What the media doesn't tell you about breast cancer prevention

PRIME – October 2013 By Jonathan Evans Herbal Information Specialist, the Herbarium October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. You, dear readers, will be bombarded by information coming from lots of sources about the progress being made in the battle against breast cancer. Here, however, is some information you probably won't see from the major media and cancer groups. Your diet matters, so clean it up! You truly are what you eat, and you need to eat as organic as possible. The average American eats more than 5 pounds of additives yearly, not to mention pesticides and other nasty cancer-causing and immune-weakening agents. Fiber, fruits and vegetables are the core of your diet. Limiting your animal protein and dairy products are very important, and despite what your government will tell you (and I witnessed this myself at a cancer awareness talk with the "nutrition specialist") stay away from artificial sweeteners. The dietary supplement Co enzyme Q10 has been shown to help with preventing breast cancer recurrence, and the National Institute of Health conducted a seven year, 2 million dollar study that showed Turkey Tail mushroom (Trametes versicolor) supported immune function when administered to women with stage I to stage lll breast cancer, with no adverse effects. Indoles from cruciferous vegetables have shown great promise in causing cell death in cancer. Maitake mushrooms, calcium D-glucarate, graviola, green tea, and the list goes on. There are many great natural ways to help in the fight against breast cancer. The studies and research are out there. All you need do is seek the information. Readers ask about UTIs, head lice Dear Jonathan, I have been suffering with a urinary tract infection (UTI) for months. The doctor has given me multiple courses of antibiotics and it just keeps coming back worse. Now I have a yeast infection. Is there any natural way to help this problem? – Janice Dear Janice, I will give you suggestions for both problems. First, if you are on antibiotics, it is important to use a good probiotic to help restore some of the good intestinal bacteria being killed off by the medicine. In this case, don't rely on the probiotics you find in the drugstore or Activia yogurt, you need a good amount of bacteria in multiple strains. If you are on the medicine now, wait two hours after taking your antibiotic, then take a probiotic, one that has at least 6 to 10 billion bacteria. When you are about to finish the medicine use a probiotic with at least 50 billion and multiple strains. This will repopulate your gut with the good stuff and keep the Candida – or yeast-causing bacteria – down where it should be. Do not be taken by these "programs" that charges hundreds of dollars to fix a problem like a yeast overgrowth. These shysters will pump you with dozens of supplements and not even tell you the price, let alone the contents. Next, try a cranberry extract, one that has no added sugar. Do not get commercial cranberry juice, as there is a good amount of added sugar, which will just feed the yeast infection. Lastly, there are herbal anti infection products that may help to get rid of any remaining infection, and help to eliminate any excess Candida. Now for the problem of yeast overgrowth. The probiotics are helpful, along with changes in the diet. Long-term use of acid blockers shuts off the protective hydrochloric acid in the stomach, which can lead to bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine. If you are on any antacids or acid blockers, there are products to help restore your normal digestive functions and allow Mother Nature to protect you from overgrowth of candida. Another suggestion for recurring UTI's is D-Mannose, a sugar that helps get rid of the infection and doesn't affect insulin. It seems D mannose keeps certain bacteria from adhering to the bladder wall. It is safe, effective and does not have the problem of causing resistant bacterial strains. – Jonathan Dear Jonathan, My child has not gotten head lice (yet) but it is in the school and I want to be proactive. Is there any natural cure for this? – Ellen Dear Ellen, I do not know about a cure, but there are several ways to try and prevent the spread of head lice. I am sure the school has sent home notice about what to look for etc. One way to try to prevent the spread is to use a shampoo with tea tree oil and blue cypress as ingredients. We also make a product called " Nix the Nits" which uses an essential oil formula developed many years ago by my wife, Kathy. This can be added to any shampoo as a preventative and we also have instructions on how to kill the little buggers if they have visited your head. Good luck, they tend to travel very quickly amongst the kids. – Jonathan Please send your questions on botanical remedies to Natures Rx: Jonathan Evans via email at info@theherbarium.com, or by regular mail to: The Herbarium, 264 Exchange St., Chicopee, Mass. 01013. If requesting additional information from Evans, please include a self-addressed stamped envelope.