So my poor sister had to find some other way to manage her pain. Fortunately for her, I had been reading good things about Boswella Serrata, also known as Indian Frankincense or Shalaki. It’s supposed to be an effective anti-inflammatory and painkiller, while having no side-effects. I gave my sister a few bottles to try when she recently visited me from overseas. Well guess what? She called me a couple of weeks later to say that it began working for her within a week! She said that she used to be unable to get up from a low position, such as her bed, without holding on to something like a railing. Now, she has no problems at all. The inflammation and pain has diminished considerably. I was so happy for her.

Just thought I would share.

Almost a month ago, my lungs were congested again. I had been researching the health benefits of raw garlic, which includes:

• Traditional cough and cold remedy
• Helps in the treatment of tuberculosis
• Relieves sore throat and toothache
• Powerful antioxidant (garlic contains high levels of selenium and Vitamin C)
• Boosts immune system to fight infection
• Helps lower bad cholesterol levels (LDL)
• Helps to lower blood pressure
• Remedy for arteriosclerosis
• Good for the heart
• Anticoagulant properties
• Helps relieve rheumatism pain
• Reduces cancer risk and also aids in treatment

Garlic is known to have antibiotic, antifungal and antibacterial properties, so it has been used for centuries to treat many health problems. To cut to the chase, I decided to eat a whole bulb of garlic daily more than three weeks ago. That’s  anything from 12-16 cloves of raw garlic each day. I ate half a bulb twice a day – once in the morning and once in the evening, with food and lots of water to prevent any burning sensation in my stomach as the garlic went down. To my surprise, my congested lungs cleared up in less than 36 hours.

As a bonus, I realised that I was no longer suffering from fatigue, a malady which had been plaguing me for more than a fortnight, forcing me to take naps almost every day. I haven’t felt tired or sleepy ever since I started eating raw garlic daily.

So I’ve been burping something terrible every day, and passing more gas than I’ve ever had in my whole life but, having seen how garlic has improved my health and well-being so far, I’m going to keep eating a whole bulb of raw garlic daily just to see what else garlic may remedy in my body. I’ll keep you posted.

An oncologist I previously had once told me that chemotherapy and radiation doesn’t kill cancer. At most, they help to shrink the tumors and manage the disease. Removing the cancer cells from the body, in other words surgery, gave a better chance of ridding the body of cancer. Even then, there were no guarantees.

So what do you do when allopathic cancer treatment has failed you and the cancer continues to progress? There is a saying that if you continue to do exactly the same thing every time, you will get exactly the same results. Nothing will change.

There are those who believe that a cancer cure can only be found if you get to the bottom of what caused the cancer in the first place. If you don’t, the cancer will just keep recurring, even if you do the whole gamut of conventional cancer treatment. This is where complementary, alternative and holistic therapy comes in. It’s a different, even radical, way of dealing with cancer. Some ideas may seem flaky but when traditional cancer therapy isn’t working for you, thinking out of the box may actually save your life. Keep an open mind, because there’s a great deal that even the best cancer researchers in the world don’t know.

For the past few months, I’ve been looking into alternative cancer approaches like the alkaline diet and lifestyle and the fungal theory. In the next few posts, I’ll share my findings.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia which affects an estimated 26 million people worldwide. Brain cells are slowly killed off in those afflicted, and there is presently no cure for this disease. However, activities like walking have been shown to build brain volume.

The University of Pittsburgh study – published on Wednesday in the journal “Neurology” – began in 1995 and involved 299 volunteers who were free of dementia and who were asked to keep track of how much they walked. Nine years later, their brains were scanned to measure brain volume. Four years after that, researchers tested the volunteers for any dementia or cognitive impairment. They found that the risk of developing memory problems was halved in those who walked roughly 9.7km to 14.5km a week.

Researcher Dr. Kirk Erickson said: “Brain size shrinks in late adulthood, which can cause memory problems. Our results should encourage well-designed trials of physical exercise in older adults as a promising approach for preventing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease”.

Prevention is always better than cure, so put on your walking shoes!

This feline is such a character. He likes to knead his paws on my tummy (ouch!) and he loves to get under the covers with me. When I take out the ironing board, he leaps on it before I can start ironing because, for some reason, he thinks it’s a place for massage and I’m his personal masseuse. So I have to massage him before he’ll get off, leaving fine kitty fur all over the board.

Billy also enjoys ambushing Ginger, my sweet-natured doggy who found him when he was barely a month old. You should see him lying in wait, flicking his tail and wriggling his posterior as he gets ready to pounce on poor unsuspecting Ginger. Ginger puts up with Billy. She thinks that he’s always trying to steal her food, which is really hilarious as she’s 10 times bigger than Billy is, and her kibble is more than Billy can manage. She probably thinks that way because she’s stolen Billy’s food many times. Those two furballs are a riot and they provide me with endless hours of amusement, companionship and love.

Keeping a pet is good for your health. Their therapeutic powers range from helping to keep the blood pressure in check (unless they poop on the carpet, of course), providing comfort during depression and improving physical fitness levels. Pets, even cranky ones like Billy, are natural mood enhancers. They always look up to you – except maybe for cats who can be snotty – and make you feel good.

Generally, spending time with your pets will reduce your levels of cortisol, the hormone associated with stress. Serotonin levels (a chemical associated with well-being) rise. Too much stress is harmful while rest is healing. It’s elementary.

Having a dog who needs to be walked twice a day forces you to get some exercise, a good thing for urban-living sedentary types. If your pooch is anything like Ginger, who has a mind of her own and is constantly in a tug-of-war with me, you’ll also benefit from weight bearing activity which strengthens your muscles and bones. Walking your dog is a healthy and inexpensive way of preventing osteoporosis.

For some great true stories about cats and dogs who helped their guardians through breast cancer treatment, check out:

The true story of kitty-cat Luke and her guardian Karen who had Stage III triple negative breast cancer
AND
The true story of Great Dane Kenya and her guardian “lifegoeson” who had Stage IV breast cancer

If you don’t have a pet, why not adopt one from the animal shelter? You’ll be saving more than just the animal’s life – you could be saving YOURS as well.

Recently, in a series of studies, scientists found that when people leave their concrete surroundings to spend a few hours in a more natural environment – forests, parks and places with plenty of trees – they experience increased immune system function.

Several factors play a part. One is stress reduction. The other appears to be airborne chemicals called phytoncides which plants emit to protect themselves against rotting and insects. A study found an increase in white blood cells, which lasted a week, in women exposed to phytoncides in forest air. A 2007 study showed that men who took two-hour walks in a forest over two days had a 50% spike in levels of white blood cells.

A study published in January this year included data on 280 healthy people in Japan. On one day, some people walked through the city for a few hours while another group of people walked through the forest. On the second day, they traded places. Scientists found that being among plants produced “lower concentration of cortisol, lower pulse rate, and lower blood pressure”.

Various studies have shown that visiting parks and forests seem to raise levels of white blood cells, which help to fight infection. Interestingly, in Japan which has one of the world’s highest life expectancy, its people enjoy visiting nature parks for its therapeutic effects. This practice is called “Shinrin-yoku”, which means forest bathing.

Think about it, people who live in rural areas and walk everywhere are known to have lower incidences of diseases like cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular problems. Ultimately, the best way to stay healthy and well is to have a strong immune system which functions properly. Medicine can only do so much. Time for me to go forest bathing.

Scutellaria Barbata or the Baikal Skullcap is known by many synonyms, such as apigenin, baicalin, ban-ji-ryun (Korean), banjiryun (Korean), ban-zhi-lian (Chinese), barbatin A, barbatin B, barbatin C, benzyaldehyde, berberine, carthamidin, flavonoidglycoside, flavonoids, Herba Scutellariae Barbatae, hexahydrofarnesylacetone, isocarthamidin, Lamiaceae (family), luteolin, menthol, neo-clerodane diterpenoids, PC-SPES, pheophorbide A, resveratrol, SBJ, scutebarbatine B, scutellarein, Scutelleria baicalensis, Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, Scutellaria bardata, Scutellaria barbata D. Don, Scutellaria rivularis Wall., scutellarin, wogonin.

The National Cancer Institute thesaurus describes Scutellaria Barbata D. Don (Lamiaceae) as having potential antineoplastic activity. Containing the antioxidant flavone scutellarin, herba Scutellaria barbata has been shown to induce apoptosis of ovarian and breast tumor cells in vitro.

A research article from the Sept. 17, 2004, issue of the journal Life Science concluded that Scutellaria Barbata significantly inhibited growth of a human lung cancer cell line. A study in the August 2009 issue of the European Journal of Cancer Prevention found that an extract of Scutellaria Barbata induced apoptosis, or programmed cell death, in a mouse liver cancer cell line. Many more studies support these findings.

In vitro studies have shown that Scutellaria Barbata exerts anticancer effects via caspase-dependent apoptosis (1,2,3), and by downregulating Bcl-2 protein that is expressed by tumor cells (4). Scutellaria Barbata also increased macrophage function in a murine carcinoma cell line that resulted in inhibition of tumor growth (5). It was shown to affect the metabolism of mutagenic compounds such as benzopyrene, thereby reducing their ability to bind DNA (6).

According to a study published in the January 2009 issue of Planta Medica which researched 13 different Scutellaria species, Scutellaria contains a combination of plant chemicals that together can significantly slow the growth of several different cancers. “On the basis of our preliminary results, we expect maximum benefit from Scutellaria…in combination with standard therapy such as surgery, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy,” says Prahlad Parajuli, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at Wayne State University and Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, Michigan.

Past studies have shown that Scutellaria has potent antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer properties, which come primarily from natural plant chemicals (phytochemicals) called flavonoids. Most of the research conducted on Scutellaria so far has focused on the roots of the herb, which are rich in the flavonoid wogonin. However, the leaves and stems are also thought to be high in cancer-fighting phytochemicals, according to study co-author Nirmal Joshee, PhD, assistant professor of Plant Science at Fort Valley State University in Georgia.

After analyzing leaf, stem, and root extracts from 13 different Scutellaria species, the researchers found that each extract contained different combinations of six flavonoids: apigenin, baicalein, baicalin, chrysin, scutellarein, and wogonin. Most extracts contained three or four different flavonoids. Two extracts contained all six flavonoids.

Human breast, prostate, and brain cancer cells, as well as non-cancerous cells, were then treated with the Scutellaria extracts. Nine of the extracts significantly halted the spread of cancer cells. The higher the dose and longer the duration of treatment, the more effectively the extracts killed cancer cells. Four extracts—all from the Scutellaria leaf—were particularly effective at triggering the death (apoptosis) of brain cancer cells.

The researchers also looked at how the flavonoids in Scutellaria—both individually and in combination—affected cancer cells. A combination of four flavonoids, each at a low dose, blocked the growth of brain cancer cells by almost 50 percent. However, when those same flavonoids were given individually at the same dose, they had no effect on the cancer, which suggests that each one possesses a different anti-cancer mechanism and the effects are amplified when the different flavonoids work together.

Certain flavonoids in Scutellaria also appeared to target specific types of cancer. For example, baicalein significantly slowed the growth of brain cancer cells. This may be because individual flavonoids affect mechanisms that are unique to each cancer, said the authors in their report “In vitro antitumor mechanisms of various Scutellaria extracts and constituent flavonoids” in Planta Medica. 2009;75:41-48.

A drug based on the extract of Scutellaria barbata is also being developed to destroy the blood vessels supplying tumours. Professor Alan McGown and colleagues at the University of Salford have so far tested the drug in the laboratory on human cancer cells from tumors such as breast and lung cancers. In an anti-angiogenic approach, the drug works by attacking the tumor’s blood vessels, starving the cancer to death by blocking its supply of oxygen and nutrients. Co-researcher Dr Sylvie Ducki said: “If you target the vessels you are stopping the ‘food’ getting to the tumour and the tumour from spreading.” The drug is selective – targeting only tumour vessels and leaving blood vessels supplying healthy tissues alone. This is unlike conventional treatments which usually target tumour cells but also the normal cells, causing a lot of side effects.

A company called Bionovo has developed and is working to patent an extract of Scutellaria Barbata which it calls BZL101. The company’s researchers believe the herb’s main agent has the ability to specifically identify and target malignant cells, leaving normal cells intact and healthy. The oral anti-cancer drug BZL101 works by eliciting a cancer cell’s innate mechanism of self-suicide, or apoptosis. The drug selectively releases Apoptosis Inducing Factor-1 (AIF1) from a cancer cell’s mitochondrial membrane. AIF then moves to the cell’s nucleus, disintegrating the DNA structure, and fragmenting and killing the cancer cell. Bionovo’s scientists say that although AIF exists in all cells, this protein-translocation process can be elicited exclusively in cancer cells while avoiding normal cells.

Researchers from the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and The Cancer Research Laboratory, University of California at Berkeley, recently reported that BZL101 disrupts proliferation of human breast and prostate cancer cells through distinct mechanisms dependent on the cancer cell phenotype.

After completing a phase I study on BZL101, researchers at The University of California at San Francisco and the Komen/UT Southwestern Breast Cancer Research Program at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
presented encouraging data at the 28th Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. Some 16 patients has been evaluated in the clinical trial, receiving 350 ml (12 grams dry solubles) per day of the Scutellaria Barbata extract in tea form. Details of their findings are given in their report “Herba Scutellaria Barbatae for Metastatic Breast Cancer”.

Clinical trials are tedious affairs and it takes a long time to get a drug to market. Meanwhile, I’ll continue to enjoy the benefits of Scutellaria Barbata the old-fashioned way, brewed together with another ancient Chinese anti-cancer herb Oldenlandia Diffusa. This cancer-fighting combo makes a delicious, slightly bitter, smoky-flavored herbal tea, which I like to sweeten with another traditional Chinese herbal remedy, Lo Han Kuo, a dried fruit favored for its immune-system boosting properties. All these ingredients are easily available from any traditional Chinese medicine shop in Chinatown. Just ask for “Ban Zhi Lian” (Scutellaria Barbata), “Bai Hua She She Cao” (Oldenlandia Diffusa) and “Lo Han Kuo” (Momordica Grosvenor).

Incidentally, the fact that at least two known natural aromatase inhibitors – apigenin and chrysin – are flavonoids commonly found in the Scutellaria family of herbs, should make this herb even more appealing to people with hormone-sensitive cancers, such as estrogen receptor positive breast cancer. I just had my second cup of this cancer-fighting herbal tea for the day and I must say it’s a delicious way to take my medicine. Cheers to herbs!

References:
(1) Kim DI, et al. Regulation of IGF-I production and proliferation of human leiomyomal smooth muscle cells by Scutellaria barbata D. Don in vitro: isolation of flavonoids of apigenin and luteolin as acting compounds. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 2005; 205(3):213-224.
(2) Yin X, et al. Anticancer activity and mechanism of Scutellaria barbata extract on human lung cancer cell line A549. Life Sci 2004; 75(18):2233-2244.
(3) Powell CB, et al. Aqueous extract of herba Scutellaria barbatae, a chinese herb used for ovarian cancer, induces apoptosis of ovarian cancer cell lines. Gynecol Oncol 2003; 91(2):332-340.
(4) Kim KW, Jin UH, Kim DI, et al. Antiproliferative effect of Scutellaria barbata D. Don. on cultured human uterine leiomyoma cells by down-regulation of the expression of Bcl-2 protein. Phytother Res. 2008 May;22(5):583-90.
(5) Wong BY, et al. Oldenlandia diffusa and Scutellaria barbata augment macrophage oxidative burst and inhibit tumor growth. Cancer Biother Radiopharm 1996; 11(1):51-56.
(6) Wong BY, Lau BH, Teel RW. Chinese medicinal herbs modulate mutagenesis, DNA binding and metabolism of benzo[a]pyrene 7,8-dihydrodiol and benzo[a]pyrene 7,8-dihydrodiol-9,10-epoxide. Cancer Lett 1992; 62(2):123-131.

In MTD chemo, high doses of cytotoxic drugs – the highest doses possible without causing life-threatening levels of toxicity – are administered intravenously to cancer patients. Because it is very toxic to the body, MTD chemotherapy requires prolonged breaks (generally of 2-3 weeks in duration) between successive cycles of therapy. This gives the cancer an opportunity to recover and re-establish itself. This is why cancer cells often seem to quickly become resistant to MTD chemotherapy.

Recently, I learned about a gentle form of chemotherapy with virtually no side-effects called metronomic chemotherapy. Unlike MTD chemotherapy, metronomic chemotherapy involves taking low-dosage cytotoxic drugs orally – in tablet form – usually daily over a prolonged period, without the breaks necessitated by MTD chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy drugs are designed to inhibit or kill cancer cells by damaging DNA. However, cells can employ a number of mechanisms to repair this damage. When cells experience drug-induced breaks in their DNA strands, proteins called PARPs bind to the DNA at the sites of the breaks and recruit other proteins involved in DNA repair. This process can allow cancer cells to continue to survive and grow despite the damage caused by chemotherapy treatment.

With metronomic chemotherapy, the low-dose chemo drugs are administered regularly, without missing a beat, like the rhythmic beat of the metronome. Hence, the cancer is given little time to repair and restore itself, while toxicity and side effects are kept minimal.

Dr. Harold J. Burstein of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, who has led several early-stage trials of metronomic chemotherapy in women with breast cancer elucidates that “… metronomic chemotherapy …refers to repetitive, low doses of chemotherapy drugs designed to minimize toxicity and target the endothelium or tumor stroma as opposed to targeting the tumor”.

Low, non-toxic doses of chemotherapy drugs, when delivered frequently for a prolonged period of time, can retard tumor blood vessel growth (or angiogenesis) by destroying endothelial cells. Evidence is growing that more compressed or accelerated schedules of drug administration using much smaller individual doses than the MTD can be more effective in controlling tumor growth, and stabilising the patient’s condition for a longer period of time.

Angiogenesis is the creation of new blood vessels from an existing blood vessel – such as from established blood vessels to a tumor – and tumors use this source of nutrition to grow. This vascular structure is the target of drugs like Avastin. Endothelial cells form the lining of newly-formed blood vessels. Standard MTD chemotherapy destroys the endothelial cells in the small blood vessels but in the usual 2 – 3 weeks pause given before the next chemotherapy session, the blood vessel grows into the cancer again.

On February 23rd 2008, at the 28th annual German Cancer Congress, cancer researcher D. McDonald from San Francisco presented a lecture at a symposium entitled: “Anti-angiogenesis, Therapy for Solid Tumours”. McDonald showed pictures from his research and demonstrated that just one day after anti-angiogenesis treatment was stopped, the endothelial cells start sprouting and sending out growth processes from the basal membrane. One week from stopping the anti-angiogenesis treatment, the blood vessels and the blood supply to the cancer tumor – the tumor’s vascular system – are fully re-established.

The metronomic approach was initially proposed and tested in animal models by Dr. Timothy Browder in Dr. Judah Folkman’s lab at Harvard Medical School. The studies recorded that standard MTD chemotherapy regimens caused cell death of endothelial cells in the blood vessels feeding to the tumor first, followed by tumor cells. However, the long breaks needed between the MTD regimens allowed the damaged blood vessels, and thus the tumor, to recover.

On the other hand, significantly lower doses given more frequently on a prolonged schedule proved to be far more effective, including complete tumor regressions, even in mice that were resistant to the same drug when used in a standard MTD regimen.

Various other research groups have confirmed these findings. Further, studies conducted in cell lines and animal models have reported that combining metronomic chemotherapy with targeted anti-angiogenesis agents seems more effective than metronomic chemotherapy alone.

Italian oncologists documented the long-term responses of patients with metastatic breast cancer to a metronomic regimen involving daily cyclophosphamide (50mg) and two weekly doses of methotrexate (5mg per dose)). 32% achieved either a complete or partial remission, or a stabilization of disease lasting at least 24 weeks. In about 16% of patients, no tumor progression was noted for over a year. Even in the patients in whom progression did occur, it was believed that the therapy slowed the spread of the disease.

As metronomic therapy is directed against endothelial cells, not cancer cells, a metronomic regimen that works well with one type of cancer should work with all types of cancer dependent on angiogenesis for growth.

A well-documented case study of a 36-year old patient with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer who had responded poorly to standard MTD chemotherapy reported that she performed well on metronomic chemotherapy. She went on to live a normal working and social life for five more years, without side effects.

A major benefit of metronomic chemotherapy is that it is essentially free of harmful side effects. Only a mild suppression of white cell count was observed in a small minority of the treated patients.

Yet another interesting benefit of metronomic chemotherapy is that it selectively kills a type of immune cell – T-reg cells – that function to suppress the activity of immune cells capable of attacking the tumor – the natural killer (NK) cells and T-cytotoxic cells. T-reg cells are often found within tumors and secrete hormone-like factors that “turn off” the immune cells trying to attack the cancer. Metronomic chemotherapy is therefore a useful adjuvant to therapeutic strategies intended to boost the tumor-killing capacity of NK and T-cytotoxic cells.

For people dealing with cancer, especially those adverse to aggressive cancer treatment, and particularly those for whom traditional MTD chemotherapy has failed, metronomic chemotherapy is good news. Those seeking a gentler, less-aggressive and less-harmful form of cancer treatment at least now have this option to explore.

In a 2010 ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology) report, promising results from administering metronomic chemotherapy with capecitabine to heavily pretreated patients with metastatic breast cancer – including those with HER2 positive breast cancer – were reported. This offers hope even to those with advanced breast cancer for whom standard aggressive cancer treatment like MTD chemotherapy has failed.

Of course, some people feel that metronomic chemotherapy may work too slowly for those with clearly progressive cancer. A hybrid approach may be the answer. In a phase III clinical trial which involved women with locally advanced or inflammatory breast cancer, a presurgical (or neoadjuvant), metronomic-like regimen – using higher doses of cyclophosphamide, given daily; doxorubicin; and growth factor support to ensure the continued production of white blood cells – was found to be superior to a standard MTD regimen at eliminating evidence of invasive cancer at the time of surgery.

This outcome, explained Dr. Robert Livingston, a co-investigator on the Southwest Oncology Group-led trial, generally has been found to predict superior long-term outcome in patients. The idea was to try to expose tumor cells to minimum concentrations of chemotherapy drugs for as long as possible.

“I think it’s fair to call the regimen we have developed a hybrid,” said Dr. Livingston. “It can destroy tumor cells and, at the same time, the continuous exposure, particularly to cyclophosphamide, is having an anti-angiogenic effect.”

The hybrid metronomic regimen delivers chemotherapy more frequently, even daily, at significantly higher doses than those used in most metronomic regimens but less than in MTD regimens. The toxicity might be greater than a “traditional” metronomic regimen, but so might the effectiveness.

If you’re looking for a gentler, less toxic and relatively safe form of chemotherapy, talk to your oncologist or check with your nearest cancer center. Clinical trials utilizing metronomic chemotherapy are also ongoing.

HER2 positive breast cancer is one of the most frightening breast cancers to deal with and the drug which is typically used to treat it – Herceptin – is very expensive. So the news that phytochemicals in extra-virgin olive oil – an affordable, easily obtainable and harmless food – can shrink certain breast tumors should give hope to many.

The extra-virgin olive oil study was performed at the Catalan Institute of Oncology in Girona, Spain, and reported in the open-access journal BMC Cancer. It focused on tumor tissue in laboratory culture that the researchers exposed to different fractions of extra-virgin olive oil containing various natural phytochemicals. When rats with induced breast cancers were fed large amounts of extra-virgin olive oil, their tumors’ malignancy diminished.

“Our findings reveal for the first time that all the major complex phenols present in extra-virgin olive oil drastically suppress overexpression of the cancer gene HER2 in human breast cancer cells,” said Javier Menendez, who, along with Antonio Segura-Carretero from Spain’s University of Granada, led the team of researchers who determined to investigate which parts of extra-virgin olive oil battle cancer best.

Some past studies have suggested that the olive-oil-rich Mediterranean diet prevents cancer, while other studies have not. So the Spanish scientists theorized that olive oil compounds kill only certain forms of breast cancer. Their research found that the olive-oil polyphenols known as secoiridoids and lignans are highly effective breast-cancer-cell fighters – but only against the 20 percent to 30 percent of breast cancers that express the so-called HER2 gene.

Extra-virgin olive oil comes from pressing olives in a cold state – without the use of heat or chemicals. It contains natural complex anti-cancer chemicals that the industrial refining process destroys. So will eating large quantities of such olive oil actually prevent or cure breast cancer? Sadly, the authors note that “The active phytochemicals exhibited tumoricidal effects against cultured breast cancer cells at concentrations that are unlikely to be achieved in real life by consuming olive oil.”

Still, the scientists say, “These findings, together with the fact that that humans have safely been ingesting significant amounts of lignans and secoiridoids as long as they have been consuming olives and extra-virgin oil, strongly suggest that these polyphenols might provide an excellent and safe platform for the design of new anti breast-cancer drugs.”

I don’t know about you, but I’m still going to add more extra-virgin olive oil to my salads.

1. They eat foods native to their territory, whether it be plant or animal in origin. Don’t forget that the Mongolians and Eskimos eat a predominantly meat and fat based diet, with hardly any plant food. The Mongolians, in addition, eat plenty of dairy foods. Many traditional European, Middle-Eastern and Indian diets also feature dairy products and meats.

2. Each native group obviously adapted to their respective diets, eating whatever was naturally available in order to stay alive. This is why a diet abundant in meat and fat was not harmful to the Eskimos or the Mongolians. In fact, it was protective for them, living in their harsh, wintry environments.

3. The foods they ate and beverages they drank were organic, unprocessed, unrefined and free from artificial additives like chemicals, hormones and antibiotics. Meat and dairy were completely natural and uncontaminated.

4. Foods were generally eaten fresh, freshly harvested or freshly killed. Any food preservation or storage was usually limited to salting, fermenting, drying or pickling. Modern societies tend to eat food which has been canned, packaged in some way or frozen for quite some time.

5. Cooking methods were completely natural. Nothing strange like microwaving or “nuking” in any way.

6. Kitchen utensils, cookware and materials used were also completely natural (clay, leaves, wood etc). Certainly no plastic.

7. Condiments, spices and flavorings were kept simple and natural. Nothing artificial.

8. In Asia, if oil was used for cooking, it was what was indigenous to the territory eg. peanut oil, coconut oil, soya bean oil, ghee (clarified butter), or lard (made from animal fat). “Healthy” fats like olive oil or grapeseed oil were unheard of.

9. If a sweetener was used, it was natural eg. cane sugar, palm sugar or honey.

10. Carbohydrates were fine and even essential, but they were usually natural, unrefined and free from artificial additives eg. tapioca, sweet potatoes, corn, beans, nuts, seeds, potatoes and other tubers.

11. No leftover food was kept. Everything was made fresh and finished in one sitting, so food did not have a chance to deteriorate further.

12. Usually, native people ate only what they needed, or even starved at times for a while. Excess was a luxury, and generally reserved for special occasions. Modern people are literally indulging themselves to death.

13. With the exception of people living in harsh environments like the Mongolians and Eskimos – where meat and fat was more readily available than plant foods – most native diets are dominated by plant foods. Meat was considered a luxury item to be eaten sparingly or reserved for special occasions. If seafood was available, that was eaten more often than meat. Modern societies consume far more meat than our forefathers did, and the meat we eat today is mostly adulterated and contaminated.

14. Almost all native societies have some fermented foods. These foods are rich in anti-cancer properties. Think sauerkraut, kimchi, miso, tempeh and yoghurt.

15. Almost all native societies have a rich tradition of using herbs for food, healing and beauty. The Chinese, for instance, have a vast variety of herbal teas, using herbs, flowers, roots, tree bark, fungi etc. I grew up drinking herbal teas and soups, but switched to Western concoctions and drugs and soda pop from my early teens. Now that I’m older and (hopefully) wiser, I’m beginning to rediscover Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and learning how to use traditional herbs at home.

16.The true native lifestyle is physically active, even rigorous, on a daily basis. Exercise was a way of life. People living in urban societies are very sedentary, and obesity has become an epidemic.

17 The environment and air was clean and pure. There was no exposure to modern contaminants like chemicals, radiation, electrical currents, vehicle and industrial emissions etc.

18. Furniture, building materials, fabrics etc was all organic.

19. There was no obsession with cleaning or enhancing body or home with products saturated with chemicals, unlike today.

20. People slept early and woke up early. Their sleeping environments were completely dark and quiet, except perhaps for the sounds of nature. No night lights, street lights, blinking lights, TV etc. Perfect for melatonin production.

These are just a few of my observations. As I said in my opening paragraph, the people who adulterate this “formula” are the ones who start getting all kinds of sicknesses, including cancer. Of course, observing a strict native diet and way of life is challenging in an urban society. But I believe we need to try our level best, in order to be cancer-free, even if it means re-locating. Major miracles often require major changes.

So, should we consume green tea, or soy, or turmeric, or flaxseed, or berries, or cruciferous vegetables, or iodine, or dark chocolate etc. or load up on more supplements? I think we know by now that each in itself CANNOT defeat cancer. Diet alone won’t cut it. Even vegetarians and exercise fanatics get cancer, right? A radical, holistic approach is required, and this may include some medical intervention. To keep cancer and other diseases at bay, it’s back to basics, back to our roots.

GO NATIVE, as far as it makes sense. In other words, if you’re a Mongolian working in a nice, cushy office in New York, the traditional Mongolian diet may not be healthy for you in this context. Adapt it to your present living environment, eliminating elements which are harmful (eg. unnatural foods, high-fat diet, chemicals, being sedentary) and adding those which are protective (eg. daily exercise, lots of plant foods, natural foods, fresh foods, safe personal care and household care products, conducive sleeping environment and times).

As long as your foods are natural and your way of life is as native as possible, a little dairy food or meat or dessert once in a while is not going to kill you. Just make sure it is pure, unrefined, unprocessed and fresh. Food which has travelled a long way to get to you is often “preserved” in some way to make it last the journey and storage. They also lose their nutritional value with each passing day.

Avoid anything artificial or unnatural, eat fresh, don’t over-indulge, lose weight, learn how to use herbs for everything, eat some fermented foods regularly, live in a pure and uncontaminated environment, sleep well and exercise everyday. GO NATIVE!