Researchers have found that dark chocolate has cancer-fighting properties, as well as helps lower blood pressure and stroke risk. Care for some chocolate-powered antioxidants?

This recipe for carrot, celery, orange and coriander soup is a good way to get these carrot benefits into your body. Celery and coriander are also sources of apigenin, a natural aromatase inhibitor, while oranges are a source of naringenin, a natural aromatase inhibitor as well. In addition, oranges are a traditional source of Vitamin C, an antioxidant. If you’re dealing with an estrogen-driven health condition like breast cancer or endometriosis, this is one dish you should try out. Not only does it taste delicious, it can also be eaten chilled and it can even be frozen. How convenient is that?

For added antioxidant and cancer-fighting benefits, try adding turmeric.

Carrot, Celery, Orange & Coriander Soup
(4-6 servings)

Ingredients
1 kg carrots, washed, peeled and cut in chunks
2 stalks / ribs celery, washed and cut in chunks
3 shallots, peeled
1-2 garlic cloves
20 grams coriander, washed; reserve leaves for garnish
Juice and zest of 1 orange (reserve zest for garnish)
1 tsp white or black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 litre water

Method
1. Wash, peel (where needed) and cut all vegetables.
2. Put all vegetables in a large stockpot with the water. Bring to boil then simmer till tender.
3. Add orange juice and stir.
4. Blend soup to your desired consistency. Add more water if needed. Season to taste.
5. Serve warm or chilled, garnished with coriander leavers and orange zest.

Recent research on chocolate and stroke risk includes two large studies which suggest that dark chocolate helps lower the risk of stroke. In the first study, 44,489 people ate one serving of dark chocolate per week. Tough work, but somebody had to do it. Anyway, the researchers found that these people were 22% less likely to have a stroke than people who did not eat chocolate.

The second study covered 1,169 people who ate 50g of chocolate once a week. The chocolate-eaters were found to be 46% less likely to die after a stroke compared to people who did not consume chocolate.

Other studies have shown that consuming a small portion of dark chocolate every day can reduce blood pressure in people with high blood pressure. Chocolate is also said to reduce LDL cholesterol. This dark confection contains serotonin too, which acts as an anti-depressant.

Before you celebrate this good news by wolfing down a whole box of chocolates, here’s a cautionary word from researcher Sarah Sahib of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario: “More research is needed to determine whether chocolate truly lowers stroke risk, or whether healthier people are simply more likely to eat chocolate than others.”

If dark chocolate isn’t your thing or if you’re concerned about putting on weight, an antioxidant supplement containing cocoa bean extract, like Neways Revenol, might suit you better.

At a recent conference, the head of Angiogenesis Foundation, William Li, said that dark chocolate and red grapes join blueberries, garlic, soya bean and tea as ingredients that starve cancer while nourishing bodies. The foundation works at identifying foods containing natural chemicals that choke off blood supplies to tumors, starving them to death.

It pitted some foods against approved drugs and found that soya bean, parsley, red grapes, berries and other comestibles (foods containing essential nutrients which help to maintain life) were either as effective or more potent in battling cancer cells. Eaten together, the foods were even more effective in fighting cancer.

If you’ve never tried it before, red wine and dark chocolate go really well together. Why not treat yourself to this powerful cancer-fighting combination tonight? If you’re not much of a drinker, like me, try to keep your fridge stocked with red grapes. After indulging in a handful or two, treat yourself to a piece of really dark chocolate. Mmmm. Now that’s what I call good medicine!

Sadly, wisdom often comes at a great price. I know now that what you put IN your body, as well as ON your body, affects your health. Before I was first diagnosed with breast cancer, I was never one to take health supplements, let alone herbal remedies. Now, supplements, herbal remedies and safe personal and household care products have become a part of my ammo against cancer and other diseases. Blood tests don’t lie.

One mainstay in my health supplement cabinet is a concoction of echinacea root, Asian ginseng root, hawthorne berry, hyssop, Irish moss, rosemary, mullein leaf and other goodies. These herbs are known to boost the immune-system and help keep the body functioning properly. This herbal concoction is based on an ancient Chinese medicine recipe, but conveniently formulated into little brown pills, under the label VMM by Neways. So much easier to use than searching for each herb and boiling them for hours, don’t you think?

This combination of herbs is a power-packed herbal remedy because:

Echinacea stimulates the body’s immune system by activating white blood cells, protecting cells from harmful foreign. Echinacea works as a natural antibiotic, which can suppress the activity of viruses. It has an immune-stimulating effect through the activation of T-cells (natural bacteria killers of the immune system).

Ginseng, used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years, is an immune system booster and natural detoxifier. It has beneficial elements called ginsenosides, which work like natural steroids and helps develop brain activity as well as creates activity similar to estrogen. Most varieties of ginseng contain eight ginesenosides, whereas the Chinese/Korean form contains 24 to as much as 28. Ginseng stimulates the immune system by promoting the production of the body’s own virus-fighting chemicals. It is an antioxidant which helps to prevent the cumulative cell damage which can cause dreaded diseases like cancer. It reduces cell damage from radiation and chemotherapy, and increases the absorption of nutrients in the intestines.

Ginseng helps keep the liver, adrenal glands, and thyroid healthy, helps prevent illnesses and slows down the aging process. Many Asian studies have discovered this medicinal plant’s ability to slow the progression of cancer. For instance, two compounds in ginseng, ginsan and polyacetylinic alcohol, show promise in killing lung cancer cells and slowing tumor growth.

Hawthorn berry is loaded with B-complex vitamins, as well as many minerals, flavanoids and biovflavanoids. It contains potent antioxidants which help fight harmful free radicals. Hawthorn is recognized as having cardiotonic properties, as it benefits the heart and cardiovascular system. It has the ability to dilate the coronary arteries, thus improving blood and oxygen supply to the heart muscle. It also strengthens the heart muscle, helping the heart to beat more forcefully and efficiently. Hawthorne also seems to dilate the highways of other blood vessels around the body, allowing blood to circulate more freely with less strain on the heart.

Hyssop is a healing herb that was used even in Biblical times. David was recorded as saying, “Purge me with Hyssop and I shall be clean.” (Psalms 51:7) Ancient healers knew hyssop to be a cleanser of the body. This herb increases the secretion and discharge of urine and removes any obstruction to body secretion or excretion by opening the natural passages or pores of the body. It also promotes bowel movement.

Irish Moss, a kind of seaweed, contains 15 of the 18 elements that make up the human body, including Vitamins A, D, E, F and K. It is rich in iodine, calcium and sodium as well as sulphur, potassium and phosphorus. It has been used to treat bladder disorders, bronchitis, bad breath, intestinal disorders, glandular problems, goiter, swollen joints, lung difficulties, thyroid conditions, tuberculosis, tumors, ulcers and varicose veins. Irish moss also helps soften the skin and prevent wrinkles.

Rosemary has been used for centuries to treat a wide range of ailments, such as stomach upsets, digestive disorders and headaches. Modern research shows that rosemary can also help prevent cancer and age-related skin damage, boost the functioning of the liver and act as a mild diuretic to help reduce swelling. The herb is able to inactivate toxins and then eliminate them from your liver.

Two of the most important ingredients in rosemary, caffeic acid and rosemarinic acid, are potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents. Interestingly, rosemary offers a safe and natural alternative treatment to Tamoxifen. Researchers from the Department of Chemical Biology, New Jersey State University in the US, found that a 2 per cent concentration of rosemary extract administered for three weeks was able to significantly inactivate excess oestrogen. Rosemary stimulates liver enzymes, which in turn inactivates estrogen hormones like estrone and estradiol, the most dangerous form of estrogen.

Mullein, a member of the snapdragon family, was used by ancient Greeks to treat respiratory disorders. It relieves the symptoms of sore throats, coughs, bronchitis, asthma, and some allergies. Traditionally, it is also used to treat diarrhoea and gastrointestinal aliments. The plant has anti-inflammatory properties and can be used topically to soothe skin irritations such as rashes, boils and chilblains.

Thyme, another popular ancient herb, is used to treat acute and chronic bronchitis, whooping cough, and inflammation of the upper respiratory tract, as it possesses expectorant and bronchial antispasmodic properties. All the members of the mint family, including thyme, contain terpenoids which have cancer preventive properties. Rosmarinic and ursolic acids are major terpenoids in thyme with anti-cancer properties.

Give your health a boost. Get your disease-fighting and immune-system boosting Neways VMM here.

He’s a lot like me. I hate taking medicine. I caught the bug which was making its rounds during the recent holiday season and it got me bad. My throat was so sore and painful that sometimes it felt like I had daggers down my throat. The coughing was relentless and particularly nasty at night. My nose leaked like a tap. My poor hubby was down with the same bug too, as was my mother-in-law. She even lost her voice. She took all kinds of medicine but, one month later, she’s still feeling poorly.

This time around, I decided not to take any medicine at all, not even cough syrup. Instead, I brewed pots of Momordica Grosvenor fruit, an antioxidant and immune system booster which has been popular with the Chinese for centuries. You can find it in Chinese medicine shops and groceries, where it is usually better known as “lo han guo”. Momordica is popularly used to treat respiratory ailments like cough, cold, influenza and bronchitis.

The fruit can be purchased whole and dried in its shell, or in boxes of compressed cubes, ready to dissolve in hot water. Momordica can also be found in some health supplements, such as Neways Authentic Hawaiian Noni Juice. It’s naturally sweet, so it makes a good, healthy sweetener. It’s often combined with other natural ingredients like chrysanthemum and barley to make a healthy, soothing tea.

Momordica looks like a green lime, only it has a hard shell. When dried, the shell is dark brown in color. The fruit pulp within the shell has lots of seeds. To make a pot of momordica or ‘lo han kuo’ tea, simply crack the shell like an egg, discard the shell, roughly break up the dried pulp with seeds (just peel it apart with your fingers) and put that in a teapot. Pour in boiling water and leave to infuse for at least 15 minutes. The longer you leave it, the richer the flavor. As you drink the tea, you can top up the teapot with more hot water, until the momordica tea begins to taste weak. Discard once you reach that point.

I drank a pot of momordica or ‘lo han kuo’ tea almost daily, alternating with home-made barley water every other day. That really flushed the toxins out of my body and soothed my throat and respiratory system. My husband and I recovered much faster than my mother-in-law, and without the use of medicine too, although I admit to taking my Neways health supplements daily (Revenol for antioxidants, Maximol Solutions for multivitamins and trace minerals, and VMM to boost my immune system). Try this next time the bug gets you!

You can try eating curry and other foods containing turmeric every day. Not a problem if you’re accustomed to spicy foods. However, if you’re one of those who finds eating spicy foods a challenge, what else can you do? Well, I like to make myself a spicy hot drink which is loosely based on the popular Indian marsala tea. It’s really refreshing. You can modify it to suit your taste. For instance, how many slices of ginger or turmeric you use depends on the size of the roots as well as what you can handle. Turmeric has a rather strong, distinctive taste. My simple recipe includes cayenne pepper, another cancer-fighting compound, as well as raw honey, which contains the flavonoid chrysin, a natural aromatase inhibitor. Aromatase inhibitors help fight estrogen-dominant breast cancer.

Spiced Anti-Cancer Tea With Turmeric
Ingredients:
Fresh turmeric root (one or two slices per mug)
Fresh ginger root (3-5 slices per mug)
Freshly-squeezed lemon or lime juice
Cayenne pepper powder (a few dashes per mug)
Raw honey to taste

Method:
1) Crush the turmeric and ginger slices.
2) Put cayenne pepper powder into a fine tea or spice bag.
3) Put the turmeric and ginger slices plus cayenne pepper bag in a saucepan with some water and bring to the boil. Once the mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for a couple of minutes.
4) Remove the saucepan from the heat and pour the liquid into mugs or cups.
5) Add fresh lemon or lime juice and raw honey to taste.
6) Drink either hot or cold.

If you’re lazy like me, you can just crush the turmeric and ginger slices, place them in a mug, pour boiling water over, and leave the mixture to infuse. After a few minutes, you can add a few dashes of cayenne pepper powder and lemon or lime juice and honey to taste. This “lazy” method will produce a gritty beverage, but the cancer-fighting properties are just the same. You can even use turmeric powder and ginger powder instead of the fresh roots, but the beverage will be really gritty, and nothing beats fresh, really.

For a more robust and tasty version, you can use brewed tea instead of just plain water. This is somewhat similar to Indian marsala tea, which also has milk added to it.

Of course, if you’re really, really lazy, you can take supplements, like Neways powerful antioxidant formulae Revenol and Cascading Revenol. Both contain curcumin as well as other known cancer-busters. Whatever works for you. Just get those anti-cancer compounds into your body!

Turmeric root and powder

Researchers at the Cork Cancer Research Centre in Ireland treated oesophageal cancer cells with curcumin, a chemical found in turmeric. Within 24 hours the curcumin started to kill cancer cells. The study, which was published in the British Journal of Cancer, reported that the cancer cells also began to digest themselves.

Cancers of the oesophagus take the lives of more than half-a-million people worldwide each year. It is so deadly that five-year survival rates are just 12-31%

Turmeric has traditionally been used for healing by many Asian communities. It is even applied to wounds, sores and rashes to facilitate healing. Currently, it is being tested as a treatment for arthritis and even dementia.

Don’t’ take too long to eat your curry, though. Curcumin loses its anti-cancer properties quickly when ingested. If you prefer to consume curcumin rather than turmeric, Neways powerful antioxidant supplements, Revenol and Cascading Revenol, contain this extract from the turmeric root, as well as White Pine Bark extract, Grape Seed extract, Gingko Leaf extract, and Maritime Pine Bark extract. Cascading Revenol has additional cancer-fighting ingredients like CoQ10.

If you’re undergoing chemotherapy, taking high-potency antioxidants, multivitamins and minerals is absolutely essential to protect against deficiencies and improve your prognosis. Remember, chemotherapy drugs are POISON and they usually do not discriminate between cancer cells and healthy cells. You need to protect and build up your healthy cells. What are some antioxidants, vitamins and minerals which may be helpful during chemotherapy or radiation?

Vitamin A
In a study of mice with vitamin A deficiency, vitamin A supplementation enhanced the anticancer action of cyclophosphamide, a chemo drug (Ghosh J, Das S. Role of vitamin A in prevention and treatment of sarcoma 180 in mice. Chemotherapy 1987;33:211-8.). A controlled French trial reported that when postmenopausal late-stage breast cancer patients were given very large amounts of vitamin A (350,000–500,000 IU per day) along with chemotherapy, remission rates were significantly better than when the chemotherapy was not accompanied by vitamin A. Similar results were not found in premenopausal women (Israel L, Hajji O, Grefft-Alami A, et al. Agumentation par la vitamine A des effets de la chimiotherapie dans les cancers du sein metastases apres la menopause. Ann Med Interne 1985;136:551-4).

Beta-carotene
Chemotherapy frequently causes mouth sores. In one trial, people were given approximately 400,000 IU of beta-carotene per day for three weeks and then 125,000 IU per day for an additional four weeks. Those taking beta-carotene still suffered mouth sores, but the mouth sores developed later and tended to be less severe than mouth sores that formed in people receiving the same chemotherapy without beta-carotene (Mills EED. The modifying effect of beta-carotene on radiation and chemotherapy induced oral mucositis. Br J Cancer 1988;57:416-7).

Vitamin E
In a study of chemotherapy-induced mouth sores, six of nine patients who applied vitamin E directly to their mouth sores had complete resolution of the sores compared with one of nine patients who applied placebo. Others have confirmed the potential for vitamin E to help people with chemotherapy-induced mouth sores (Wadleigh RG, Redman RS, Graham ML, et al. Vitamin E in the treatment of chemotherapy-induced mucositis. Am J Med 1992;92:481-4); (Lopez I, Goudou C, Ribrag V, et al. Treatment of mucositis with vitamin E during administration of neutropenic antineoplastic agents. Ann Med Intern [Paris] 1994;145:405-8).

Preliminary human research found that adding antioxidants (beta-carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E) to cyclophosphamide therapy increased the survival of people with small-cell lung cancer treated with cyclophosphamide (Jaakkola K, Lahteenmaki P, Laakso J, et al. Treatment with antioxidant and other nutrients in combination with chemotherapy and irradiation in patients with small-cell lung cancer. Anticancer Res 1992;12:599-606).

Vitamin C
An animal research report indicated that vitamin C may increase the effectiveness of cyclophosphamide without producing new side effects (Taper HS, de Gerlache J, Lans M, Roberfroid M. Non-toxic potentiation of cancer chemotherapy by combined C and K3 vitamin pre-treatment. Int J Cancer 1987;40:575-9).

Selenium
Patients being treated with cyclophosphamide and cisplatin for ovarian cancer were given a multivitamin preparation, with or without 200 mcg of selenium per day. Compared with the group not receiving selenium, those receiving selenium had a smaller reduction in white blood cell count and fewer chemotherapy side effects such as nausea, hair loss, weakness, and loss of appetite (Sieja K, Talerczyk M. Selenium as an element in the treatment of ovarian cancer in women receiving chemotherapy. Gynecol Oncol 2004;93:320-7).

N-Acetyl Cysteine
NAC, an amino acid-like supplement that possesses antioxidant activity, has been used in at least four human studies to decrease the kidney and bladder toxicity of the chemotherapy drug ifosfamide. These studies used 1-2 grams NAC four times per day.

Melatonin
High amounts of melatonin have been combined with a variety of chemotherapy drugs to reduce their side effects or improve drug efficacy. One study gave melatonin at night in combination with the drug triptorelin to men with metastatic prostate cancer.17 All of these men had previously become unresponsive to triptorelin. The combination decreased PSA levels-a marker of prostate cancer progression-in eight of fourteen patients, decreased some side effects of triptorelin, and helped nine of fourteen to live longer than one year. The outcome of this preliminary study suggests that melatonin may improve the efficacy of triptorelin even after the drug has apparently lost effectiveness (Lissoni P, Cazzaniga M, Tancini G, et al. Reversal of clinical resistance to LHRH analogue in metastatic prostate cancer by the pineal hormone melatonin: Efficacy of LHRH analogue plus melatonin in patients progressing on LHRH analogue alone. Eur Urol 1997;31:178-81).

Zinc
Irradiation treatment, especially of head and neck cancers, frequently results in changes to normal taste sensation. Zinc supplementation may be protective against taste alterations caused or exacerbated by irradiation. A double-blind trial found that 45 mg of zinc sulfate three times daily reduced the alteration of taste sensation during radiation treatment and led to significantly greater recovery of taste sensation after treatment was concluded (Ripamonti C, Zecca E, Brunelli C, et al. A randomized, controlled clinical trial to evaluate the effects of zinc sulfate on cancer patients with taste alterations caused by head and neck irradiation. Cancer 1998;82:1938-45).

This list of anti-oxidants, vitamins and minerals which can either help to boost the effectiveness of some chemotherapy drugs or reduce the side-effects, and improve cancer survival rates, is certainly not exhaustive. If you’re looking for a complete anti-oxidant health supplement, as well as multi-vitamins and minerals, with high bio-availability, get the best. Find out more about Neways “Revenol”, “Cascading Revenol”, “Maximol Solutions” and “Megatonin” here.

Interestingly, noni’s Sanskrit name is Ayushka, meaning longevity. Indeed, virtually every part of the noni fruit and plant has been used for its medicinal properties. Noni fruit has a pungent smell, but it can also be eaten raw with salt. It is also cooked as curry by many of the tribal populations of Southeast Asia, Polynesia and Australia. The seeds of the noni fruit can be roasted and eaten. The protein-rich young leaves of the noni plant are sometimes eaten as vegetable as well. The leaves are also used as poultices.

It is traditionally believed that noni:

- stabilizes cholesterol at normal levels
- increases energy when consumed over a period of time
- delivers abundant antioxidants to scavenge free radicals
- helps maintain the immune system
- helps maintain a healthy heart
- supports a healthy cardiovascular system
- reduces inflammation
- enhances energy and wellbeing

The noni fruit is packed with vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, amino acids and antioxidants. Over 150 nutraceuticals have been found in the noni fruit, including all the B vitamins, 18 amino acids, antioxidants such as vitamin C, beta carotene, calcium, linoleic acid, and minerals like magnesium, iron and potassium. Noni fruit contains a number of phytochemicals, including lignans, oligo- and polysaccharides, flavonoids, iridoids, fatty acids, scopoletin, catechin, beta-sitosterol, damnacanthal, and alkaloids.

What is particularly significant is that a rare compound known as proxeronine, a precursor of xeronine, essential for the regeneration and growth of healthy cells, is found in the noni fruit. Noni also contains an anthraquinone compound called damnacanthal, which has promising anti-cancer properties. The journal CANCER LETTER [73 (2-3) 1993, 161-166], reported that Keio University and The Institute of Biomedical Sciences in Japan observed that damnacanthal caused normal morphology and cystoskeletal structure in K-ras-NRK pre-cancer cells. Put simply, this compound found in noni fruit may possibly turn pre-cancer cells into normal healthy cells. The researchers reported that damnacanthal reversed the proliferation of cancer cells, showing an ability to block or inhibit the cellular function of RAS cells, which are considered pre-cancerous cells.

The Cancer Research Center of Hawaii has been studying noni juice health benefits with regard to cancer treatments, since a 1999 study suggested that Noni Juice helped to stop the growth of tumors. Laboratory studies have examined noni’s effect on the growth of cancerous tissue in mice. One such study in vitro found that noni reduced growth of capillary vessels sprouting from human breast tumor explants and, at increased concentrations, caused existing vessels to degenerate.

Research indicates that noni fruit stimulates the immune system, regulating cell function and cellular regeneration of damaged cells. As the Noni fruit seems to operate at the very basic and critical cellular level, noni may help to heal a wide variety of conditions.

Noni juice also contains a precursor to melanin, which enhances all body functions depending on melanin. This could explain why the prolific consumption of noni juice has been reported to reverse diabetes, macular degeneration, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease in some people.

The strong odor of the noni fruit as well as its bitter taste may make noni difficult to consume in its raw form. Fortunately, pleasant-tasting noni juice is available from some manufacturers of health supplements. While noni juice from the Polynesian islands of Hawaii and Tahiti is well-known, noni fruit grown in Hawaii is said to be the best because of the pure air, water, and volcanic soil in which they are grown. Neways Authentic Hawaiian Noni dietary supplement, for instance, uses 100 percent pure Hawaiian noni, grown far from areas where nuclear testing occurred near Tahiti in the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia.

For the highest quality noni health supplement and best results, always choose noni products which are never fumigated with deadly chemicals or irradiated, and grown without pesticides. The authenticity of the noni product must be guaranteed by its manufacturer and should use only the Noni fruit pulp, not other parts of the noni plant.

Besides noni fruit puree, Neways Authentic Hawaiian Noni juice is enhanced with raspberry and blueberry fruit concentrate, as well as momordica fruit extract. Red raspberry delivers high levels of ellagic acid, a powerful, natural substance that supports the body’s defence mechanisms against carcinogens. Blueberry has powerful antioxidants proven to scavenge free radicals that can damage DNA molecules and lead to cancer. Mormodica fruit is an antioxidant and immune system booster which has been popular with the Chinese for centuries. You can find it in Chinese medicine shops and groceries, where it is usually better known as “lo han kuo”.

Neways Authentic Hawaiian Noni is as pure as it gets, with no added sugars, no added preservatives, colors or artificial flavors. If you can’t stomach the natural taste and smell of noni fruit, this delicious, power-packed cocktail will help you get the goodness of noni into your body. Buy it at the wholesale price here.