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Posted by: admin | Posted on: April 25, 2025

The hidden cost of CT scans: The cancer risk your doctor isn’t discussing

by: News Staff | April 24, 2025

(NaturalHealth365) They seem harmless enough – quick, painless medical scans that let doctors see inside your body without surgery. But a new study just published in JAMA Internal Medicine has uncovered a staggering reality about CT scans that the medical establishment has been downplaying for years: the radiation from a single year’s worth of these common diagnostic tests could trigger over 100,000 future cancer cases.

While medical professionals often dismiss radiation concerns with vague reassurances, this groundbreaking research provides shocking numbers that should make every patient think twice before agreeing to that “routine” scan.

Consider the consequences: This is a RED ALERT about CT scans

The numbers are far worse than previously thought. In 2023 alone, Americans underwent more than 93 million CT scans – that’s 62 million patients being exposed to powerful ionizing radiation. Using state-of-the-art modeling, researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, now project that approximately 103,000 future cancer cases will develop over these patients’ lifetimes as a direct result.

Dr. Rebecca Smith-Bindman, who led this study across 143 U.S. hospitals and outpatient facilities in 20 states, found that the cancer burden from CT scans is now three to four times higher than previous estimates from 2009. The study analyzed detailed radiation dose data from more than 120,000 actual CT examinations, making it the most comprehensive analysis ever conducted.

The findings are particularly disturbing when broken down by cancer type and patient demographics:

Lung cancer tops the list with 22,400 projected cases (21,400 in adults, 990 in children)
Colon cancer follows with 8,700 cases
Leukemia represents 7,900 cases
Bladder cancer accounts for 7,100 cases
Breast cancer in women contributes 5,700 cases

The risk is especially pronounced for children, with girls under one year of age developing cancer at a shocking rate of 20 per 1,000 CT scans – a risk magnitude that should give every parent serious pause.

The hidden culprits: Multiphase scans and unnecessary imaging

What many patients don’t realize is that “one CT scan” often isn’t just one exposure. Nearly 30% of scans are now “multiphase” procedures that deliver multiple rounds of radiation during a single exam, dramatically increasing cancer risk.

The UCSF researchers identified abdomen and pelvis CT scans as the greatest contributors to projected cancers, responsible for 37,500 cases (37% of all projected cancers) despite representing only 32% of all CT scans. These procedures often use multiple scan phases, resulting in substantially higher radiation doses.

Equally concerning is the 30% increase in CT usage since 2007, a growth the researchers attribute partly to the alarming rise in “low-value, potentially unnecessary imaging” – scans that provide little or no medical benefit but still deliver cancer-causing radiation.

The vulnerable: Children and women face greatest risk

While the per-scan cancer risk is highest in children, particularly infants, the vast majority of projected cancers (93,000 cases or 91%) will occur in adults simply because they receive more scans.

The study revealed striking sex differences as well. Women face significantly higher radiation-induced cancer risks than men, especially for lung and thyroid cancers. Even when researchers adjusted their models to be more conservative, lung cancer remained the most common radiation-induced cancer in women.

If current practices continue, the researchers warn that CT-associated cancers could eventually account for 5% of all new cancer diagnoses annually – putting CT scans on par with other major cancer risk factors like alcohol consumption (5.4%) and excess body weight (7.6%).

The medical establishment’s “acceptable risk” fallacy

For decades, medical professionals have downplayed radiation risks by invoking the “benefit outweighs the risk” mantra. But this study challenges that cavalier approach, especially considering that many CT scans are performed when safer alternatives work just as well or when no imaging is needed.

The researchers emphasize that their projections are actually conservative. They excluded CT-guided procedures like biopsies (which use higher doses), didn’t account for the potentially greater damage from CT’s low-energy x-rays compared to other radiation sources, and applied adjustments that assume lower radiation doses are less harmful per unit than higher doses – an assumption increasingly questioned by modern research.

Protecting your health: The Bottom Line

No doubt, CT scans have revolutionized Western medicine, but they are not without risk. If we continue down the current path, CT-induced cancers could soon rival other major, preventable causes of cancer.

We cannot afford to ignore this warning. As patients, we must advocate for thoughtful care. As clinicians, we must uphold the highest standards of safety. And as a society, we must embrace healthier lifestyles – not just to live better, but to reduce our dependence on tools that, when overused, can do more harm than good.

Bottom line: We, at NaturalHealth365, hope that this study will serve as a wake-up call to the value of living a healthy lifestyle.

Sources for this article include:

JAMAnetwork.com

Posted in Cancer, Radiation | No Comments »

Posted by: admin | Posted on: April 17, 2025

How DMSO Eases Cancer’s Hidden Burdens — Chemo, Pain, and Radiation Relief

Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2025/04/04/how-dmso-eases-cancers-hidden-burdens.aspx

Analysis by A Midwestern Doctor April 04, 2025

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), a forgotten gem from the 1960s, effectively treats a broad spectrum of conditions, including strokes, tissue injuries, autoimmune inflammation, a myriad of skin diseases, and many challenging infections
One of the least-known benefits of DMSO is that it also eliminates cancers (especially when combined with another therapy) and protects the body from damage created by conventional cancer therapies
In dozens of experiments, DMSO has been shown to prevent the damage radiation does to cells, animals, and humans and to heal existing radiation injuries — something relevant not only to cancer patients but also to those receiving CT scans
DMSO effectively prevents many of the illnesses and complications that follow chemotherapy. Likewise, it also protects patients from accidental chemotherapy injuries where the medication leaks into the tissue
DMSO heals surgical wounds (which prevents many complications from cancer surgeries) and significantly extends the survival of patients whose tumors were surgically removed

DMSO is a remarkable naturally occurring substance that (provided it’s used correctly¹) safely and rapidly improves a variety of conditions medicine struggles with — particularly chronic pain. For example, thousands of studies show DMSO treats a wide range of:

• Injuries such as sprains, concussions, burns, surgical incisions, and spinal cord injuries (discussed here).

• Strokes, paralysis, many neurological disorders (e.g., Down syndrome and dementia), and numerous circulatory disorders (e.g., Raynaud’s, varicose veins or hemorrhoids), which were discussed here.

• Chronic pain (e.g., from a bad disc, bursitis, arthritis, or complex regional pain syndrome), which was discussed here.

• Many autoimmune, protein, and contractile disorders such as scleroderma, amyloidosis, and interstitial cystitis (discussed here).

• Head conditions, such as tinnitus, vision loss, dental problems, and sinusitis (discussed here).

• Internal organ diseases such as pancreatitis, infertility, liver cirrhosis, and endometriosis (discussed here).

• A wide range of skin conditions such as burns, varicose veins, acne, hair loss, ulcers, skin cancer, and many autoimmune dermatologic diseases (discussed here).

Many challenging infections such as shingles, herpes, chronic ear or dental infections, and osteomyelitis (discussed here). In turn, since I started this series, it struck a cord, and I have received over 2000 reports of remarkable responses to DMSO, and many readers have had for a variety of “incurable conditions.”

This begs an obvious question — if a substance capable of doing all of that exists, why does almost no one know about it? Simply put, like many other promising therapies, it fell victim to a pernicious campaign by the FDA, which kept it away from America despite decades of scientific research, congressional protest, and thousands of people pleading for the FDA to reconsider its actions. Consider for example, this 60 minutes program about DMSO that aired on March 23, 1980:

Video Link

DMSO and Cancer

Since there is a longstanding tendency for any “unproven cancer therapy” to be targeted by the medical industry, once the pioneers of DMSO realized early research showed DMSO was also remarkable for cancer, a decision was made not to focus on that research as a justifiable fear existed that doing so would bury DMSO (particularly since DMSO was already in a precarious position with the FDA). As a result, there is very little knowledge of how DMSO changes the cancer paradigm. For example:

• There are hundreds of studies showing DMSO routinely transforms cancerous cells into noncancerous ones.

• DMSO directly inhibits the growth of a wide range of cancers.

• DMSO allows the immune system to regain the ability to target cancerous cells that have evaded the immune system,² which not only eliminates cancer but also can create permanent immunity to cancers.

• DMSO makes many conventional cancer therapies much more potent, both making a cure more likely and a far lower (and thus less toxic dose) dose needed to achieve it.

• Many natural therapies become dramatically more potent when combined with DMSO (e.g., one DMSO combination ranks amongst the most effective cancer treatments I’ve ever encountered).

Furthermore, in addition to directly eliminating cancers, DMSO’s remarkable ability to heal and protect the body can also make challenging cancers far more manageable. In my eyes, the suppression of DMSO’s uses as an adjunctive cancer therapy represents the most egregious aspect of this story as in those instances, it’s not even competing with cancer treatments — it’s just reducing the suffering they cause (which if anything should be good for the cancer business).

DMSO and Radiation Therapy

Many of DMSO’s remarkable properties result from it effectively protecting cells from a variety of otherwise lethal stressors (e.g., burns,³ freezing,⁴ blood loss,⁵ asphyxiation,⁶ UV light,⁷ and soundwaves⁸) and it significantly accelerates healing from injuries (e.g., sprains⁹ or burns¹⁰).

In addition to protecting cells from other sources of injury, as early as 1961,¹¹ DMSO was also recognized to protect cells and tissues from radiation exposure, and by 1967,¹² to protect the skin. This is because DMSO prevents radiation from:

• Breaking apart chromosomes,¹³ DNA, RNA, proteins,¹⁴ and the mitochondria.¹⁵

• Creating damaging oxygen species¹⁶ and free radicals.¹⁷

• Triggering an immune response (e.g., by reducing IL-1, IL-6, TNF-α, and TGF-β¹⁸), chronic inflammation, fibrosis, and adhesions.

• Putting cells into senescence¹⁹ (a state of permanent growth arrest).

• Causing normal cells in the vicinity of the affected ones to die as well (e.g., when only 1% of cells are exposed to radiation, approximately 30% of non-irradiated cells will exhibit similar toxic effects too²⁰), a fascinating phenomenon I believe is mediated through mitogenic radiation emissions.

Since cancer radiation therapy frequently creates a variety of acute and chronic injuries such as burns, fibrosis, and internal tissue adhesions (all of which DMSO treats), DMSO is incredibly valuable for cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy — particularly since DMSO not only prevents radiation damage but also rapidly heals the injuries radiation creates.^21,²²

Most importantly, DMSO’s protective effects are specific to normal cells. In contrast, many studies show it increases cancer cells’ susceptibility to radiation.²³

Note: I believe our focus on radiation therapy ultimately resulted from mining magnate James Douglas devising a way to produce cheap radium and then giving a large donation (along with subsequent donations) to America’s premier cancer institute to create a program for developing cancer radiation therapy that then spread across the world.^24,²⁵

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Radiation Exposure Studies

Studies have repeatedly shown that DMSO protects cells²⁶ (particularly when given prophylactically²⁷) from being damaged by (often otherwise fatal²⁸) radiation. For example, DMSO was shown to protect skin cells from dying after exposure to gamma radiation²⁹ and make hamster cells four times as resistant to radiation.³⁰

These same protective properties have also been found in plants^31,^32,³³ and many animals (e.g., mice,^34,^35,^36,^37,^38,^39,^40,^41,^42,⁴³ rats,^44,^45,^46,^47,^48,⁴⁹ rabbits,⁵⁰ newts,⁵¹ and fruit flies⁵²).

In animals, DMSO was repeatedly found to protect them from otherwise lethal radiation exposures^53,^54,⁵⁵ and protect their skin,⁵⁶ tails,⁵⁷ oral mucosa,⁵⁸ eyes,⁵⁹ kidneys,⁶⁰ intestines⁶¹ (which are particularly vulnerable to radiation damage), and testicles⁶² from radiation damage, along with protecting sperm from mutations⁶³ and to accelerate tissue cellular regeneration following an injury.⁶⁴

Finally, DMSO was shown to prevent the psychological trauma and behavioral changes rats typically experienced from radiation injuries (presumably by preventing radiation from causing injury⁶⁵).

DMSO also has a remarkable ability to protect and heal the skin from injury,⁶⁶ and since 1966,⁶⁷ numerous Russian, German, and Japanese studies have demonstrated DMSO’s impressive ability to protect human skin (along with its collagen and mucopolysaccharides) from radiation.^68,^69,^70,^71,^72,^73,^74,^75,^76,^77,^78,^79,⁸⁰

For example, DMSO has been shown to treat radiation fibrosis,^81,⁸² radiation dermatitis,⁸³ radiation injuries⁸⁴ and other local radiation complications.⁸⁵

Note: While DMSO can treat radiation injuries, it is the most effective if given immediately beforehand to prevent radiation injuries.⁸⁶

DMSO has also been shown to protect tissues besides the skin. For example:

• In 80 patients who’d developed late local radiation complications (induration, ulcers) from the treatment of breast or genital cancer (or a non-cancerous disease) DMSO resulted in both a high efficacy of treatment with no side effects.⁸⁷

• In 22 patients with cervical cancer topical found DMSO prior to internal gamma-ray radiation therapy prevented the normally expected radiation burns and other toxic reactions to the treatment (e.g., in the bladder and rectum) seen in 59 controls and that DMSO did not protect cancerous tissue.⁸⁸

• In 807 patients with cervical uterine cancer, putting 10% DMSO into the bladders an hour before receiving weekly internal irradiation therapy, dropped the radiation damage to the rectum from 19.0% to 9.5% and to the bladder from 8.8% to 7.1% (both of which dropped to 1.7% if metronidazole was also used).⁸⁹

• In another study, DMSO had a 50% success rate in treating patients which chronic radiation cystitis (e.g., from prostate cancer therapy).⁹⁰ Likewise, a 1979 study also used DMSO to treat radiation cystitis.⁹¹

• In 22 breast and cervical cancer patients, DMSO protected them against radiation dermatitis (e.g., erosion, blistering, itching, and pain) while also enhancing cancer sensitivity to radiation (as the DMSO treated areas showed skin reddening and exfoliation earlier) and accelerating the regrowth of normal tissues.

Additionally, when DMSO was only applied to one side, the non-applied side did worse, the hyperpigmentation that follows radiation therapy was greater in DMSO treated patients, and that only one of the 22 patients had to stop DMSO (due to having a skin eruption which may have been linked to DMSO).⁹²

• This author detailed a case of a patient with lung cancer that was treated with three months of radiation therapy but severely damaged her lungs (making her require oxygen and leaving her unsure if she’d survive) — but after topical and oral DMSO, she had a rapid recovery.

Likewise, he also shared a case of another woman with lung cancer who was expected to have significant lung complications from the treatment (as she required a borderline lethal dose), but took topical DMSO prior to each treatment and instead had no complications and was fully healthy three years later.⁹³

It is thus quite remarkable that all of this remains unknown. To quote the author of a 2022 study⁹⁴ which found DMSO prevented testicular damage (and loss of hormonal function or fertility) following radiation therapy:

“Currently, there is no approved agent for the prevention or treatment of radiation-induced testicular injury … In summary, our findings demonstrate the radioprotective efficacy of DMSO on the male reproductive system, which warrants further studies for future application in the preservation of male fertility during conventional radiotherapy and nuclear accidents.”

Similarly, in addition to the higher doses experienced from radiation therapy, diagnostic radiation, specifically CT scans (which expose the body to much higher radiation doses than X-rays) also pose a cancer risk — particularly since the dose of radiation with CT scans can have over a 10-fold variation.⁹⁵

In turn, a CT scan was found to make you 17% to 24% more likely to develop cancer,⁹⁶ with the risk increasing⁹⁷ the younger you were at the time of the scan and is much higher for certain types of cancers.^98,^99,^100,^101,¹⁰² A 2009 study estimated 29,000 cancers were caused by the CT scans performed in America in 2007.¹⁰³

As such, I avoid CT scans, which I do not feel are essential (particularly since a detailed physical exam frequently provides more actionable information). It is my sincere hope at some point in the future, DMSO will be given in conjunction with CT scans (but unfortunately their use keeps going up, and they are viewed as a highly lucrative growth market¹⁰⁴).

Tumor Surgery

Since DMSO rapidly accelerates the healing of tissue and addresses the neurological components of pain, many studies have found that DMSO greatly facilitates surgical recovery (e.g., by accelerating healing, improving the strength of the final scar, reducing surgical site pain and eliminating fibrosis, enlarged scars, or tissue adhesions).

As cancers are frequently treated with surgical removal, DMSO can also greatly aid the recovery from these surgeries (e.g., in dogs that required a unilateral mastectomy, giving IV DMSO 15 minutes before the surgery’s conclusion significantly reduced post-surgical inflammation¹⁰⁵).

Likewise, studies such as a 1992 trial¹⁰⁶ of 198 patients with Stage III colon cancer, and a 1992 trial¹⁰⁷ of 228 patients with stomach cancer found DMSO significantly reduced the chance that those cancers would relapse.

Extravasation Injuries

Since the medical field has been extremely reluctant to consider any alternative cancer treatment that could threaten its bottom line (regardless of how much data is behind it), DMSO has essentially not been utilized in the treatment of cancer. However, there is one exception to this rule, as DMSO is able to address a challenging issue encountered with chemotherapy without threatening the existing market.

Since many chemotherapy drugs are quite toxic, they have to be administered in a tightly controlled manner. Unfortunately, in many cases however, the drug gets through the injected vein (extravasates) and leaks into the surrounding tissue.

Note: Since extravasations are often not reported, estimates widely vary on how common they are (e.g., according to one study, in 0.1% to 6% of adults who receive chemotherapy¹⁰⁸ while another made a compelling case extravasations occur in 39% of patients¹⁰⁹).

Due to how toxic some of the chemotherapy drugs are (particularly the anthracyclines), when that leakage occurs and the drugs concentrate in one area, it can often cause significant damage to the surrounding tissues and lead to ulceration or necrosis (tissue death).

Since the existing treatments don’t always give satisfactory results and DMSO is extremely effective at healing a wide range of tissue injuries, it eventually got used as a treatment for these injuries and quickly caught on. For example:

• A 1981 rat study of doxorubicin extravasations showed that daily topical applications of 1 ml 90% DMSO with 10% α-tocopherol significantly reduced ulcer diameter.¹¹⁰

• A 1982¹¹¹ and 1986¹¹² study tested numerous agents on ulcers created by applying intradermal doxorubicin to pigs and rats and found DMSO was the only agent that prevented or healed those ulcers.

• A 1984,¹¹³ 1987,¹¹⁴ and 1994¹¹⁵ pig study along with a 2007 rat study¹¹⁶ also found DMSO treated or prevented extravasation injuries.

Likewise, in humans:

• A 1983¹¹⁷ case report, another 1983 case report,¹¹⁸ a 1989 series¹¹⁹ of 4 patients, a 1991 series¹²⁰ of two patients, a 1994 series of two patients¹²¹ and a 2001 case report¹²² reported that DMSO prevented extravasations from causing ulcerations of tissue death or healed existing injuries (e.g., with “striking” improvement).

• A 1988 study gave topical DMSO for anthracycline extravasations every 6 hours for 14 days to 20 patients, which prevented all of them from developing ulcerations. In the 14 who were evaluated at 3 months, there was no sign of residual damage in six patients, while a pigmented indurated area remained in ten.¹²³

• A 1995 study gave topical DMSO (for 8 hours a day over 7 days) alongside 3 days of intermittent cooling to every patient who experienced an extravasation over a 3.5 year period (which was either from doxorubicin, epirubicin, mitomycin, mitoxantrone, cisplatin, carboplatin, ifosfamide or fluorouracil).

Of those 144 patients, 127 could be evaluated, of whom only 1 ultimately developed an ulceration from the extravasation, and none experienced side effects from DMSO (beyond temporary skin irritation and a breath odor).¹²⁴

• A 1996 study of ten successive patients who experienced extravasation from chemotherapy were given DMSO and alpha-tocopherol, all of whom avoided ulceration or tissue death.¹²⁵

• A 2004 study of 147 patients with extravasations of anthracyclines (which typically leads to 28% developing ulcerations), found 99% DMSO caused only 1% to 2% of them to develop ulcers.¹²⁶

• A 2007 study explored applying DMSO and α-tocopherol as a gel rather than a liquid solution to treat extravasation injuries (which appeared to hold promise).¹²⁷

Chemotherapy Injuries

In addition to addressing extravasation injuries, DMSO has also:

• Been found to prevent doxorubicin cardiac toxicity.¹²⁸

• Successfully treated palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia resulting from doxorubicin treatment.¹²⁹

• Prevent the skin death that is often associated with injecting doxorubicin into the eyelid (which is done to treat eye spasms).¹³⁰

• Protect against birth defects caused by hydroxyurea.¹³¹

• Reduce the carcinogenicity of chlorambucil (which often causes a secondary tumor to form after the initial treatment).¹³²

• Potentially decrease the lung injuries (e.g., pulmonary fibrosis) and weight loss caused by bleomycin.^133,^134,¹³⁵

DMSO has also been found to improve many other symptoms associated with chemotherapy (e.g., DMSO is frequently used to treat hair loss from a variety of causes, including chemotherapy) since it saves normal cells on the verge of dying following chemotherapy.

Note: We find Ultraviolet Blood Irradiation following chemotherapy to be the most effective option for protecting a patient’s healthy cells from dying.

Cancer Pain

Cancer (and its treatments) are often accompanied by many other debilitating symptoms, including pain — which is so severe that opioids, rather than being restricted, are routinely used to treat it (e.g., fentanyl is often used to treat advanced cancer pain — but in 10% to 20% of patients the pain is severe enough that even the strongest opioids can’t address it¹³⁶).

Since DMSO has a rather unique mechanism of treating pain, it is often able to treat a wide range of challenging pain conditions nothing else works on (e.g., I’ve now had hundreds of readers share life-changing pain improvements from topical DMSO nothing else they’d tried had ever worked on). As such, many over the years have found it provided incredible relief for metastatic cancer pain.

One of the most well-known examples was Otis Bowen MD (a popular second-term Indiana governor), who “illegally” used topical DMSO to treat his wife’s pain from terminal multiple myeloma and then publicly denounced the FDA’s absurd embargo on it at the AMA’s 1981 national meeting.¹³⁷

Remarkably, a few years later, Bowen became Reagan’s Secretary of Health and Human Services. Still, even then, with this highly ethical doctor at the helm of the HSS, DMSO was unable to overcome the FDA’s prohibition of it — which helps to highlight the incredible challenge RFK Jr. is now facing (but gradually surmounting). Likewise, a few studies have shown that DMSO can treat cancer pain:

• A 1967 study included two older patients with cancer pain, one of whom had an excellent response to DMSO and one who had a good response.¹³⁸

• A 1967 study found that of 7 patients with metastatic cancer pain, DMSO gave 2 full and 2 partial remission.¹³⁹

• A 2011 trial gave DMSO and sodium bicarbonate to 26 patients with advanced cancers who were experiencing significant pain (even with all the available treatment options).¹⁴⁰ This greatly improved their pain, their quality of life (e.g., chemotherapy symptoms), their blood counts, and their organ function:

trial dmso sodium bicarbonate patients with symptoms

Note: A 2010 paper further discusses DMSO’s ability to treat intractable cancer pain.¹⁴¹ It highlights that this may be due to DMSO’s ability to address membrane hyper-excitability (e.g., through suppressing NMDA and AMPA induced ion fluxes — which are linked to central pain sensitization^142,¹⁴³ and may explain why DMSO also effectively treats complex regional pain syndrome¹⁴⁴).

Conclusion

DMSO’s ability to heal the body and restore its normal function transformed the practice of medicine, and had the FDA not buried DMSO sixty years ago; our medical science would be leaps beyond where it is now. In this article, I’ve tried to show how DMSO helps to address one of the most challenging decisions many will face in their lifetimes — is it worth tolerating the immense damage conventional cancer therapies will cause in return for them potentially saving one’s life?

As such, it’s unconscionable that DMSO was never incorporated as an adjunctive therapy for conventional cancer care, particularly in the case of radiation therapy, since a vast body of literature shows simply applying it shortly beforehand can prevent most of the complications from radiation therapy and significantly increase its ability to treat cancer.

However, while it has been immensely painful to watch the unnecessary suffering created by our outdated and pathological medical practices, for the first time in my life, I am simultaneously immensely hopeful. That is because Make America Healthy Again has created the window to spark the momentum to begin revisiting many of our long accepted medical practices and have our society ask if there is actually a better (or more affordable) way to do things.

Author’s Note: This is an abridged version of a longer article that reviews how DMSO also directly treats cancer (e.g., by turning cancer cells back into normal cells or mobilizing the immune system to eliminate them) and how it greatly enhances the effectiveness of both conventional and natural cancer therapies (along with guidance for using DMSO to treat cancer and many other related conditions). That article can be read here.

A Note from Dr. Mercola About the Author

A Midwestern Doctor (AMD) is a board-certified physician from the Midwest and a longtime reader of Mercola.com. I appreciate AMD’s exceptional insight on a wide range of topics and am grateful to share it. I also respect AMD’s desire to remain anonymous since AMD is still on the front lines treating patients. To find more of AMD’s work, be sure to check out The Forgotten Side of Medicine on Substack.

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Posted by: admin | Posted on: December 23, 2023

Vitamin C Doubles Effectiveness of Chemotherapy and Radiation

Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2023/12/21/vitamin-c-improves-effectiveness-chemo-radiation.aspx
The original Mercola article may not remain on the original site, but I will endeavor to keep it on this site as long as I deem it to be appropriate.

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola December 21, 2023

vitamin c improves effectiveness chemo radiation

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

Vitamin C is selectively toxic to cancer cells, especially when administered intravenously (IV) or in liposomal form in high doses. Administering it with chemo and radiation also significantly improves the effectiveness of these treatments
Vitamin C in combination with nutritional ketosis and fasting prior to administering chemo radically improves the effectiveness of chemotherapy
For general health, an important but often overlooked aspect of nutritional ketosis is “feast and famine cycling.” The real magic happens during the refeeding phase, so one or two days a week, increase your carb and protein intake, and then cycle back into nutritional ketosis again

Each day, more than 1,600 people prematurely die from cancer in the United States. Worldwide, an estimated 20,000 succumb to cancer on a daily basis. For a time, the war on cancer initially waged by Richard Nixon in the ’60s, and the promise of targeted cancer drugs, gave hope.

Alas, they’ve all failed to live up to expectations, and have done nothing to improve cancer death rates. Globally, $91 billion was spent on cancer treatments in 2013. In 2014, no cancer drug was approved costing less than $100,000 for a course of treatment.

Yet, despite their exorbitant price tags, they offer little in terms of survival. Tarceva, for example, increases the median survival for pancreatic cancer patients by a mere 10 days. Meanwhile, there are inexpensive, non-patentable therapies available that could be truly game changing.

One such therapy is high-dose vitamin C. Another is nutritional ketosis — and oncologists in Turkey have presented evidence showing the combination of these two strategies have the ability to “turbo charge” conventional chemo protocols, making them incredibly effective, and far safer to boot.

Vitamin C Improves Effectiveness of Chemo and Radiation

Research has shown vitamin C is selectively cytotoxic to cancer cells when administered intravenously (IV) or in liposomal form in high doses. The mechanism behind vitamin C’s ability to selectively target cancer cells has to do with the generation of hydrogen peroxide, which is ultimately what kills the cancer cells.¹

Normal tissues remain unharmed by the high levels of hydrogen peroxide generated because healthy cells have several ways to remove it, thereby preventing buildup to toxic levels.²

One of the primary pathways of removal is the enzyme catalase, and cells with reduced catalase activity — such as cancer cells — are more prone to die from excess reactive oxygen species and secondary free radicals when exposed to high amounts of vitamin C.^3,^4,⁵

Research⁶ also shows high-dose vitamin C administration in combination with chemotherapy and radiation significantly improves the effectiveness of these treatments. Cancer cells have unstable iron particles (also known as redox active iron molecules), which makes them more vulnerable to oxidative damage caused by high-dose vitamin C.

When redox active iron reacts with vitamin C, hydrogen peroxide and associated free radicals are generated, which damage the cancer cells’ DNA and weaken them, thereby making them more vulnerable to the effects of chemo and radiation. As noted by one of the study’s co-authors, Garry Buettner, Ph.D.:⁷

“This paper reveals a metabolic frailty in cancer cells that is based on their own production of oxidizing agents that allows us to utilize existing redox active compounds, like vitamin C, to sensitize cancer cells to radiation [therapy] and chemotherapy.”

Vitamin C Doubles Survival Rate of Brain Cancer Patients Treated With Radiation

To evaluate the safety of vitamin C, 11 patients with glioblastoma (a highly malignant and aggressive type of brain cancer) received high-dose vitamin C IV treatments three times a week for two months while undergoing radiation therapy, followed by two weekly infusions for another seven months. As reported by Time Magazine:⁸

“[S]o far, half of the people in the study were alive nearly two years later. The average survival for the disease is generally around a year.

In a separate study designed to get an early sense of the vitamin’s effectiveness, the researchers also tested the high-dose vitamin C in a group of 14 people with non-small cell lung cancer.

So far, 93 percent of the people receiving the vitamin C infusions are responding to chemotherapy and radiation, compared to 40 percent who usually do.

In an encouraging finding, more than 30 percent of the people getting the vitamin C also showed signs of their tumors shrinking. Usually, only 15 percent to 19 percent of people receiving chemo and radiation see their tumors get smaller.”

In the second phase of the trial, the researchers will investigate vitamin C’s effects on patients with stage 4 lung cancer and other aggressive cancers.

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Other Ways Vitamin C Benefits Cancer Patients

Aside from the mechanisms already mentioned, vitamin C also benefits cancer by lowering inflammation.^9,¹⁰

As a general rule, chronic inflammation is a hallmark of cancer, and research shows IV vitamin C treatment lowers pro-inflammatory cytokines and C-reactive protein, and that these improvements correlate with a reduction in tumor size.

It also lowers the risk of metastasis. A study done by scientists at the Riordan Clinic (the successor to Linus Pauling and his work on vitamin C) noted a positive response in 75% of patients.

Other research^11,¹² done by scientists at the Lewis Cantley of Weill Cornell Medicine in New York found high doses of vitamin C help kill and eliminate colorectal cancer cells with certain genetic mutations. Other studies¹³ have shown high-dose vitamin C can help slow the growth of prostate, pancreatic, liver and colon cancer cells.

Human studies also show IV vitamin C can help improve symptoms associated with cancer and cancer treatment, such as fatigue, nausea, vomiting, pain, loss of appetite and overall quality of life.

While the above studies and most protocols use IV vitamin C, there is compelling research and anecdotal clinical evidence to support the use of liposomal vitamin C. It may be nearly as effective, or even more effective, than IV vitamin C.

It certainly is far easier and less expensive to administer. I personally think liposomal C should be in everyone’s medicine cabinet and travel kit, as high doses (such as 2 to 5 grams every hour) can obliterate most infections.

Vitamin C and Nutritional Ketosis Is a Winning Combination

Download Interview Transcript | Video Link

While the featured research is certainly on the right track, an oncology center in Turkey has taken it a step further, showing that vitamin C in combination with nutritional ketosis improves the effectiveness of chemotherapy to such a degree that a minimal dose can be used to treat even the most aggressive and advanced cancers.

I interviewed Dr. Abdul Kadir Slocum from the ChemoThermia Oncology Center in Turkey about this research. If you missed it, you’d be well advised to watch it now, because this metabolically supported therapy is truly groundbreaking, offering hope where previously there was none.

In summary, metabolically supported chemotherapy involves applying chemotherapy with a variety of interventions to support its effectiveness. This includes the use of high-dose vitamin C, a ketogenic diet, hyperthermia, glycolytic inhibitors and hyperbaric oxygen therapy, just to name a few.

All oncology patients at the center are put on a ketogenic diet, which creates metabolic stress on the cancer cells.

Then, prior to administering the chemo, the patient will do a minimum 14-hour fast (Slocum recommends fasting as long as possible, but a minimum of 14 hours is required), which further increases the metabolic stress on the cancer cells.

At this point, the patients will typically have a blood glucose level around 80 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL). They then apply glycolytic inhibitors to inhibit the glycolysis pathway in the cancer cells, which creates a terrific amount of metabolic stress, as the cancer cells are already starved of glucose.

Insulin is then applied to lower the blood glucose levels to around 50 or 60 mg/dL, inducing mild hypoglycemia. At that point, when the cancer cells are maximally stressed and weakened, the chemotherapy drug is applied. An added boon of this metabolic approach is that a far lower dose of chemotherapy can be effectively used, thereby lowering the risk of side effects.

In the days following chemotherapy, hyperthermia and hyperbaric oxygen therapy is applied, plus a daily infusion of glycolytic inhibitor therapies with high-dose vitamin C (50 grams) and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO).

Metabolically Supported Chemotherapy Successfully Treats Aggressive Cancers

Two years ago, Slocum’s oncology team published its first paper,¹⁴ reporting complete response for stage 3 rectal cancer. The standard of care for rectal cancer and the only curative option has been surgery or chemo-radiotherapy followed by surgery. In this case, they used metabolically supported chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hyperthermia. No surgery was necessary.

Their second paper,¹⁵ published in January 2016, was a case series of 33 patients with stage 3 and 4 pancreatic cancer — one of the most aggressive and deadly cancers known. Eighty-one percent of these patients had stage 4 disease when the treatment began, and many of them also had large scale liver metastasis. The typical life expectancy of someone with stage 4 pancreatic cancer is six to 10 months. Most die within weeks or months once they have large-scale liver metastasis.

The center treated them with a standard conventional protocol using chemotherapy applied in a metabolically supported fashion (which included the ketogenic diet, fasting prior to chemo administration, high-dose vitamin C, plus hyperthermia, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, supplements and glycolysis inhibitors).

The expected median survival time for the conventional chemotherapy protocol alone is between six and 11 months, depending on the drug used. But when given in combination with these other metabolic supports, the median survival time shot up to 20 months, and over 50% of the patients are still alive today!

Nutritional Ketosis Appears To Be a Key Component of Successful Cancer Treatment

Maintaining nutritional ketosis and fasting for a minimum of 14 hours before the chemotherapy treatment appears to be key for the overwhelming success rate achieved by ChemoThermia Oncology Center. A number of other researchers have verified the remarkable ability of a ketogenic diet to prevent and suppress cancer, and when you combine that with fasting and high-dose vitamin C, you end up creating a very hostile environment for cancer cells.

My book, “Fat for Fuel” — which has been peer-reviewed by over two dozen medical and scientific experts — details how to implement nutritional ketosis for optimal health and disease prevention. Besides the information presented in “Fat for Fuel,” you’ll also find many collaborative supports, including a nine-hour-long free video series that we hope to launch in early May.

Credentialed nutrition professional Miriam Kalamian is also developing a certification course to go along with it through the American College of Nutrition.

This certification will teach any qualified clinician — primarily certified clinical nutritionists but also physicians — how to practically implement nutritional ketosis. Eventually, I expect there will be a virtual army of clinicians available to assist patients with this kind of protocol. Hopefully, at that point we’ll finally start making a dent in cancer statistics.

An important but often overlooked aspect of nutritional ketosis is “feast and famine cycling.” Meaning, you don’t actually want to stay in ketosis indefinitely. The real magic actually happens during the refeeding phase, so one or two days a week, you’ll want to increase your carb and protein intake, and then cycle back into nutritional ketosis again.

ChemoThermia Oncology Center uses this kind of cycling as well, although under far stricter conditions. When you’re dealing with late-stage cancer, you cannot break your ketosis that frequently. However, on the days patients receive chemotherapy, which is once every two or three weeks, they’re allowed to eat as many carbohydrates as they want.

– Sources and References

Posted in Cancer, Radiation, Vitamins | No Comments »

Posted by: admin | Posted on: September 19, 2023

Cut, Poison, Burn — Is Radiation Treatment on the Way Out?

Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2023/09/19/radiation-treatment.aspx
The original Mercola article may not remain on the original site, but I will endeavor to keep it on this site as long as I deem it to be appropriate.

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola Fact Checked September 19, 2023

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

Under the cut, poison, burn model, cancer remains a top killer worldwide; by 2040, it’s expected that 29.5 million new cancer cases will occur each year, along with 16.4 million cancer-related deaths
Researchers are realizing that in some cases, radiation may be causing more harm than good — and leaving it out of cancer treatment entirely may not change the outcome
A 2022 study found no difference in outcomes among those who received radioactive iodine after surgery for thyroid cancer and those who did not after three years
In many low-risk cancer cases, omitting radiation from treatment did not have an effect on survival rates
Radiation therapy also increases the risk of solid tumors, including lung, thyroid, bone, pancreatic, stomach, liver and colorectal cancers, which often develop 10 years or more after the treatment; recent research also suggests cancer risks from low-dose radiation exposure may be underestimated

Modern medicine’s go-to strategies for cancer treatment are archaic, based on the “cut, poison, burn” model — or surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. The idea of using toxic therapies to destroy tumors should represent a last resort, if used at all, not a first-line treatment.

By their very nature, chemotherapy and radiation have devastating effects on the human body and the healing process, leaving providers to walk a fine line between issuing a dose strong enough to destroy the tumor without killing the patient. Often, basic supportive strategies designed to target cancer’s root causes — and boost the body’s capacity to heal — are ignored in favor of radiation and all of its significant side effects.

“The conventional approach seems to follow the logic ‘destroy to heal,’ and I just don’t know where that really occurs in nature outside conventional cancer treatment. Healing has to be your focus and goal to achieve healing. You have to heal to heal,” Dr. Nathan Goodyear explained in our 2022 interview.¹

Under the cut, poison, burn model, cancer remains a top killer worldwide. By 2040, it’s expected that 29.5 million new cancer cases will occur each year, along with 16.4 million cancer-related deaths.² The tide may be slowly turning, however, with some in the field suggesting radiation treatment for cancer may be fading out.³

Radiation for Cancer — A Focus on Omission or De-Escalation

Speaking with STAT, Corey Speers, vice chair of radiation oncology at the University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center and Case Western Reserve University, stated that radiation may be on the way out in many cases of cancer treatment:⁴

“We are in an era of radiation omission or de-escalation. Radiation is perhaps one of the most precise and most effective cancer therapies we have, so it will always play an important role in cancer management, but there are situations now on an individual patient basis where radiation may not be needed.”

The fact is, using radiation to kill cancer cells without causing extreme side effects in the patient is not an exact science. “The balance has always been the question — is reducing the intensity of treatment going to impact the long-term effectiveness? People didn’t know what to do starting off, so they decided to treat people until they had to stop — until they couldn’t take it anymore,” Abram Recht, a radiation oncologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, told STAT.⁵

Now, however, researchers are realizing that in some cases, radiation may be causing more harm than good — and leaving it out of treatment entirely may not change the outcome.

“There’s also been this long history of trying to reduce the morbidity of radiation in different ways, and the big thing that people think about is the best way to reduce morbidity is to not give it at all,” Recht said.⁶ For example, in certain low-risk cases involving lymphoma,⁷ thyroid cancer⁸ and others, omitting radiation from treatment did not have an effect on survival rates.⁹

If You Don’t Need It, ‘You Shouldn’t Receive It’

Radiation is often offered as a failsafe to patients after surgery, to catch any cancer cells that may be left behind. But only recently have scientists begun to show that outcomes are often the same whether a patient receives radiation or not. This seems to be the case for low-risk cases of thyroid cancer.

After surgery, “It’s almost a given that once patients have their thyroid taken out, they get radioactive iodine,” David Cooper, an endocrinologist at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, told STAT. “Recently, people have been wondering whether it really does what it’s supposed to, whether its potential harms are worth the potential benefits.”¹⁰

The radioactive iodine is taken in by thyroid cells and thyroid cancer cells alike, resulting in cell death. But a 2022 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found no difference in outcomes among those who received the radioactive iodine and those who did not after three years. In other words, receiving radiation therapy is useless in these cases:¹¹

“In patients with low-risk thyroid cancer undergoing thyroidectomy, a follow-up strategy that did not involve the use of radioiodine was noninferior to an ablation strategy with radioiodine regarding the occurrence of functional, structural, and biologic events at 3 years.”

In 2012, scientist and oncologist Dr. Sophie Leboulleux and colleagues conducted a study that found a much smaller dose of radiation than was the norm at that time could manage low-risk thyroid cancer, noting, “The administration of the smallest possible amount of radioiodine would improve care.”¹²

This led the team to conduct the 2022 New England Journal of Medicine Study. Leboulleux told STAT, “For low-risk [thyroid cancer] we felt there might not be any need for it. So we decided to do another study to see if radioiodine therapy was even useful.” Indeed, it turned out it was not. “Radiation is just one more worry for a patient. Once you know that you don’t need it, I don’t think you should receive it,” she said.¹³

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Radiation Treatment Can Cause Cancer

Radiation treatment should be avoided as much as possible, since it’s toxic by nature. The side effects vary depending on the area of the body being treated. Along with fatigue, which is a near universal side effect of radiation therapy, you may experience any of the following:¹⁴

Hair loss	Memory problems	Nausea and vomiting
Skin changes	Headaches	Blurry vision
Swelling and tenderness	Throat problems, including trouble swallowing	Cough
Shortness of breath	Mouth problems	Taste changes
Less active thyroid gland	Diarrhea	Sexual problems
Fertility problems	Urinary and bladder problems

There’s also a risk that radiation therapy will lead to the development of a second cancer. Radiation exposure is a risk factor for most types of leukemia, along with myelodysplastic syndrome, a type of bone marrow cancer that may turn into leukemia.

Radiation therapy also increases the risk of solid tumors, including lung, thyroid, bone, pancreatic, stomach, liver and colorectal cancers, which often develop 10 years or more after the treatment. In one study of 52,613 patients who received radiation therapy, an increased risk of second cancer was found even after 40 years compared to the general population.¹⁵

“Radiotherapy has been considered as a double-edged sword as it has a well-established role in the management of solid cancers but unfortunately it is likely to induce cancers years after the treatment,” researchers explained in Radiation Oncology Journal.¹⁶ Chemotherapy is also linked with the development of second cancers.¹⁷

Susan Wadia-Ells, Ph.D., was inspired to write “Busting Breast Cancer: Five Simple Steps to Keep Breast Cancer Out of Your Body” after losing several friends to recurrent metastatic breast cancer, meaning cancer that was “successfully treated” at an early stage, only to later return as a terminal stage or metastatic disease.¹⁸

If you are going to submit your body to radiation, it’s best to protect your body with molecular hydrogen, probably two tablets twice a day for three days before and after the treatment. It would also be helpful to make sure you are taking 50 mg of niacinamide three times a day and methylene blue 50 mg once a day for a few days before and after the treatment.

Even Low-Dose Radiation Exposure Increases Cancer Deaths

Efforts to eliminate radiation therapy altogether may be necessary to protect cancer patients from subsequent cancers. A study that investigated workers in the nuclear industry in France, the U.K. and the U.S., who are exposed to low doses of ionizing radiation over longer periods of time, found an increased risk of cancer mortality.¹⁹

A linear increase in the relative rate of cancer was found with increasing radiation exposure, and risk of solid cancers increased by 52% for every unit of radiation each worker absorbed.²⁰ The cancer risks from low-dose radiation exposure may, in fact, be underestimated. According to the study:²¹

“For the purposes of radiation protection, people often assume that low dose rate exposures pose less carcinogenic hazard than the high dose rate exposures experienced by the Japanese atomic bomb survivors … Our study does not find evidence of reduced risk per unit dose for solid cancer among workers typically exposed to radiation at low dose rates.”

Dr. Nasha Winters is a naturopathic physician who specializes in supporting patients with cancer. She also trains clinicians and consults with those treating cancer patients. Winter is the coauthor of “Mistletoe and the Emerging Future of Integrative Oncology,” and is herself a cancer survivor, so this topic is close to her heart.

Mistletoe Can Be Used as an Adjunct for All Cancers

According to Winters, mistletoe is likely to be useful as an adjunct therapy for all cancers, and she, along with several other doctors, has been training physicians on how to use mistletoe for several years now.

“One of our physicians has been using mistletoe for 45 years in his practice, and what we’ve seen clinically, and what the research suggests, is that this therapy, it has always been about using it with others. It plays very well with others.

It was never really developed to be a standalone therapy, though believe me, we’ve seen impact with that as well. And it has virtually no contraindications with any of our standard of care therapies. So, we can literally inject this into a patient the morning before they go into a surgery, or they can start on this therapy the very day they’re going to start a round of chemotherapy or radiation.

It bypasses first phase detox pathways of the liver, so it doesn’t interact, intervene, speed up or slow down detox processes that could otherwise cause some adverse events, or change the desired effect of a certain medication, herbal intervention or dietary intervention.”

Mistletoe Modulates Immune Function

Your immune system and metabolic function are both integral parts of addressing cancer, and mistletoe works on both. It’s important to recognize, however, that it’s not a magic bullet. If you’re eating a standard American diet and are metabolically dysfunctional, mistletoe is not going to be as effective as for someone who is also eating a healthy whole food diet and supporting their health in other ways.

That said, mistletoe is an immunomodulator. Immune therapies are all the rage right now, with a majority of research dollars being funneled into them. Yet the effectiveness rate for these therapies is less than 20%. In other words, they’re hardly a cure.

– Sources and References

¹ BitChute, Dr. Nathan Goodyear Discusses Benefits of Vitamin C in Cancer Treatment August 3, 2022
² NIH National Cancer Institute, Cancer Statistics
^3, ^4, ^5, ^6, ⁹ STAT News August 15, 2023
⁷ Journal of Clinical Oncology 41, no. 17_suppl (June 10, 2023) LBA7505-LBA7505
^8, ¹¹ N Engl J Med 2022; 386:923-932
^10, ¹³ STAT News March 9, 2022
¹² N Engl J Med 2012; 366:1663-1673
¹⁴ NIH National Cancer Institute, Radiation Therapy Side Effects
^15, ¹⁶ Radiat Oncol J. 2018 Jun; 36(2): 85–94. 3. Gynecological malignancies
¹⁷ American Cancer Society, Second Cancers Related to Treatment
¹⁸ BitChute, Dr. Mercola Interviews Susan Wadia-Ells May 6, 2021
¹⁹ BMJ 2023;382:e074520
²⁰ Medical Xpress August 16, 2023
²¹ BMJ 2023;382:e074520, Comparison with other studies

Posted in Cancer, Chemotherapy, Radiation, Supplements | No Comments »

Posted by: admin | Posted on: July 27, 2023

How Curcumin Targets Cancer

Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2023/07/25/curcumin-health-benefits.aspx
The original Mercola article may not remain on the original site, but I will endeavor to keep it on this site as long as I deem it to be appropriate.

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola Fact Checked July 25, 2023

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

The bioactive ingredient in turmeric is curcumin, responsible for over 150 potentially therapeutic activities in your body
Curcumin has demonstrated preventive and treatment actions against cancer cells, and may help both reduce the negative effects of chemotherapy agents and intensify the cancer-killing abilities of the drugs
Consumed alone, bioavailability of curcumin is poor; however, there are methods that may improve absorption and help raise your therapeutic levels

Editor’s Note: This article is a reprint. It was originally published September 17, 2018.

Turmeric, a yellow curry spice used in Indian cuisine, has a long history of medicinal use in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Ayurvedic medicine. Curcumin is one of the most well-studied bioactive ingredients in turmeric,¹ having over 150 potentially therapeutic activities, including anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and powerful anticancer actions.

Cancer has an incredible global impact and places a vast financial and emotional burden on the families it touches. Nearly 40% of American men and women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime and over $125 billion is spent annually on medical treatment and patient care.²

The American Cancer Society estimated there would be over 1.6 million new cases diagnosed in 2017, equating to 4,630 new cases and 1,650 deaths every day.³ The most common types of cancer include breast, colon, lung and prostate.⁴

Despite advances in cancer treatment protocols, scientists realize prevention plays an essential role in reducing the number of people who die from the disease. After 30 years of testing more than 1,000 different possible anticancer substances, the National Cancer Institute announced that curcumin has joined an elite group that will now be used in clinical trials for chemoprevention.⁵

Curcumin May Play a Multitargeted Role Against Cancer Cells

Download Interview Transcript | Video Link

In this interview, Dr. William LaValley discusses the interaction curcumin has on cancer and the multiple ways this molecule affects cancer growth. If you have ever been diagnosed with cancer, it may feel as if it grew overnight when, in fact, cancer cells take years to develop.

The progression of a cell from normal growth to cancer happens through several stages. Deregulation of physiological and mechanical processes that initiate and promote the growth of cancer cells makes use of hundreds of genes and signaling routes, making it apparent a multitargeted approach is needed for prevention and treatment.

Research has demonstrated that curcumin has a broad range of actions as it is able to affect multiple cellular targets.⁶ Studies have found, based on the activities of curcumin in the body, the spice could be an effective method of cancer prevention, or in treatment when used in conjunction with conventional treatment protocols.

The multifaceted action of curcumin has made it useful in the treatments of several different types of diseases, including colon cancer,⁷ pancreatic cancer⁸ and amyloidosis.⁹

Curcumin triggers a variety of actions that affect the growth, replication and death of cancer cells. Cancer cells lose the ability to die naturally, which plays a significant role in the hyperproliferation of cells common to cancer. Curcumin is able to turn on the apoptosis (cell death) signaling pathway, enabling the cells to die within a natural time span.¹⁰

Cancer cells thrive in an inflammatory environment. Although short-term inflammation is beneficial for healing, long-term inflammation increases your risk of disease. Curcumin is able to block the pro-inflammatory response at several points and reduce the levels of inflammatory cytokines in the body.¹¹

The strong anti-inflammatory effects of curcumin may match the effect of some drugs.¹² Early in development, cancer cells learn to replicate and grow in an environment cells normally find inhospitable. Curcumin may change the signaling through several pathways, and put a stop to this replication.¹³

Curcumin may also stop the ability of cancer stem cells from replicating and reduce the potential for recurrence after treatment. Curcumin also helps support your immune system, capable of seeking out and destroying early cancer cells naturally.

Curcumin May Enhance Cancer Treatment and Chemotherapy

Some of the same ways that curcumin works in your body are the processes used to enhance your cancer treatments and chemotherapy.

While some chemotherapy has been developed to target specific cells, most therapy drugs are nonspecific and affect all cells in your body. Some studies in the past decade have demonstrated exciting potential for curcumin in the fight against cancer.

In addition to changes to your cells mentioned above, researchers have found curcumin may help protect your body against the damage caused from chemotherapy and radiation treatments, and it may enhance the effect of these same treatments, making them more effective.

These effects have been demonstrated in animal models treating head and neck tumors,¹⁴ and in culture of human breast, esophageal and colon cancers.^15,¹⁶

Patients treated for chronic myeloid leukemia with chemotherapy exhibited a reduction in cancer growth factor when curcumin was added to the treatment protocol, potentially improving the results of the chemotherapy over being used alone.¹⁷

Protection against radiation therapy was demonstrated in a study using breast cancer patients receiving radiation therapy.¹⁸ At the end of the study those taking curcumin had less radiation damage to their skin.

Curcumin has also been effective against angiogenesis in tumors, or the growth of new blood vessels to feed the overgrowth of cancer cells, and against metastasis.¹⁹

Curcumin is able to affect cancer cells through multiple pathways and has fulfilled the traits for an ideal cancer prevention agent as it has low toxicity, is affordable and is easily accessible. However, while effective, it has poor bioavailability on its own.²⁰

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Poor Absorption Has One Benefit

In my interview with LaValley, he discussed the poor bioavailability of curcumin in raw form. Only 1% of the product will be absorbed; even supplements that have a 95% concentration are absorbed at 1%.

This means, when the supplement is taken alone, it is a challenge to maintain a therapeutic level. However, in the case of colon cancer, this poor absorption into the bloodstream may be an advantage.

As there is poor absorption, higher levels of curcumin stay in the intestinal tract for longer periods of time, having an effect on gastrointestinal cancers. In one study, participants took a 1,080 milligram (mg) dose per day of curcumin for 10 to 30 days between their initial biopsy and surgical removal.

The patients taking the supplement experienced a reduction in blood levels of inflammatory agent, improvement in their body weight and an increased number of dying tumor cells.²¹

A team of scientists at the University of Pittsburgh and at Pondicherry University, India, discovered the bioactive ingredient in turmeric, curcumin, can both prevent and cure bowel cancers.²² The team found the compound triggered cancer cell death by increasing a level of protein labeled GADD45a.²³ Lead author Rajasekaran Baskaran, Ph.D., who has more than 20 years of experience in cancer research, commented:²⁴

“Studies on the effect of curcumin on cancer and normal cells will be useful for the ongoing preclinical and clinical investigations on this potential chemopreventive agent.”

As an increased bioavailability and absorption may also improve the actions of curcumin in the body, researchers have studied a variety of different delivery methods, including oral, intravenous, subcutaneous and intraperitoneal, as well as different formulations of the product.²⁵

Bioavailability improved when curcumin was delivered as a nanoparticle, in combination with poly(lactic)-co-glycolic acid, liposomal encapsulation²⁶ and when taken orally with piperine, the active ingredient in black pepper.²⁷

Multiple Types of Cancer Affected by Curcumin

Research demonstrates that while curcumin has multiple pathways through which it impacts cancer cells, the substance also has an effect on multiple types of cancer. Studies estimate that genetics may play a role in approximately 5% of all cancers, with the majority of cancer growth attributed to lifestyle choices.²⁸

Research demonstrates curcumin exhibits activity against breast cancer and decreases the toxic effect against some of the chemotherapy agents commonly used.²⁹ Mitomycin C is a potent antineoplastic drug. However, prolonged use may lead to kidney and bone marrow damage, with secondary tumor growth. Curcumin appears to reduce the side effects of Mitomycin C and improve the efficiency of the drug at the same time.³⁰

Another study demonstrated that curcumin inhibited the growth and metastasis of lung cancer cells.³¹ One of the deadliest cancers worldwide, pancreatic cancer, also appears to respond to the use of curcumin in preclinical trials.³² The antiproliferative effects on pancreatic cancer appeared to be from a reduction in oxidative stress and angiogenesis and triggering apoptosis of cancer cells.

Apoptosis, anti-inflammatory actions, reduction in angiogenesis and reduction in the adverse effects of chemotherapeutic agents has also led researchers to consider curcumin an adjunctive therapy in the treatment of liver cancer.³³ Curcumin also inhibited and slowed the development of bladder cancer in rats,³⁴ stopped the formation of metastasis in prostate cancer,³⁵ and when combined with ultrasound, increased death of cervical cancer cells.³⁶

But not all scientists are convinced by the number of studies over the past 15 years demonstrating the multiple effects curcumin has on the inflammatory response and cancers, as well as the low toxicity profile.³⁷ In one meta-analysis, researchers claimed curcumin could not meet the criteria for a good drug candidate.³⁸

More Benefits to Curcumin

Curcumin offers additional benefits to your health. It may work as well as some anti-inflammatory medications to treat arthritic conditions.³⁹ In combination with aerobic exercise, curcumin was found to improve endothelial cell function in postmenopausal women,⁴⁰ and was also found to ameliorate arterial dysfunction and oxidative stress in the elderly.⁴¹

Disease processes may increase oxidative stress and free radical formation in your body. Curcumin is a potent antioxidant,⁴² but also may boost the function of your body’s own antioxidant enzymes.⁴³

Your brain can develop new connections powered by brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF).⁴⁴ Reduced levels of this hormone may be linked to depression and Alzheimer’s disease. However, curcumin can increase your levels of BDNF⁴⁵ and effectively reduce your potential for suffering from age-related reduction in brain function.⁴⁶

Researchers have also discovered that curcumin has an effect on several pathways in your body that may reverse insulin resistance, hyperlipidemia and other symptoms associated with metabolic syndrome and obesity.⁴⁷ The reduced potential for metabolic syndrome and obesity is related to the anti-inflammatory effects of curcumin, which may also have an effect on heart disease, atherosclerosis and Type 2 diabetes.⁴⁸

Genetic Regulation May Be One Way Curcumin Fights Cancer

It is becoming widely accepted that cancer is not a preprogrammed inevitability, but rather the result of the impact of your environment on genetic regulation that may trigger cancer cell growth. There are multiple influences that may damage or mutate DNA, and consequently alter genetic expression, including:

Nutritional deficiencies	Stress
Free radical damage	Toxins and pollution
Chronic infections	Infectious toxic by-products
Hormonal imbalances	Chronic inflammation

Researchers have demonstrated curcumin may affect more than 100 different pathways in your cells, helping to prevent hyperproliferation of cell growth characteristic of cancer, and aiding in the treatment of the disease. Through the reduction of inflammation, prevention of the development of additional blood supply to support cancer cell growth and destruction of mutated cells to reduce metastasis, curcumin has great medicinal and preventive potential.

Several studies have demonstrated an impact on transcription factors and signaling pathways, and have reviewed the molecular mechanisms curcumin uses to regulate and modulate gene expression.^49,^50,⁵¹ Overall, curcumin is powerful, cost-effective and has a low toxicity profile.⁵²

Using a Curcumin Supplement

Turmeric is a wonderful spice used in Eastern culture cuisine. It is one spice I recommend for your kitchen as it works well with tomato sauces, soups, leafy greens, cauliflower, stir-fries and stews. Choose a high-quality turmeric powder instead of curry powder as studies have found some curry powders have very little curcumin.

If you are looking for therapeutic effects, you may want to consider a supplement. It is difficult to achieve a dose of curcumin used in research solely from your diet. Typical anticancer doses range between 8 grams and 12 grams of curcumin.

You can increase the absorption by making a microemulsion, combining 1 tablespoon of curcumin powder with one or two egg yolks and 1 to 2 teaspoons of melted coconut oil, as the curcumin is fat soluble. Then use a hand blender on high speed to emulsify the powder.

Absorption may also be increased through boiling. Add 1 tablespoon into a quart of boiling water. (If you add it to room temperature water and then boil, it doesn’t work as well.) After boiling it for 10 minutes, you will have created a 12% solution and you can drink this once it has cooled down. The curcumin will gradually fall out of the solution over time, and in about six hours it will be a 6% solution, so it is best to drink the water within four hours.

Curcumin is a very potent yellow pigment and can permanently discolor surfaces if you aren’t careful. To avoid inadvertently staining your kitchen yellow, I recommend you perform any mixing under the hood of your stove with the exhaust fan on to make sure no powder gets into your kitchen.

Alternatively, it is far easier to take curcumin in supplement form — just make sure it’s a high-quality brand that is formulated to increase bioavailability. And, look for a turmeric extract with at least 95% curcuminoids. Just be aware that these are relatively rare and hard to find.

– Sources and References

¹ Scientific American March 25, 2015
^2, ⁴ National Cancer Institute, Cancer Statistics
³ American Cancer Society, Cancer Statistics Center
⁵ Cancer Prevention Research 2013; 6(5):387-400
⁶ Toxins 2010; 2(1):128-162
⁷ Current Pharmaceutical Design 2002; 8(19):165-1706
⁸ Integrative Cancer Therapies 2016; 15(3):333-334
⁹ Scientific Reports, 2016; 6(26623)
¹⁰ Current Cancer Drug Targets, 2005; 5(2):117-129
¹¹ International Journal of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, 2009;41(1):40-59
¹² Alternative Medicine Review 2009; 14(2): 141
¹³ LifeExtension, September 2016
¹⁴ Molecular Cancer Therapeutics 2010; 9(10) 2665
¹⁵ Translational Oncology 2010; 3(2):99-108
¹⁶ International Journal of Radiation Oncology 2009; 75(2): 534
¹⁷ Journal of Oncology Pharmacy Practice 2012;18(2):186
¹⁸ Radiation Research, 2013; 180(1):34-43
^19, ⁵² American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists Journal, 2009;11(3): 495
²⁰ Cancer Prevention Research, 2013; 6(5): 387
²¹ Cancer Investigation 2011; 29(3):208
^22, ²⁴ Times of India, March 10, 2016
²³ Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, 2016; 414(1-2): 13-22
^25, ²⁶ Cancer Research Treatment 2014; 46(1): 2-18
²⁷ Nutrition Facts, February 5, 2015
²⁸ Cancer Letters, 2008; 267(1):133-64
^29, ³⁰ Journal of Breast Cancer 2013; 16(2) 133-137
³¹ Oncotarget 2016; 7(18):26535-26550
³² Nutrients 2016; 8(7):E433
³³ Hepatoma Research September 3, 2016 Home Articles Article Topic: Natural Products and Hepatocellular Carcinoma
³⁴ Cancer Letters 2008; 264(2): 299 – 308
³⁵ Medical News Today, October 2012
³⁶ European Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology 2015; 193:96-101
³⁷ Forbes January 19, 2017
³⁸ Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 2017;The Essential Medicinal Chemistry of Curcumin
³⁹ Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 2003; 9(1):161-168
⁴⁰ Nutrition Research 2012; 32(10):795
⁴¹ Experimental Gerontology 2014; 48(2):269-276
⁴² Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology 2007; 595:105-125
⁴³ Toxicological and Environmental Chemistry 2013; 95(6)
⁴⁴ Growth Factors 2004; 22(3):123-131
⁴⁵ Brain Research 2006; 1122(1):56-64
⁴⁶ PLOS|One February 2012
⁴⁷ European Journal of Nutrition 2011; 50(3):151-161
⁴⁸ Annual Review of Nutrition 2010; 30:173
⁴⁹ Biofactors 2013; 39(1):37-55
⁵⁰ Nutrition and Cancer 2012;64(4):607-616
⁵¹ Anticancer Research 2010;30(10):4007

Posted in Cancer, Chemotherapy, DNA, Radiation, Supplements | One Comment »

Posted by: admin | Posted on: July 27, 2023

Why Molecular Hydrogen Is a Superior Antioxidant

Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2023/07/23/why-molecular-hydrogen-superior-antioxidant.aspx
The original Mercola article may not remain on the original site, but I will endeavor to keep it on this site as long as I deem it to be appropriate.

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola Fact Checked July 23, 2023

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

Molecular hydrogen acts as a selective antioxidant, meaning it doesn’t indiscriminately suppress free radicals
It uses your body’s biological systems and feedback loops to identify where and when you’re under oxidative stress, and when found, pathways are activated and key proteins released that cause your DNA to make the antioxidants themselves
Molecular hydrogen is not intrinsically an antioxidant. Rather, it helps your body make its own endogenous antioxidants. This is what makes molecular hydrogen so unique
Molecular hydrogen has been shown to have therapeutic benefits in more than 170 different animal disease models
The reason it has such diverse benefits in so many different disease models is because all of them have excessive oxidative stress, redox dysregulation and inflammation as their root cause. By regulating the oxidative pathways, molecular hydrogen is able to address these root causes

In this interview, repeat guest Tyler LeBaron, MSc., Ph.D., reviews some of the many benefits of molecular hydrogen (H₂). Perhaps most importantly, molecular hydrogen acts as a selective antioxidant, meaning it doesn’t indiscriminately suppress free radicals.

It uses your body’s own biological systems and feedback loops to identify where and when you’re under oxidative stress, and when found, antioxidant genes are stimulated and key antioxidants are transcribed from your DNA. So, molecular hydrogen is not in and of itself a direct radical-scavenging antioxidant. Rather, it helps your body make its own endogenous antioxidants. This is what makes molecular hydrogen so unique.

This is crucial because excessive antioxidants use can be deleterious and molecular hydrogen serves as a redox regulator, so, just like Goldilocks, you get just the right amount, not too much and not too little, which makes your cells very happy.

H₂ Activates Nrf2 Pathway

One of the pathways activated by H₂ when free radicals are present is the Nrf2 pathway. LeBaron explains:

“In your cell you have this protein, Nrf2, and it’s attached to Keap1. They’re always attached together. But when you get oxidative stress … it can cleave off.

[Oxidative stress] causes the cleaving off of the Nrf2 and the Keap1, and the Nrf2 can then diffuse into the nucleus [where] it binds to the ARE, the antioxidant response element of the DNA. [This triggers] the production of all these endogenous antioxidants — Phase 2 enzymes of detoxification and antioxidation — and there are over 200 of them.”

This is one of the primary benefits of molecular hydrogen. It’s also what makes molecular hydrogen so useful for such a wide variety of conditions. According to LeBaron, it’s been shown to have therapeutic benefits in more than 170 different animal disease models.

“What this means is, for example, there are lots of ways to induce diabetes in an animal model. Using these different models, we can show molecular hydrogen has therapeutic effects. And, yes, the Nrf2 in some cases seems to be extremely important. In fact, by using gene knockout or or interfering RNA, you can blunt the benefits of molecular hydrogen. So, the Nrf2 is very important,” LeBaron says.

Molecular Hydrogen Is an Important Nrf2 Regulator

Sulforaphane, found in broccoli, is another well-studied Nrf2 activator. But in contrast to sulforaphane (as well as other Nrf2 activators), molecular hydrogen does not disturb redox homeostasis within the cell by adding too many antioxidants.

Redox homeostasis is when there’s a specific balance between reducing and oxidizing reactions within the cell. Homeostasis is what you need for optimal cellular health, and either too many free radicals or too many antioxidants can have detrimental effects. When you add molecular hydrogen to a cell that is already at redox homeostasis, however, there’s no increase in Nrf2 or other proteins, so it doesn’t accidentally push it out of homeostasis. As explained by LeBaron:

“That’s important because we don’t want to have reductive stress. If you were to induce the Nrf2 pathway indiscriminately and just keep it going, that would be reductive stress and that would be problematic.

In fact, there are genetic mutations where the Nrf2 is hyperactivated, and that leads to all sorts of problems. Cancer sometimes can activate the Nrf2 really strongly … So what we really are talking about is the regulation of Nrf2.

When we administer molecular hydrogen to healthy cells, we don’t see changes in the Nrf2 level at the protein level. However, if we were to administer a toxin or some other stress, that’s when we would see that molecular hydrogen was able to induce the Nrf2 — and many other proteins, not just the Nrf2 — and provide a protective effect.

That is different than anything else out there. And it has this pretreatment effect as well. So, for example, in one study, they administered molecular hydrogen into a cell culture, and after that, they administered a common environmental toxin.

The exposure caused a decrease in the antioxidant status. So, you could see markers of increased oxidative stress, you could see decrease in superoxide dismutase levels, all these important antioxidants, as well as a decrease in NAD+ to NADH ratio. Having a high ratio is very important, and this stress caused a reduction in this ratio.

However, in the cells that were pretreated with molecular hydrogen, it prevented those reductions from happening, and it provided a protective effect for 24 hours even after the hydrogen gas was out of the cell culture and there was no molecular hydrogen left. That’s because molecular hydrogen works at the gene level, epigenetically even, modulating proteins, the signaling pathways and the phosphorylation cascades …

So, we’re not just activating Nrf2. We’re regulating its production so it’s not too high, not too low … [Molecular hydrogen is an] adaptogenic redox regulator, basically …

And, we are able to provide a protective effect for, say, 24 hours in this case, as opposed to only when it’s present. It’s amazing to think that molecular hydrogen is able to change how the genes express themselves so that it’s going to have favorable effects even after it’s out of the body.”

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Considerations When Administering Molecular Hydrogen

While there’s no risk of overdosing on molecular hydrogen, intermittent exposure produces the best results. It’s also important to get the optimal concentration of H₂ molecules to your cells, at least a concentration of about 10 micromolar or higher at the cellular level.

Dose-dependent benefits are seen between 10 micromolar all the way up to 800 micromolar, which is considered the saturation level of molecular hydrogen in water at sea level. The therapeutic dose of regular hydrogen water is 0.5 milligrams per liter (mg/L). Saturation is reached at 1.57 mg/L, but some technologies such as tablets can give much higher levels.

So, when we talk about the “right” and “wrong” ways to take molecular hydrogen, it has to do with the concentration of H₂ that you’re getting. For example, the “wrong” way to drink H₂ water might be to take a few sips every few minutes, finishing it in an hour.

With each passing minute, the H₂ concentration reduces, leaving you with next to nothing by the time you’re finished. You also won’t get that approximate 10 micromolar level concentration required to transcribe the DNA to produce your endogenous antioxidants.

When using molecular hydrogen tablets, which is my preferred method, the nanobubbles contain hydrogen gas, so once the bubbles are gone, you’ve lost most of the hydrogen. So, to ensure maximum concentration, you have to drink it as soon as the tablet has dissolved and the water is still cloudy-looking.

Hydrogen is the smallest-known molecule in the universe and it has no electrical charge, so it can easily penetrate any cell membrane once in your body. However, it will follow a concentration gradient, so when you drink hydrogen water, it’ll go to the stomach first, followed by the intestines and liver before entering your systemic circulation.

“Through Brownian motion and this diffusion gradient, it’ll be a passive diffusion, simple diffusion into the cells, where it’s going to induce effects,” LeBaron says.

“So going back to the tablets, the concentration of the hydrogen in the tablets is not just in dissolved form, but it’s in this quasi-suspended, micro-macro nano bubble form that has a lot of hydrogen density, so to speak, in the water.

So, it’s not going to be as stable. So, absolutely, in that case, you’ve got to drink it very, very quickly while it’s still cloudy. Otherwise, you’re going to lose a high percentage of the hydrogen …

Unfortunately, some hydrogen products do not reach that threshold of 0.5 mg/L. But with the tablets, because so much [hydrogen] is dissolved and a lot of that is in the suspended or quasi form, you have a very high volume of molecular hydrogen, which requires you to drink it faster, but you can get these higher doses of molecular hydrogen.”

What to Look for When Buying Molecular Hydrogen

When it comes to buying a high-quality H₂ product, make sure it’s certified according to the International Hydrogen Standards Association (IHSA). This is your assurance that the product is truly capable of at least delivering the proper amount of molecular hydrogen. LeBaron explains:

“We published a paper showing how ORP [oxidation-reduction potential] is very inaccurate, especially if the pH is anything but neutral. So, with the tablets, you might measure something like 0.5 mg/L when really it’s 5 mg/L because of the pH. So, we really can’t use ORP-type meters or other methods.

It has to be gas chromatography. And IHSA uses the gold standard, gas chromatography, and then does a series of testing for safety and purity and a number of other things in order to be classified as a product that could be recommended and used in clinical studies.”

In the interview, LeBaron also does a quick review on the ideal dosing when using inhaled hydrogen. I’ve limited my summary to hydrogen water here, as this is the easiest way to get it, and in many cases, drinking hydrogen water is more effective than inhalation. Molecular tablets are also ideal when traveling, as you can simply drop one in a glass of water.

“In certain cases, it’s 100 times more effective, just looking at different protein expressions, for example,” LeBaron says. “But in other scenarios, the inhalation might be able to work on different pathways, different areas that the drinking cannot, and so they don’t really compete with each other and there could be an additive or synergistic benefit from them.

In the past, I would say most of the research has been done on drinking hydrogen water in clinical studies, and that’s still probably the case, but there are more and more clinical studies being done now with the inhalation of molecular hydrogen that are showing favorable effects.”

Molecular Hydrogen Protects Against Radiation Damage

One of the benefits of molecular hydrogen is that it helps protect against radiation damage, including X-rays from medical diagnostics and the gamma rays you’re exposed to during flights. Every time I fly, I take it just before takeoff, as it takes about an hour before the ARE enzymes are activated and you start producing endogenous antioxidants.

Then I take it once every hour for as long as I’m in the air. If you’re using tablets, put one tablet in 16 ounces of room temperature water and drink it as soon as it’s dissolved. Cold water will make the tablet dissolve slower, so you’ll lose some H₂ while waiting for it to fully dissolve. Don’t use carbonated water as the carbon dioxide gas will lower the concentration of hydrogen gas that you can have in the water.

Alternatively, you could pretreat yourself by taking molecular hydrogen for two or three days beforehand. That way, by the time you’re exposed to the radiation, you’ll already have a level of built-in protection. If you need a CT scan, consider pretreating yourself for a couple of days and then take another dose about 30 minutes or so directly before the test.

Molecular Hydrogen Helps Ward Off EMF Damage

Molecular hydrogen may also help ward off some of the damage incurred by nonionizing electromagnetic fields (EMF). One theory advanced by Martin Pall, Ph.D., is that the primary danger of EMFs is the mitochondrial damage triggered by peroxynitrites, one of the most damaging types of reactive nitrogen species.

Low-frequency microwave radiation activates the voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs) in the outer membrane of your cells, causing them to open, thus allowing an abnormal influx of calcium ions. This activates nitric oxide, which is a precursor for peroxynitrite.¹

What we need to do is decrease the excessive production of superoxide or nitric oxide. Then we could essentially prevent peroxynitrite formation. And that’s exactly what molecular hydrogen does. ~ Tyler LeBaron, MSc, Ph.D.

These potent reactive nitrogen species are associated with an increased level of systemic inflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction and are thought to be a root cause for many of today’s chronic diseases.

Clearly, limiting your EMF exposure should be your primary strategy, but if for whatever reason you cannot, then you may want to consider taking molecular hydrogen regularly to increase your endogenous antioxidants and limit the damage from peroxynitrite and other oxidative stressors. How does this work? LeBaron explains:

“One of the first studies, published in Nature Medicine in 2007² … found that in addition to [molecular hydrogen’s] ability to reduce hydroxyl radicals, [it could] reduce peroxynitrite. We see a reduction of the peroxynitrite levels, and we also see reductions — like in animals and tissue samples — of nitrotyrosine levels, which is a marker of the peroxynitrite as well.

Now, calcium signals can induce nitric oxide and activate various NOX enzymes to increase superoxide production, and then you have superoxide and nitric oxide, and they react instantaneously. If they come in contact with each other, they will form peroxynitrite. The only thing that limits how fast they react is the rate of diffusion.

So, what we need to do is … decrease the excessive production of superoxide or nitric oxide. Then we could essentially prevent peroxynitrite formation. And that’s exactly what molecular hydrogen does.

This is really fascinating because if you took other antioxidants and you put them in the presence of nitric oxide or superoxide, you could scavenge them. They would donate their electrons and neutralize them. That can be good, but it can also be bad, because your body makes and specifically uses things like superoxide to increase mitochondrial biogenesis, or nitric oxide for vasodilation.

So, we don’t want to just neutralize all of these. Hydrogen [is] selective, and if you put molecular hydrogen in the presence of superoxide or nitric oxide, there is no reaction. They don’t have a strong enough oxidizing power for hydrogen to react, so we don’t have to worry about that happening.

The question then is, how does hydrogen help with the superoxide and the nitric oxide when their levels are in excess production? That goes to this signal modulating effect. With superoxide, typically that’s from NADPH oxidase or NOX enzymes that can become hyperactivated.

Molecular hydrogen has this ability to down-regulate this NOX enzyme, so you end up producing less superoxide in the first place. And, if you have less superoxide, then you’re going to make less peroxynitrite.

And then, on the other side, when you have nitric oxide production, you have three main isozymes or enzymes. You have the neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). eNOS, that’s in the endothelial cells, so typically, that’s good. You want more of that, you kind of lose that as you get older.

Incidentally enough, on a side note, molecular hydrogen can actually improve eNOS. So, we can have better blood perfusion and things in this way.

But the iNOS, specifically from macrophages, can be problematic. And hydrogen has this ability to down-regulate the activity of iNOS, of making this excessive nitric oxide production. So now you’re decreasing superoxide and nitric oxide levels, and consequently you get less peroxynitrite.”

How Molecular Hydrogen Can Optimize Exercise Performance

Molecular hydrogen can also be used to boost exercise endurance. LeBaron published a paper on this in the Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology a few years ago. There are also several others, including a systematic review and meta-analysis, that detail its favorable effects. As explained by LeBaron, it can help you push yourself harder, improve blood flow and reduce fatigue.

“One of the earliest studies found [molecular hydrogen could] prevent fatigue during a maximal isokinetic knee extension exercise. Isokinetic just means same speed, so you’re on a machine and you’re just doing these leg extensions. I think they did 50 in a row, and you just do them as hard as you can.

The group that took molecular hydrogen was able to maintain a higher force output during those 50 maximal isokinetic knee extensions. Also, they looked at exercising at around 70% your VO2 max, which is about close 70% of your max heart rate, and those who were doing this were able to exercise longer [and] had lower levels of lactate …

One interpretation is that molecular hydrogen may have improved the function of the mitochondria … Now, if we’re getting our ATP production from the mitochondria using aerobic respiration, then we don’t have to go through the anaerobic pathway of making lactate.

So that’s … why we’re seeing lactate decrease; we’re able to use the mitochondria to make ATP, so now we can exercise better, longer and have less fatigue, especially the perceived exertion.

There are also explanations in terms of lactate clearance and accelerating the Cori cycle and different things. But mitochondrial bioenergetics are probably a major target of molecular hydrogen …

[It’s also] protective, because when you exercise, you breathe a lot more and that’s going to make more free radicals. A lot of those free radicals are going to be very good for your body because it’s going to force you to make more antioxidants, it’s going to increase mitochondrial bioenergetics and all this stuff, but you’re still causing damage.

You’re still damaging DNA. With molecular hydrogen, you can negate or reduce the damaging effects of exercise while not inhibiting the benefits of exercise, and in fact, maybe even potentiating the benefits of exercises. This is the idea that hydrogen in some ways can act as an exercise mimetic. Not in the true sense, but maybe it’s a pseudo mimetic because it can activate some of the same metabolic pathways that exercise does.

And, in this case, it can maybe potentiate those benefits of exercise. Then again, to compare that to conventional antioxidants … taking high dose antioxidants can negate the benefits of exercise training.

Normally, with exercise you have improved insulin sensitivity, your glucose levels go down, you have better antioxidant status. Taking high levels of synthetic antioxidants can completely negate those benefits. So, again, hydrogen is superior because it doesn’t do that.”

How Molecular Hydrogen Rejuvenates Your Mitochondria

Interestingly, molecular hydrogen also induces heat shock protein responses, thereby mimicking some of the benefits of sauna therapy. One of the most important benefits of heat shock proteins is that they help refold misfolded proteins that no longer work properly and facilitates their removal if they can’t be properly refolded.

Some of LeBaron’s colleagues in Japan investigated this, showing molecular hydrogen is able to induce mtUPR, the mitochondrial unfolded protein response, which is thought to promote rejuvenation of the mitochondria. Molecular hydrogen has also been shown to upregulate collagen biosynthesis, which is important both for youthfulness and post-injury healing.

More Information

So, to recap, the reason molecular hydrogen can have such diverse benefits in so many different disease models is because, essentially, all of them have excessive oxidative stress, redox dysregulation and inflammation as their root cause.

By regulating the oxidative pathways, molecular hydrogen can address these root causes. It’s also selective and doesn’t create reductive stress by avoiding making excessive antioxidants if your body doesn’t need them.

For these reasons, it’s my absolute favorite antioxidant and, I believe, the best option for most. One potential contraindication would be if you have small intestinal bowel overgrowth (SIBO), as, theoretically, those bacteria may feed on the hydrogen. This has not been confirmed, but it’s a theoretical possibility. So, if you have SIBO, carefully evaluate how you feel after taking it.

If you want to take a deep dive into the science and application of molecular hydrogen, check out LeBaron’s courses, available at molecularhydrogeninstitute.org. The institute offers four levels of certification, plus an apprentice course, but you don’t have to be a health professional to take them.

“These courses are specifically designed to eradicate a lot of the misinformation, get the correct information out and allow you to think about how to use molecular hydrogen the best, how to optimize it and so on. So I think people are going to really like them,” he says.

– Sources and References

Posted in Antioxidant, DNA, EMF, Exercise, Hydrogen, Mitochondria, Radiation, Water, X-Rays | One Comment »

Posted by: admin | Posted on: March 16, 2023

MOUNTING evidence proves RF radiation causes cancer

Reproduced from original article:
https://www.naturalhealth365.com/mounting-evidence-proves-rf-radiation-causes-cancer.html

by: Sara Middleton, staff writer | March 13, 2023

(NaturalHealth365) In a new paper, an international team of experts – including a former director of the United States National Toxicology Program (NTP) – outline why they believe there is “substantial scientific evidence” that radiofrequency (RF) radiation has the potential to cause a wide range of harmful effects in humans.

From cancer to neurological effects and more, there are several potential health concerns you should be aware of – as well as several ways to protect your family.

“Substantial” evidence that exposure to RF radiation can lead to cancer, leading experts warn

According to the National Cancer Institute, radiofrequency (RF) radiation – described as a “type of non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation” – is a form of “low-energy” radiation emitted from things like wireless and cellular telephones, radios, televisions, radar, satellites, microwave ovens, smart meters, wireless headphones and other wearable devices, computers, and wireless networks (WiFi).

“Although there have been health concerns,” the National Cancer Institute continues on a webpage defining the term, “most types of radiofrequency radiation have not been found to cause harmful health effects, including cancer.” However, a recent paper published online in Environmental Research calls these claims into question.

The paper was co-authored by four subject matter experts, including two toxicologists, a physicist, and a double-board certified physician (Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Endocrinology) and professor at the Yale School of Medicine. In it, the authors begin by pointing out that the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concluded over a decade ago that RF radiation from cell phones is a “possible human carcinogen.” They add that senior advisors from the World Health Organization (WHO) recently surmised that “if [radiofrequency radiation] were evaluated based on more current studies, it would be upgraded to a probable if not confirmed human carcinogen.”

In addition, 2018 animal research conducted by the U.S. NTP “provided clear evidence that mobile phone radiation caused cancer in male rats, along with cardiac and other systemic damage, as well as DNA damage in multiple organs in both rats and mice.”

Despite these and other findings showing neurological, endocrinological, and other systemic harms caused by RF radiation, the authors warn that “industry-affiliated scientists” routinely dismiss the growing body of evidence revealing harm from these ubiquitous radiation-emitting devices.

Moreover, the authors accuse the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of not appropriately utilizing the so-called “Precautionary Principle,” which, while imperfect, is the current standard by which governing agencies “[establish] public policy to guard the safety of the general public from potentially harmful materials, practices or technologies.”

For example, the authors note that the current exposure standards set by the FCC “consider only thermal effects” for their potential harm, despite “mounting evidence of non-thermal effects of exposure to electromagnetic radiation in biological systems and human populations.”

“We conclude that there is substantial scientific evidence that [RF radiation] causes cancer, endocrinological, neurological and other adverse health effects,” the authors say before mincing absolutely no words in their indictment of the FCC and other agencies tasked with protecting public health: “In light of this evidence, the primary mission of public bodies, such as the FCC, to protect public health has not been fulfilled. Rather, we find that industry convenience is being prioritized and thereby subjecting the public to avoidable risks” (emphasis ours).

Quoted in a March 3, 2023 article published by Children’s Health Defense, Co-author Devra Davis, PhD, MPH, “We know enough now to take steps to reduce exposure to this … It’s time.”

5 simple ways to reduce your exposure to radiofrequency radiation

Out of an abundance of caution, we encourage readers to reduce their families’ exposure to radiofrequency radiation.

Ever wondered how? Here are some suggestions from sources, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA):

Spend less time on your cell phone and minimize or eliminate your use of wireless headphones, wireless speakers, and other technology devices that rely on Bluetooth or WiFi
Especially avoid using your phone when your cell signal is weak, “as this causes cell phones to boost RF transmission power,” according to the FDA
Avoid using your phone while traveling at high speeds (e.g., in a bus, car, or train), as this can also increase RF transmission power as your phone tries to connect to multiple different cell phone tower signals)
When not using your phone, put it on airplane mode
Turn off your home’s Wi-Fi routers at night
Hard wire as many devices as you can … don’t use wireless technology

To learn more about how to stop cancer naturally … purchase the Stop Cancer Docu-Class, hosted by Jonathan Landsman.

Sources for this article include:

Sciencedirect.com
FDA.gov
CA.gov
Cancer.gov
Childrenshealthdefense.org

Posted in Cancer, DNA, EMF, Radiation, WHO | No Comments »

Posted by: admin | Posted on: October 23, 2022

BREAST CANCER ALERT: Mammograms cause breast cancer and women are not warned about the risks

Reproduced from original article:
https://www.naturalhealth365.com/mammograms-cause-breast-cancer-3487.html

by: Wendy Miller, staff writer | December 23, 2021

(NaturalHealth365) For years, doctors have claimed that an annual mammogram is the “most effective” way for women to minimize their breast cancer risk. The facts are now coming out that having yearly mammograms that use low-dose radiation to test for abnormalities can actually increase a woman’s risk of cancer by as much as six percent.

In fact, it could be even higher in women who have larger breasts simply because there is more damage to the DNA within the breast tissue.

But wait, I thought mammograms were safe!

For decades, we have been told that mammograms are safe and that they are the single most effective way to reduce your risk of breast cancer. What doctors did not tell us, however, is that the low-dose radiation that is used in mammograms is more dangerous than gamma radiation.

Being exposed to low-dose radiation every other year during the 30-plus years that women are recommended to have mammograms may result in an almost 10 to 1 death rate. With those kinds of numbers, how can the medical profession still claim mammograms are good for us?

Mammograms yield frequent misdiagnoses, lead to unnecessary mastectomies

It can also make it hard to believe that mammograms are good for us if we look at the number of misdiagnoses made every year. Breast cancer is overdiagnosed in alarming numbers through mammograms, and many of those women are told to get a mastectomy.

It is just one of many issues doctors are now associating with this type of breast cancer screening. As more and more studies are performed on the use of mammograms and their overall effectiveness, the web of lies created surrounding the procedure is much more detailed than previously thought.

So who are you supposed to believe?

Doctors continue to tell women that mammograms are safe even though many new studies are starting to prove otherwise. So while encouraging women to get their biennial mammograms, doctors are also supposed to give them accurate and transparent information concerning the tests’ safety.

The problem is they rarely disclose any possible adverse reactions from being exposed to the radiation in mammograms. In Germany, it has been proven that women are not receiving accurate or transparent information, leaving women who receive regular mammograms more susceptible to radiation-induced breast cancer.

It’s your health! Remember to advocate for yourself and ask the difficult questions

There are other ways to test for cancer in the breast without having to endure a mammogram. For example, ultrasounds can show the density of a lump in the breast and will be able to give the doctor a fair idea as to whether or not it’s cancerous.

Women who have been dutiful in following their doctor’s orders for the past several years and getting their regularly scheduled mammograms have actually increased their overall risk of radiation-induced breast cancer. It’s time to start reconsidering what information your doctor is giving you and begin to ask the hard questions.

Keep in mind, even though your doctor is required to tell you the truth … they may not know any other way to treat cancer. Ultimately, it’s up to you to make sure you are getting the most accurate information possible to make an informed decision.

Sources for this article include:

NIH.gov
NutritionFacts.org
NIH.gov
NIH.gov
MayoClinic.org

Posted in Cancer, Mortality, Radiation, Women | No Comments »

Posted by: admin | Posted on: April 16, 2022

Radiologists Conceal Heavy Metal Accumulation From MRIs

Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2022/04/14/mri-contrast-gadolinium.aspx
The original Mercola article may not remain on the original site, but I will endeavor to keep it on this site as long as I deem it to be appropriate, and will not be bullied into removing it.

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola Fact Checked April 14, 2022

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

Enhanced MRIs use a contrast agent or dye to improve the clarity of the images produced. A poll revealed 58% of radiologists avoid informing patients when deposits of toxic contrast agents are discovered
The most commonly cited justification for omitting any mention of gadolinium deposits in their radiology report was to avoid provoking “unnecessary patient anxiety” over toxicity
Gadolinium, a toxic heavy metal, is the contrast agent of choice in about one-third of cases. To reduce its toxicity, the gadolinium is administered with a chelating agent. Research suggests as much as 25% of the gadolinium injected is not excreted, and deposits are still found in some patients long afterward
In a 2016 paper, researchers propose gadolinium deposits in the body should be viewed as a new disease category, “gadolinium deposition disease”
Patients at high risk for gadolinium deposits include those requiring multiple lifetime doses, pregnant women, children and patients with inflammatory conditions. Minimize repeated high contrast MRIs when possible, particularly closely spaced MRI studies

This article was previously published November 20, 2019, and has been updated with new information.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an imaging study that allows your physician to see detailed pictures of your organs and tissues. The MRI machine uses a large magnet, radio waves and a computer to take detailed cross-sectional pictures of your internal organs and tissues.¹

The scanner looks like a tube with a table that enables you to slide into the tunnel of the machine to gather data. Unlike CT scans or X-rays that use ionizing radiation known to damage DNA, the MRI uses magnetic fields.

Images from an MRI give physicians better information about abnormalities, tumors, cysts and specific organ problems with your heart, liver, uterus, kidneys and other organs.

In some instances, your physician may want an enhanced MRI, one using a contrast agent or dye to improve the clarity of the images produced. According to a recent international poll,² a majority of radiologists avoid informing patients when deposits of toxic contrast agents are discovered.

FDA Guidance on Gadolinium

Gadolinium is the contrast agent of choice in about one-third of cases.³ It’s injected into your body, allowing for greater detail to show up in the MRI images. There’s a price for this, however, as gadolinium is a highly toxic heavy metal.

To reduce its toxicity, the gadolinium is administered with a chelating agent.⁴ However, research suggests as much as 25% of the gadolinium injected in certain patients is not excreted,^5,⁶ and deposits are still found in some patients long afterward.

In 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began investigating the potential health effects from brain deposits of gadolinium, and released guidelines⁷ on the use of gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) to lower any potential risk.

Two years later, the agency issued an update⁸ saying “Gadolinium retention has not been directly linked to adverse health effects in patients with normal kidney function,” and that the benefits of GBCAs outweigh potential risks. Still, the agency required a new class warning and certain safety measures to be implemented. In its December 19, 2017, safety announcement, the FDA stated:⁹

“… after additional review and consultation with the Medical Imaging Drugs Advisory Committee, we are requiring several actions to alert health care professionals and patients about gadolinium retention after an MRI using a GBCA, and actions that can help minimize problems.

These include requiring a new patient Medication Guide, providing educational information that every patient will be asked to read before receiving a GBCA. We are also requiring manufacturers of GBCAs to conduct human and animal studies to further assess the safety of these contrast agents …

Health care professionals should consider the retention characteristics of each agent when choosing a GBCA for patients who may be at higher risk for gadolinium retention …

These patients include those requiring multiple lifetime doses, pregnant women, children, and patients with inflammatory conditions. Minimize repeated GBCA imaging studies when possible, particularly closely spaced MRI studies.”

Patients Responsible for Requesting Medication Guide

However, while MRI centers are required to provide the gadolinium medication guide to all first-time patients scheduled for an enhanced MRI, hospital inpatients are not required to receive the guide unless the patient specifically requests it. A rather disconcerting detail mentioned in the FDA’s May 16, 2018, update is that:¹⁰

“A health care professional who determines that it is not in a patient’s best interest to receive a Medication Guide because of significant concerns about its effects may direct that it not be provided to that patient.”

In other words, if they think you might say no to the procedure because you’re worried about heavy metal toxicity, the health professional is allowed to simply withhold the safety information. Only if you specifically ask for it must that guide be provided to you.

While the FDA decided not to restrict the use of any GBCAs, the European Medicines Agency’s Pharmacovigilance and Risk Assessment Committee has recommended suspending the use of four linear gadolinium contrast agents shown to be less stable (and therefore more likely to accumulate in the brain and cause issues in those with kidney problems) than macrocyclic GBCAs.¹¹

Most Radiologists Hide Findings of Gadolinium Deposits

An equally disturbing finding¹² is that 58% of radiologists hide findings of gadolinium deposits from patients when they’re found on scans. As reported by Health Imaging,¹³ the most commonly cited justification for omitting any mention of gadolinium deposits in their radiology report was to avoid provoking “unnecessary patient anxiety.”

However, this also prevents patients from taking action to protect their health, which could be really important if they’re experiencing effects of gadolinium toxicity and haven’t put 2 and 2 together yet.

To date, the greatest danger of GBCA has been thought to be relegated to those with severe kidney disease, in whom GBCA exposure has been linked to nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF),¹⁴ a debilitating disease involving progressive tissue fibrosis involving skin and subcutaneous tissues.¹⁵ To avoid this, those with kidney disease need to receive more stable forms of chelate with the gadolinium.¹⁶

However, the fact that gadolinium can accumulate in the brain (and throughout your body) even if you do not have kidney problems could have significant, hitherto unrecognized, dangers. For example, use of GBCAs has been linked to hypersensitivity in two brain regions (the dentate nucleus and globus pallidus),¹⁷ the consequences of which are still unknown.

Hyperintensity in the dentate nucleus has previously been linked to multiple sclerosis, and according to more recent research, this hyperintensity may actually be the result of the large number of enhanced MRI scans MS patients tend to receive.¹⁸ Hyperintensity of the globus pallidus, meanwhile, has been linked to liver dysfunction.

Researchers Propose New Gadolinium Disease Category

In the 2016 paper,¹⁹ “Gadolinium in Humans: A Family of Disorders,” the researchers actually propose that GBCA deposits in the body should be viewed as a new disease category. They write:

“In early 2014, an investigation by Kanda et.al. described the development of high signal intensity in brain tissue on T-2 weighted images of patients with normal renal function after repeated administrations of GBCA …

This caught many radiologists by surprise, as many had thought that deposition of gadolinium could not occur in patients with normal renal function. This deposition results in signal-intensity increase on unenhanced T1-weighted images in different regions of the brain, primarily in the dentate nucleus and globus pallidus …

To our knowledge, neither the bone deposition first reported by Gibby et. al. nor the brain deposition first reported by Kanda et. al. have been associated with recognized disease. We propose to name these storage entities ‘gadolinium storage condition.’

Along a separate avenue of inquiry, patient advocacy groups have formed, with an online presence in which individual members report that they have experienced severe disease following the administration of GBCAs.

Some of these patients have reported persistent presence of gadolinium in their systems, as shown by continued elevated gadolinium in their urine. All experience a variety of symptoms including pain in both the torso and the extremities; the latter location is associated with skin thickening and discoloration.

These physical features are similar, but lesser in severity, to those reported for NSF. Our preliminary investigation has convinced us that this phenomenon is a true disease process, which we propose naming ‘gadolinium deposition disease.'”

The researchers go on to note other common signs and symptoms of “gadolinium deposition disease,” such as persistent headache, bone, joint, tendon and ligament pain (often described as sharp pins and needles, cutting or burning), tightness in the hands and feet, brain fog and soft-tissue thickening that “clinically appears somewhat spongy or rubbery without the hardness and redness observed in NSF.”

Lawsuit Highlights Gadolinium Dangers

“Gadolinium deposition disease” is what Chuck Norris’ wife Gena claims to have developed after undergoing three contrast-enhanced MRIs in a single week to evaluate her rheumatoid arthritis.

The study cited above is part of the evidence included in the Norris’ lawsuit²⁰ (filed in November 2017) against several manufacturers and distributors of GBCAs. According to the lawsuit, the risks of gadolinium were known, yet patients are not warned.

Gena’s symptoms began with a burning sensation in her skin. In a 2017 Full Measure interview, she described it as if there was acid burning her skin, slowly covering her body.²¹ Mental confusion, muscle spasms, kidney damage and muscle wasting followed.

She visited the emergency room several nights in a row, where doctors ran tests for ALS, MS, cancer and Parkinson’s disease. The couple’s attorney, Todd Walburg, told CBS News,²² “We have clients who have been misdiagnosed with Lyme disease, ALS, and then they’ve eventually ruled all those things out and the culprit remaining is the gadolinium.”

In fact, it was Gena who made the connection between her symptoms and the MRIs she had undergone. She told Full Measure:²³

“When we got to the hospital in Houston this last time, and I’m so bad and I said, listen, I am sober enough in my thinking right now, because I had such brain issues going on, I said I’m only going to be able to tell you this one time and I need you to listen to me very closely. I have been poisoned with gadolinium or by gadolinium and we don’t have much time to figure out how to get this out of my body or I am going to die.”

The Norrises claim they’ve spent nearly $2 million on efforts to restore Gena’s health, with little progress. Even chelation therapy has had limited success.²⁴

Heavy Metal Toxicity Is a Common Modern Hazard

Heavy metals are widely distributed throughout the environment from industrial, agricultural, medical and technical pollution. Heavy metal toxicity has documented potential for serious health consequences, including kidney, neurological, cardiovascular, skeletal and endocrine damage.

Heavy metals most commonly associated with poisoning are arsenic, lead, mercury and cadmium, which are also the heavy metals most commonly found in environmental pollution. Symptoms of heavy metal poisoning vary based on the organ systems affected.

Scientists have found that heavy metals also increase oxidative stress secondary to free radical formation.²⁵ Testing for heavy metal toxicity includes blood, urine and hair and nail analysis for cumulative exposure.

Detoxification can be difficult, and needs to be done with proper care. I’ve written several articles about this. More information can be found in “The Three Pillars of Heavy Metal Detoxification” and “The Walsh Detoxification Program.”

Carefully Consider Your Need for Contrast MRI

The key take-home message here is to avoid using MRI scans with contrast unless absolutely necessary. Many times, physicians will order these tests just to be complete and cover themselves from a legal perspective.

If that is your case, then simply refuse to have the test done with contrast. If necessary, consult with other physicians that can provide you with a different perspective.

This is particularly important if you have a condition such as MS in which multiple MRIs are done. Also remember that multiple MRIs with contrast will be particularly dangerous the closer they’re done together.

If You Need an MRI, It Pays to Shop Around

While I always recommend being judicious in your use of medical diagnostic procedures, there are times when it is appropriate and useful for you to have a certain test.

What many don’t realize is that the fees for these procedures can vary tremendously, depending on where they are performed. Hospitals tend to be the most expensive option for diagnostics and outpatient procedures, sometimes by an enormous margin.

Freestanding diagnostic centers are alternative places to obtain services such as lab studies, X-rays and MRIs, often at a fraction of the cost charged by hospitals. Private imaging centers are not affiliated with any particular hospital and are typically open for Monday through Friday business hours, as opposed to hospital radiology centers that require round-the-clock staffing.

Hospitals often charge higher fees for their services to offset the costs of their 24/7 operations. Hospitals also may charge exorbitant fees for high-tech diagnostics, like MRIs, to subsidize other poorly reimbursed services. And, hospitals are allowed to charge Medicare and other third-party insurers a “facility fee,” leading to even more price inflation.

So, if you do find that you need an MRI, don’t be afraid to shop around. With a few phone calls to diagnostic centers in your area, you could save up to 85% over what a hospital would charge for the same service.

– Sources and References

Posted in Heavy Metals, Radiation | No Comments »

Posted by: admin | Posted on: April 1, 2022

Why People Are Rushing for Iodine Amid Nuclear Concerns

Reproduced from original article:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2022/03/31/iodine-for-nuclear-fallout.aspx
The original Mercola article may not remain on the original site, but I will endeavor to keep it on this site as long as I deem it to be appropriate, and will not be bullied into removing it.

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola Fact Checked

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

Fear of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine causing a nuclear incident has resulted in Europeans stockpiling iodine. In the case of a serious nuclear accident, radioactive iodine can be released into the air, increasing your risk of thyroid cancer and acute radiation sickness when inhaled
Non-radioactive iodine supplements help to prevent the radioactive iodine from concentrating in your thyroid gland, thereby reducing the risk of thyroid cancer
The conventional recommendation to ward off some of the health dangers of radiation exposure is to take supplemental potassium iodide. In addition to potassium iodide tablets, you could use Lugol’s solution, which includes both potassium iodide and iodine in water
The recommended daily dosage of potassium iodide for an adult in the case of acute nuclear radiation exposure from a nuclear reactor accident or a nuclear weapon detonation, is 130 milligrams (mg), which is relatively high and far in excess of the normal daily requirement of 1 mg or less per day
For optimal protection, the iodine would ideally be taken one hour before the radiation exposure, and no later than 12 hours’ post-exposure
Other supplements that can help reduce damage associated with radiation exposure are vitamin D3, spirulina and molecular hydrogen

Fear about potential nuclear fallout has resulted in Europeans stocking up on iodine. As reported by Agence France-Presse (AFP), March 8, 2022:¹

“European countries have seen stocks of iodine fly off the shelves due to fears it may be needed to counter the risks of thyroid cancer if Russia’s invasion of Ukraine causes a nuclear incident. France said it would send 2.5 million doses of the chemical compound to Ukraine after Russian forces there seized the defunct Chernobyl nuclear site and damaged Zaporizhzhia, Europe’s largest atomic plant.”

Your thyroid gland needs iodine to make hormones that influence your metabolism and other vital functions. Since your body does not produce iodine, you must get it through your diet on a daily basis. When your body lacks sufficient iodine, it cannot make enough thyroid hormone.

If your deficiency is severe, your thyroid may become enlarged, a condition also known as a goiter. Iodine deficiency can also cause hypothyroidism (low thyroid function). On the other hand, excessive levels can result in hyperthyroidism (excessive thyroid function), elevated blood pressure and abnormal heart rhythm.

In some cases, lack of sufficient iodine can trigger intellectual disabilities and developmental problems in infants and children whose mothers were iodine-deficient during pregnancy.

Iodine deficiency has also been linked to poor information processing, diminished fine motor skills, visual problems,² fatigue, depression, weight gain, low basal body temperatures and more.³ It’s also been known for some time that iodine can kill viruses, including influenza viruses.⁴

General Health Recommendations

The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for iodine ranges from 110 micrograms (mcg) for babies from birth to 6 months of age and up to 150 mcg for men and women over 19 years. Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding have an RDA of 220 mcg and 290 mcg, respectively.⁵

I always recommend that you get as many nutrients as possible from your food, and iodine is no exception. Foods that are naturally iodine-rich include spirulina,⁶ sea vegetables, prunes, raw dairy products, eggs and Himalayan pink sea salt.^7,⁸ Eating these foods on a regular basis will help ensure adequate levels year-round.

In the case of nuclear fallout prophylaxis, however, you may need higher doses than these foods can immediately provide — especially if you have not been getting sufficient amounts on a daily basis.

Recommendations in Cases of Acute Radiation Exposure

The conventional recommendation to ward off some of the health dangers of radiation exposure is to take supplemental potassium iodide. In addition to potassium iodide tablets, you could use Lugol’s solution, which includes both potassium iodide and iodine in water.

The recommended daily dosage of potassium iodide for an adult in the case of acute nuclear radiation exposure from a nuclear reactor accident or a nuclear weapon detonation, is 130 milligrams (mg).⁹ For optimal protection, the iodine would ideally be taken one hour before the radiation exposure, and no later than 12 hours’ post-exposure.

Why Use Iodine in Case of a Nuclear Accident?

In the case of a serious nuclear accident, radioactive iodine can be released into the air, increasing your risk of thyroid cancer and acute radiation sickness when inhaled.¹⁰

Non-radioactive iodine helps prevent the radioactive iodine from concentrating in your thyroid gland, thereby reducing the risk of thyroid cancer. As your thyroid gets saturated with non-radioactive iodine, the radioactive iodine gets flushed out of your body through your urine. As explained by thyroid.org:

“The thyroid gland cannot distinguish between stable (regular) iodine and radioactive iodine and will absorb whatever it can … Babies and young children are at highest risk. The risk is much lower for people over 40. Thyroid cancer seems to be the only cancer whose incidence rises after a radioactive iodine release. Potassium iodide protects only the thyroid, but it is the organ at greatest risk from radioactive iodine.”

Nuclear radiation can be measured in millisieverts, millirem and rem. Rem is an older unit measure still frequently used in the U.S. For reference, 100 millisieverts are the equivalent of 10,000 millirem, or 10 rem. Acute radiation sickness begins at exposures at or above 100 rem (1,000 millisieverts or 100,000 millirem).¹¹ Spikes recorded at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in 2011 measured up to 40,000 millirem, or 40 rem.

The American Thyroid Association recommends that anyone living within 50 miles of a nuclear plant have potassium iodide in their household at all times in the event of a radiation emergency.¹²

However, you should only take potassium iodide if you are near active radiation fallout. This is NOT a strategy that should be used as a long-term preventive because it only protects your thyroid for one to three days, no longer, and taking it when not absolutely necessary could result in thyrotoxicosis.

Iodine Does Not Protect Against Other Radioactive Elements

It’s also important to realize that iodine does not offer all-around protection in the case of nuclear fallout. As mentioned, it only protects against radioactive iodine, and it primarily protects your thyroid. It does not protect against any other radioactive elements.

Authorities typically recommend sheltering inside a hard building in the case of nuclear fallout. But there may also be some other things you can take to help your body protect itself against radiation. Three supplements that come to mind are vitamin D3, magnesium and molecular hydrogen.

Vitamin D Can Help Reduce Radioactive Damage

Vitamin D’s protective action is carried by a wide variety of mechanisms, including cell cycle regulation and proliferation, cellular differentiation and communication, and programmed cell death (apoptosis). Scientists have identified a total of nearly 3,000 genes that are upregulated by vitamin D, so it makes sense that it would have multifaceted protective actions against cellular damage.

A paper on the subject argued that vitamin D should be considered among the prime nonpharmacological agents that offer protection against low radiation damage and radiation-induced cancer — and perhaps even the primary agent. According to the paper, published in the International Journal of Low Radiation:¹³

“In view of the evidence that has been presented here, it would appear that vitamin D by its preventive/ameliorating actions should be given serious consideration as a protective agent against sublethal radiation injury, and in particular that induced by low radiation.”

Ideally, the BEST way to get vitamin D is from sun exposure on your bare skin. This typically requires going out every day in the sun around noon to get enough UVB to generate vitamin D. We are entering the time of year where most people in the U.S. can do this for the next six months.

Sun exposure will also increase melatonin in your mitochondria, which is yet another fantastic method to reduce excess oxidative stress that can be exacerbated by exposure to ionizing radiation.

Rather than focusing on a specific dosage, your best bet is to measure your vitamin D level (which is done through a simple blood test) and then take whatever dosage required to raise or maintain an optimal level, which is thought to be between 40 ng/mL and 60 ng/mL. In one investigation, compared to having a blood level below 20 ng/mL, having a level of 60 ng/mL or higher resulted in an 82% reduction in breast cancer.¹⁴

Getting tested, ideally twice a year, is really the only way to determine if you have a protective level and are taking the correct dosage. If you are not getting sun exposure, most adults need about 8,000 IUs of vitamin D per day. Please remember though that this is a vastly inferior way to get vitamin D and in no way shape or form will increase your mitochondrial melatonin levels.

How Magnesium Can Help Protect Against Radiation

One of the interesting facts I learned when I wrote my 2020 book, “EMF’D” was that nonionizing radiation from cell phones cause cellular harm nearly identical to that of ionizing radiation, as you can see by the image below.

Research^15,^16,^17,¹⁸ shows low-frequency microwave radiation activates voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs) — channels in the outer membrane of your cells. Once activated, the VGCCs open, allowing an abnormal influx of calcium ions into the cell, which activates nitric oxide (NO).

NO is the only molecule in your body produced at high enough concentrations to outcompete other molecules for superoxide, which combines to form a very dangerous free radical called peroxynitrite. Many believe peroxynitrite is as bad or even worse than hydroxy free radicals as they last so much longer. Peroxynitrate increases systemic inflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction,¹⁹ and damages your DNA.²⁰

One of the strategies that we recommend to limit this damage is to make sure you have enough magnesium. Why? Well first of all, more than 80% of people are deficient and magnesium is part of over 3,100 proteins and enzymes in your body. But in the case of radiation, it will likely serve as a calcium channel inhibitor and limit the amount of calcium coming inside the cell, which will limit free radicals.

There is virtually no downside to supplementing with magnesium as even if it doesn’t help mitigate oxidative stress from ionizing radiation exposure, which I believe is unlikely, it will benefit you in thousands of other ways. It is one of the few supplements that virtually everyone needs to be on.

Molecular Hydrogen and Radiation Protection

Last but not least, molecular hydrogen may also be helpful in cases of low-level radiation exposure. As explained in the 2012 paper, “Molecular Hydrogen and Radiation Protection”:²¹

“Molecular hydrogen (dihydrogen, H(2)) acts as a therapeutic antioxidant by selectively reducing hydroxyl radicals (OH) and peroxynitrite (ONOO-). It has been well-known that ionizing radiation (IR) causes oxidative damage and consequent apoptosis mainly due to the production of OH that follows radiolysis of H(2)O.

Our department reported the protective effect of H(2) in irradiated cells and mice for the first time, and this effect is well repeated by us and another laboratory in different experimental animal models.

A randomized, placebo-controlled investigation also showed consumption of H(2) can improve the quality of life of patients treated with radiotherapy for liver tumors. These encouraging results suggested that H(2) has a potential as a radioprotective agent with efficacy and non-toxicity.”

A simple way to protect against this damage is to upregulate your Nrf2 pathway, which can be accomplished by drinking molecular hydrogen water and making sure you’re getting enough magnesium.

Incidentally, molecular hydrogen tablets are actually an excellent source of ionic elemental magnesium. Each tablet provides about 80 milligrams of ionic elemental magnesium, so molecular hydrogen serves double duty.

In a study²² from 2010, the researchers suggested hydrogen therapy “may be an effective and specific novel treatment for acute radiation syndrome.” The key mechanism by which molecular hydrogen protects against radiation is by reducing hydroxyl radicals, which are responsible for more than half of the cellular damage associated with ionizing radiation.

One of the easiest and most effective ways to take molecular hydrogen is to use molecular hydrogen tablets, which you simply dissolve in water for about 60 to 90 seconds, and then drink while the bubbles are still visible. Molecular hydrogen is one of my go-to, must-have daily supplements.

How to Optimize Your Iodine Absorption

While women have a greater incidence of iodine deficiency related to their hormone production, the bodies of both men and women are subject to the poor absorption of iodine and suboptimal use due to environmental contamination that end up in the food supply.

Common contaminants that compete with iodine include the following. By avoiding or eliminating these from your diet, you can help optimize iodine uptake from the iodine-rich foods you eat, some of which were listed earlier.

Bromide — Bromides are known endocrine disruptors found in baked goods, pesticides and plastics, among other sources. Because bromide is a halide, it competes for the same receptors used in your thyroid gland and other body areas to capture iodine, thereby inhibiting thyroid hormone production and resulting in a deficiency.
Fluoride — Fluoride has long been known to displace iodine. As cited by the Fluoride Action Network,²³ Chinese researchers “have repeatedly found that an iodine deficiency coupled with fluoride exposure produces a significantly more damaging effect on neurological development than iodine deficiency alone.”
Nitrates — While there are healthy nitrates, the ones found in processed meats such as bacon, hot dogs, lunch meat and sausage may interfere with your uptake of iodine, so be sure to avoid them. Nitrates from agricultural fertilizer, present in contaminated drinking water, have also been implicated as a potential cause of thyroid cancer.²⁴
Perchlorate — A contaminant found in groundwater across the U.S. and in measurable amounts in milk, fruit and vegetables. In high doses, perchlorate may inhibit the function of your thyroid gland. Even in low doses, it inhibits the uptake of iodine by your thyroid gland, leading to hypothyroidism.^25,²⁶

– Sources and References

Posted in Immunity, Minerals, Radiation | One Comment »

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Consider the consequences: This is a RED ALERT about CT scans

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The vulnerable: Children and women face greatest risk

The medical establishment’s “acceptable risk” fallacy

Protecting your health: The Bottom Line

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DMSO and Cancer

DMSO and Radiation Therapy

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Radiation Exposure Studies

Tumor Surgery

Extravasation Injuries

Chemotherapy Injuries

Cancer Pain

Conclusion

A Note from Dr. Mercola About the Author

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Vitamin C Improves Effectiveness of Chemo and Radiation

Vitamin C Doubles Survival Rate of Brain Cancer Patients Treated With Radiation

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Other Ways Vitamin C Benefits Cancer Patients

Vitamin C and Nutritional Ketosis Is a Winning Combination

Metabolically Supported Chemotherapy Successfully Treats Aggressive Cancers

Nutritional Ketosis Appears To Be a Key Component of Successful Cancer Treatment

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Radiation for Cancer — A Focus on Omission or De-Escalation

If You Don’t Need It, ‘You Shouldn’t Receive It’

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Radiation Treatment Can Cause Cancer

Even Low-Dose Radiation Exposure Increases Cancer Deaths

Mistletoe Can Be Used as an Adjunct for All Cancers

Mistletoe Modulates Immune Function

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Curcumin May Play a Multitargeted Role Against Cancer Cells

Curcumin May Enhance Cancer Treatment and Chemotherapy

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Poor Absorption Has One Benefit

Multiple Types of Cancer Affected by Curcumin

More Benefits to Curcumin

Genetic Regulation May Be One Way Curcumin Fights Cancer

Using a Curcumin Supplement

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H2 Activates Nrf2 Pathway

Molecular Hydrogen Is an Important Nrf2 Regulator

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Considerations When Administering Molecular Hydrogen

What to Look for When Buying Molecular Hydrogen

Molecular Hydrogen Protects Against Radiation Damage

Molecular Hydrogen Helps Ward Off EMF Damage

How Molecular Hydrogen Can Optimize Exercise Performance

How Molecular Hydrogen Rejuvenates Your Mitochondria

More Information

“Substantial” evidence that exposure to RF radiation can lead to cancer, leading experts warn

5 simple ways to reduce your exposure to radiofrequency radiation

But wait, I thought mammograms were safe!

Mammograms yield frequent misdiagnoses, lead to unnecessary mastectomies

So who are you supposed to believe?

It’s your health! Remember to advocate for yourself and ask the difficult questions

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FDA Guidance on Gadolinium

Patients Responsible for Requesting Medication Guide

Most Radiologists Hide Findings of Gadolinium Deposits

Researchers Propose New Gadolinium Disease Category

Lawsuit Highlights Gadolinium Dangers

Heavy Metal Toxicity Is a Common Modern Hazard

Carefully Consider Your Need for Contrast MRI

If You Need an MRI, It Pays to Shop Around

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General Health Recommendations

Recommendations in Cases of Acute Radiation Exposure

Why Use Iodine in Case of a Nuclear Accident?

Iodine Does Not Protect Against Other Radioactive Elements

Vitamin D Can Help Reduce Radioactive Damage

How Magnesium Can Help Protect Against Radiation

Molecular Hydrogen and Radiation Protection

How to Optimize Your Iodine Absorption

H₂ Activates Nrf2 Pathway