Vitamin C and Cancer, Salt Is Good For You, Your Heart and Omega 3’s

Vitamin C and Cancer

It's a type of leukemia that strikes thousands of Americans every year. But there's a treatment that may just save their lives.

On top of that, the amazing substance involved -- taken in easily available amounts -- can actually prevent some blood cancers from occurring in the first place.

Researchers are also saying it can help patients who develop both leukemia and solid tumors triggered by a faulty gene mutation.

This could be some of the best news to date on how vitamin C -- yes, vitamin C! -- can both treat and prevent some killer cancers.

Big Pharma must be having a cow!

After all, studies from prestigious cancer centers that show (once again) how vitamin C can effectively treat and prevent this disease are taking money right out of its pocket!

While I’ve been telling my readers for years now about the research, as well as actual treatments, using high-dose IVC, the two latest studies make the promise of vitamin C as a cancer fighter just too big for the mainstream to ignore any longer.

First, researchers at the Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone Health, found that vitamin C, given in high-dose, IV form, can override a faulty gene that prevents stem cells from normally maturing and dying off.

In people (and animals) who have a malfunction in this gene, the production of an enzyme called TET2 is shut off. When TET2 isn't functioning normally, stem cells in the bone marrow keep growing, eventually causing blood cancers.

But when IV vitamin C was administered, the researchers said that it appears to "tell" those defective stem cells to eventually die off as they should. It was like flipping on a switch to make these errant cells behave normally!

While these studies were done using mice, the scientists found the same positive results when they took cancer cells from leukemia patients and injected them into the mice treated with IVC.

Now, although this faulty gene isn't the cause of all blood cancers, it does occur in half of those who have chronic myelomonocytic leukemia, ten percent of people with acute myeloid leukemia, and 30 percent who have what's called "pre-leukemia," or myelodysplastic syndrome.

Along with those conditions, the researchers estimate that 2.5 percent of all the people in the U.S. who develop cancer -- any kind of cancer -- also have this type of gene mutation.

But as I said, there's more good news to tell you about here!

Another new study, this one done by several universities and medical centers in Texas and Utah, discovered the power of vitamin C as a way to prevent cancer.

It turns out that stem cells take in very large quantities of vitamin C -- and that's true in mice and people. But when they're not supplied with enough C, they go from being normal to turning into leukemia cells.

Dr. Sean Morrison, lead author of that study and director of the Children's Medical Center Research Institute at the University of Texas, said that they've known for a long time that people who are deficient in vitamin C are at "increased cancer risk," but they haven't been sure exactly why.

This research, he said, reveals some of the answers. While Dr. Morrison says that we should all (and most especially seniors) be sure to get the recommended amount of vitamin C-- only around 100 mg a day -- taking up to 2,000 mg every day certainly can't hurt.

And, of course, loading up on fresh fruits and veggies (especially red bell peppers), is an easy way to up your C.

While this research is new and exciting, prominent scientists -- starting, of course, with two-time Nobel Prize winner Dr. Linus Pauling -- have been telling us for decades now that vitamin C may very well be a magic bullet when it comes to fighting cancer.

Several major cancer centers are also beginning to "C" the light -- including the University of North Carolina, the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Iowa and the University of Kansas Cancer Center (which even has a vitamin C infusion clinic!).

If you're looking for a doctor who may be offering IVC in your area, a good place to search is the HSI database at this link: www.hsionline.com/findadoc.

The Salt Naysayers are at it again!

And now they've come up with yet another variation on their scare-tactics theme: that heart failure may be the fault of salt as well.

Add that to the long list of reasons sodium will send you to an early grave, and it's enough to make you toss your salt shaker out the window.

But slashing your intake of this essential mineral to critically low levels will do a lot more to hurt your health than it will to help it.

And that's doubly true where heart failure is concerned. I think these Finnish researchers have been spending too much time in the sauna!

A research professor at the National Institute for Health and Welfare in Helsinki, Pekka Jousilahti, and his team carefully measured vital information to reach their conclusion that "high salt intake markedly increases the risk of heart failure."

That, apparently, was based on 121 of those in his study eventually developing the condition (which amounts to less than 3 percent of the participants in this research), as well as sodium amounts that almost hit 14,000 mg a day.

But never mind those little details! The bottom line, as Jousilahti announced to the media, is: "The heart does not like salt."

Oh, really? Actually, other very credible research shows that the heart not only likes salt, but it needs it as well.

For example:

• ·       A 2015 study published in the Journal of Cardiac Failure found that "a low-sodium diet may be harmful" for patients with congestive heart failure (CHF).
• ·       An Institute of Medicine panel determined in 2013 that low salt intake "may lead to a greater risk of adverse health effects" for those with CHF.
• ·       And a study in The American Journal of Medicine that same year even declared in its headline, "Advising low sodium diets seems misguided and potentially dangerous."

So, just how much sodium should you be getting to protect your heart and not hurt it? Researchers have found that the body typically requires 3,000 to 6,000 mg on a daily basis -- and if it doesn't get enough, it compensates by producing a hormone that damages blood vessels.

A too-low intake of sodium (such as the American Heart Association's recommendation of 1,500 mg a day) can also contribute to insulin resistance, boost artery-damaging triglycerides and cause dementia symptoms.

And recently, scientists at the Boston University School of Medicine came to some other startling conclusions where salt is concerned.

After following over 2,600 men and women for 16 years, Dr. Lynn Moore and her team discovered that carefully counting out your salt intake to conform to ridiculously low guidelines won't lower your blood pressure or even do a thing for your health.

In fact, those who took in under 2,500 mg a day had higher blood pressure readings than those who consumed much more!

Dr. Moore's conclusion is that these findings support "other studies that have questioned the wisdom of low dietary sodium intakes."

Okay, you might say that it's not unusual for different researchers to come to wildly different conclusions. But where salt is concerned, it looks like most experts are on the side of sodium -- and making a valiant attempt to reverse decades of bad advice.

And as Dr. Moore pointed out, loading up on foods rich in potassium, calcium, and magnesium will do more to help you maintain a healthy heart and good blood-pressure readings than cutting out sodium will.

Which is why anytime you hear that low-salt advice being tossed around, no matter how often it's repeated, you should take it with a grain of salt!

Sea salt is the best type of salt to use on a daily basis.

Your Heart and Omega 3’s

I’ve told you a lot of good news about omega-3 fatty acids over the years, but this new study kind of sums it all up where your heart is concerned.

Researchers closely examined numerous controlled trials that covered over 71,000 people, finding that having enough of this essential fatty acid in your diet can reduce your risk of dying from practically every type of heart killer out there.

This study should provide all the proof you need that omega-3s can protect your heart better than anything Big Pharma sends down the pike!

And it only leaves one question: Are you getting enough?

A killer heart attack? Deadly arrhythmia? Death from heart failure?

Your chances of suffering one of those fatal heart conditions can be substantially slashed if you have enough omega-3s in your diet -- it's that simple!

This new research, just published in the Journal of Clinical Lipidology, found that supplementing with omega-3s is basically all gain and no risk. As lead author Dr. Kevin Maki put it: "Because of the low risk for adverse effects, even a modest benefit is clinically meaningful."

But this was far from a "modest" benefit!

The researchers found that those with risk factors for heart disease who took more than a gram of two omega-3s in particular -- EPA and DHA -- lowered their risk of cardiac death by a whopping 30 percent.

Even lower doses proved beneficial, with an average decreased risk of dying from heart disease close to 10 percent. And if your cholesterol is high, you get even more protection -- a 17 percent reduction in becoming just another heart-disease statistic.

And as I told you back in March, even the staid, drug-loving American Heart Association can't ignore the heart benefits of omega-3s any longer.

The group is now recommending that doctors use omega-3 fatty acids for their patients with heart failure, especially those with an "ejection fraction" (the ability of the heart to pump blood) below 40 percent.

For those with heart disease, the group recommends one gram (or 1,000 mg) a day of a supplement that contains both EPA and DHA (both of which you may find in fish oil -- but check the label).

But even if your heart is healthy now, there's no reason not to get your fair share of omega-3s.

On top of the fact that quality fish-oil supplements are easy to find and relatively inexpensive, there are plenty of food sources to choose from.

For example:

• ·       fatty fish (which includes wild salmon, sardines, and trout)
• ·       chia seeds (which have even more than salmon)
• ·       walnuts
• ·       grass-fed beef (the nutritional content of which is far superior to conventional beef), and
• ·       cold-pressed flaxseed oil.

And for the icing on the cake, omega-3s have been found in study after study to protect a lot more than your heart.

How about protecting your brain from toxic substances? That's what your blood-brain barrier does, and omega-3s keep it intact.

Or maybe you're worried about dementia or Alzheimer's disease? Well, omega-3s have been found to shine there, too!

Brain scans done on nearly 200 volunteers found better brain-blood flow in those with excellent blood levels of omega-3s. These people also scored higher on tests related to memory, attention, and their ability to solve problems.

Other research has found these compounds can nip Rheumatoid Arthritis in the bud, prevent diabetes-related blindness, and lower inflammation by boosting immune cells' ability to "clean house." That last discovery is leading to further research in how omega-3s may help those with MS.

As amazing as these findings are, they just might be the tip of the iceberg where these truly essential fatty acids are concerned.

So make it a priority to get your share every day!

Until next time, stay healthy and happy

JD Roma

The information on this blog is provided for educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical care, and medical advice and services are not being offered. If you have, or suspect you have, a health problem you should consult your physician (preferably a Naturopath).