High-dose vitamin C injections shown to annihilate cancer

(NaturalNews)

 Groundbreaking new research on the cancer-fighting potential of vitamin C has made the pages of the peer-reviewed journal Science Translational Medicine. A team of researchers from the University of Kansas reportedly tested the effects of vitamin C given in high doses intravenously on a group of human subjects and found that it effectively eradicates cancer cells while leaving healthy cells intact.

Building upon earlier research pioneered in the 1970s by the late Linus Pauling, a chemist from Oregon State University who today is recognized as the world's foremost proponent of therapeutic vitamin C, the new research involved injecting high doses of vitamin C into human ovarian cells. The tests were conducted in vitro in a lab, as well as directly in both mice and a group of 22 human subjects.

According to BBC News, the tests showed favorable results in all three models, as the vitamin C effectively targeted the ovarian cancer cells while avoiding healthy cells. The benefits of high-dose vitamin C were also observed in conjunction with conventional chemotherapy treatments, which destroy all cells, both healthy and malignant, eventually leading to patient death.

"Patients are looking for safe and low-cost choices in their management of cancer," stated Dr. Jeanne Drisko, a co-author of the study, to BBC News concerning the findings. "Intravenous vitamin C has that potential based on our basic science research and early clinical data."

Researchers admit more human trials on intravenous vitamin C unlikely because drug companies cannot patent vitamins

The next step for this type of research would typically involve applying these same parameters in a large-scale clinical human trial to see if they can be replicated and confirmed. While this new study is admittedly convincing on its own, the hurdles to gaining widespread acceptance of its findings include replicating them across a much larger human sample size.

But this may never actually take place. And the reason, says the research team, is that such trials require major funding that typically comes from pharmaceutical companies interested in developing a patented drug. Drug companies, in other words, are hardly interesting in promoting the medicinal benefits of natural substances like vitamin C, which stands to decimate the multibillion-dollar conventional cancer industry if word gets out about its benefits.

"Because vitamin C has no patent potential, its development will not be supported by pharmaceutical companies," says Qi Chen, lead author of the new study. "We believe that the time has arrived for research agencies to vigorously support thoughtful and meticulous clinical trials with intravenous vitamin C."

The conventional medical industry's response to these and similar findings over the years has been nothing short of derisive, which is to be expected. Having to rationalize decades of ushering cancer patients through the gauntlet of chemotherapy, radiation and surgery -- with dismal results -- while ignoring natural cancer-fighting alternatives like vitamin C is a hard pill to swallow for this powerful, high-profit industry, which would rather everyone ignore such findings than think critically about them.

"[A]scorbate is processed by the body in different ways when administered orally versus intravenously," writes Heidi Ledford for Nature about this commonly misunderstood variance. The medical-industrial complex, it turns out, intentionally corrupts the conversation on vitamin C by convoluting the distinct effects of these very different delivery routes.

"Oral doses [of vitamin C] act as antioxidants, protecting cells from damage caused by reactive compounds that contain oxygen. But vitamin C given intravenously can have the opposite effect by promoting the formation of one of those compounds: hydrogen peroxide. Cancer cells are particularly susceptible to damage by such reactive oxygen-containing compounds."

Sources for this article include:

http://www.nature.com

http://www.bbc.co.uk

http://lpi.oregonstate.edu

http://science.naturalnews.com

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/043972_vitamin_C_cancer_treatment_intravenous_injections.html#ixzz2wItjrO30

Chemotherapy myth shattered: toxic drugs cause more cancer than they prevent

(NaturalNews)

 New research funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) has shattered the prevailing myth that chemotherapy drugs actually fight cancer. To the contrary, researchers from Harvard University and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, (UMA) found that these clinical poisons, though sometimes initially effective at stemming the growth and spread of existing tumor cells, eventually induce major stem cell damage that causes even more cancer.

Publishing their findings in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the team that worked on the project investigated how chemotherapeutics affect the body systematically by testing them out on fruit flies. According to an announcement about the study, scientists administered human-equivalent doses of chemotherapy drugs to Drosophila, a type of fruit fly, that had been spawned with a human cancer-causing gene, which activated in the flies' intestinal stem cells.

Fruit flies demonstrate cancer-causing effects of chemotherapy drugs in humans

Drosophila, it turns out, are perfect test subjects for this type of experiment because their microenvironments are aptly suited for evaluating the division, differentiation and death of stem cells as exposed to outside influences. With regard to chemotherapy drugs, Drosophila serve as optimal specimens for extrapolating data on how human stem cells respond to being poisoned with these chemicals.

The team was able to obtain a sample library of 88 currently used chemotherapy drugs from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), as well as a library of 6,000 small molecules from the Harvard Institute of Chemistry and Cellular Biology, which was used to test the drugs. From this, the researchers identified several new compounds, including three Chinese medicinal extracts capable of inhibiting tumors without causing any harmful side effects.

At the same time, at least seven of the chemotherapy drugs tested, each of which is currently in use in Western medicine, were found to cause major side effects, including the over-proliferation of stem cells. Taking these drugs, they learned, causes small "tumor" growths to emerge from the stem cells, which, given the right environment and genetic background, could eventually turn malignant.

"We discovered that several chemotherapeutics that stop fast growing tumors have the opposite effect on stem cells in the same animal, causing them to divide too rapidly," said Michelle Markstein, a molecular biologist from UMA and co-author of the new study. "This was a surprise, because it showed that the same drug could have opposite actions on cells in the same animal: Suppressing tumor growth on one cell population while initiating growth in another."

Earlier studies on mice, flies corroborate cancer-causing potential of chemotherapeutics

Related research published prior to this latest study arrived at similar conclusions. The chemotherapy drug doxorubicin was determined in both mice and fly models to induce stem cell overgrowth, specifically by activating certain genetic pathways that resulted in a severe inflammatory response. The end result of this inflammation, in many cases, was cancer.

"We propose that the same side effect may occur in humans based on our finding that it is driven in Drosophila by the evolutionarily conserved Janus kinase-signal transducers and activators of transcription (JAK-STAT) pathway," wrote the authors of the new PNAS study about their conclusions. "An immediate implication of our findings is that supplementing traditional chemotherapeutics with anti-inflammatories may reduce tumor recurrence."

You can read an abstract of the new study here:
http://www.pnas.org.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.pnas.org

http://www.umass.edu

http://www.eurekalert.org

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/044354_chemotherapy_drugs_stem_cell_tumors_FDA.html#ixzz2wIcxotJ5

Dramatic Increase in Kidney Disease in the US and Abroad Linked To Roundup (Glyphosate) 'Weedkiller'

Written By: 

Sayer Ji, Founder

Last month, we reported on a mysterious global epidemic of fatal kidney disease, focusing on a study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health¹ that laid down evidence showing the herbicide Roundup (glyphosate) is responsible for an epidemic of kidney-related deaths in a rural farming region of Northern Sri Lanka, as well as other rural regions around the world, including Costa Rica and Nicaragua. You can review the report here: Roundup Weedkiller Linked To Global Epidemic of Fatal Kidney Disease.

This information, while shocking to many who still consider glyphosate herbicide and the GM food produced with it to be relatively non-toxic, is not surprising to those who have been tracking the published research on glyphosate's wide ranging harmful effects, and which now shows a link between glyphosate and several dozen health conditions. You can view the first-hand toxicological citations here: Adverse Health Effects of Glyphosate Formulations.

Only days ago, The Center for Public Integrity released a report titled, "Sri Lanka bans Monsanto herbicide citing potential link to deadly kidney disease," citing Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa's March 13^th decision to impose an outright ban on glyphosate. This decision follows a decision by the legislature in El Salvador last September to approve a ban on glyphosate, but the proposal has not yet been signed into law.

Now that the world seems to be paying closer attention to the fact that the primary agrichemical used in the farming of genetically modified crops has deleterius, if not deadly, consequences to exposed populations, including kidney harm, it is only logical to ask the question if the US, which has the highest amount of glyphosate usage in the world, is also experiencing kidney harm as a result of widespread daily exposure.

A series of graphs based on data from the USDA, National Cancer Institutes, Centers for Disease Control, have recently surfaced, depicting at steep rise in the rates of kidney disease in the US from the time of the introduction of glyphosate and GM food, reveals that the US may also be suffering from an epidemic of glyphosate-linked kidney damage. 

The first graph below depicts the 'Age Adjusted Acute Renal Failure Deaths' in the US from 1981 to 2009 plotted against the percentage of GE soy and corn planted, and the tonnage of glyphosate applied to corn and soy, showing death rates more than doubling over the past 30 years.

The second graph depicts the 'Number of Hospitalizations for Acute Kidney Injury' in the US plotted against glyphosate applied to corn and soy, between years 1990-2010. Within a single decade (1996-2006), hospitalizations due to acute kidney injury had more than tripled.

The third graph depicts 'Kidney and Renal Pelvis Cancer Incidence' in the US, plotted against the percentage of GE soy and corn planted, and the tonnage of glyphosate applied to corn and soy, showing death rates increasing by 50% between 1998 and 2008.

The implications of this data are highly concerning. The steady increase in acute and chronic kidney disease in the US population dovetails so closely with the increased use (and therefore human exposure) to glyphosate and glyphosate contaminated food, that it is hard to write off the correlation as coincidence.

In previous articles, we have examined the evidence showing that glyphosate is accumulating in our air, rain, groundwater, soil, food, and even persists in the seawater where it may be killing our coral reefs. Far from the 'highly biodegradable,' 'virtually non toxic' chemical it was once marketed to be by its creator Monsanto, it is now known to persist in a way that makes daily exposure inevitable, and which accumulates with time, as its use increases each year.

In fact, the entire basis for arguing for the substantial equivalence of GMO and non-GMO foods is that glyphosate possesses negligible toxicity. The GMO biosafety debate normally revolves around whether the novel transgenes inserted into the plants produce problematic proteins or insecticidal compounds that have adverse, non-target adverse health effects on humans.  If glyphosate is toxic in extremely low concentrations (as low as the parts per trillion range), then any food produced using glyphosate (and which is therefore contaminated with it, or its equally toxic metabolites, such asAMPA) will not be equivalent in safety to the non-GMO/conventional/organic food which is free of such residues.

As the increasingly educated world comes to understand the inherent and extreme dangers of glyphosate formulations like Roundup, there will be increasing momentum for the consumer to move supplicating the 'powers that be' for lapdog like permission to have GM-containing products accurately labeled, to recognizing the underlying infrastructure of GMO agriculture is slowing altering (via GMO transgene biopollution) and killing the biosphere via wide-ranging agrichemical destruction. In other words, the rallying cry now is to 'Ban Glyphosate and GMOs!'

REFERENCES

¹  Channa Jayasumana,  Sarath Gunatilake, Priyantha Senanayake  Glyphosate, Hard Water and Nephrotoxic Metals: Are They the Culprits Behind the Epidemic of Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown Etiology in Sri Lanka?Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2014, 11(2), 2125-2147; doi:10.3390/ijerph110202125

http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/dramatic-increase-kidney-disease-us-and-abroad-linked-roundup-glyphosate

Pomegranate and Chamomile Help Heal Bleeding Gums

Written By: 

Case Adams, Naturopath

Researchers from Brazil's Paraíba State University have determined that extracts of pomegranate and chamomile can help heal bleeding gums.

The researchers tested 56 patients who had bleeding gums and gingivitis. They were split into three groups and each rinsed twice daily with an assigned rinse for 15 days. One group rinsed with chamomile extract, another group rinsed with pomegranate extract and a third group rinsed with chlorhexidine.

The patients were tested for bleeding gums at the beginning of the study, after seven days and after 15 days. The researchers found that all three extracts acted similarly and reduced gum bleeding significantly.

The chamomile and pomegranate had antimicrobial effects, as they reduced pathogenic oral bacteria significantly.

These included Streptococcus mitis and Streptococcus sangus, which are known to accumulate as biofilm and excrete toxins that produce inflammation, pain and bleeding. These same toxins can also leak into the blood stream where they can damage blood vessel walls, tissues and organs.

Chamomile (Matricaria recutita Linn.) contains several flavonoids and terpenoids, which have been shown to be antimicrobial as well as reduce inflammation and spasms.

Pomegranate (Punica granatum Linn.), is also antimicrobial but it is also antioxidant and stimulates the immune system. These are typically attributed to its alkaloid content - including tannins. Pomegranate skin contains the most medicinal properties.

Chlorhexidine is a popular antimicrobial gingivitis treatment that can reduce pathogenic oral bacteria, but comes with negative effects, including staining of the tongue and dental work, increased teeth sensitivity and oral scaling. Chlorhexidine has been linked with allergies. It also tastes bad and can ruin the taste of the next meal or two.

One of the problems with the antimicrobial nature of chlorhexidine is that it also wipes out the beneficial (probiotic) bacteria of the oral cavity. This allows the pathogenic bacteria to regrow without any challengers.

Tests with pomegranate and chamomile have not established whether they also cause probiotic die-off. But other research has shown that plant-based fibers support the regrowth of probiotic colonies.

Learn more about rebuilding oral probiotics in the oral cavity.

REFERENCES:

Batista AL, Lins RD, de Souza Coelho R, do Nascimento Barbosa D, Moura Belém N, Alves Celestino FJ. Clinical efficacy analysis of the mouth rinsing with pomegranate and chamomile plant extracts in the gingival bleeding reduction. Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2014 Feb;20(1):93-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2013.08.002.

Adams C. Oral Probiotics: Fighting Tooth Decay, Periodontal Disease and Airway Infections Using Friendly Bacteria. Logical Books, 2012.http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/pomegranate-and-chamomile-help-heal-bleeding-gums

42% of Drug Reactions Are Vaccine Related, Groundbreaking Chinese Study Finds

Written By: 

Sayer Ji, Founder

A groundbreaking new drug safety study published in the open access journal PLoS and titled, "Adverse Drug Reactions of Spontaneous Reports in Shanghai Pediatric Population," has revealed for the first that that 42.5% of all reported adverse drug reactions occurring in 2009 in a Chinese pediatric population (Shanghai, pop of 17 mil) were caused by vaccines, with reactions as severe as anaphylaxis and death.

The report carries unique gravitas insofar as the data was gathered through spontaneous reports of physicians (52.03%), pharmacists (24.27%) and other health care practitioners (15.46%), with only 2.52% coming from 'consumers.' Presumably, the clinical training of those reporting gives the study additional credibility.

According to the study, which is one of the first ever conducted on the topic in China, "Knowledge of drug safety in the pediatric population of China is limited. This study was designed to evaluate ADRs in children reported to the spontaneous reporting system (SRS) of Shanghai in 2009."

The results of the study were reported as follows:

"A male overrepresentation was observed regarding the total number of reports. The most frequently reported group of drugs were vaccines (42.15%). Skin rash and fever were the commonest symptoms reported in the total pediatric dataset. The proportion of children that suffered from a serious ADR was 2.16% and that for drug related deaths was 0.34%. And we found that the multiple drug exposure experienced a high proportion of serious ADRs compared with the single drug use (χ²15.99, P<0.0001). Sixty-five percent of ADRs were for children less than 6 years of age. And more than half of reports were from doctors."

According to the study, the World Health Organization defines adverse drug reaction (ADRs) "...as events related to a medication that are noxious, unintended and occur at normal doses used in humans for prophylaxis, diagnosis or therapy of disease, or for modification of physiological function."  Their definition excludes accidental or deliberate excessive dosage or maladministration. The global problem with ADRs is so serious that, according to the study, "ADRs are one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in many countries [2], [3]."  Indeed, a 1998 report published in JAMA found that 106,000 Americans die every year from correctly prescribed medications.

The study results showed concerning patterns, across both age and gender.

• The Younger The More Susceptible To Harm: "When the data were assessed in terms of age groups, almost two thirds of ADRs were reported for children from birth to 5 years of age (65.01%) and 39.46% concerned children aging 2 months-2 years." Furthermore, "The highest proportion (6.58%) of serious reports was reported for newborn (0–1 month)."
• The Males Were More Susceptible Than Females: In general, a total of 1790 ADRs (40.41%) and 2640 ADRs (59.59%) were reported for female and male patients, respectively.

In interpreting the results, one explanation offered by the authors for the fact that 50% of the ADRs were reported for children from birth to 5 years of age, with close to 40% affecting children between 2 months and 2 years of age, was "Children under 5 were the most common age group for vaccination." 

They expanded on this explanation further:

"The ADR rate causes by vaccine is much higher than other drugs, and this may be related to the types and number of vaccination being used in China, as the types of routine immunization vaccines in China reach up to 15 kinds, which is much higher than 7 kinds in India and Vietnam, 9 kinds in Thailand and 11 kinds in America, and most of the vaccines in China are attenuated live vaccines, which may bring greater potential safety hazard."

 The Chinese vaccination schedule, including over a dozen different vaccines, illustrates a common problem surrounding multiple exposures associated with 'polypharmacy,' where it is nearly impossible to ascertain the synergistic toxicities and adverse interactions occurring as a result of simultaneous exposures to multiple vaccines or pharmaceutical agents.

They expand on this point further:

"With the seemingly constant flow of new therapeutic agents and new treatment indications for existing medications, polypharmacy is increasingly common [34], [35]. Drug-drug interactions (DDI) occur when two or more drugs are taken in combination and one drug influences the effects of another drug. This may subsequently cause a change in the pharmacodynamic or pharmacokinetic parameters which may lead to lack of efficacy, or to an increase in the number of reported adverse drug reactions. The association between multiple drug exposure and the incidence of ADRs has been studied, consistently showing an exponentially increased risk with the increase of the number of drugs taken [36], [37]. When assessing the severity of the reported ADRs, our study confirmed that multiple drug exposure experienced a high proportion compared with the single drug use. This finding indicate that in order to minimize the risk of serious ADRs, HCPs should pay particular attention to children who are prescribed two drugs or more."

Recently, Dr. Kelly Brogan, MD, commented on one of the fundamental flaws of present day vaccination schedules, namely, multiple vaccine safety has never been studied, nor proven:    

"The current schedule has never been studied – not one vaccine in a vaccinated vs. unvaccinated design, let alone multiple delivered at once, or the entire long-term effects of 49 doses of 14 vaccines by age 6."

What we do know is that countries like the U.S. have one of the highest infant mortality rates (IMRs) in the developed world (33 nations have lower IMRs), while at the same time having the most infant vaccines in the world (26 vaccine doses for infants aged less than 1 year).  This can no longer be written off as 'coincidental.' [see SAGE study on the topic]

We believe this latest Chinese study represents one of the first signs of an awakening within the Chinese research and medical community to the fact that despite being promoted as a medical 'holy water,' the very heart of the miracle of modern medicine, vaccines – especially in the very young – are causing severe adverse health effects, many of which outweigh their purported benefits. Moreover, considering that this report (like most adverse vaccine events) only looked at acute adverse health effects, as we learn more about the autoimmunity generating properties of vaccines, and other chronic health issues associated with the presence of 'hidden' pathogenic viruses in the live and attenuated vaccines most commonly used in China and the underdeveloped or developing world, we believe this latest study represents the tip of the iceberg as far as the real adverse health effects associated with the increasingly doubtful 'preventive' measure of vaccination.

To learn more about the fatal flaws in the science of vaccinology, read our recent article on the topic:http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/why-vaccines-arent-paleo

Vitamin C, Shingles, and Vaccination

Written By: 

Orthomolecular News Service

by Thomas E. Levy, MD, JD

The pharmaceutical industry, and many doctors, appear to be making great efforts by to get as many people as possible vaccinated against shingles. Even if such an intervention was highly effective in preventing shingles, which certainly has not been shown to be the case, the information below should make it clear that such vaccinations are unnecessary. The side effects that would be suffered by a significant number of individuals need never occur in the first place. The real problem is that what is discussed below generates relatively little income for anybody in the healthcare industry. Regardless, you need to decide for yourself.

Shingles is an infection resulting from the varicella zoster virus, usually manifesting in areas supplied by spinal nerves, known as dermatomes. More commonly known in medical circles as Herpes zoster, the infection is typically characterized by a blistering skin rash of extraordinary pain for most individuals. The initial infection with the virus is usually remote from the shingles outbreak, typically occurring in childhood when chickenpox is contracted. For years the virus remains latent in nerve cell bodies or autonomic ganglia. It is when the virus, for unclear reasons, breaks out of these storage sites and travels down the nerve axons that shingles occurs.

Left to itself along with mainstream therapies that include analgesics, antiviral agents like acyclovir, and corticosteroids, the rash will generally resolve in two to four weeks. The pain is generally lessened little by analgesics. Some unfortunate individuals can experience postherpetic neuralgia, a syndrome of residual nerve pain that can continue for months or years following a shingles outbreak.

Treatment of Shingles with Vitamin C

The clinical response of shingles to vitamin C therapy is decidedly different from its response to traditional therapies. While there are not many reports in the literature on vitamin C and shingles, the studies that do exist are striking. Frederick Klenner, MD, who pioneered the effective use of vitamin C in a wide variety of infections and toxin exposures, published the results of his vitamin C therapy on eight patients with shingles. He gave 2,000 to 3,000 mg of vitamin C by injection every 12 hours, supplemented by 1,000 mg in fruit juice by mouth every two hours. In seven of the eight patients treated in this manner, complete pain relief was reported within two hours of the first vitamin C injection. All patients received a total of five to seven vitamin C injections. Having had shingles myself years before I knew of the efficacy of vitamin C therapy, I can assert that this is nothing short of a stunning result on what is usually a painful and debilitating disease.

Furthermore, the blisters on Dr. Klenner's patients were reported to begin healing rapidly, with complete resolution within the first 72 hours. As with other infectious conditions, Dr. Klenner hastened to add that treatment needed to continue for at least 72 hours, as recurrence could readily occur even when the initial response was positive. Dr. Klenner also found a similar regimen of vitamin C just as readily resolved the blistering lesions of chickenpox, with the recoveries usually complete in three to four days. Similar clinical response by chickenpox and shingles to vitamin C is further evidence, albeit indirect, that the chickenpox virus and the later appearing Herpes zoster virus are the same pathogen (Klenner, 1949 & 1974).

Even before Dr. Klenner's observations were published, another researcher reported results just as astounding when measured against today's mainstream therapies. Dainow (1943) reported success with 14 shingles patients receiving vitamin C injections. In another study, complete resolution of shingles outbreaks was reported in 327 of 327 patients receiving vitamin C injections within the first 72 hours (Zureick, 1950). While all of this data on vitamin C and shingles is quite old, there is an internal consistency among the report in how the patients responded. Until further clinical trials are conducted, these results stand. They clearly show that vitamin C should be an integral part of any therapeutic approach used on a patient presenting with shingles.

Vitamin C and Viruses

Vitamin C has a general virus-inactivating effect, with herpes viruses being only one of many types of virus that vitamin C has neutralized in the test tube or has eradicated in an infected person (Levy, 2002). As with the inactivation seen with other viruses mixed with vitamin C in the test tube (in vitro), two early studies were consistent with the clinical results later seen with vitamin C in herpes infections. Vitamin C inactivated herpes viruses when mixed with them in the test tube (Holden and Resnick, 1936; Holden and Molloy, 1937).

The most important factor in the treatment of any virus with vitamin C is to give enough, for a long enough period of time. Certain chronic viral syndromes do not promptly resolve with vitamin C administration, but there is yet to be an acute viral syndrome that vitamin C cannot resolve promptly, unless the patient already has extensive tissue/organ damage and is literally only moments away from death.

Vitamin C therapy can never be considered a failure in an acute viral syndrome until multiple forms have been used in large doses together. While a majority of acute viral syndromes will rapidly resolve with properly-dosed vitamin C of any kind, resistant cases need to be subjected to a multi-pronged approach to vitamin C administration. Such a regimen can include, but not necessarily be limited to:

1. 1,000 to 5,000 milligrams of liposome-encapsulated vitamin C orally daily
2. Bowel tolerance doses of vitamin C as sodium ascorbate orally daily
3. 1,000 to 3,000 mg daily of fat-soluble ascorbyl palmitate orally daily
4. Intravenous vitamin C, 25,000 to 150,000 mg per infusion, depending on body size, as frequently as daily, depending on the severity of the infection

Vitamin C accumulating inside viral particles can rapidly destroy viruses by that approach. The spike of the bacteriophage virus is laden with iron, and the focal Fenton reaction is probably how it penetrates its host cell membrane (Bartual et al., 2010; Yamashita et al., 2011; Browning et al., 2012). Viruses accumulate iron and copper, and these metals are also part of the surfaces of viruses (Samuni et al., 1983). As such, wherever the concentrations are the highest, vitamin C will focally upregulate the Fenton reaction, and irreversible viral damage will generally ensue. Fenton activity and its upregulation is the only really well-documented way by which viruses, pathogens, and also cancer cells can be killed by vitamin C, and it is the stimulation of this reaction by vitamin C that makes it therapeutically effective in resolving many infections and cancers (Vilcheze et al., 2013).

Vitamin C helps resolve infections of all varieties, but its effect on acute viral syndromes are especially dramatic and prompt, and it should always be part of any treatment protocol for an infected patient.

(Dr. Thomas Levy is a board-certified cardiologist as well as an attorney. He is the author of several books, including Curing the Incurable: Vitamin C, Infectious Diseases, and Toxins.)

OMNS free subscription link http://orthomolecular.org/subscribe.html and also the OMNS archive linkhttp://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/index.shtml are included.

References:

1. Bartual, S., J. Otero, C. Garcia-Doval, et al. (2010) Structure of the bacteriophage T4 long tail fiber receptor-binding tip. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 107:20287-20292. PMID: 21041684

2. Browning, C., M. Shneider, V. Bowman, et al., (2012) Phage pierces the host cell membrane with the iron-loaded spike. Structure 20:326-339. PMID: 22325780

3. Dainow, I. (1943) Treatment of herpes zoster with vitamin C. Dermatologia 68:197-201.

4. Holden, M. and E. Molloy (1937) Further experiments on the inactivation of herpes virus by vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid). Journal of Immunology 33:251-257.

5. Holden, M. and R. Resnick (1936) The in vitro action of synthetic crystalline vitamin C (ascorbic acid) on herpes virus. Journal of Immunology 31:455-462.

6. Klenner, F. (1949) The treatment of poliomyelitis and other virus diseases with vitamin C. Southern Medicine & Surgery 111:209-214. PMID: 18147027

7. Klenner, F. (1974) Significance of high daily intake of ascorbic acid in preventive medicine. Journal of the International Academy of Preventive Medicine 1:45-69.

8. Levy, T. (2002) Curing the Incurable. Vitamin C, Infectious Diseases, and Toxins. MedFox Publishing, Henderson, NV.

9. Samuni, A., J. Aronovitch, D. Godinger, et al. (1983) On the cytotoxicity of vitamin C and metal ions. A site-specific Fenton mechanism. European Journal of Biochemistry 137:119-124. PMID: 6317379

10. Vilcheze, C., T. Hartman, B. Weinrick, and W. Jacobs, Jr. (2013) Mycobacterium tuberculosis is extraordinarily sensitive to killing by a vitamin C-induced Fenton reaction. Nature Communications 4:1881. PMID: 23695675

11. Yamashita, E., A. Nakagawa, J. Takahashi, et al. (2011) The host-binding domain of the P2 phage tail spike reveals a trimeric iron-binding structure. Acta Crystallographica. Section F, Structural Biology and Crystallization Communications 67:837-841. PMID: 21821878

12. Zureick, M. (1950) Therapy of herpes and herpes zoster with intravenous vitamin C. Journal des Praticiens 64:586. PMID: 14908970

http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/vitamin-c-shingles-and-vaccination

Breaking Report: HPV Cancers Rising In Spite of Vaccination

A new study by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) reveals that, despite increasing uptake of human papillomavirus (HVP) vaccines, cancers linked to HPV rose in the past decade.

The report, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, was co-authored by researchers from the American Cancer Society (ACS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR), and found that while overall cancer death rates in the U.S. continue to decline among both men and women over the past decade, incidence rates are actually increasing for HPV-associated oral, vulva and anal cancers.

As reported by Fierce Vaccines, this finding may "irk HPV vaccine makers Merck and GlaxoSmithKline," whose vaccines have been adopted and lauded by national and global health authorities as safe and effective, 'live saving' interventions.

Obviously, if the report is correct, and by 2010 as many as 48.7 percent of girls ages 13 through 17 had received at least one dose of the HPV vaccine, and 32 percent received all three recommended doses, we should expect to find a widespread decline in HPV-associated cancers if the vaccines actually work as advertised.

While HPV-associated diseases are multifactorial in etiology, with environmental exposures, co-infections, immune dysfunction, nutritional incompatibilities, excesses and deficiencies, and stress-related physiological factors playing key roles, the vaccine industry and their governmental extensions have largely opted for reductionism in their marketing, projecting the rhetorical view that HPV is the single most important, if not the only cause of HPV-associated conditions such as anal and cervical cancer.

All the more reason why this new study is so devastating to their aggressive marketing and PR campaigns, and why the subsequent rallying cry for greater HPV vaccine coverage as the solution to the vaccine's failure -- though extremely typical -- is all the more disturbing.

Recently, we covered the fatal flaws in HPV vaccine promotion in The HPV Vaccine Debate: Don't Ask, Don't Tell, wherein we discussed the expert testimony of HPV researcher Dr. Diane Harper onKatie Couric's controversial show dedicated to the topic, and the CDC's own admission that the HPV vaccines being used today have very limited effectiveness:

"According to the CDC's website, there are over 100 forms of HPV that have been identified thus far, with the vaccine only protecting (in theory) against four, namely, HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18.[xiii]  Nor does vaccination speed the clearance of pre-existing HPV 16/18 infection, making Dr. Harper's point about the prevalence of HPV infection in those younger than 11 all the more poignant.[xiv] So, how effective can a 2-4 strain vaccine possibly be even if it works 100% of the time against them?"

The answer is of course not very effective. And nowhere is this more clearly evident than in the case of African-American girls and women...

Only two months ago, a groundbreaking but virtually unknown report on the National Library of Medicine's health information portal Medline Plus, revealed a disturbing fact about the HPV vaccine, and the institutionalized 'color blindness' in biomedicine today that is having significant adverse impacts on minority populations.  Researchers from Duke University found that although African-American women are twice as likely as Caucasian women to die from cervical cancer, HPV vaccines target strains of HPV that are far less likely to infect them, and are not found in the most concerning precancerous abnormalities. 

As reported by Afro.com:

"The study examined 280 Black women and 292 White women, all carrying varying HPV strains. Some had no signs of cancer, some showed mild signs of pre-cancer and a small percentage had advanced precancerous abnormalities. In the group with the most advanced signs of pre-cancer, White participants carried strains 16, 18, 33, 39, and 59, whereas Black participants carried strains 31, 35, 45, 56, 58, 66, and 68.

Currently, two vaccines on the market target four HPV strains considered most troublesome. Gardasil, which is produced by Merck and can be administered to anyone aged 9 through 26, protects against strains 16, 18, 6, and 11. Cervarix, by GlaxoSmithKline, is available only for girls and women and targets strains 16 and 18."

Could this explain why rates of cervical cancer actually increased in African-American populations, according to the new NCI report?

When a vaccine is being used that forces the immune system of black girls or women to produce antibodies and mobilize immune defenses against HPV strains that are not contributing to the pathogenesis of the presumed 'vaccine preventable' disease, not only does this waste valuable immune resources that would be useful elsewhere, but it focuses the immune system towards a non-existent threat and away from the real one. Obviously, vaccines that produce antibodies without antigen-antibody affinity are not only useless, but harmful. And this does not even account for the multiple, unintended, adverse effects of the other vaccine ingredients (e.g. adjuvants; biologicals) found within the shot.

Shouldn't these two studies confirm that at the very least, African-American populations should refrain from HPV vaccines until further evidence is provided that they are safe and effective? Is this not basic to the precautionary principle, especially when it comes to an unnecessary medical intervention? Shouldn't the burden of proof of safety and efficacy be upon those manufacturing, selling, regulating the product and not the exposed populations who increasingly are being told they have little to no choice in the matter?

For more information on HPV vaccination and HPV, visit our research sections on the topic:

Vaccination: HPV (Gardisil)

Human Papillomavirus HPV

http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/breaking-report-hpv-cancers-rising-spite-vaccination

How zinc levels affect your immune system

By Dr. David Jockers

 Zinc is a fundamental mineral and one of the most common deficiencies in the world. Zinc is essential to human and animal growth patterns and has an essential role in the development of hormones and immune molecules. Zinc is one of the best mineral supplements to boost and balance out a tired and overstimulated immune system.

Experts predict that almost 2 billion people, which is roughly 25% of the world's population, are deficient in zinc. This is thought to be from inadequate consumption through the individual's diet. From a functional health perspective, there is a lot more zinc deficiency in our society due to poor biochemical pathways.

When we have poor blood sugar signaling due to a diet that is high in sugar and carbohydrates, we are unable to adequately absorb zinc. Individuals with leaky gut syndrome are often deficient in zinc from poor absorption. Consuming high amounts of phytic acids in grains and legumes can adversely affect zinc levels. The regular use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) depletes zinc levels in the body as well.

Zinc is critical for immune health:

Zinc is critical for balancing the immune system and keeping the Th-1 and Th-2 systems in check. Zinc potentiates the action of the human cytokine interferon-alpha, a protein that inhibits viral replication. This reduces immunological stress and improves the immune coordination.

Zinc is also a component of specific enzymes in the body, including superoxide dismutatse enzymes (SODs). SOD is a powerful intracellular antioxidant that protects the cellular genomics and protects against viral infection and toxic debris accumulation within the cellular matrix.

Zinc reduces inflammatory conditions in the body:

When the immune system recognizes a pathogen, it sets off a series of molecules to create a process that activates the innate immune response. This process involves the nuclear factor-kappa beta (NF-kB) pathway. Healthy immunity depends upon sensitive NF-kB activity, but we must reduce the overstimulation of NF-kB, or we risk chronic inflammation.

Zinc plays an important role, as it binds to a protein within the NF-kB pathway that halts its activity. This is a programmed shutdown of the NF-kB pathway that reduces the effects of too much inflammatory activity within the cells. Without adequate zinc, the NF-kB pathway gets overstimulated and creates chronic inflammatory conditions that have been linked to degenerative disease processes.

Zinc helps reduce cancer cell growth:

Zinc's modulatory effect on NF-kB makes it a formidable player in the prevention of cancer cell growth patterns. It has been shown to decrease tumor cell angiogenesis and the induction of inflammatory cytokines. It also increases apoptosis (programmed cell death) in abnormal cell lines, which reduces the chances of cancer growth.

Research shows that zinc is particularly important in prostate and breast cancers. A 2012 study showed that individuals with the BRCA1 gene (strongly associated with breast cancer development) who had the highest levels of zinc had the lowest risk of cancer development. The study also showed that those with the lowest zinc levels had a significantly elevated risk of developing breast cancer.

Zinc and estrogen balance

In other research, Dr. David Watts reviewed the hair trace mineral reports of thousands of women and found that a pattern of elevated boron, copper and calcium levels with lower levels of zinc occurred in women with breast cancer. Dr. Watts' understanding is that boron and copper appear to make the body more sensitive to the stimulatory effects of estrogen and less responsive to the quieting effects of progesterone. Zinc is the mineral that aids in the production and utilization of progesterone, so this pattern of mineralization makes women less progesterone-responsive and more estrogen-sensitive. Raising zinc levels and lowering boron, copper and calcium levels can bring these women into mineral balance and help in the creation of hormonal balance.

The primary gene protecting men from prostate cancer and women from breast cancer is the TP53 gene. This is thought to be the guardian of the human genome. When this gene becomes mutated, it allows for the development of cancer. The gene requires zinc, and zinc deficiencies are shown to cause mutated versions of the TP53 gene to form. This dramatically raises the risk of breast and prostate cancer cell development.

How much zinc should you take in?

The best food sources of zinc include oysters, shellfish, meat, eggs, whole grains, nuts and seeds. I personally do not recommend oysters or shellfish due to toxic bioaccumulation in these animal sources. Grass-fed beef and organ meat and eggs from 100% pasture-raised animals are much better sources. Sprouted pumpkin, sunflower, hemp and chia seeds are also fantastic sources of zinc.

The recommended daily allowance for zinc is between 8 and 11 milligrams for most adults. However, for functional health, most progressive nutritionists and doctors recommend between 30 and 40 mg/day. Zinc can be a problem when one takes in more than 100 mg/day. It is best to get a combination of zinc complexes from zinc gluconate, zinc amino acid chelate and zinc citrate.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.dummies.com

http://www.naturalnews.com

http://www.sciencedaily.com

http://researchnews.osu.edu

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

http://www.naturalnews.com

http://science.naturalnews.com


Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/043415_zinc_immune_system_mineral_balance.html#ixzz2pgZprwMA

Wild Blueberry Polyphenols Improve Vascular Function

Margie King, Health Coach

The more easily blood flows through your arteries and veins, the less your heart has to work.  Now researchers from England and Germany have proven that less than a cup of wild blueberries can have an almost immediate and long lasting effect on how well your vascular system is circulating blood. 

Researchers from the University of Reading and the University of Dusseldorf conducted two randomized, controlled, double-blind crossover studies in 21 healthy men between 18 and 40 years old.[1]  They wanted to determine the impact of various amounts of wild blueberries on cardiovascular function.  

In the first study, some of the men drank varying amounts of blueberry polyphenols, ranging from the equivalent of 240 grams (3/4 cup) to 560 grams (1¼ cups) of wild blueberries.  Others were given a drink with the same macro and micronutrients but no blueberry polyphenols. 

The researchers then measured changes in the men's "flow-mediated dilation."  FMD is the gold-standard technique to measure endothelial function.  The endothelium is the lining of the blood vessels.  FMD is considered a good predictor of cardiovascular disease risk.

The researchers measured changes in FMD at 0, 1, 2, 4 and 6 hours after the men drank the blueberry polyphenols.  They found improvements in FMD at 1, 2 and 6 hours after consumption.  The beneficial effects correlated with levels of blueberry polyphenol metabolites in the blood plasma. In other words, as the blueberry polyphenols were broken down by enzymes into various metabolites, endothelium function in the men improved.  The benefits lasted at least 6 hours.   

A second study was conducted to investigate the dose of blueberry polyphenols needed to see beneficial effects.  The researchers tested the equivalent of 100 grams to 560 grams of wild blueberries at 0 and 1 hour post-consumption.  Their results showed that FMD improved in a dose-dependent manner up to the equivalent of about 240 grams of wild blueberries.  Then the effects plateaued. 

In other words, the men didn't get any additional benefit in endothelial function by eating any more than the equivalent of ¾ of a cup of wild blueberries.   

Earlier researched on the cardiovascular benefits of berries found that women who ate three or more servings of blueberries per week slashed their risk of heart attack by as much as 32%.  And wildblueberries may help improve blood pressure by modulating arterial contractions. 

In the obese, blueberries have been found to improve insulin sensitivity and reduce cardiovascular risk factors. 

Other studies show blueberries may help prevent cancer.     

Visit GreenMedInfo's database for more health benefits of blueberries.

The current study used wild blueberries.  They are smaller than the cultivated versions most often found in your supermarket, with about twice the number of berries per pound.  They also have less water and a higher skin-to-pulp ratio.  That means the wild versions have more intense flavor and double the antioxidant content. 

In North America, the harvest season for wild blueberries is July and August in Maine and Canada.  But you can find fresh frozen berries in supermarkets all year round. 

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[1] Rodriguez-Mateos A, Intake and time dependence of blueberry flavonoid-induced improvements in vascular function: a randomized, controlled, double-blind, crossover intervention study with mechanistic insights into biological activity.  Am J Clin Nutr. 2013 Nov;98(5):1179-91. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.113.066639. Epub 2013 Sep 4.  PMID: 24004888
http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/wild-blueberry-polyphenols-improve-vascular-function