Oxygen in the blood

http://www.cancertutor.com/Cancer/Mirror-H2O2.html 

CAUSES OF OXYGEN DEPLETION
 
 There are several common practices that drop a person's oxygen
 level far below what it should really be. At sea level, 20% of
 the atmosphere is supposed to be oxygen, but city air gets down
 as low as 10%, due to smog and removal of trees. Air that tastes
 bad induces a tendency to breathe shallowly, getting even less
 oxygen to the blood. So does lack of exercise.
 
 The carbon monoxide (CO) in smog does not normally occur in
 nature in much quantity since it's formed by incomplete
 combustion of carbon compounds. It is electrically unbalanced,
 so it seeks to bond with any available oxygen to form the more
 stable carbon dioxide (CO2). Those who breathe too much carbon
 monoxide tend to die, fast or slow depending on the
 concentration. It strips oxygen molecules  from the blood to
 form CO2, which the body can't use and must exhale, at least
 until its oxygen runs out. The fact that the body considers CO2
 a waste product, by the way, doesn't say much for carbonated
 beverages.
 
 Tap water is very low in oxygen, having no opportunity to be
 aerated during its journey through the pipes, and being loaded
 down with chlorine and various contaminants. Since cooking
 drives the extra oxygen out of vegetables, if one diet is mostly
 cooked or processed foods, there's yet another oxygen source
 lost.
 
 
 EATING, FASTING AND OXYGEN BALANCE
 
 Overeating is so common in the US it's considered "normal". One
 cause is the widespread use of oral antibiotics. While
 destroying the target germs, these drugs also kill off one's
 intestinal flora, which are needed for healthy digestion. With
 these friendly bacteria gone, digestive efficiency plummets. As
 a result, the sensation of hunger comes more often and lasts
 longer, as the body tries to compensate for ineffective
 digestion by increasing the amounts consumed.
 
 Even just eating daily, without ever giving the
 gastro-intestinal tract a rest, loads down the blood with toxins
 and impurities, especially uric acid crystals. Under a
 microscope these resemble tiny coffin lids, interestingly
 enough, another clue to our Creator's whimsical sense of humor.
 When the waste products exceed the cleansing capacity of the
 kidney's, the blood ends up just having to haul it around the
 body and stash it wherever possible. These toxins literally take
 up so much room in the blood cells that the cells can't take on
 enough oxygen when they pass through the lungs. The bloods
 primary function of picking up and distributing oxygen gets
 blocked by overuse of garbage-hauling function.
 
 Fasting restores health by giving the overloaded blood cells a
 chance to dump the toxins and inert matter through normal organs
 of elimination at a rate they can handle, instead of through the
 skin, as in acne, or other inappropriate places. If the fast is
 long enough, accumulated residues in the body are also scoured
 out and expelled, giving a considerable spiritual resurgence
 once all the backlog is cleared away. While the debris is
 flushed out, various toxic reactions may come and go. Once the
 blood is cleansed the red corpuscles have alot more room for
 oxygen molecules, the oxygen saturation of the molecules is
 high, and health and energy are boosted considerably. Each
 breath now gives more life than it was able to in the bloods
 earlier state.
 
 Most long-lived native peoples, who are not affected by our more
 common diseases, either include fasting as a regular part of
 their yearly food cycles, or eat much less overall, than
 industrialized peoples.
 
 Today many Americans are existing at such high levels of
 toxicity, that their toxic reactions when attempting to fast can
 seem intense enough to make them start eating again before any
 serious cleansing can be accomplished. Fortunately one can
 partially bypass the lungs and get the blood level back up, by
 taking oxygenated water internally and through the skin. Several
 weeks of detoxification of this regimen will also make it much
 easier to fast without discomfort, if one chooses. It reduces
 appetite, logically enough, to a level more in line with the
 body's actual needs.
 
 The bacteria that aid digestion are not killed by oral use of
 H2O2, as long as it's diluted properly. 

Cancer Self-Treatment

http://www.alkalizeforhealth.net/cancerselftreatment.htm

Cancer and Oxygen

Dr. Otto Warburg received the Nobel prize in 1931 for the discovery that unlike all other cells in the human body, cancer cells do not breathe oxygen. Cancer cells are anaerobic, which means that they derive their energy without needing oxygen. For more information regarding cancer metabolism, please see our oxygen page. It turns out that cancer cells cannot survive in the presence of high levels of oxygen and this has given rise to a variety of successful treatments based on oxygenating the tissues, such as intravenous hydrogen peroxide, hyperbaric oxygen tank, and blood ozonation (Diamond, pages 912-927). EWOT (Exercise With Oxygen Therapy) is doing light exercise, such as on a treadmill or stationary bicycle, while breathing pure oxygen. EWOT produces the benefits of intravenous hydrogen peroxide therapy and you can do it at home.

Dietary supplementation with DMG (Dimethylglycine) increases oxygen utilization in hypoxic tissues, helping to prevent cancer and many other problem.

As a preventive and self-treatment, breathing exercises (such as pranayama) and an abundance of fresh air provide a starting point. Most people do not breathe deeply, so they lose the benefit of much of their lung capacity. Most indoor air is ten times more polluted than outdoor air, yet we spend up to 90% of our time indoors. Indoor air in every room needs to be constantly refreshed from the outside. Need we mention the importance of non-smoking? Aerobic exercise is useful to both oxygenate the tissues and move the lymph around. 

Lymph is a colorless fluid that bathes every cell in the body. The body has two circulatory systems, one for blood and the other for lymph. Blood is circulated by the heart, whereas the lymph is circulated by physical exercise. Many tissues depend on the lymph to provide nutrients (including oxygen) and carry off wastes. If the lymph does not circulate then the tissues suffocate while stewing in their own acidic waste products (uric acid, lactic acid, etc.).

Cancer and pH

To understand why some tissues in the body are deficient in oxygen and therefore prone to cancer, it is helpful to understand the nature of acidity and alkalinity. Cancerous tissues are acidic, whereas healthy tissues are alkaline. Water (H2O) decomposes into H+ and OH-. When a solution contains more H+ than OH- then it is said to be acid. When it contains more OH- than H+ then it is said to be alkaline.

When oxygen enters an acid solution it can combine with H+ ions to form water. Oxygen helps to neutralize the acid, while at the same time the acid prevents oxygen from reaching the tissues that need it. Acidic tissues are devoid of free oxygen.

An alkaline solution is just the reverse. Two hydroxyl ions (OH-) can combine to produce one water molecule and one oxygen atom. In other words, an alkaline solution can provide oxygen to the tissues.

The pH scale goes from 0 to 14, with 7 being neutral. Below 7 is acid and above 7 is alkaline. The blood, lymph and cerebral spinal fluid in the human body are designed to be slightly alkaline at a pH of 7.4.

At a pH slightly above 7.4 cancer cells become dormant and at pH 8.5 cancer cells will die while healthy cells will live (Barefoot, pages 66-67). This has given rise to a variety of treatments based on increasing the alkalinity of the tissues such as vegetarian diet, the drinking of fresh fruit and vegetable juices, and dietary supplementation with alkaline minerals such as calcium, potassium, magnesium, cesium and rubidium.

In Holland the vegetarian diet promoted by Dr. Moerman has been recognized by the government as a legitimate treatment for cancer. Results indicate that Dr. Moerman’s diet is more effective than standard cancer treatments (Jochems, 1990).

Based on the pH of saliva, here is a daily supplement program recommended by one physician (Barefoot, page 119) in order to help restore alkalinity to the body:

Recommended Minimum Daily Supplement Program

Saliva pH	Calcium	Magnesium	Vitamin D	Vitamin A
6.5 to 7.4	1,200 mg	690 mg	2,400 IU	30,000 IU
6.0 to 6.5	2,400 mg	1,380 mg	4,800 IU	60,000 IU
4.5 to 6.0	3,600 mg	2,070 mg	7,200 IU	90,000 IU

These supplements are commonly available in health food stores and pharmacies. Calcium is better absorbed when taken with meals. Calcium in the form of calcium ascorbate, calcium citrate, calcium gluconate, calcium hydroxyapatite, calcium malate, calcium bis-glycinate, and calcium orotate is more easily absorbed than calcium carbonate. Flavored chewable calcium / magnesium / vitamin D tablets are pleasant to eat. If you take vitamin C with your calcium, the ascorbic acid helps to dissolve the calcium. Vitamin A is considered non-toxic in amounts below 100,000 I.U. (Merck Manual, 1987). Vitamin A is included in the above table because it is found in cod liver oil that was being used as a source of vitamin D. However, vitamin A now turns out to have significant value for leukemia. Which is the best form of calcium to take? World famous cancer physician Dr. Hans Nieper became an advocate of calcium orotate for many health problems including bone cancer, osteoporosis, and damaged cartilage. You can read a paper he wrote on the subject in our Library.

Rather than using calcium, Dr. Gerson (page 246) gave his patients a 10% potassium solution. Potassium salt (KCl) is readily available in grocery stores as a substitute for ordinary table salt which is sodium chloride (NaCl). Potassium bicarbonate can be used as a leavening agent for baking, substituting for sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). Potassium citrate is particularly effective to increase the body's zeta potential. Potassium chloride, potassium bicarbonate, potassium citrate and potassium iodide are available on the Internet. 

 

Certain alkaline minerals have been found by Dr. Brewer to be particularly effective in fighting cancer. It may be possible to dissolve tumors quickly by using salts of cesium, rubidium and potassium.

 There is research indicating that cancer grows slowly in a highly acid environment (because the acids cause it to partially destroy itself) and may actually grow more quickly as your body becomes more alkaline prior to reaching the healthy pH slightly above 7.4 where the cancer becomes dormant. Therefore, you will want to get your pH above 7.4 as quickly as possible by every means available. Plus, you will want to be attacking the cancer from every direction (the entire 8 step program plus other complementary treatments) simultaneously so that any lack of alkalinity is compensated for. Once you have achieved a pH above 7.4, it is useful to monitor your saliva pH regularly to ensure that your body remains sufficiently alkaline.  

Acidity and Free Radicals

Much has been written about free radicals and cancer. A harmful free radical is an ion that has a positive electrical charge. An electron has a negative electrical charge. Due to its positive charge, the free radical attracts electrons from other molecules, thereby damaging them. Sources of free radicals include farm chemicals (fertilizers and pesticides), many prescription drugs, processed foods, cigarette smoke, environmental pollution, alcohol, electromagnetic radiation, and stress (Sharma, pages 26-27).

Comparison of cancer tissue with healthy tissue from the same person shows that the cancer tissue has a much higher concentration of toxic chemicals, pesticides, etc. These substances not only build up in the body, but certain areas of the body seem to serve as a dumping ground. 

Free radicals can damage any part of the cell, including the DNA. Free radical damage to the DNA is thought to be one of the causes of  cancer. In the absence of oxygen, the DNA self-repair mechanism does not function (Diamond, page 1038), so it is no surprise that the DNA of cancerous tissue shows extensive free radical damage.

To help prevent the damage, it is useful to take antioxidants such as Maharishi Amrit Kalash (MAK). MAK is an ancient formula of many herbs harvested and prepared in an exacting manner. Research indicates that MAK is the most potent herbal antioxidant known, a thousand times more powerful than other antioxidants working separately (Sharma, page 147). MAK helps the body deal with toxic chemicals and is becoming popular for reducing the side effects of chemotherapy. Maharishi Amrit Kalash is available from Maharishi Ayurveda Products International.

Antioxidants include selenium, glutathione, iodine/iodide, resveratrol, vitamins A, C and E, bioflavonoids, carotenoids, and coenzyme Q10. Selenium is found in brazil nuts and oatmeal. Many foods, particularly those of the cabbage family, are found to increase glutathione levels in the body. Selenium and glutathione work together to protect fatty tissues such as breast, liver and prostate. Glutathione protects and regulates the p53 tumor suppression gene that could potentially prevent half of all cancers. Vitamin C maintains the effectiveness of vitamin E as an antioxidant. Daily consumption of 300 to 400mg of coenzyme Q10 has been shown to produce a partial or complete regression of breast tumors. Bioflavonoids are provided by green/blue/purple colored foods (fruits, vegetables, berries, beans, spices, etc.). Carotenoids come from yellow/orange/red colored foods. Many individual bioflavonoids and carotenoids have been shown to inhibit cancer growth, and when you eat a variety of foods containing bioflavonoids and carotenoids, they work together to produce a very powerful effect on cancer. 

If you take coenzyme Q10 supplements, look for Ubiquinol which is the form that the body uses rather than the less effective Ubiquinone which the body must convert to Ubiquinol in order to use it.

Other antioxidants and antioxidant sources include resveratrol (found in grape skins), propolis, zinc, green tea, turmeric, L-carnosine, and organic germanium. Prunes contain a very high concentration of antioxidants. Oxy-Powder contains organic germanium as one of its ingredients. Here is a list of anti-oxidant foods.

Oxidized (rancid) vegetable oils (corn oil, soy oil, etc) look the same as non-oxidized vegetable oils, but the oxidized oils produce masses of free radicals in your body. This is one reason why we recommend replacing all vegetable oils in your cooking with coconut oil. For good health, be sure to eat at least 3 or 4 tablespoons of coconut oil every day. Start with teaspoon amounts and work up. Coconut oil is very easy to digest and provides an ideal source of energy for sick people and healthy people.

For DNA repair, it is also useful for your diet to include foods containing abundant nucleotides that are the building blocks from which your body builds DNA and RNA. Foods providing nucleotides include breast milk, sardines, brewer's yeast, anchovies, mackerel, lentils, most beans, animal liver, oysters, chlorella algae and spirulina algae. 

Plus, it is necessary to remove excess acidity from the system so that the tissues become aerobic and the DNA self-repair mechanism can function.

Purification Techniques

1. Many doctors feel that "death begins in the colon". Colon problems primarily affect "westernized" people and, surprisingly, these colon problems turn out to be mostly due to faulty toilet design. Two thirds of the population of the world use squat toilets. Squatting provides the optimal position for complete evacuation of the colon. Complete evacuation of the colon is simply not possible using the western toilet, and results in a filthy internal condition similar to a sewage backup in a home. Your body cannot be healthy so long as this condition continues. Fortunately, there is now an economical device called "Nature's Platform" that adapts the western toilet to comfortably allow the squatting position.

2. Restricting the quantity of food consumed gives the system an opportunity to cleanse itself. It is not always necessary to eat. The digestive system requires a rest periodically, even if just one day each week. The consumption of fresh juices made from organically grown fruits and vegetables during this time of reduced food consumption provides alkalinity to neutralize the acid wastes released from the tissues. The multi-day Sambu cleanse is excellent. It is important to understand that the doctors are not recommending "fasting" in the sense that you consume nothing but water. Rather they are recommending a liquid diet of fresh juices for a brief period (Diamond, pages 63, 341-42, 955). 

Gerson therapy provides the cancer patient with an 8 ounce glass of freshly made fruit or vegetable juice each waking hour of the day. It would be impossible to eat the amount of nutrition obtained from these juices. Gerson therapy focuses on detoxification of the body together with enhanced nutrition, and reports success with many diseases, including cancer.

3. Drink more fluids. Most people are chronically dehydrated. As a result, the kidneys are overworked. This may seem counter-intuitive. You might think that the more fluid you drink the more the kidneys must work to remove it. However, removing fluid is easy for the kidneys, it is waste removal that is difficult. The reason for this is the "concentration gradient". If you drink half as much fluid, then wastes in the urine are twice as concentrated. It is concentrating the wastes that is difficult for the kidneys, because the kidneys need to overcome osmotic pressure that wants to equalize concentrations on both sides of the membrane. Healthy kidneys can achieve a concentration gradient of about 3:1. If you drink twice as much fluid then the wastes are diluted by half, allowing the kidneys to remove twice as much waste. So drink more fluids and help the kidneys do their job.

4. Increase your zeta potential. Zeta potential is a measure of the electrical force that exists between atoms, molecules, particles, cells, etc., in a fluid. Zeta potential's strength determines the amount of material (nutrients, wastes) that fluids such as your blood and lymph can carry.  Increasing the electrical force in the solution, allows the fluid to dissolve and hold more material. In this way, more nutrients can be carried throughout your body and accumulated deposits of waste can be removed. An alkaline condition in the body increases zeta potential. Aluminum (from food additives, cooking utensils, antiperspirants, municipal drinking water, vaccines, drugs, etc.) destroys zeta potential. Malic acid (found in apple cider vinegar) removes aluminum from the body.

5. It is necessary to remove excess acidity and toxic chemicals from the body before health can be restored. To remove excess acidity from the tissues it is necessary to build up a reserve of alkalinity through an alkaline (vegetarian) diet, supplemented with fresh fruit and vegetable juices and alkaline minerals. Then this alkalinity must be moved around the body by any technique that works, such as exercise, massage, yoga asanas, Surya Namaskara (sun salutations), manual lymph drainage, etc. Vigorous exercise such as on the rebound mini-trampoline is reported to increase lymph flow by 15 to 30 times.

6. Bile is a liquid produced by the liver. Bile is stored in the gallbladder until you eat a meal, and then it flows into the small intestine where it digests fats. Bile is an important avenue for detoxification of the body. Toxic chemicals removed from the blood by the liver flow out of the body via the bile and digestive tract.  When your body produces more bile, your digestion improves and more toxins can be excreted via the bile. Inadequate bile flow allows toxins to build up in the body and results in liver disease, immune responses (allergies), skin problems, damaged arteries, arterial plaque, high blood pressure, chronic inflammation, arthritis, edema (fluid buildup), and cancer. 

An acid condition in the body causes bile to thicken, eventually resulting in gallstones. An alkaline condition in the body results in bile that flows. Foods that help increase bile production and flow include beets, artichoke, lecithin, turmeric, and the herb milk thistle.

Adequate bile is also needed for the body to digest and absorb fat soluble vitamins and essential fatty acids.

Gerson Therapy uses coffee enemas which stimulate the liver via the hemorrhoidal vein, resulting in the liver dumping its toxins via the bile. It is the caffeine in the coffee that stimulates the liver. A Gerson patient has a coffee enema every four hours through the day, and this routine is considered essential to aid the body in removing the toxic material being released from dissolving tumors. Coffee enemas were first used during World War I in Germany as a means to reduce pain in post-operative patients when morphine was unavailable. For more information regarding coffee enemas and also the use of castor oil to accelerate cleansing of the intestines, see Gerson pages 161 - 173.

7. Fever is associated with increased circulation, oxygenation and stimulation of the immune system. Hyperthermia (swedena, sauna, Schlenz-bath, steam bath, sweat lodge, herbs to induce fever) is very helpful to purify the body through excessive sweating which removes toxic chemicals, and also because cancer cells die at temperatures between 104°F to 105.8°F (Diamond, page 996), whereas healthy cells survive. Also, cancer cells weakened by hyperthermia are much more easily killed by other means (Griffin, page 93).

The Schlenz-bath is particularly interesting because you can do this at home in your bath tub. The only equipment needed is a thermometer to monitor the water temperature.

You can purchase or build your own home sauna. By regularly enjoying a prolonged (45 to 90 minute) low temperature (about 108°F / 42°C)  sauna, copious quantities of waste are removed from the body in the sweat. The result is a cleaner body and much softer, healthier skin.  A home sauna is a very worthwhile investment. For more information read the articles in our Library and do a search of the Internet.

Since hyperthermia is the safest, most efficacious and economical way of removing heavy metals and toxic chemicals from the body, we regard some means to accomplish this (sauna / hot tub / bath tub) as a household necessity.

Enzymes to Dissolve Cancers

Dissolving cancerous tissue requires enzymes. Dietary supplements containing the ten or more pancreatic enzymes are helpful, with the most important enzymes being trypsin, chymotrypsin and amylase. These enzymes dissolve the protein and sugar coating of the cancer cell making it vulnerable to the attack of white blood cells. This has been known since 1905 (Griffin, page 81). The coating on the cancer cell is made of mucus and fibrin. Mucus is a glycoprotein (sugar and protein). Fibrin is a protein floating in the blood that allows blood to clot. This (biofilm) camouflage of mucus and fibrin prevents the white blood cells of the immune system from recognizing the cancer cell. Too much protein in the diet and refined foods such as white sugar and white flour deplete pancreatic enzymes, helping to open the way for cancer.

You should be able to obtain a good enzyme supplement at your local health food store or pharmacy. Pineapple and papaya are good sources of enzymes. "Pancreatic enzymes and vegetable enzymes are part of the supportive theory. You have the papaya melons as the source of the enzyme Papain and pineapple as a source of the enzyme Bromelain. The demasking effect of these enzymes against the pericellular layer of the malignant cell is something very concrete in the immunology of cancer. Now I prefer, rather than advising the use of bromelain or papaya tablets that the individual seeking these enzymes get them directly from the fresh ripe pineapple and papaya fruit. As much as half a pineapple a day should be ingested...You have nothing to lose by eating fresh pineapple and papaya melons." - Dr. Krebs, Jr.

The Japanese fermented food "natto" is a rich source of the enzyme  nattokinase  that dissolves clots and fibrin deposits in various parts of the body. This makes natto a useful treatment for many problems associated with fibrin and impaired circulation (hyper-coagulation of the blood, circulatory problems, angina, heart attacks, strokes, senility, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, multiple sclerosis,...) The Japanese people eat an average of 4.5 pounds (2.2 kg) of natto annually. - Dr. David Williams Alternatives newsletter November 2002. 

Dietary sources of all kinds of enzymes are good, and the consumption of at least 70% fresh foods vs. 30% cooked foods helps ensure a supply of enzymes for the body (cooking at temperatures above 116°F destroys enzymes in the food). Fresh foods generally contain all the enzymes required for their own digestion, easing the burden on the digestive system. However, certain foods are more easily digested when cooked because heat breaks down starch (potatoes, for example). Cooking softens cellulose making foods easier to chew which, in turn, makes nutrients more available. However, juicing also breaks down cellulose and frees the nutrients while retaining the enzymes that would be destroyed by cooking. 

Unsprouted seeds contain enzyme inhibitors which can be neutralized by cooking, however soaking or sprouting the seeds also removes the enzyme inhibitors and sprouts have a high concentration of vegetable enzymes and other nutrients. Therefore, it is a good idea to soak your grains and beans in water for a minimum of 12 hours before eating them. Soaked grains and beans are called "pre-sprouts" and are much more digestible because the enzyme inhibitors have been deactivated. Allowing the seeds to sprout for three days allows the synthesis of new proteins, plus there is a dramatic increase in the vitamins and essential fatty acids within the sprouts.

Cooking food thoroughly kills bacteria and viruses, which is why with raw foods cleanliness becomes very important. The temperature of food and beverages also makes a difference to digestion. Warm food relaxes the stomach and aids digestion. Cold food and beverage contracts the muscles of the stomach, hindering digestion. It is not good to have cold foods or beverages with meals. Lightly steaming vegetables warms and softens them while retaining most of their nutrients.

Generally as people age the digestive system becomes less powerful, producing less hydrochloric acid, less bile and less enzymes. Therefore, supplementary betaine hydrochloride, digestive enzymes and bile with each meal are often recommended. This not only helps digest the food, but provides a dual benefit of improving nutrition in the body and freeing up pancreatic enzymes for other purposes, such as digesting cancer. As a treatment for cancer, additional enzymes can be taken when the stomach is empty - between meals and in the middle of the night. For more information refer to Dr. Kelley's book Cancer: Curing the Incurable Without Surgery, Chemotherapy, or Radiation. 

About 27% of gelatin is the amino acid glycine which stimulates the secretion of stomach acids. - J Clin Invest 76;58:623-631.

In addition to enzymes, medicinal mushrooms can assist the body's white blood cells to penetrate cancer's defenses.

Vitamins and other Nutrients to Fight Cancer

Vitamin B17 The Hunza people eat a lot of apricots and always crack open the kernel and eat the seed. The apricot seed contains Vitamin B17. Vitamin B17 is the anticancer vitamin. Some researchers have found that cancer and sickle cell anemia are caused by a deficiency of vitamin B17, just as scurvy is caused by a deficiency of vitamin C, pernicious anemia is due to a deficiency of vitamin B12 and folic acid, and pellagra is caused by a deficiency of vitamin B3. Vitamin B17 kills cancer cells without harming normal cells, making it nature's chemotherapy. If vitamin B17 was patentable cancer would not be the problem it is today.

First discovered in 1830, this vitamin has never been recognized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and so it is not in any of the popular vitamin tablets. Vitamin B17 is associated with the bitter taste and most people avoid bitter foods. This is unfortunate. Ayurveda recommends that we enjoy all six tastes at every meal.

Vegetarians are often warned to ensure that they consume sufficient vitamin B12 because vitamin B12 is not found in plant tissue. However, animal metabolism including the human body can produce its own vitamin B12 from vitamin B17 (Griffin, page 91).

Foods rich in vitamin B17 include: barley, bitter almonds (not the sweet almonds commonly available), native (bitter) cassava, chickpeas (garbanzo beans), grass (wheat grass and many other grasses), lentils, flaxseed, maize, millet, sorghum, and the seeds of various fruits (apple, apricot, blackthorn, cherry, nectarine, peach, plum). Most of these foods have been deleted from the modern menu. About 1,200 edible plants contain vitamin B17 and many natural remedies for cancer may be rich in this nutrient. To prevent cancer, a maintenance dose of vitamin B17 can be provided by eating several bitter almonds or apricot seeds daily. 

The difference between sweet almonds and bitter almonds is the vitamin B17 that the bitter almonds contain. If you are using the 500 mg tablets of vitamin B17, the effect is magnified if you eat 5 - 7 sweet almonds with it because the enzymes in the almonds complement the vitamin. 

However, without sufficient zinc in the body, vitamin B17 cannot function. Also, results are better if the vitamin B17 is taken together with nutrients such as vitamin C, the other B vitamins, vitamin A, manganese, magnesium, and selenium. Doctors prescribing vitamin B17 will generally use it as part of a total nutritional program consisting of diet, vitamins, minerals, enzymes and essential fatty acids. Soy foods are not recommended because they have the effect of inhibiting the body's ability to absorb certain minerals including calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc.

The full story of vitamin B17 is to be found in the book World Without Cancer by G. Edward Griffin, American Media, 1997. This popular book is in its 13th printing and is highly recommended. Griffin also made a video tape entitled World Without Cancer summarizing the contents of the book. Alternative names for vitamin B17 are nitrilosides, amygdalin and laetrile. Regardless of what you have read in newspapers about laetrile, withhold your judgment until you have read the book and watched the video. Vitamin B17 is a standard part of alternative cancer therapy world-wide.

Vitamin F Another vitamin critical to the prevention of cancer that has never been recognized by the FDA (do we see a pattern here?) is omega-3 fatty acid or vitamin F. Vitamin F is the essential fatty acids, with "essential" meaning that the body cannot manufacture it from other nutrients. Vitamin F is required for the production of hemoglobin which is used by red blood cells to transport oxygen. Dr. Johanna Budwig spent her life investigating fatty acids and found that without exception, the blood of unhealthy people always has very low levels of essential fatty acids. This directly impacts the ability of blood to carry oxygen to tissues. Essential fatty acid deficiency is probably more common than any other nutrient deficiency, and is aggravated by the consumption of hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils that actively interfere with the metabolism of healthy fatty acids in the body. Preservatives in prepared foods generally interfere with the oxidation of fats, and become respiratory poisons when consumed.

It is the experience of Gerson therapy that flax oil is the ONLY oil cancer patients should eat. Watch this video by Charlotte Gerson. If you would like to learn more about Gerson therapy, you can read Charlotte Gerson's book, attend a seminar, or experience it for yourself.

Fats quickly become rancid when exposed to light, heat or air. Good sources of essential fatty acids include flaxseed, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, and the germ of wheat and corn. (Fish oils are also good, providing they have not been heated to get rid of the fishy taste and extend the shelf life). The whole seeds can be eaten fresh or sprouted. They can also be cooked without damaging the oil providing the temperature remains relatively low. Cooking with water ensures that the temperature does not exceed the boiling point of the water, which is not high enough to damage the oil. (Also, potatoes and cereals cooked at high temperatures are found to contain a cancer causing chemical called "acrylamide". This chemical is created by the high temperatures of frying, oven-baking, and deep-frying. Boiling or steaming with water cooks foods at a lower temperature and does not create acrylamide.) Health food stores may have non-rancid flaxseed oil in refrigerated dark glass bottles (use the empty bottle to keep your home-made colloidal silver, which also requires a dark bottle.) The flaxseed oil can be mixed into salad dressings and other foods. For more information see The Oil Protein Cookbook: Use of Oils in Cooking by Dr. Johanna Budwig, Apple Publishing Co, 1996.

Dr. Szent-Gyorgy won the Nobel prize in 1937 for discovering that essential fatty acids combined with sulphur-rich proteins (such as those found in diary products) increases oxygenation of the body. Dr. Budwig applied this discovery in clinical trials by feeding cancer patients a mixture of 3-6 Tbsps. flaxseed oil and 4 oz. (1/2 cup) low-fat cottage cheese daily. The mixture is most effective if the flaxseed oil and low-fat cottage are thoroughly mixed or blended. You can add pineapple or other fruit to improve the taste. After about three months improvements could be seen in the blood of the cancer patients, and the malignant tumors began to shrink. When cancer-free, the maintenance dose is 1 Tbsp. flaxseed oil daily per hundred pounds of body weight, plus a diary product or tofu. (We recommend dairy, unless you are allergic to it. Tofu and other soy products are a highly controversial subject for cancer patients. For more information see the article "Be Careful With Soy Products" on our "Early Menarchy" page).

Vitamin C "It has long been known that the degree of lymphocytic infiltration, the number of aggressive lymphocytes congregating in and around a tumor (as can readily be seen on a microscope slide) bears a close relation to the outlook." - Dr. Ewan Cameron and Dr. Linus Pauling.

A higher consumption of vitamin C results in a higher rate of lymphocyte formation (10 grams of vitamin C daily causes the rate to triple).  

Many immune cells such as T-lymphocytes and macrophages are self-propelled by amoebic action. These cells contain molecules identical to those in muscle tissue. All cells in the body become stronger in response to the increased G force during rebounding, and this cellular exercise results in the self-propelled immune cells being up to 5 times more active.  

 

As we saw above, enzymes strip cancer cells of their outer camouflage of mucus and fibrin (a protein in blood) so that the lymphocytes (white blood cells) can recognize the cancer cells as foreign. These enzymes work better in an alkaline, highly oxygenated environment. 

So we can see that vitamin C is an important team player in this comprehensive program to dissolve cancer. The more abundant immune cells due to the vitamin C, are more active and effective due to rebound exercise, more enzymes, and a highly alkaline/oxygenated condition in the body. 

Vegetarians already have significantly less cancer, particularly cancer associated with various parts of the digestive system. Armed with the information on this web site regarding alkalinity (use the saliva pH test), fresh juices, enzymes, vitamin B17, vitamin F, and vitamin C vegetarians should be able to achieve much lower rates of cancer simply by eating different foods.

Glyconutrients Glyconutrients are at the cutting edge of nutritional science today. The glyconutrients are eight monosaccharides (simple sugars) that combine with proteins (glycoproteins) and fats (glycolipids) to form a code that is the basis for the body's internal communication system. These special molecules are found on the surface of every cell and allow the immune system to distinguish between self and non-self. In the fight against cancer, distinguishing self from non-self is an important first step. Supplementing the diet with all 8 simple sugars helps restore the body's internal communication system and promote healing. For more information see glyconutrients.

Other vitamins that are helpful in the fight against cancer include vitamin B complex for stress, vitamin E an antioxidant, and vitamins A and D for calcium metabolism. Helpful minerals include iodine for thyroid function (the thyroid gland produces calcitonin, a hormone that helps regulate calcium metabolism) and selenium as an antioxidant. Co-enzyme Q10 (sesame oil is a good source) has also been found to be helpful. For dosages of the various nutrients see Dr. Brodie’s 3-week Intensive Supplement Program (Diamond page 76-82), the Metabolic Therapy information in Philip Day's book Cancer - Why We're Still Dying To Know The Truth, and the simple supplement program of Dr. Abram Hoffer that is found to significantly extend the life of cancer patients. It is necessary to correct all nutrient deficiencies, attaining and maintaining a state of nutrient saturation in the body, which is why the nutritional supplements we recommend contain all the nutrients. We call this the "nutrient dense diet" - rich in all nutrients and devoid of junk food.

"The necessity of eating foods rich in all the vitamins and minerals - particularly vitamin B17 - and of minimizing prolonged damage or stress to the body is all that he (the person with cancer) really needs to know" (Griffin, page 94).

Cancer and Meditation

Individuals who practice Transcendental Meditation (TM) have about 55% less cancer (Psychosomatic Medicine 49 (1987): 493-507). Why?

By measuring heart rate, breath rate and other indicators of the level of activity in the body, scientists have found that TM provides the body with a level of rest averaging twice as deep as the deepest rest experienced during sleep. This intensely deep rest helps the body to cope with any extraordinary demands being made on it. The word "averaging" is important. There can be times during TM meditation when the rest is much deeper, breathing stops and a state of "transcendence" is experienced. The word "transcend" means "go beyond". In this case the mind and body "transcend" or go beyond activity and achieve a state of rest, suspension, stillness, silence, peace. Scientists call this state "restful alertness" because the mind is wide awake while the body is experiencing a deeper rest than sleep. 

Everyone has heard of the "fight or flight" response when the body's resources are mobilized to deal with an emergency. TM produces a situation in the body that is the exact opposite of the "fight or flight" response, a kind of "rest and repair" response during which the body can heal itself. Many people are like a car with the gas pedal stuck down. Meditation is pulling back on the gas pedal. The body relaxes into its basic idling, resting rhythms. Whatever imbalance exists in the functioning of the autonomic nervous system, release of stress in the nervous system through regular practice of TM should restore flexibility and normal functioning.

Transcendental Meditation is popularly considered to be an "antidote" to stress. All the various "causes" of cancer can be seen as forms of stress. 

It is interesting that B vitamins are used by the body to deal with stress. It is possible that by neutralizing stress, TM reduces the body’s requirement for B vitamins, including vitamin B17. Less wear and tear in the more relaxed physiology and psychology may reduce demands for other nutrients as well.

Stress is mentioned by Dr. Sharma is one of the causes of free radicals in the body.

Stress is insidious because it affects us 24 hours each day. Stress can be mental, emotional and physical. Chronic stress exhausts the body. During the deep rest of TM stress dissolves. Stress causes the heart to beat too fast, the muscles to be too tense, the entire metabolism to be too fast. Metabolic waste products are acids (lactic acid, uric acid, etc.), which is a reason why dissolving stress may increase the alkalinity of the body. Get rid of your stress and you can begin to enjoy the benefits of laughter.

Chronic tension in muscles must inevitably obstruct the flow of lymph. Comparisons between TM and other relaxation techniques show that TM is far more effective to relax the body than the other techniques studied. The removal of obstructions to the flow of lymph is absolutely necessary if all parts of the physiology are to be oxygenated, nourished, and cleansed of metabolic wastes. 

The deep rest during meditation combined with a more efficient (less stressed) metabolism following meditation will help conserve the body's supply of respiratory enzymes. Plus, cells functioning at  lower metabolic rate will be easier to keep saturated with oxygen. Respiratory enzymes and oxygen saturation are key to cancer prevention. (See Dr. Otto Warburg's papers in the Alkalize For Health Library Lecture 1, Lecture 2 and our oxygen page). 

Natural killer cells detect and destroy cancer cells. People with less stress have more natural killer cells.

Stress causes the body to produce adrenaline which in turn raises blood sugar as part of the "fight or flight" response. The sugar is meant to provide energy for the muscles, but in our modern world stress rarely results in muscular exertion so the sugar remains in the blood. High blood sugar feeds cancer.

Cortisol is a hormone released in response to stress. Cancer patients with more cortisol die sooner. Cancer patients with normal cortisol live longer. 

There may be many good reasons why individuals practicing TM have 55% less cancer, and much lower rates of other diseases as well, including 87% less heart disease. Furthermore, several studies that monitored the health care costs of TM meditators over many years found that individuals with the worst health prior to beginning the practice show the greatest improvement in health (and reduction in health care costs) following learning to meditate. Health care costs for TM meditators over age 55 are reduced substantially, and this could potentially be of great significance as the "baby boom" generation enters retirement. Therefore, we highly recommend TM to cancer patients and all others who wish to prevent disease and improve health.  

For more information, see our Transcendental Meditation page, read the articles in our Library, and visit web sites such as www.tm.org and www.mum.edu.

Instruction in Transcendental Meditation is available in nearly every city on the planet. Look in the phone book under "Transcendental Meditation" or "Meditation" to find the TM Center nearest you. The 30,000 teachers of Transcendental Meditation all teach the technique in exactly the same way so you can be sure that wherever you learn TM you will be learning the exact same technique that has proven so successful for others.