Firstly before we could deal with the subject matter, we need to understand whether Chemotherapy and radiation therapy cause a number of adverse effects such as leukopenia (white blood cells loss due to bone marrow inhibition), reduced appetite and impaired ability to consume nourishing foods, general weakness with accompanying depression, lack of exercise and inability to pursue health-promoting activities. Due to these, past research efforts were aimed at finding ways in overcoming these side effects of Western medical therapies with herbs. Initiated during the 1970’s to deal with the increasing use of Western medicines to treat cancer, there were limited success.
Western drug therapies are frequently employed for their inhibitory effects on bacteria, cancer cell growth, stomach acid and beta-blocking nerve impulses. In general, and keeping in mind of the diversity of drugs that will generate some exceptions, these inhibitory effects correspond to having cooling actions, even if some of the drug side effects are of a hot nature such as causing mouth ulceration. Hence, antibiotics, understood in Western terms as treatments for bacterial infection, often alleviate fever (a hot condition) and colored discharge (a traditional sign of heat).
Laboratory investigation of herbs for other uses and for cancer therapy has no doubt revealed many startling results but these results affirmed that herbs alone cannot be used on its own for this purpose. There is this one class of active constituents that stands out when it was first investigated amongst the medicinal mushrooms. These are the immune-modulating polysaccharide-peptide combinations obtained from numerous herbs. Most people in the field of natural healing have acquaintances with ganoderma (lingzhi or reishi), lentinus (xianggu or shiitake), polyporus (zhuling or maitake) and coriolus (yunzhi which is the source of the Japanese drug product called PSK, polysaccharide krestin). Found in astragalus, lithospermum, prunella, lycium fruit and other non-mushroom herbs, it appears despite of the many superiority claims of one source over the other, the mechanism of action of these polysaccharides remain the same towards healthy living.
Nevertheless, there have been many attempts to integrate traditional herbs and modern medicine nowadays. The cancer curing concept now seems to be basically relying on the Western therapy as the primary means of killing cancer cells while using herbs to protect the bone marrow, improve the appetite and digestion and increase energy.
So, to what extend have these been successful? We all know that, in most cases, there may be some differential results in laboratory animal tests and clinical studies on humans. Experimental tumor cell lines usually cause substantial immune impairment, which is rectified by the polysaccharides, causing the tumor to shrink under the attack of the immune system. In humans, cancer-induced immune suppression is less common and instead, the problem of weakened immunity arises from the cancer therapies. Thus, in the case of polysaccharide extracts of mushrooms which were originally developed as treatments for cancer, these and similar polysaccharides from other plants are now being used as adjunct therapies to protect the patient’s stomach, liver, and bone marrow from toxic effects of drugs and damage due to radiation therapy.
Much has been said about diets being used to control diseases. It is indeed not something new. For years, researchers had been initially stumped with conflicting results on various diets being tested. It is such a complicated area of research that more focused studies need to be extensively done to be sure what exactly causes what types of diseases.
However, the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) project, has shown that eating the right foods also works. It can lower blood pressure as much as taking a drug. The results also showed that supplements derived from the right foods can not be done away by just supplementing one’s needs with pure supplements. It has been noted in that study that a vegetable diet achieved such success when supplements of calcium, magnesium, and other individual nutrients flopped in earlier studies. The lowering of the blood pressure in the same study could also be possibly due to that something else in fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products but it can’t say for sure which particular attribute nor can it say which nutrients made the difference.
Leicester researchers had found that changing lifestyles in switching to a healthier diet and increasing exercise can be at least as effective as taking prescription drugs. On average, lifestyle changes helped to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by around half. Lifestyle changes were also less likely to have adverse side-effects.
Because of the many researches being carried out in the past, more and more attention have been put into trying to pinpoint the effects of various diets on your health. Vigorous researches on fitting foods as the right diet to manage diseases with ketogenic diets appearing to be the conduit to treat various other neurological disorders including ALS, brain tumors, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease autism, narcolepsy, and migraines. many of such conditions respond to anti-convulsant medications. Diets low in simple carbohydrates for people with diabetes, low-fat diets high in fruits, vegetables and nuts for cardiovascular conditions, phenylalamine-free diets for genetic disorders, low-sodium diets for hypertension, low-fat diets for gallstones and gluten-casein free diets for autistics are just about the many diets advocated. There are now the DASH diets, the Mediterranean diet, and of course the much acclaimed very specific diets for various diseases such as diets for people suffering from multiple sclerosis, anti-inflammation diet, mood diet……and so on and so forth. Errh…..too much to comprehend for you, I suppose.
Lydia Beckett’s epilepsy seizures continued despite ingesting the same drugs that brought about relief to many other children having epilepsy. Her case is a typical example of the fitting food to healthy living. She did not respond well to the drugs but instead to one well documented ketogenic (high fat, low carb) diet that she detailed all in a film about “Childhood Epilepsy - What You Need to Know, A Parents’ Guide to Diagnosis, Treatment and Care of a Child with a Seizure Disorder”.
All in all, all such proclaimed diets are basically meant for good healthy living but no matter what, the vegetarian diet remains the panacea for modern lifestyle diseases. Many studies have shown that a vegetarian diet has always come as top billings. It has been shown that there are inverse associations with the occurrence of diseases with the increase intakes of fiber-based vegetables and fruits.
So, again it is your commitment towards adopting a choice of fitting foods towards achieving ultimate healthy lifestyles and living.
Another great discovery on the usefulness of blueberry fruit has just been found and added on to its greatness discovered in the past. It has been ascertained that blueberry flavonoids activates the parts of the human brain that control memory and learning and this discovery has opened new avenues of research into the ability of blueberries to prevent Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions.
Its proven capabilities includes:-
lowering LDL cholesterol better than and without the dangers of statin drugs,
its richness in disease-fighting phytochemicals that prevent and even reverse serious diseases like cancer, diabetes, heart disease, stomach ulcers and even help lower cholesterol levels,
ability to control high cholesterol and prevent colon cancer
and these add feathers in its hat in asserting its usefulness in modern day nutritional health.
In fact, when I was young, I have a dog much to my liking. There were certain things I noticed whenever my dog fell sick. It naturally goes out into the open to look for grasses. That goes the same for some stray cats in the vicinity. What exactly were these animals doing? They bit chunks of grasses or other plant leaves and chewed them, nimbled over these “natural” sources of “remedies” to get over their sickness. That is the clue Mother Nature has provided. On many such occasions, these dogs and cats had their natural instincts to look to Mother Nature to provide direction to better health. So is, here the berry family, in the same way as Mother Nature by being plant-based products, with blueberry leading the way on others in the family such as elderberry, acai berry, raspberry, cranberry, strayberry and promegranate.
The antioxidant properties of these berries, with their natural occurring chemical compounds, are best obtained in its raw form rather than be processed form unless strict processing were adopted to maintain these properties to be effective for optimum health functionality. Folks, it is easier said than done to eat fresh and raw. Yes, it is really not complicated like what your ancestors did. This is what your body was designed to eat. However, how many of you are that “fortunate” to be in North America to be able to “enjoy” eating these native berries fresh. Even if you did, how long can you be there to consume sufficient antioxidants to ensure your healthy living? It is just impracticable for many of you. It is not like just grabbing some fresh roots like carrots and radishes to munch raw. Perhaps, get yourself to pay a fairly big sum for such fresh berries sent to your doorstep or you may have to go down to the fresh market for some shopping.
And if you do all this on a daily basis without consuming the processed foods common to western societies, you would likely find that you do not need any prescription drugs whatsoever. Miraculously, you would be a perfectly healthy human being if you have supplemented yourself with superfoods like spirulina, chlorella, broccoli sprouts and other similar concentrate nutrient sources. You would find your cholesterol achieving perfect balance and your nervous system to be in perfect health and you would experience accelerated healing at every level. These berries are that powerful. They are the ultimate medicine. Let us be honest about it. You have to be ethically informed as an individual to grasp the idea about the healing foods nature has provided.
What is so interesting about these berries is why are they such powerful disease fighters. Berries contain a variety of phytonutrients, phytochemicals and antioxidants which many of these are exhibited in their colors and flavors. These phytonutrients are extremely powerful compounds for supporting optimum human health and in fact they are far more powerful than any pharmaceutical in terms of providing healthy benefits without dangerous side effects. Unlike human-built pharmaceutical factories, plants are natural pharmaceutical factories where edible plants create healing phytochemicals that are precisely the compounds that your body needs to be healthy. The marvelous thing about these are they are available without the negative side effects that are frequently associated with prescription drugs. Compared to other fruit sources, berries offer the highest content of antioxidants and phytochemicals for fighting disease. Berries are also rich in many vitamins and minerals, including calcium, magnesium and zinc which are all minerals that are frequently deficient in the diets of most of you including Americans.
Take a closer look at the different berries and discuss what’s so good about them.
Blueberry
Blueberries are perhaps the most powerful berries in terms of antioxidant content. Much research has been conducted recently on the purported health benefits of blueberries. The berries are known to be high in anthocynins and other phytochemicals known to reduce the risk of some cancers. The berries are also a good source of ellagic acid, which blocks metabolic pathways that can lead to cancer. Laboratory research has supported this hypothesis, as have some animal studies. In addition, animal studies have suggested that dietary consumption of blueberries helps reduce the risk of urinary tract infections and heart disease, decrease the damage caused by strokes, and helps to stave off Alzheimer’s disease and other age-related conditions. Blueberries contain pterostilbene, a naturally occurring compound which is thought to be one of the primary chemicals that contribute to these effects and which is able to lessen pre-cancerous lesions and inhibited genes involved in inflammation. Animal studies have linked the chemicals to decreased cognitive impairment due to age, reduction in blood cholesterol and fat levels, and even reductions in blood glucose levels.High in flavonoids that are known to help protect against prostate cancer, urinary tract infections and cataracts apart from being known to protect against brain damage from strokes and heart disease.
Cranberry
Cranberries are perhaps best known for preventing urinary tract infections, but they have also been shown to prevent breast cancer and reduce stomach ulcers. Cranberries can also be used to help decrease LDL cholesterol levels.
Strawberry
Strawberries are high in antioxidants and vitamin C. They are known to fight heart disease and provide a number of vitamins and minerals that support overall human health.
Raspberry
Raspberries are known for their ability to fight cancer thanks to the phytochemical content and abundant supply of vitamins and minerals.
Acai Berry
Acai berry is known to be the most powerful antioxidant ever found in fighting Alzeihmer’s Disease, cancer, diabetes, heart problems etc to name a few. Do you know of the 39 Reasons Why You Need To Consume Acai?
The bottom line is that berries can be an extremely powerful disease-fighting part of your daily diet. Simply choose a variety of berries which can be blue, red, and purple and be sure to consume them into your body on a frequent basis. Remember, nature provides everything that your body needs in order to be healthy and prevent chronic disease and that leaves you with no other choice but to trust nature in order to experience a disease-free life. To do that it is important to nourish your body with the optimum nutrition of berries apart from those provided by fruits and vegetables found in nature.
Well, it looks like you cannot forgo your berries if you want to live healthily!
