Marnie
I'm a breast cancer survivor, wife, mother, grandmother and happy to be all of these! I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004 and my passion in life is to help others get through their journey with breast cancer in the best way possible.
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Eugenol Being Researched For Estrogen Receptor Antagonist Capabilities
I am always on the lookout for good information about essential oils. Anyone who knows me realizes at some point that I am in love with essential oils and use them daily on myself (see my page on Essential Oils For Breast Health) and in the home. I love that they are completely natural, very potent and have zero side effects.
Eugenol Has Anti-Cancer Properties
Today I found a study abstract on the pubmed.gov website about eugenol, which is the active component in the buds and leaves of clove (Syzygium aromaticum) oil. I use clove oil frequently for its anti-cancer properties, but it’s also good for so many other things, chief among them being sore and inflamed gums or teeth because it is a natural analgesic. Anyway, the abstract I found (here’s the link) mentioned that eugenol was “reported to have activity on inhibition of cell proliferation and apoptosis induction in human MCF-7 breast cancer cells.”
Apoptosis means the process of programmed cell death, it’s a natural process that all cells go through. So what the study is referring to is that eugenol inhibits cell proliferation (always a good thing to ward against cancer cells multiplying rapidly) and induces programmed cell death in certain breast cancer cells known as MCF-7.
Eugenol As An Estrogen Receptor Antagonist
The study abstract also mentions that eugenol is being investigated for its activity as an estrogen receptor antagonist. That’s pretty exciting, many in the breast cancer community are always looking for natural things to block the activity of estrogen if we had estrogen receptor positive cancer cells.
In recent years, eugenol has attracted the attention of many researchers because of its anti-inflammatory and chemopreventive effects, as well as its superior antioxidant activities, which is what attracted me to clove oil in the first place. It also has potent anti-fungal properties.
While I was doing the research for this article I found a vastly informative article titled “Eugenol—From the Remote Maluku Islands to the International Market Place: A Review of a Remarkable and Versatile Molecule” published in the journal Molecules in June 2012, authored by Guy P. Kamatou, Ilze Vermaak and Alvaro M. Viljoen of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa. If you would like to view a copy of that article, just Google the title and you can download it. It goes into great detail about eugenol and its multitudinous uses.
Returning to the subject of eugenol and its possible estrogen receptor antagonist capabilities – I know I would much rather massage a good therapeutic grade clove essential oil into my body than take something like Faslodex with its possible side effects of injection site pain, nausea, bone pain, arthralgia, headache, back pain, fatigue, extremity pain, hot flashes, vomiting, anorexia, asthenia, musculoskeletal pain, cough, dyspnea, and constipation…. yuck.
I will keep an eye on the research for eugenol and clove oil as it relates to estrogen receptor antagonism and let you know when anything else surfaces. In the meantime, it certainly can’t hurt to use clove essential oil for breast health – I use it frequently. Make sure your essential oil is therapeutic grade (it must say that on the label) and if you need to know some good brands, contact me.
If you would like my help with getting through breast cancer in an inspiring and ultra-healthy way, please sign up for my free e-newsletters and e-book on the right, or “like” me on Facebook (MarnieClark.com). It is my honor and my goal to help you through this so that you emerge from breast cancer feeling better than before, thriving!
Photo courtesy of rgbstock.com / xymonau
My Thoughts On Angelina Jolie, Prophylactic Mastectomy and Genetic Predisposition
Angelina Jolie’s heart-rending choice to have a double mastectomy has certainly created a storm of controversy this week among breast cancer circles and my friends and subscribers have asked my opinion on the whole matter, hence today’s post.
First of all, please read her personally written article which appeared in the New York Times Opinion Page. Eloquent. However…
Two Lines Of Thought
There are those who applaud her decision and her courage for making it (because it had to be a tough one to make), while others believe it was incredibly stupid because she didn’t have breast cancer, just a strong family history. I’m hovering somewhere in between those two lines of thought. Mostly I just feel incredibly sad for her, because it’s apparent that Ms Jolie fell prey to fear, to overzealous medical providers who must have played a rather large part in that fear, and to the cancer industry as a whole.
Please allow me to share some of my thoughts on the matter.
Surgery Has Risks
In explaining her own choice to have this surgery, Ms Jolie does not mention the many side effects and risks of this type of surgery. Surgery always comes with risks and side effects. To complicate matters, breast implants are considered “high risk” by the FDA (not that I concern myself overmuch with what the FDA thinks). The current statistics indicate that 4 out of 10 women who have had a mastectomy and implants will require additional surgery within 3 years of getting their implants.
More than a few of my subscribers have shared with me that had they known reconstruction surgery (whether flap reconstruction or implant reconstruction) was going to be so painful, so bothersome and such a disruption to their lives they would never have chosen it. I truly feel for them.
Genetic Predisposition Vs Epigenetic Factors
As far as the genetic predisposition part of the story, an excellent article has been written by Sayer Ji, the founder of greenmedinfo.com, a website resource that I trust and often refer to because it always contains well-researched and well-written information on all sorts of health issues. The article is titled Did Angelina Jolie Make a Mistake By Acting On The ‘Breast Cancer Gene’ Theory? Do yourself a favor and click on the link and read that article.
I particularly appreciated the author’s assertion that “even in those in which a BRCA mutation is identified, the genes, in and of themselves, do not alone make the disease.“ I have been endeavoring to teach that particular line of thinking via my posts on this site. In June, 2012 I wrote an article Cancer Genetics: BRCA1 and BRCA2 Are NO Cause For Concern! wherein I shared some information from the book “The Biology of Belief”, by Dr Bruce Lipton, a cell biologist, whose research and studies clearly indicate that many other factors are at play in health and disease than merely genetics.
To quote again from the greenmedinfo article, “…we must now accept that factors beyond the control of the gene, known as epigenetic factors, and largely determined by a combination of nutrition, psychospiritual states that feed back into our physiology, lifestyle factors, and environmental exposures, constitute as high as 95% of what determines any disease risk.“
Did you get that? Epigenetic factors (factors beyond the control of our genes) constitute as high as 95% of what determines disease risk. Our bodies are incredibly smart. They have the ability to prevent and heal all disease if they are given the right conditions!
Human Genes Should NOT be Patented
The thing that bugs me the most about all of this is that Ms Jolie’s decision is going to persuade thousands of other young women to do the same – to needlessly lose a valued part of their anatomy. Not every woman with a mutation will develop breast cancer! And Myriad Genetics, the patent-holders of the BRCA1/BRCA2 genes, are profiting. According to a Yahoo Finance report dated May 14, 2013, Myriad Genetics’ shares rose 4% after Angelina Jolie announced her mastectomy surgery.
I support an activist group called Breast Cancer Action, who in 2009 joined researchers, genetic counselors and cancer patients in a lawsuit to overturn Myriad Genetics’ patent on BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. The case is currently before the U.S. Supreme Court and a ruling is expected this summer. Please visit this page on the Breast Cancer Action website for more information.
My best advice is to do three things:
1. Sign up for my free newsletters to find out how best to reduce your risk of breast cancer;
2. Sign up for the free newsletters offered by greenmedinfo.com (use this link);
3. Donate funds to Breast Cancer Action (use this link), help them to continue their good work, compelling the changes necessary to end the breast cancer epidemic.
Photo courtesy of Lajla / rgbstock.com
More Evidence That Broccoli Protects Against Breast Cancer
I was checking out the latest research today on www.pubmed.gov (one of my favorite places to troll for breast cancer research) and came across an article titled “Dietary Chemopreventative Benzyl Isothiocyanate Inhibits Breast Cancer Stem Cells In Vitro and In Vivo“, authored by Su-Hyeong Kim, Anuradha Sehrawat, Shivendra V. Singh et al from the Dept of Pharmacology & Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh. The article will be published in the May 2013 issue of Cancer Prevention Research, by the American Association for Cancer Research.
Broccoli Wins Again
Knowing that benzyl isothiocyanate is a naturally occurring compound found in cruciferous vegetables, I latched onto the article and did my best to decipher it (which ain’t easy when you’re not a scientist!). Here’s what I gleaned from the article.
The researchers reported that a small subset of mammary tumor initiating cells (also known as breast cancer stem cells or bCSC) are suspected to evade conventional therapies, often leading to disease recurrence, and that elimination of not only the tumor cells that were therapy-sensitive, as well as the therapy-resistant breast cancer stem cells, would be necessary for prevention of breast cancer.
The researchers mentioned that they have already proven that benzyl isothiocyanate was effective against the development of breast cancer in mice by causing epithelial tumor cell apoptosis.
In this study the researchers were equally successful at using benzyl isothiocyanate in the diet of the mice with tumors, and resulted in a “marked decrease in breast cancer stem cells”.
Also Protective Against Metastasis
In addition, I found some 2010 Chinese research that indicated benzyl isothiocyanate was also effective in inhibiting the migration and invasion of human colon cancer cells, that the compound has potential as an antimetastatic agent. Exciting!
In the words of Hippocrates, known as the Father of Medicine, “Let Your Food Be Your Medicine”.
There are many vegetables – not just broccoli – in the cruciferous range – read my page “Diet and Cancer” for the full list.
If you would like my help with getting through breast cancer in an inspiring and ultra-healthy way, please sign up for my free e-newsletters on the right, or “like” me on Facebook (MarnieClark.com). It is my honor to help you through this.
Photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net / Vlado
New Research Indicates Exercise Not Protective Against Non-Invasive Breast Cancer
Researchers from 10 European countries published a study in the ‘Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention‘ journal which examined the association between physical activity and in situ, non-invasive breast cancer.
The European researchers examined whether physical activity might have a protective effect against non-invasive breast cancer. The study was a large one, it followed 283,927 women, 1,059 of whom had non-invasive breast cancer, and concluded that physical activity had no such protective effect. Even the researchers were surprised at this finding, they clearly didn’t expect it.
According to the American Cancer Society, in 2011 230,480 American women were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer, and an estimated 57,650 women were diagnosed with non-invasive “in situ” carcinoma. Of these cases, about 85% will be ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), meaning the abnormal cells are contained within the milk ducts, and approximately 15% are lobular carcinoma in situ.
Controversy Over DCIS and Over-Treatment
To get slightly off the topic of exercise, I’d like to explain that “in situ” breast cancer is the most frequent form of non-invasive breast cancer and is thought to be a risk factor or precursor for the development of invasive breast cancer. There is much controversy, however, about this. To my knowledge, there is no available data on DCIS that is left untreated, but I did locate a interesting review of autopsy records which showed that somewhere between 9%-15% of women have undetected DCIS at death (Welch, 1997).
Which totally supports the idea that many diagnosed with DCIS will not have a problem with progression into invasive cancer. The problem is that we do not know how to identify which ones will and which ones won’t yet. How best to treat DCIS, and even whether to consider it cancer, remain controversial and many women have undergone invasive procedures and toxic therapies that they probably should not have been subjected to. See my recent article Breast Cancer Action Webinar Discusses Screening Mammography and Breast Cancer Overdiagnosis for more information.
Exercise Does Have Benefits For Invasive Breast Cancer
Interestingly, previous studies have shown that exercise does have value and protective benefits against invasive breast cancer.
There are many studies which have discovered that physically active menopausal women have a decreased chance of developing invasive breast cancer compared to their not-so-active menopausal counterparts.
Even though, according to the European study discussed above, exercise does not necessarily confer protective benefits against developing non-invasive breast cancer, it still carries so many other positive benefits and I will continue to recommend regular exercise to women.
References:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-02/f-sf-pad022813.php
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23074288
Welch HG, Black WC. Using Autopsy Series To Estimate the Disease “Reservoir” for Ductal Carcinoma in Situ of the Breast: How Much More Breast Cancer Can We Find? Annals of Internal Medicine 1997; 127 (11) 1023-1028.
If you would like my help with getting through breast cancer in an inspiring and ultra-healthy way, please sign up for my free e-newsletters on the right, or “like” me on Facebook (MarnieClark.com). It is my honor to help you through this.
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I was contacted this week by one of my Facebook fans, a lady who is 44, normally in good health, but currently undergoing radiation treatments for breast cancer. She told me that she began suffering (in her words) the worst chest pain, thought she was having a heart attack, so she went to the hospital ER and was diagnosed with pericarditis.
What Is Pericarditis?
Pericarditis is caused by inflammation of the pericardium, which is the sac that surrounds the heart. The pericardium exists to protect the heart and reduce friction between the heart and surrounding organs.
When the pericardium gets inflamed, it can be pretty uncomfortable, bordering on agonizing (especially when taking a deep breath). According to uptodate.com, Some of the causes of pericarditis can be drugs and toxins, infection, trauma, kidney failure, cancerous tumors, rheumatic diseases such as lupus, gastrointestinal diseases such as Crohn’s, and yes, you guessed it, radiation therapy.
While this lady’s cardiologist believes the pericarditis could very well be caused by her radiation therapy, her radiation oncologist said “No way, you haven’t had enough treatments for that to happen.” She had undergone 11 treatments when the chest pain began.
So now she doesn’t know what to do, or who to believe. She doesn’t want to resume the radiotherapy, believing it could be creating the pericarditis. Can’t say I blame her. Time to go into research mode.
Ralph Moss Speaks on Radiotherapy and Heart Disease Risk
I found a very interesting article written by Ralph W Moss, PhD, “Radiation Therapy for Breast Cancer“. In his article, Dr Moss (who wrote the book “Cancer Therapy”, among others) mentions a study published in the March 7, 2007 Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) which revealed that radiation increases the risk of heart disease in women who receive it following surgery for breast cancer. Dr Moss states “The JNCI study is unquestionably a major blow to the orthodox medical profession’s insistent claims that radiation has evolved into a safe modality for the post-operative treatment of breast cancer.”
Dr Moss goes on to state, “In the JNCI study, researchers at the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam evaluated 4,414 breast cancer patients who survived for at least ten years after receiving radiotherapy between the years 1970 and 1986. The patients were followed for a median of 18 years. These patients’ rates of cardiovascular disease were then compared with those seen in the general population (Hooning 2007). In other words, this was a very large and prolonged study. There were a total of 942 ‘cardiovascular events’ during the follow-up period. The good news was that radiation therapy limited to the breast itself did not increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, when either the left or right internal mammary chain of lymph nodes was included in the radiation field, as is common in post-operative radiotherapy, it did significantly increase that risk.”
The fact that radiation of the breast increases the risk of heart disease is not a new finding. Clear back in the 1960s, it became known that, after receiving adjuvant radiation to prevent breast cancer recurrence, quite a few women were dying of heart disease, often decades after their breast cancer diagnosis (Fajardo 2001). Apparently, there were so many women dying from the long-term adverse effects of radiation therapy, it overturned any survival benefit that the treatment supposedly conferred.
When you consider the fact that some chemotherapy drugs (most notably Adriamycin and Herceptin) also increase the risk of cardiotoxicity, it is truly worrisome and each patient must carefully consider these facts before commencing therapies.
A Couple of Suggestions
I have two suggestions for this lady. One would be to consider having prone breast radiation. See my article Prone Breast Radiation, A Newer, Safer Way for more information.
Secondly (and particularly if continuing radiation therapy isn’t something she wants to do), contact an oncologist naturopath (you can locate one in your area by contacting the Oncology Association of Naturopathic Physicians (www.OncANP.org).
If you are not familiar with what a naturopath does, this description comes from the OncANP website: “Naturopathic Physicians diagnose, treat, and help prevent diseases using a system of practice that is based on the natural healing capacity of individuals. They may use physiological, psychological or mechanical methods. They may also use natural medicines, prescription or legend drugs, foods, herbs, or other natural remedies.”
I chose this course of action – after undergoing chemotherapy, I just felt like my body could not endure one more toxic therapy so rather than going forward with radiation therapy, I chose to rebuild my body using the herbs and vitamins and exercise recommended by my naturopath. I also used particular essential oils to rebuild my immune system and increase breast health. Check out my page “Essential Oils For Breast Health” for more information.
References:
Radiation Therapy for Breast Cancer, by Ralph W Moss: http://www.encognitive.com/node/1574
Fajardo LR, et al. Radiation Pathology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.
Hooning MJ, Botma A, Aleman BM, et al. – Long-term risk of cardiovascular disease in 10-year survivors of breast cancer, J Natl Cancer Inst, 2007
If you would like my help with getting through breast cancer in an inspiring and ultra-healthy way, please sign up for my free e-newsletters and e-book on the right, or “like” me on Facebook (MarnieClark.com). It is my honor and my goal to help you through this so that you emerge from breast cancer feeling better than before, thriving!
Photo courtesy of Zvon / stock.xchng
I received a request this week from one of my subscribers to write about melatonin and whether or not it will reduce your breast cancer risk. I love those requests – I always learn so much from my subscribers’ requests!
Melatonin Is A Natural Hormone
Melatonin is a natural hormone produced in the pineal gland of the brain, best known for its function with our sleep/waking cycles. Light inhibits the production of melatonin in your brain and alters your natural rhythms (called Circadian rhythms). I remember reading the Nurse’s Health Study which indicated that nurses who worked night shifts had a 36% higher risk of breast cancer, so I knew that there was an inter-relationship between the two but until today I hadn’t actually researched melatonin. I did know that EMFs (electromagnetic frequencies) could disrupt sleep cycles because I wrote about it last year (see my article EMF Dangers and 7 Tips To Help You Avoid Exposure).
The research I was able to find about melatonin was very interesting – many studies indicate that melatonin does have a very strong role in protecting us from breast cancer.
Here is a 12-minute talk given by Dr Russel J Reiter at the University of Texas titled Melatonin’s Role In Cancer. Dr Reiter gives us an excellent presentation about melatonin, don’t miss it.
How Melatonin Reduces Breast Cancer Risk
There are apparently 3 mechanisms of action by melatonin that reduce the risk of breast cancer:
- There are cells throughout your body (even cancer cells) that have melatonin receptors and melatonin has a calming effect on several reproductive hormones, including estrogen. When melatonin circulates during the night, cell division slows. When melatonin connects with a breast cancer cell, it counteracts estrogen’s tendency to stimulate cell growth.
- Melatonin boosts your production of interleukin-2 (an immune-stimulating substance), which helps identify and attack the mutated cells that lead to cancer.
- Melatonin reduces aromatase activity (aromatase is the enzyme involved with the synthesis of estrogen from precursor hormones).
In addition, melatonin has quite a variety of other useful actions in the body. It is a potent antioxidant, it helps activate the immune system. What it does for cancer is even more impressive. It induces apoptosis (the process of programmed cell death, a good thing in cancer cells), it inhibits the ability of cancer cells to metastasize (spread), it disrupts angiogenesis (the ability of a tumor to create new blood vessels and thus a way to feed itself), it stimulates cell differentiation (also a bad thing for cancer cells), it can even boost the effectiveness of chemotherapy, as well as decreasing its toxic side effects.
Pretty amazing little hormone, really. So it sounds – initially – like it would be a good supplement to take, doesn’t it? It’s not that easy, however. When I delved into the research a bit deeper, I discovered some other things about melatonin that you need to know.
The Problem With Melatonin Supplementation
Frequent melatonin use, especially in the typical dosage of 3-6 mg, can trigger a somewhat vicious cycle in your brain. It is, after all, a hormone, not a vitamin, herb or mineral. If you supplement with melatonin regularly to get to sleep or for breast cancer risk reduction purposes, your body will produce even less, creating even greater need for the hormone. And it can come with side effects such as next-day grogginess, headaches, dizziness, irritability, vivid dreams and nightmares.
Also, according to research conducted at MIT, the correct dosage of melatonin for it to be effective is 0.3 – 1.0 mg. Many commercially available forms of melatonin are 3-10 times the amount your body would need.
Another complicating factor is how the supplement is prepared. According to WebMD.com, you should only take the synthetic form of melatonin because the natural form comes from ground-up cow pineal glands and it may spread disease (who needs Mad Cow?).
Melatonin supplementation is helpful when you are suffering jet lag from moving swiftly through time zones, and it’s useful for short periods of insomnia. Other than that, you are much better off optimizing your own body’s production of melatonin and here are the best ways to do that.
10 Tips to Optimize Melatonin Production
- Make sure your sleeping area or bedroom is totally dark (this is the first thing I did), because even the slightest bit of light in your bedroom can disrupt your pineal gland’s production of melatonin. Even that glow from your alarm clock can interfere with your sleep. I use one of those battery operated alarms that you have to push to illuminate. You might want to invest in blackout shades for the windows, or just wear a comfortable eye mask.
- Read my article EMF Dangers and 7 Tips To Help You Avoid Exposure and reduce the EMFs in your bedroom. At first glance, the list of suggestions might be overwhelming, but don’t tackle them all on one day. Start with the easy ones and then work your way through the list a little at a time.
- Between 9-10 pm is when your brain normally starts secreting melatonin so for optimal melatonin release, you need to avoid using your computer or watching television at least an hour or so before going to bed. It’s a bad habit we’ve gotten into and these devices emit blue light, which tricks your brain into thinking that it is still daytime. The blue light interferes with your brain’s ability to produce melatonin.
- Help your system to reset itself by getting 10-15 minutes of sunlight (if possible) first thing in the morning. This sends a strong message to your internal clock that day has arrived, and that makes it less likely to be confused by weaker lights during the night.
- Whenever possible, try to get exposure to sunlight regularly each day. It’s interesting how the pineal gland works – melatonin production is affected by the contrast of bright sunlight and complete darkness – so if you are in darkness all day long (think of coal miners), your pineal gland can’t distinguish the difference and will not optimize production of melatonin.
- Take a hot bath or shower about 1-1/2 to 2 hrs before bed. This helps to increase your core body temperature, and when you get out it drops quickly. This helps to signal that your body is ready for sleep.
- If you need a source of light in the night (for instance for getting to the bathroom without tripping over the snoring animals) use a salt lamp. Dr Reiter’s video (link above) discusses why these work best, but to explain briefly, light of this color and bandwidth (such as from a campfire) does not shut down production of melatonin in the same way that white/blue light does.
- Keep the temperature in your bedroom low – between 60-68 degrees Fahrenheit or 16- 20 degrees Celsius is best.
- Establish a bedtime routine. The nervous system is much calmed by meditation, deep breathing, using essential oils (lavender is very calming) or receiving a massage from your partner. Find something that makes you feel relaxed, then repeat it each night because the body loves a calming routine.
- Eat a high protein snack several hours before bed. The L-tryptophan derived from the protein helps your brain produce melatonin and serotonin.
References:
Melatonin Modules Aromatase Activity and Expression In Endothelial Cells, PubMed.Gov article
Basic Mechanisms Involved In The Anti-Cancer Effects Of Melatonin, PubMed.Gov article
Melatonin Overview – Web MD.com article
Exposing Yourself to Light at Night Shuts Down Your Melatonin and Raises Your Cancer Risk, Mercola.com article
If you would like my help with getting through breast cancer in an inspiring and ultra-healthy way, please sign up for my free e-newsletters on the right, or “like” me on Facebook (MarnieClark.com). It is my honor to help you through this.
Photo courtesy of rgbstock.com and Jana Koll
Pesticides In My Favorite Tea
I was hugely disappointed to learn this week that one of my favorite herbal teas was found to be adulterated by pesticides… and not only adulterated, they were at the top of the list for pesticide residues.
The maker of my favorite teas, Celestial Seasonings, is located right here in Colorado. I have loved and consumed their teas for years, so I was shocked and saddened to learn of this report, “Dangerously High Pesticide Levels Found in Celestial Seasonings Teas“.
In particular, their Sleepytime Kids Goodnight Grape Herbal contained 0.26 ppm of propachlor, which has no safe harbor limit under California’s Proposition 65. It is a known carcinogen!
The Company’s Defense and What Short Sellers Do
In their defense, Celestial Seasonings (via their Facebook page) had this to say: “The report you’re referencing was issued by a short-seller, an investment firm which stands to benefit financially if our parent company’s stock declines. We ran our own tests with an independent third-party lab and reaffirmed that Celestial Seasonings teas are safe and continue to meet industry standards. Please be assured that all of our teas continue to deliver on the safety, quality and taste that tea drinkers expect from us.”
The short sell firm Celestial Seasonings was discussing is Glaucus Research. If you haven’t heard of short sell firms before (and I hadn’t) what I discovered is that they make financial bets against companies, so that if the stocks for these companies fall, they make money. It wouldn’t be difficult to guess who Glaucus might be betting against.
So yes, it appears that Glaucus is a biased source. However, it doesn’t make the pesticide reports any less untrue. Glaucus released the findings to explain its investment against Celestial Seasonings and other companies like Teavana. It also has analyses on other products from Hain (Celestial Seasonings’ parent company). The group’s disclaimer clearly states “We are short sellers. We are biased. So are long investors. So is the company. So are the banks that raised money for the company… Just because we are biased does not mean that we are wrong.”
So who to believe? The whole debacle makes me feel sick. I’ve trusted this company for years, personally been through their factory in Boulder, Colorado several times (love that peppermint room!) and I even send their teas to my kids in Europe because they love them too. The thought that I was possibly exposing them to pesticide residue makes me feel absolutely ill.
But their comment about industry standards does not reassure me. For one thing, I don’t feel that ANY amount of pesticide residue is tolerable, especially having had breast cancer and knowing that pesticide residues are a risk factor.
Until Celestial Seasonings and Hain start creating strictly organic teas, I will stop buying them.
Keeping Yourself Safe From Pesticides, Growth Hormones and Other Nasties
I still believe our best bet when shopping for food and body products is to look for the green and white USDA certified organic seal on everything you buy. In Australia, look for the Australian Certified Organic seal. Doing so provides us with our best defense against fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, sewage sludge (ewww), antibiotics, growth promoters, genetically modified organisms, irradiation, etc because organic growers do not use any of them.
I found a great article on the Rodale.com website: “Here’s the Deal With the Organic Seal”. This article explains much better than I can how organic certification came to be, what growers must do to be compliant, and several interesting tidbits, such as the USDA has increased its enforcement of both organic standards and rules for certifiers over the past few years under the Obama administration, which I found to be reassuring.
I especially appreciated the comment that “organic is still the gold standard for food production in the U.S.” The author of the article went on to state “When you get away from organic, these companies are doing whatever they want without any oversight.”
Just another reason to buy organic wherever you possibly can.
If you would like my help with getting through breast cancer in an inspiring and ultra-healthy way, please sign up for my free e-newsletters and e-book on the right, or “like” me on Facebook (MarnieClark.com). It is my honor and my goal to help you through this so that you emerge from breast cancer feeling better than before, thriving!
Artwork courtesy of rgbstock.com and jazza
One of the things that I personally detest is doctors who tell their patients with metastatic cancers that they should just go home and “get their affairs in order”. These doctors have no idea how devastating such a statement can be. My heart cries for the people who hear these words and are given no hope at all, hence today’s post.
DON’T GIVE UP!
If you have been diagnosed with metastatic cancer (cancer that has progressed beyond the part of the body where it originated), there are many things you can do to help yourself heal and it is my honor to share them with you today.
Raise Your Vibration
Quantum physics has taught us much about health and our bodies. We are vibrational beings – I’m sure you have heard this before, but if not, please accept this idea into your heart and mind. It is important that you understand this concept, because if you truly get it, you will understand that matter, energy, and thought is fundamentally vibrational in nature – each interfaces with the other in a subtle, but powerful way.
The next most important concept I want to convey to you is that if you have cancer, your vibration is very low. Scientists can now tell us about the rate of vibration and functioning of major organs and systems within us. They tell us that when we have the flu, the rate of vibration lowers from the optimum high rate. When we have pneumonia, our vibration is even lower, and when we have cancer the rate of vibration is very low. Science is not yet able to tell us what causes the vibrations of our organs and systems to decrease but they can now at least provide these readings and confirm that what I’m saying is true. Many alternative practitioners have been saying for some time that the cause for lower vibrations is a combination of parasites, worms, viruses, fungi, metal and atomic poisons, toxic chemicals, repressed emotions, and many other factors.
High vibrations mean vibrant health. Vibration is energy and energy is alive and intelligent. To live long and healthy you need to keep your body vibrating at high levels. Here are 8 tips to help you raise your vibration, each as important as one another:
8 Tips to Raise Your Vibration
- Set your intention – make a decision to LIVE. This may seem obvious when you have stage IV cancer, but I am finding that many have not done this very simple thing. The first step in the journey to a long and vibrant life is to make a conscious decision that you want to life a life that is healthy, fulfilled, happy and long, and that this is really what you want.
- Meditate or pray daily – one of the best ways to raise your vibration quickly is through meditation or prayer. Meditation in particular takes you to that place where you no longer think or have thoughts, where your mind is silent and your body is deeply relaxed – as the mind relaxes so the body relaxes, allowing your energy, or vibration, to move unimpeded through your body. Don’t know how to meditate? I can help you. I know people who have brought themselves back from stage IV cancer mainly through the use of meditation. Did you know that you can also use visualization to “imagine” your cancer cells away? Don’t laugh – there’s plenty of research backing this.
- Use essential oils daily – essential oils help raise your vibration very quickly. Essential oils have a beautiful vibrational frequency – a fellow by the name of Bruce Tainio built a machine that could measure essential oils in Hertzian waves (MHz). He said that a healthy human body vibrates in the 62-68 MHz range. Here are some of the highest vibrational essential oils:
- Rose (Rosa damascene)………………….320 MHz
- Lavender (Lavendula angustifolia)……..118 MHz
- Myrrh (Commiphora myrrha)…………….105 MHz
- Blue Chamomile (Matricaria recutita)….105 MHz
- Juniper (Juniperus osteosperma)…………98 MHz
- Aloes/Sandalwood (Santalum album)…..96 MHz
- Angelica (Angelica archangelica)………….85 MHz
- Peppermint (Mentha peperita)…………….78 MHz
In addition to raising your vibration, some essential oils (like frankincense and orange) have proven anti-carcinogenic activity. If you need more information on the best brand to purchase, contact me. I’ve been using them for years. You can spread them on the bottoms of your feet, diffuse them in your home, or just breathe them in.
- Choose high vibration foods – stop eating processed foods because they have little to no vibration. Instead eat a mainly plant-based diet of organic fruit and vegetables. Juicing is one of the very best things you can do to raise your vibration. See my article Do You Know The Benefits of Juicers for Cancer Patients? You can also Google “raw food diet” to get plenty of great recipes and information on how to eat to raise your vibration.
- Get outside and breathe fresh air – go to the beach or get into a forest or a park – being outside in nature raises your vibration quickly.
- Release negative emotions – I constantly see people with cancer only dealing with the physical things – like nutrition, exercise, etc. It is JUST AS IMPORTANT – if not MORE IMPORTANT (sorry for the emphasis but I really want to get your attention) to deal with your emotional health. Most disease has an emotional basis. Get some counseling, work on that old baggage and get rid of it. I found a therapy called Emotional Freedom Technique extremely helpful to help release old, negative emotions. If you are excessively angry, lonely, fearful, depressed, bored, stressed, feeling guilty, grieving excessively, over-reacting to situations, looking after others and not yourself, isolated, full of regret, full of resentments, blaming others for how you feel, or procrastinating, your vibration will not be at its best. This aspect will be probably the most difficult part of your healing journey, but absolutely crucial. If you need help with this, contact me. I will get you started in the right direction.
- Practice forgiveness – even the Mayo Clinic has an article on their site about the value of forgiveness. When you are holding a grudge against someone you love or care for, you are not living fully in the present and this lowers your vibration. You don’t have to deny the other person’s responsibility for the hurt they caused you, but forgiving them helps you to make way for compassion, kindness and peace.
- Find more joy in your day – let’s face it, if you are at stage IV your first priority needs to be YOU and your healing. Everything else takes a back seat because you and your healing are of paramount importance right now. Find what makes you happy. Don’t try to be all things to all people. If you want to sit down and read a book, do so. If you want to dance the night away, do it. If music floats your boat, put your favorite music on and listen whenever you wish. Quit your job if you need to. Get the stress out of your life. Healing often comes from strange places you never thought possible. Go in search of healers, whether that be a shaman, a Reiki master, a chiropractor – whoever you are drawn to (but don’t cast aside your medical doctors, I’m not saying that). Listen to your gut, it is very often right. Be proactive with your healing. Don’t carry everyone else’s load right now. Only you matter right now.
I send my love to everyone taking this journey right now. If you would like my help with getting through breast cancer in an inspiring and ultra-healthy way, please sign up for my free e-newsletters on the right, or “like” me on Facebook (MarnieClark.com) and I’ll do my utmost to keep you informed and empowered on your healing journey… and beyond.
Great New Breast Cancer Book – “Breast Cancer: Reduce Your Risk With Foods You Love”
One of my lovely subscribers sent me a book last week (thank you Jeri!) which she said I had to read. I love that! I learn so much from my subscribers, it’s truly a wonderful two-way flow of communication.
The book was “Breast Cancer: Reduce Your Risk With Foods You Love” written by Dr Robert Pendergrast, whose pediatric background didn’t stop him from having a passion for giving people hope that you CAN indeed prevent breast cancer, not only through the foods you eat, but offering many other prevention tips as well.
I was anxious to learn whether Dr Pendergrast had uncovered anything I wasn’t already teaching via my blog articles, e-book and newsletters, but it looks like we are in complete agreement. Although I didn’t uncover anything new in his book, I loved the passion with which he wrote it, it contains plenty of great information about diet (including soy, cruciferous vegetables, fish, flaxseed oil, healthy spices, medicinal mushrooms, berries, dark green leafy vegetables and all sorts of tea), he discusses the foods to avoid, environmental toxins, diet during treatments, and all sorts of other good things. I loved that he also included information about mind-body medicine, spirituality, and stressed the importance of looking after both body and mind, which is my focus and passion too.
Tending Our Gardens
My favorite part of the book is towards the end. Dr Pendergrast had a beautiful way of describing human health as a vegetable garden: “You’d like your garden to produce several different kinds of food (e.g. heart health. digestive health, mental health and feminine health), and you’d like to avoid the place being grown over by weeds (e.g. cancers) which choke out the other healthy plants.” He says we need to start with healthy soil (e.g. nutrients for the plants), the right amount of water, avoiding chemicals, getting plenty of sunlight plus some shade to avoid overheating, having lots of plant variety (since disease is more likely to overtake a garden where only one crop is planted), planting the seeds in the garden at the right time, and trusting the wisdom of the earth to bring them up at the right time, then tending to the garden (pulling weeds, squashing pests, getting some exercise in that garden by virtue of hard work), then when the plants are ready for harvest, you get them into the kitchen and get “cookin with gratitude”! Nice metaphors, and I will leave you to your own devices as to how to interpret them for yourself.
It’s a nice book, well written, and full of great information. You can purchase it by clicking this link. I’ve also included it on my Recommended Reading page.
If you would like my help with getting through breast cancer in an inspiring and ultra-healthy way, please sign up for my free e-newsletters and e-book on the right, or “like” me on Facebook (MarnieClark.com). It is my honor and my goal to help you through this so that you emerge from breast cancer feeling better than before, thriving!
Artwork courtesy of rgbstock.com and xymonau
Another Great Breast Cancer Blog
I became acquainted with another breast cancer blog (and blogger) last week and I would like to introduce you. Her name is Elyn Jacobs and she is definitely a kindred spirit.
A Little About Elyn Jacobs
On the “My Story, My Passion” page of her website, Elyn shares with us “After battling breast cancer I realized that I would do everything possible to avoid a recurrence. I began with extensive research to better understand the causes, which led to certain lifestyle changes I have made. I also realized the support I received during my ordeal was invaluable and I felt compelled to share my information and experience in order to help others.”
That’s exactly how I felt after emerging from breast cancer and it had similar effects on me. Keeping the nasty little beastie at bay was paramount in my quest to find true healing.
DIM’s Shortcomings
Anyway, I digress. Elyn happened to pick up on my article about the natural supplement DIM: DIM Is Not The Wonder Supplement We Were Led To Believe, prompted by my naturopath, Dr Jacob Schor, and his article about estrogen metabolite ratios which appeared in a recent issue of the Townsend Letter.
Hoping that DIM would be a good natural alternative to Tamoxifen, I was pretty upset about Dr Schor’s research because I’d been relying heavily on DIM – also known as Diindolylmethane – and Dr Schor’s article pretty much destroyed my confidence in it. I’m sure it has some good attributes, but there are plenty of articles circulating on the Internet that DIM is a good natural alternative to Tamoxifen and that just isn’t the case.
Being the good breast cancer blogger (and coach) that Elyn Jacobs obviously is, she felt compelled to share that information on her blog today: DIM – New Thoughts On An Old Story.
It Is Not All About Estrogen
I particularly loved that Elyn said “Keep in mind that there are many natural ways to manage estrogen, and even more importantly, estrogen is a substance natural and necessary to the human body; it is not all bad and cancer is not all about estrogen.”
I couldn’t agree more. Just a few days ago, I finished an article on natural aromatase inhibitors by saying “The important thing I would like you to take away from all of this is that we can drive ourselves crazy looking for the tiniest things that will give us an edge over this disease. I hope you don’t get bogged down in this. Remember, estrogen is not the only factor involved in breast cancer. An overall anti-cancer strategy is to eat a sensible diet, include some of the things from this list where they make sense to you, get plenty of exercise and keep your stress levels down through the use of meditation.”
Ordinarily I wouldn’t quote myself, but I really believe this message bears repeating. There is WAY too much emphasis on inhibiting estrogen and it just isn’t the whole story.
If you would like my help with getting through breast cancer in an inspiring and ultra-healthy way, please sign up for my free e-newsletters and e-book on the right, or “like” me on Facebook (MarnieClark.com). It is my honor and my goal to help you through this so that you emerge from breast cancer feeling better than before.
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