This is the end result, and can be easily monitored with the use of simple and relatively inexpensive blood tests.

3. Normalize your ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fats by taking a high-quality krill oil and reducing your intake of most processed vegetable oils.

4. Get regular exercise. One of the primary reasons exercise works is that it drives your insulin levels down. Controlling insulin levels is one of the most powerful ways to reduce your cancer risks.

5. Normalize your vitamin D levels by getting plenty of sunlight exposure and consider careful supplementation when this is not possible. If you take oral vitamin D and have a cancer, it would be very prudent to monitor your vitamin D blood levels regularly.

6. Get regular, good sleep.

7. Eat according to your nutritional type. The potent anti-cancer effects of this principle are very much underappreciated. When we treat cancer patients in our clinic this is one of the most powerful anti-cancer strategies we have.

8. Reduce your exposure to environmental toxins like pesticides, household chemical cleaners, synthetic air fresheners and air pollution.

9. Limit your exposure and provide protection for yourself from information-carrying radio waves produced by cell phone towers, base stations, phones and WiFi stations.

10. Avoid frying or charbroiling your food. Boil, poach or steam your foods instead.

11. Have a tool to permanently reprogram the neurological short-circuiting that can activate cancer genes. Even the CDC states that 85 percent of disease is caused by emotions. It is likely that this factor may be more important than all the other physical ones listed here, so make sure this is addressed. Energy psychology seems to be one of the best approaches and my particular favorite tool, as you may know, is the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). German New Medicine is another powerful tool.

12. Eat at least one-third of your food raw.

For more info visit: www.mercola.com

Earth Hour 2008

It started with a question: How can we inspire people to take action on climate change?

The answer: Ask the people of Sydney to turn off their lights for one hour.

On 31 March 2007, 2.2 million people and 2100 Sydney businesses turned off their lights for one hour - Earth Hour. This massive collective effort reduced Sydney's energy consumption by 10.2% for one hour, which is the equivalent effect of taking 48,000 cars off the road for a year.

With Sydney icons like the Harbour Bridge and Opera House turning their lights off, and unique events such as weddings by candlelight, the world took notice. Inspired by the collective effort of millions of Sydneysiders, many major global cities are joining Earth Hour in 2008, turning a symbolic event into a global movement.

Help us make Earth Hour 2008 even bigger!

Beyond turning off your lights for one hour at 8pm March 29, 2008, please click on the link and sign up to show your support!

Add your name to the Earth Hour movement here. Once registered, you'll receive useful tools and tips to help you get even more involved.

Join me, sign up for Earth Hour 2008

International Women's Day March 8, 2008

Tomorrow is International Women's Day.

We should take some time out tomorrow to toast our "sisters" that came before us and ensured that we were able to do what we want, when we want, so that we will never WANT.

In North America, women have been empowered, we want that for our sister's around the world as well.

Read more about gender inequality here: Gender Inequality

Where your white band tomorrow for all women.



"The fight against poverty requires justice and equality for women. Around the world, women and girls are more likely to face violence, have fewer rights and receive less education than men.

And because women are often denied fair compensation for their work, poverty rates among women are much higher.

Gender equality is a key part of making poverty history. Policies that promote the health, education and rights of women make huge contributions towards alleviating poverty. Any serious attempt to eradicate poverty must work towards gender equality....

...Take action online

Our friends at Oxfam Canada have a petition to the Prime Minister calling for him to support gender equality and an end to violence against women. Sign the Oxfam petition here"


Quoted from www.makepovertyhistory.ca

Living the Life of Luxury with Lorre and still Go Green!

Not sure if I want to laugh or yell "you go girlfriend"

But I am in a sharing mood this morning...plus she does mention Shaklee!

Luxury on a Budget with Lorre

Emptying the Nest

One down, two to go.

No seriously, I love my children with all of my heart and soul but I am not one of those parents that hopes they will stay forever and dreads the day they fly the coop, leave the nest, yada, yada, yada.

Our first child fled the coop this past summer. Let's get real folks, I miss him dearly, I repeat, I miss him dearly. What I don't miss is the laundry, the cooking, and the cleaning for him.

I love you my boy and you can stop by for dinner whenever you want...just call first...or better yet, have us over for dinner!

Give 'em wings.

You know you are getting older when...

Okay...I am not quite here yet but I can see it happening...yikes!

You know you are getting older when...

You're asleep, but others worry that you're dead.

You have a party and the neighbors don't even realize it.

You can live without sex, but not without glasses.

Your back goes out more than you do.

You quit trying to hold your stomach in, no matter who walks into the room.

You buy a compass for the dash of your car.

You are proud of your lawn mower.

Your best friend is dating someone half their age... And isn't breaking any laws.

Your arms are almost too short to read the newspaper.

You sing along with the elevator music.

You would rather go to work than stay home sick.

You enjoy hearing about other people's operations.

You consider coffee one of the most important things in life.

You no longer think of speed limits as a challenge.

People call at 9 pm. And ask, "Did I wake you?"

You answer a question with "Because I said so!"

You send money to PBS.

The end of your tie doesn't come anywhere near the top of your pants.

You take a metal detector to the beach.

You wear black socks with sandals.

You know what the word equity means.

You can't remember the last time you laid on the floor to watch television.

Your ears are hairier than your head.

You talk about "good grass" and you're referring to someone's lawn.

You get into a heated argument about pension plans.

You got cable for the weather channel.

You can go bowling without drinking.

(author unknown)