Merry Healthful Mistletoe December 20, 2012

Mistletoe extract to alleviate cancer symptoms.

Mistletoe Extract-Cancer Breakthrough

It’s not often that there is a proven natural treatment to recommend to the approximately 12 million people in the US who now have cancer.  I’m talking about an extract made from European mistletoe (Viscum album), a plant that grows on apple, oak, maple and other trees.  (You know it as a decoration for holiday kisses.)

Mistletoe extract has become one of the most well-studied compounds in complementary cancer therapy (with more than 120 published studies).  It is widely used in Europe, particularly in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.  In fact, in Germany, mistletoe exract is a licensed medicine that is partly reimbursable through the healthcare system… and more than 50% of cancer patients are treated with the plant in some form.  In Switzerland, it is fully reimbursable through health insurance.

Mistletoe extract has been used in medicine for centuries.  It had multidimensional uses, including treating headache, menstrual symptoms, infertility and arthritis.  Interest in mistletoe extract as a treatment for cancer was ignited in the 1920s.

Today several companies manufacture mistletoe extract under the brand names Iscador, Helixot, Isorel and others.  One of the most studied formulations is Iscador.

Available from conventional medical and holistic doctors in the US and around the world, mistletoe extract is most often used in conjunction with standard cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and/or radiation.  It has been found to increase the effectiveness of, and reduce the side effects from conventional therapies and to improve patients’ immunity and quality of life, including vitality, sleep and appetite.

How it can help

Medicinally, mistletoe extract’s active compounds seem to be related to two main components–viscotoxins, proteins that exhibit cell-killing activity and stimulate the immune system…and lectins, molecules that bind to cells and induce biochemical changes in those cells.  However, since the extract is made from the whole plant, including leaves, stems and berries, it contains hundreds of active compounds.

Studies have shown that mistletoe extract can help in a number of ways and with several different types of cancers.  What some studies have found…

*Patients with cancer of the colon, rectum, stomach, breast or lung who took Iscador  as well as the conventional therapies reviewed in the study(chemotherapy and/or radiation) lived about 14 months, or 40% longer than those who did not take mistletoe extract, according to a study published in 2001 in Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine.

*Mistletoe extract extended survival time in patients with malignant melanoma in a 2005 study published in a German journal.  Patients had significantly lower rates of metastases compared with the control group.

*Patients with colorectal cancer who were treated with Iscador in addition to conventional treatment experienced fewer adverse relief…and improved disease-free survivial rates compared with those treated with only conventional therapy, according to the 2009 study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

*At last year’s American Society for Clinical Oncology meeting in Washington, D.C., researchers presented the results of a Phase I clinical trial that tested the safety of Helixor and the drug gemcitabine (Gemzar) in patients with advanced solid tumors of the breast, pancreas or colon.  Finding: 48% of patients taking both Helixor and Gemzar benefited from enhanced immune function and an increase in infection-fighting cells.  Helixor also may allow for higher doses of chemotherapy.

*Mistletoe extract improved the quality of life of 270 breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, says a 2011 German study published in Phytomedicine.  Physicians rated improvements in general well-being (87% of patients), mental health (71%) and disease coping (50%).  Patients also reported improved appetite and sleep and less pain.  Well-being is believed to result from mistletoe extract’s anti-inflammatory effect, which can reduce pain and boost energy.

In addition, mistletoe extract has been found to inhibit growth of malignant cells and cause cancer-cell death (apoptosis)…and protect cell DNA.

How it is used

Mistletoe extract typically is given by injection.  It also is available as a tincture and can be given intravenously–however, all the studies used the injection form.  Cancer patients should use only the injection form because that’s the form that has been studied.  Even if mistletoe extract is not given immediately after diagnosis, it can be started at any time during the course of conventional cancer treatment.

Different species of mistletoe extract can treat different types of cancer.  Doctors can use varying strengths depending on patients’ responses to mistletoe extract.  It is recommended to take the extract for five years after being diagnosed because it optimizes the immune system to continue fighting cancer.

As with most natural substances, the US Food and Drug Administration has not approved mistletoe extract as a cancer treatment.  However, in this country, injectable mistletoe is available as a prescription.  Any licensed primary care doctor can order and prescribe it.  It costs about $200 a month and is not covered by insurance.

Cancer patients should have this treatment only while being supervised by a doctor.

Side effects are uncommon but can include headache, dizziness, fatigue and itching.  An allergic reaction is rare but possible.  A normal reaction may include mild fever for one to two days after the first injection, swelling of local lymph nodes and redness or swelling at the injection site for 48 hours.  Doctors look for this reaction–it means that the treatment is working and is prompting an immune response.

People who have an autoimmune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis or multiple sclerosis…high fever…active tuberculosis…or hyperthyroidism should be attentive to any symptoms that might occur because mistletoe extract can aggravate these conditions.  Transplant patients and others who take immune-suppressing drugs should not use mistletoe extract.

Don’t eat any part of the mistletoe plant–some species are toxic.  For more information on mistletoe extract, speak to a holistic doctor who has experience using it.

Article information from Bottom Line-Natural Healing with Dr. Mark Stengler  www.BottomLinePublications.com

Seasonal Allergies-Natural Remedies April 14, 2012

For many, spring brings joy via outdoor activities amid blossoming flowers and blooming trees, as they visit parks, hike through meadows and jog along roads in the warming air.  For millions of allergy sufferers, however, the attendant airborne pollen brings bedevilled sneezes, congestion, teary eyes and runny noses.  Hay fever alone, which affects 35 million Americans, shuts many of us indoors.  Before resorting to such an extreme measure, try controlling allergic reactions using some of these simple suggestions.

The Mayo Clinic recommends that we begin by reducing exposure to allergy triggers:

*Stay indoors on dry, windy days and early mornings, when pollen counts are high.  The best time to be outside is after a good rain, which helps clear pollen from the air.

*Remove clothes previously worn outside.  Immediately after coming inside, shower thoroughly to rinse off pollen.

*Don’t hang laundry outside, because pollen may stick to it, especially sheets and towels.

*Keep indoor air as clean as possible by turning on the air conditioner in both the house and car, and use high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters, especially in the bedroom;most cost less than $100.00.  Make sure the vacuüm cleaner has a HEPA filter, too.  Keep indoor air comfortably dry with a dehumidifier.

For those that love being outdoors, several natural remedies can help.  Dr. Roger Morrison, a holistic physician in Point Richmond, California, likes targeted, widely available, over-the-counter homeopathic medicines.  Carefully read labels to match specific symptoms with those noted on each remedy.

For example, for a badly dripping nose, Allium cepa may be the most helpful remedy.  It helps lessen nasal discharge, plus reduce sneezing and congestive headaches that can accompany allergies.

If allergy symptoms center around the eyes, causing itching, burning, redness and tears, then homeopathic Euphrasia is a better choice.  If night-time post-nasal drainage leads to coughing upon waking, Euphrasia can help, as well.

Pulsatilla helps people whose allergies are worse when they enter a warm room or feel congested when they lie down at night.

Homeopathic remedies generally are available for less than $10.  If symptoms don’t improve in three days, stop and try a different homeopathic remedy.

Homeopathic practitioner Dr. Greg Meyer, in Phoenix, Arizona, says that many of his patients benefit from taking herbs and other natural supplements, and one of the most effective for hay fever is Urtica dioica(stinging nettles).  Studies reported in Planta Medica: Journal of Medicinal Plant and Natural Product Research, showed that after one week, nearly two-thirds of the participants taking two 300 milligram (mg) capsules of freeze-dried nettles experienced decreased sneezing and itching.  Dr. Andrew Weil, of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, in Tuscon, recommends taking 250 mg of freeze-dried nettles extract every two to four hours until symptoms subside.

Quercitin is another useful herb.  By preventing release of histamine, it also works to lessen the sneezing and itching that accompany allergies.  Take 400 mg twice a day before meals.

Diana Danna, an integrative nurse practitioner in Staten Island, New York, suggests the age-old remedy of a neti pot to relieve congested nasal passageways.

For those who don’t have a neti pot, you should get one, they really work!  It’s like breathing with a new nose! Tammy

It may take a bit of practice, but she’s seen how rinsing the sinuses with a warm saltwater solution can reduce congestion and make breathing easier.  An over-the-counter squeeze bottle can substitute for a neti pot, as can NeilMed Sinus Rinse.  Danna suggests rinsing twice a day for best results.

Simple dietary changes often yield promising results, as well.  Stick to non-mucous-producing foods and eat more foods that give a boost to the body’s natural immune system.  Whole grains, fruits and vegetables and raw nuts and seeds fit both categories, as do lean proteins like fresh fish and organic meats.  Drinking plenty of clean water flushes the system and thins secretions.  Foods that tend to cause the most problems for allergy sufferers include dairy products, fried and processed foods and refined sugars and flours.

Adding essential fatty acids to a diet has benefits beyond allergy relief.  In my practice, I’ve seen how patients that take one to two tablespoons of flaxseed oil or three grams of fish oil during the spring months breathe more easily when outdoors.  They also delight in healthier looking skin, shinier hair and harder nails.

Trying these approaches may well turn spring into a favorite time of year for everyone.

This article provided by Lauri Grossman, a doctor of chiropractic and certified classical homeopath, practices in Manhattan, NY.  She also chairs the American Medical College of Homeopathy’s department of humanism, in Phoenix, AZ.  Learn more at amcofh.org and HomeopathyCafe.com.

May you all have much peace, love and joy this weekend.  Hope these natural remedies help you to breathe in all the goodness and beauty of life!