Cancer – What It Is and How It Can Be Prevented

We can all think of someone close to use that has been diagnosed with cancer. Chances are that you can think of someone you know that has died of cancer. Cancer is preventable. I know that it's a really hard thing for people to hear and some may say that it's not right to make such a statement. But the fact is only 5-10% of all cancer is genetic leaving the remaining 90-95% to environmental and lifestyle causes that can be changed. The causes for cancer that make up 90-95% of cancers are tobacco, alcohol, diet, obesity, infections, radiation, stress, physical inactivity, and sun exposer. This goes to show that by making changes in our lifestyles we can prevent up to 95% of cancer.

So first, what is cancer? Every cell in our body knows how to reproduce itself. Now cancer is when cells start to reproduce rapidly and don't stop. These cells then start to invade neighboring tissues and even start to colonize in completely separate parts of the body that they travel to via the blood and lymph. This rapid and uncontrolled reproduction is caused by a mutation in the cell's DNA.

How does cancer start? There are two types of genes that when effected can cause a regular cell to become a cancerous one.

Proto-oncogenes are genes that cause a cell to reproduce and are one of the types of cells that can cause a cell to become cancerous. Proto-oncogenes when healthy tell a cell to reproduce when stimulated. If a proto-oncogene is affected by a mutation it can cause the cell to reproduce without being stimulated. This could result in the formation of a tumor or cancer.

Tumor suppressor genes are the second type of gene that when effected can result in the formation of cancer. These genes can prevent cell division and cause cancerous cells to die. For this reason if these cells are not working correctly and cancerous mass has a better chance of developing.

The immune system has a very important role in cancer prevention as well. White blood cells know how to identify and destroy cancer cells. In addition to this a significant amount of cancers are caused by viruses which a healthy immune system may be able to destroy before they affect the cell DNA.

So what causes these mutations in the DNA? Chemicals and other forms of matter that can damage cells and cause mutations to DNA are known as carcinogens. They can enter the body by way of tobacco and alcohol products and even foods we eat. Some carcinogens can be produced by the body itself. If we restrain from using tobacco, drinking alcohol, eat a diet made up of more natural foods that don't have added chemicals. We can significantly reduce the amount of carcinogens we put into our bodies.

By exercising regularly we can keep our bodies healthy. Exercise helps our bodies to get rid of carsinogens that are produced inside of our bodies. Also exercise helps to reduce mental stress and keep the immune system working well.

Avoid too much exposer to the sun and any exposure to radiation.

The amount of people diagnosed with cancer rises every year. We can and must put a stop to it.

For more information have a look at these sites and follow the blog for more posts.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2515569/?tool=pmcentrez

http://www.cancerquest.org/introduction-cancer-biology


 

 

 

 

Regulating Your Sugar Levels Natural

Top tips to help keep your sugar levels balanced.

1 – Eat less food that are high in carbohydrates and low in fiber, protein and fat. These foods tend to make out sugar levels spike and then drop shortly after we eat them.

2 – Exercise regularly. Research has found that exercise can help the body to utilize sugars more effectively.

3 – Drink tea instead of coffee. Bothe green and black teas have been found to help insulin to regulate your blood sugar more effectively. While coffee does the exact opposite.

4 – Add the following spice to you diet daily and in large amounts. Cinnamon, coriander, fresh garlic, fenugreek and ginger.

5 – Maintain a healthy body weight. Approximately 90% of people with type 2 diabetes are obese.

6 – If you are eating foods that are rich in carbohydrates, make sure to eat with them foods that are rich in lean protein and fiber.

7 – Just relax, stress can make your sugar levels sky rocket and then plummet.

For some more information have a look at these sites.

http://www.herbalremediesinfo.com/natural-treatments-for-diabetes.html

http://chinese-school.netfirms.com/diabetes-facts.html

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NAH/is_6_33/ai_106224763/


 

 

Plant Medicine in Past Generations- a look at Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Dominique Chabrey.

Here is a quick introduction to two famous figures who were also botanists. They both also published botanical works

Jean-Jacques Rousseau is one of the great philosophers of Europe`s Enlightenment period. Here is what I understand about his philosophy. He believed that the problems of man have been caused by our social and historical influences. Rousseau believed that all of mankind are really good by nature. I like to believe that it was his love and praise of nature that is seen throughout his works that brought him to study botany. Two of the work on botany that written by Rousseau are La Botnaque and Elements of Botany: addressed to a lady.

Dominique Chabrey was a Swiss physician and therefore also botanists, as the two disciplines were closely linked. His best known work was Historia plantarum universalis . The three volumes contain some 3000 pages of text and 3577 woodcut illustrations.

Here we have two botanists that came to study plants for two different reasons. One of them philosophical and one of them scientific.

Why Would You Take B-Complex

B-complex is a group of vitamins that are essential for the creating of energy in every cell in our body. So why wouldn't you take B-complex? Well there is talk about dangers of mega dose vitamins and there is a lot to that, but because the B vitamins are water soluble vitamins they are very safe even taken in mega doses.

I find that 100mg of B-complex is just as effective in the treatment of headache caused by hangover as taking Tylenol or any other over the counter pain medicine.

I take B-complex to help me study and for when I feel weak and need more energy.

One of the things that I look for most in a multi vitamin is high concentration of B-complex.

B vitamins assist in the proper metabolism of carbohydrates and can be helpful in keeping balanced sugar levels.

The list goes on and on so why would you take B-complex? Why wouldn't you?

Energize your body, Conquer your world

In my opinion, I think everyone could use a little more energy. On second thought, I can think of some people that have a bit too much energy! But even those few with too much energy, still need to keep their bodies in the best shape possible in order so they don't burn out and do serious damage to their health. Whether you are in the category of "under energy" or "over energy" this information is pertinent to you!

Ok, I will make this short for those who want to know what they can do to get a bit more juice in their lives, but only have a few minutes to read.

In order for the body to have optimal energy it needs:

1) Clean lungs

2) Strong blood

3) Strong circulatory system

4) Key vitamins, minerals and enzymes.

I will only discuss here the physical elements for an energized body, while the emotional aspects of a fully energized body can't be ignored, they are not discussed here.

1) Clean lungs –personally, I love Chinese Medicine because they have a beautiful and almost poetic way of articulating commonly overlooked aspects of western science. Of course if you are going to talk about energy how can you not mention Chinese medicine which is based around the balanced flow of energy, which is referred to as qi.

From Yu Chang, The Statutes of Medicine (Yimen Falü) , 1658:

All bodily qi has its physical origin in the lung. If the lung's qi is clear and straightforward, then there is not a single type of qi in the body that will not obey and flow along smoothly. However, if the lung qi becomes obstructed and turns murky, then the qi dynamics of the entire body will start to go against their natural flow and start to move upwards instead of downwards

I believe one needs clean lungs for good energy; this is because oxygen is the thing that our cells need in order to most effectively create energy. You can strengthen your lung energy with deep breathing and cardiovascular exercise.

There are also herbs which are known as lung tonics such as Elderberry, Astragalus, Mullein Leaf, that help to keep the lungs healthy and functioning at their best.

2) Strong blood – in order for blood to be able to bring oxygen to all the cells of the body, it needs to have sufficient amounts of hemoglobin and iron. Iron is best absorbed from meat products, but can also be obtained through vegetable sources as well. Chlorophyll found in green leafy vegetables and green drinks and supplements, has a similar molecular structure to that of hemoglobin and is there for a powerful blood strengthener.

3) Strong circulatory system – once you have strong and well oxidized blood it needs to get to every cell in the body. This is so that the energy can be produced into effectively and this is the job of the circulatory system. The best way to keep the circulatory system strong is by regular cardiovascular exercise. In addition to this, Ginger root is a good circulatory tonic herb which can be drunk as tea, taken in pill or liquid form.

4) Vitamins minerals and enzymes – simply put- the fuel for our bodies is the carbohydrates that we eat( which for the most part all of us in western culture have plenty, if not too much of) and the oxygen that we breath is the combustion. But in order for this combustion to create energy you need the vitamins, minerals and enzymes to "light the fire". Most important of these "fire lighters" are the B complex vitamins which one gets from a wholesome diet. In addition to the B complex, a good quality multi vitamin with high concentrations of B vitamins can noticeably increase you energy levels.

In conclusion the right habits for extra energy to help you make the most out of your day are:

1. Exercise
   
2. Eat a balanced diet with lots of leafy green vegetables
   
3. Take a good multi vitamin with high levels of B-complex vitamins
   
4. Exercise
   

   
    

   I hope that this can help you to feel your absolute best
   

 

Healthy kids with healthy habits

 Every parent wants their child to be healthy. Of course they do, maybe not everyone knows exactly how to go about this, but every loving parent wants their kids to enjoy the best health possible. This is no easy task because we as parents are not the ones who decide what are children are going to eat and drink. Now yes we do have a very big say in the matter but in the end of the day we can’t force our kids to eat their vegetables and if we try it will most probably backfire on us. So how do we develop healthy habits for our kids? First we need to know, what are the habits we would like to teach our little ones?

1) Drink water – this is one is the top of the list. I know for myself that if I don’t stay well hydrated I have less energy, get frustrated faster, have less patience, am less focused and feel all in all stressed about nothing. I find a lot of times that when one of my boys is particularly winey or upset about little things a cup of water does wonders.

How do we get our kids into the habit of drinking water? What I and my wife have always done is just to always ask them if they are thirsty, in order to teach them to be conscious of their bodies need for water. Show your kids how they can get themselves a cup of water, this makes them feel big, it will save you from having to get them a drink every time and as long as you don’t have carpeted floors your floor will an extra rinse every now and then.

2) Eat your veggies – like all habits it helps to start when the kids are young, but at any age you can always start. I think the best way to get your kids to eat vegetables is to simply cut up some and put them on the table before every meal. Kids anyways love finger food and if they always have cut up fresh cucumbers, carrots and sweet red peppers on the table when they are waiting for dinner they will most probably start eating them.

If you are a new parent and your child is still eating nothing more than baby food then soon is the perfect time to start. When a child starts teething it’s a great thing to give them a cold fresh cucumber two or three inches long sliced in half to chew on, but keep a good eye on them that they don’t gum off a peace that they can choke on.

3) Healthy snacks – this is a real tuff one because kids will always want what their friends are having and not the dried fruit that they are getting at home. But my best advice is to try and make banana chips, raisins, dried pineapples and apricots your childes snack of choice and you may see that their friend are asking them for what they have. Buy plain flavored potatoes chips with no added flavors and preservatives and not all the other snacks that can be loaded with MSG. give your kids sliced apples and pears for snacks and be creative freeze orange juice for natural ices in the summer time.

TEACH BY EXAMPLE – develop healthy habits within yourself and within your home and your children will develop them as well.

Please feel free to comment and add any additional healthy habits and how to pass them on to our kids.

Two great herbs every one should have at home

Chamomile- would be the number one herb but there is one problem with it and that is that there are, not many but there are people who are allergic to it so you need to keep that in mind. but it is a great herb with many uses. It is great for calming the nerves and helping with sleep. Chamomile tea can be drunk to help ease stomach aches and calm coughs. You can use Chamomile topically to help heal skin irritations and cuts. I just recently treated my son’s eye infection with no more than chamomile tea applied to the eye with a tissue (this was repeated many times for two days). I have read that it could help with pain for teething babies but I cannot attest to this myself. You can buy Chamomile tea at any super market and most people already have it in their house all they need to do is use it.

Mint- Either peppermint or spearmint they both have the same basic uses. My favorite herb for when I have an upset stomach. Also it is great to help invigorate the senses. Mint can also be used topically to slightly numb irritated skin and even muscular pain.