Mother Nature's Gifts: cancer

Mangosteen – Cancer Fighter

The purple mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) almost seems to be a miracle fruit. The mangosteen is the fruit of a tropical evergreen tree from Southeast Asia and is believed to have originated in the Sunda Islands and the Moluccas of Indonesia. The tree has also since been introduced to Columbia in South America. The meat of the fruit is sweet, tangy and juicy and slightly fibrous and is contained inside of an inedible rind that is of a deep-reddish color.

The health benefits of mangosteen are astounding. Mangosteen contains calcium, phosphorus and iron, as well as B-complex vitamins and the antioxidant vitamins C and A. Beyond this, the mangosteen fruit contains high concentrations of over 50 different types of xanthones.

Xanthones are a group of antioxidant plant compounds. Xanthones are credited with the following characteristics:

antioxidant

antimicrobial

anti-inflammatory

antitumor properties

helpful in preventing oxidation of harmful LDL cholesterol

The US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health at pubmed.gov contains over 200 publications on the benefits of mangosteen. Some of these are:

2002 – Planta Medica – researchers found a xanthone in the mangosteen rind that has potent effects against human liver cancer cells.

2004 – Journal of Ethnopharmacology - found extracts from the mangosteen rind inhibited human breast cancer cells, including a display of anti-proliferation and anti- oxidation effects in inducing cancer cell death.

2004 – Bioorganic and medicinal chemistry - researchers found the alpha-mangostin targets the mitochondria of human leukemia cells, causing them to die off. They concluded the alpha-mangostin had potential preventive and therapeutic uses in cancer treatments.

Xanthones also reduce the C-reactive protein. High levels of the C-reactive protein are the result of inflammation in the body caused by many long-term illnesses and infections. Some causes of this type of inflammation are:

Cancer of the lymph nodes (lymphoma)

Immune system diseases, such as lupus

Swelling of blood vessels in the head and neck (giant cell arteritis)

Swelling of tissue along joints (rheumatoin arthritis)

Swelling and bleeding of the intestines (inflammatory bowel disease)

Bone infection (osteomyelitis)

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease.

Resources:

http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/c-reactive-protein-crp

www.pubmed.gov

Ginger - Not Just a Delicacy or Spice

I am absolutely blown away by the health benefits provided by mother-nature. One such gift is ginger.

Growing up, my mom always kept Ginger Ale in the house for stomach upsets, such as the stomach flu or a food that didn’t quite agree with us. However, it appears this is only one of a long list of helpful benefits provided by ginger.

At the top of the list, ginger is a known treatment for ovarian cancer. While researching ginger, the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center discovered it can destroy ovarian cancer cells through two types of cell death:

· Apoptosis – cancer cells essentially commit suicide

· Autophagy – cancer cells digest or attack themselves.

Jennifer Rhode, M.D., a gynecologic oncology fellow at the U-M Medical School stated: “In multiple ovarian cancer cell lines, we found that ginger induced cell death at a similar or better rate than the platinum-based chemotherapy drugs typically used to treat ovarian cancer.

Wow! What a super health gift!

Even better, that is not the end of ginger’s benefits:

The “Journal of Clinical Oncology” published a trial showing ginger root contributes to lower levels of inflammation in the colon and intestines resulting in a reduction in the risk of colon cancer.
Georgia State University conducted a study and found whole ginger extract shrunk prostate tumors by 56% in mice. This was in contrast to studies that revealed cancer drugs are ineffective against permanently shrinking tumors.
Ginger is also quite effective in reducing inflammation. Two clinical studies found that 75% of arthritis patients and 100% of patients with muscular discomfort received release from pain and/or swelling. This allowed for improved mobility for people suffering from osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis. Ginger’s anti-inflammatory compounds can also benefit those struggling with obesity, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and cardiovascular disease when fueled by inflammation.

Dr. Krishna C. Srivastava from the Odense University in Denmark conducted extensive research in which the majority of people had significant improvements in pain swelling in morning stiffness by eating ginger daily. Ginger blocks the formation of inflammatory compounds – prostaglandins and leukotrienes – and has antioxidant effects which breakdown existing inflammation and acidity in the fluid within joints.

For those suffering from heartburn and acid reflux, ginger can be a money saver as well as reducing side effects for those who normally take over-the-counter heartburn and acid reflux medications, such as bone fractures, malabsorption issues, pneumonia, cancer and Clostridum difficile.
Research at the University of Maryland Medical Center and published in 2000 in the “The Journal of Nutrition” showed ginger can reduce levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol levels and reduce cholesterol’s ability to stick on the walls of arteries, reducing heart problems.

In September 2010, the “Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences” reported ginger significantly improved liver damage. Other benefits are:

o natural cure for coughs

o headaches (included in a mixture with peppermint and cayenne pepper)

o sore throat

o stuffy nose/congestion

o toothache

o diarrhea

o digestion

o menstrual cramps

Ginger - a gift of healing from Mother Nature

Ginger leaf

Most medications prescribed by doctors or purchased over-the-counter have side effects that are, at times, worse or more dangerous than the ailment. When Mother Nature provides us with natural solutions, doesn’t it behoove us to investigate them?

Warning:

Ginger will not cause any issues for most people. However, if you have any pre-existing condition such as diabetes, heart condition or pregnancy, it is always wise to talk to your doctor first.