Hemp Seed: The World's Forgotten Superfood?

Hemp seed, long an overlooked superfood for its misunderstood association with marijuana, is now starting to make a big impact on the health food scene with both consumers and scientists alike.

The beneficial components in hemp seed, namely the high content of fatty acids and phytosterols, are known to play a positive role in a host of diseases, and, according to a report by Darrell L. Tanelian, M.D., Ph.D., may help:

• Promote heart health

• Reduce the risk of cardiac arrest

• Maintain normal cholesterol levels

• Treat certain cancers, including colon, breast and prostate

• Delay the neurologic effects of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases

• Treat rheumatoid arthritis

• Prevent and treat osteoporosis

• Reduce inflammation

• Treat atopic eczema and psoriasis

Read more about hemp seed from Sixwise.com.

Olive Oil Helps Prevent Cancer?

People who use plenty of olive oil in their diets may be helping to prevent damage to body cells that can eventually lead to cancer, new research suggests.

In a study of 182 European men, researchers found evidence that olive oil can reduce oxidative damage to cells' genetic material, a process that can initiate cancer development.

Read the rest here.

More Free Samples--Happy Holidays!

The next ten people who send their address to me (lisa@essiac-tea-herbal-remedies.com) will receive a free one-ounce sample of our eight-herb essiac tea blend, enough to brew about a quart, along with a set of brewing instructions. US addresses only, please. Limited time only, we reserve the right to withdraw this offer at any time.

Diet and Breast Cancer's Return

The first experiment ever to show that low-fat diets could help prevent a return of breast cancer now reveals, with longer follow-up, that the benefit was almost exclusively to women whose tumor growth was not driven by hormones.

The new results suggest but cannot prove that these women might be able to cut their risk of dying from cancer by up to 66 percent with such diets.

"That's as great or better than any treatment intervention that we've given" for this type of cancer, which is notoriously hard to treat, said Dr. C. Kent Osborne of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. He had no role in the study.

However, for women whose cancers are fueled by hormones - the vast majority of breast cancer patients - the diet change seemed to make little difference in survival.

Read the rest here.

Alcohol and Cancer Treatment

(CNN) -- In the American Cancer Society's new lifestyle guidelines for cancer survivors, maintaining a healthy weight is at the top of the list. The cancer society recommends 30 minutes of exercise a day, at least five days a week and eating a diet that includes a lot of fruits and vegetables, whole grains and lean meat.

CNN Medical Correspondent Judy Fortin asked the cancer society about alcohol use during cancer treatment and recovery. Here's what Colleen Doyle, director of nutrition and physical activity for the cancer society, had to say.

Magic Mineral Broth

This website contains an article about a special soup called Magic Mineral Broth, which is said to be good for cancer patients and survivors, as well as all folks in general. I have never tried it, but plan to make a batch soon (when I can find some kombu, which I have also never cooked with but have probably eaten in the past.)

Breast Milk & Cancer

Catharina Svanborg thought that she already knew how remarkable breast milk is. The immunologist had logged hundreds of lab hours documenting ways in which human milk helps babies fight infections. But when the group decided to use cancerous lung cells to avoid the variability shown by normal cells in laboratory tests, Svanborg and her team at Lund University in Sweden were in for a surprise. They applied breast milk to the cancerous lung cells, and all the cells died. Breast milk killed cancer cells.

Read the rest of the article from Science News Online here.

High Protein, High Risk?

Eating a low-protein diet may protect against certain cancers, while a diet high in protein may increase the risk for malignancies, a new study suggests.

The results of this preliminary study show that lean people on a long-term, low-protein, low-calorie diet or who participate in regular endurance exercise training have lower levels of plasma growth factors and certain hormones such as insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). These substances have been linked to an increased cancer risk, especially premenopausal breast cancer, prostate cancer and certain types of colon cancer.

Read the rest here.

We're Giving Away Free Samples

The first ten people who send their mailing address to me (lisa@essiac-tea-herbal-remedies.com) will receive a free one-ounce sample of our eight-herb essiac tea herb mix, enough to brew one quart/liter, along with our card and a set of brewing instructions. US addresses only, please. Limited time only, we reserve the right to withdraw this offer at any time. Good luck!

10 Ways to Cut Medical Costs Before Treatment

(Thanks to Bankrate.com):

As health-care consumers endure higher deductibles and reduced insurance benefits, it is becoming more important to understand and even negotiate prices before receiving medical treatment.

Dr. Kathryn Stewart, medical director of care management at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Chicago, believes that patients can and should be more proactive about seeking the best prices for their services.

"Hospital costs are probably 40-50 percent of what their (list price) charges are," she says. But when it comes to billing, "most hospitals are happy to break even or have a little bit of profit."

This means there is plenty of room to negotiate and reduce your out-of-pocket expenses.

Read the rest here.

Smell Bad, Feel Good

People who flavor their diets with plenty of onions and garlic might have lower odds of several types of cancer, a new study suggests.

In an analysis of eight studies from Italy and Switzerland, researchers found that older adults with the highest onion and garlic intakes had the lowest risks of a number of cancers -- including colon, ovarian and throat cancers.

Read more here.

Workout to Whip Cancer

For cancer survivors, exercising and maintaining a healthy weight are important factors in preventing malignancy's return, at least for some forms of the disease.

That's the conclusion of an American Cancer Society report that updates nutrition and physical activity recommendations for cancer survivors during and after treatment.

Read more here.