Yet it reigns as one of the world's favorite natural medicines, cooking ingredients, and spices.
And its accolades reach far beyond cooking. It's recommended for so many different health conditions, you might think all these benefits can't be for real. But maybe that's to be expected from an herb that's also used as a nickname for temperamental redheads! Keep reading and I'll give you all the details on this valuable medicinal food.Continued below...
The Secret of Enzymes Plus an Odd Fact:
Most Health Foods are a Waste of MoneyBy Lee Euler
Thanks to enzyme supplements, a mother's lifelong migraines disappeared, and a man with "terminal" kidney cancer was alive and well 15 years later. In fact, a great many cancer patients beat the disease and are still alive today thanks to enzymes.
Enzymes are a key part of most alternative cancer treatment plans. More important: Even if you're healthy today, taking enzymes is something you can and should do now to prevent not only cancer, but also heart disease, pain and diabetes and many other ailments.
Enzyme supplements are among the top-selling pain-relievers in Germany and they're even used by the German Olympic team. As for us older folks, research indicates that enzymes improve circulation and can outperform blood-clot and blood-thinning drugs. (Good-bye, warfarin!)
They've even helped 9 out of 10 autistic children. A few months back I received a letter from a mother whose 7-year-old autistic son was almost completely cured after she read my Special Report called The Missing Ingredient, and then started giving him enzymes.
This letter came to me out of the blue. The mother wrote, "He has basically been nonverbal until summer 2009, he started talking one day and has never stopped!!" She adds, "The enzymes have kept my 3-year-old son, Noah's eczema AWAY! We are truly blessed, and I believe our Lord led me to you and your book."
How can ONE supplement possibly do all this? Just ask yourself: What if you were getting NO vitamins in your diet? You'd be very sick. This nutrient is just as important, and you're getting almost none, if you're like the typical American. Click here to learn more.
Perhaps ginger's most popular use and benefit as a remedy is to aid good digestion (it breaks down proteins and fatty acids to relieve gas and bloating), and as a treatment for motion sickness, morning sickness and nausea -- including the nausea of chemotherapy. Maybe your mother used to give you ginger ale for an upset stomach.
Native to China and India, where it has stood the test of time for 4,400 years, ginger root is now cultivated throughout Asia, Australia, South America, Jamaica, and the U.S.
The plant has delicate green leaves similar to baby spinach. They can be eaten as a salad.
But its outstanding medicinal significance comes from the root or rhizome. Ginger root's most important active components are believed to be its volatile oils and pungent phenol compounds (its gingerols and shogaols).
Ginger beats up on ovarian cancer cells…
Studies have shown that ginger extract or its components are able antagonists against breast cancer and ovarian cancer cells, and may also help fight other cancers (colon, liver, lung, pancreas, prostate and skin cancers, including melanoma).In 2006, researchers at the University of Michigan found that ginger caused ovarian cancer cells to die. The way those cells died suggest that ginger may be able to keep cancer cells from becoming resistant to conventional treatments.1 The researchers used ginger powder similar to that in your spice cabinet, but upgraded to a standardized research grade. When dissolved in solution and set loose on ovarian cell cultures, it induced cell death in all the ovarian cancer cell lines tested.
The cells died two ways: (1) apoptosis, where cancer cells "commit suicide", and (2) autophagy, where cancer cells digest or attack themselves.
Study author J. Rebecca Liu, M.D., assistant professor of Ob/Gyn at the University of Michigan suggests, "If ginger can cause autophagic cell death in addition to apoptosis, it may circumvent resistance to conventional chemotherapy."2,3
It may revolutionize breast cancer treatments, too
Breast cancer studies also suggest that ginger could be a better breast cancer fighter than any drug currently on the market. At least that's what researchers at King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia published in the Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology.Typically, breast cancer treatment involves hormonal therapy with selective estrogen receptor (ER) modulators (such as tamoxifen). But almost everyone with late-stage, metastatic breast cancer and 40 percent of other cancer patients using ERs suffer relapse and death. What's more, many breast cancer cells already resist the drugs by the end of one single treatment.
In contrast, a crude ginger extract stopped the cancer cells from reproducing.4 Ginger showed the highly prized anti-cancer quality of selective cytotoxicity — that is to say, it kills cancer cells but leaves healthy cells unharmed. Its ability to be selective is unmatched by any conventional cancer treatment.
Ginger appears to modulate many anti-cancer mechanisms (apoptosis and more). Researchers can't yet explain all ginger's molecular effects, but admit they look promising.
And get this: Previous studies also show that the ginger compound [6]—Gingerol hinders breast cancer from spreading.
Could this revolutionize the treatment of breast cancer?
Also benefits men. . .
A man's prostate gland naturally enlarges with age, which boosts his chances of cancer. By age 80, a whopping 80% of all men will have prostate cancer. So this discovery is worth paying attention to…Recently the British Journal of Nutrition published results of an American study in which ginger extract killed human prostate cancer cells while letting healthy prostate cells live.
This was with a daily dose of 100 mg of ginger extract per kg of body weight (about 6800 mg per day for a 150 pound man). During the course of eight weeks, the ginger slashed prostate tumor growth in half.5 If using fresh ginger, the researchers estimate 100 grams would offer similar results. Now, that's a lot of ginger. But if taken as an extract it's only about 7 grams, which might be tolerable.
Can ginger help prevent colon cancer?
In yet another University of Michigan study, published in Cancer Prevention Research, Suzanna M Zick, N.D., M.P.H. and her research team studied 30 volunteers randomly assigned to 2g of ginger root supplements or placebo daily for 28 days for inflammation linked to colon cancer.Four weeks later, inflammation markers were significantly lowered in those taking the ginger. And note that the doses were low compared to those recommended by the authors of the prostate study.
Affects multiple factors involved in inflammation
Researchers who've studied the healing properties of ginger discovered it contains zingibain — an enzyme with exceptionally strong anti-inflammatory properties.This inflammation squelching may be one reason ginger helps fight cancer cells. It could also explain why some studies find that ginger is a boon to arthritis sufferers and many other inflammation-mediated diseases.
Ginger is thought to help fight diverticulitis, gallbladder inflammation, and heart disease… and to promote blood flow to your brain to keep it healthy and young.
Ginger especially inhibits two enzymes that play a key role in rampant inflammation — the cyclooxygenase (COX) and 5-lipoxygenase (LOX). Anti-inflammatory drugs can block COX but completely miss LOX. As a result, they only address part of the problem. And — oops! — the drugs cause serious side effects that can lead to death.
Ginger, on the other hand, treats a broader range of inflammation because it deals with both the COX and LOX enzymes. It doesn't shut down inflammation entirely, but appears to turn it on and off as appropriate.
Addresses the pain caused by inflammation, too
Why take aspirin or Tylenol when you can take ginger for pain — without the potentially dangerous or even deadly side effects?Studies comparing ginger's efficacy against pain to aspirin and other pain drugs show that ginger requires smaller doses to get the same level of relief. It has no known side effects.
Osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia are just two conditions that could benefit from ginger's pain remediation.
Ginger for your heart. . .
As for the often-recommended doctor advice to take aspirin for heart health, one word: Don't do it. Studies show aspirin and other anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can lead to stomach upset, bleeding ulcers, joint discomfort, and a potentially compromised immune system. Furthermore, regular aspirin and NSAID use results in a higher risk of death.A cardiology clinic in an Israeli hospital now prescribes all its patients one-half teaspoon of ginger daily instead of aspirin.6 As long ago as 1980, researchers at Cornell already knew that ginger stopped life-threatening platelet aggregation, hardening of the arteries, and high cholesterol.
So why haven't you been told this?
Probably because conventional medicine would rather sell you on expensive anti-cholesterol drugs with deadly side effects!
Back to ginger's best-known benefit. . .
In China, ginger has been used to aid digestion and treat stomach upset, diarrhea, and nausea for over 2,000 years.Perhaps the most distressing and feared side effects of chemotherapy are nausea and vomiting. Besides being so disagreeable, they can lead to loss of needed nutrients, metabolic imbalance, and damage to the esophagus.
A number of clinical trials show ginger helps reduce the nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy7, as well as the nausea linked to surgery, motion sickness, and morning sickness. It may also help people who suffer from Irritable Bowel Disease or IBS.
The actual studies on motion sickness are mixed, though some people swear by it. Studies do indicate a positive effect for pregnancy-related nausea, but you should discuss this with your doctor prior to using.
Ginger is thought to affect receptors for the neurotransmitter serotonin in your digestive tract, an action similar to conventional anti-nausea drugs.
Cautions...
Given its broad healing properties and zesty flavor, it's hard to see how you can go wrong by adding it to your diet, at least in some measure.Do beware of the following: Don't take it if you have a bleeding disorder, are taking heart or blood thinning meds, aspirin or NSAIDS. It can alter the effects of some prescription drugs so consult your doctor if you're on any. And never give ginger to children under 2.
How to buy and use ginger
For superior flavor and the highest levels of the compound gingerol and other anti-inflammatory compounds, choose fresh ginger, available in the produce section of your grocer. Look for a root with firm smooth skin, no mold, and as few twists and joints as possible. If it's wrinkled, it's already drying out and will be woody.Ginger can be either young or mature. Mature ginger is widely available and requires peeling. Young ginger is typically only available in Asian markets and needs no peeling.
Peel with a paring knife or potato peeler. Then you can slice, mince or julienne it. Its intensity of flavor depends on when you add it during cooking. For stronger flavor, add it close to the end… for a more subtle taste, add it at the beginning.
Brew it as a tea to induce sweating… it's great to run off a fever and to boost your immune system. For fresh ginger tea, steep five or six thin slices of ginger root in hot water. Add lemon if desired.
Fresh ginger keeps for about three weeks in your fridge if unpeeled, or for up to six months in a freezer.
Combine it with the pungency of garlic for a wonderful flavor and a terrific anti-viral cure for colds and flu.
Meanwhile. . .in our last issue we wrote about another natural food that fights pain and a host of other diseases. If you missed the news, scroll down and catch it now.
Omega-3 Oils: Good for Breasts,
Bad for Prostates?
These days, of course, millions of us take fish oil (which, mercifully, tastes a lot better than the stuff that was available in the 1950s). Others prefer fresh flaxseed oil, which is also rich in omega-3s.
And now a new study indicates these oils may be useful in treating or preventing breast cancer. But at the same time, another study casts doubt on whether omega-3-rich oils are a good idea for prostate cancer. Let's take a look and see what's what. . .Continued below. . .
Old Mice "Cheat Death" with
New Harvard Breakthrough
The mice, who were the equivalent of elderly men, had all the classic signs of old age: Their brains were smaller... they were going blind... they stopped having sex... their hair was gray... and they couldn't find their way through a maze or remember where their food was.
But when this Harvard professor hit the switch in their cells, the tissues and organs in their body — including their brains — started to regenerate and grow back to normal size.
Even a slight change in brain size would have been a miracle... but what happened was even more remarkable. The gray hair was gone. So was the poor eyesight and shrunken brains. In fact, there was nothing left that could distinguish them as "old."1 And here's the best part: This "age-reversing switch" can be turned on in us, too. Clinical studies confirm the effectiveness of this therapy in men and women. In fact, the discovery that led to the breakthrough won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2009.
That means we now have the ability to repair our own aging brains... reignite our flagging sex drives... correct our failing eyesight... and sharpen our minds as if we were 21 again.
To tap into the power of this remarkable age-reversing switch so you can keep doing everything you want for longer than you ever thought possible, just click here now.
1Horner J, Maratos-Flier E, Depinho R, et. al. "Telomerase reactivation reverses tissue degeneration in aged telomerase-deficient mice." Nature Jan 2011;469(7328):102-6.
- Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) — found in English walnuts, in some types of beans, and in canola, soybean, flaxseed/linseed, and olive oils
- Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) — found in seaweed and cold water, fatty fish
- Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) — found in mackerel, salmon, trout and other cold water, fatty fish
Scientific studies show these natural oils may play a role in reducing breast cancer risk.
What's more, they may also help breast cancer patients heal.
According to a Science Daily report, researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, WA reached this conclusion based on results of their Vitamins and Lifestyle (VITAL) cohort study.
A team led by public health scientist Emily White, Ph.D, collected information about non-vitamin, non-mineral supplement use from 35,016 postmenopausal women who had no history of breast cancer.
880 cases of breast cancer developed in these women during six years of follow up.
But the researchers were excited to find that regular use of fish oil supplements appeared to produce a 32 percent reduction in the risk of breast cancer!
This was the first study to demonstrate the connection between fish oil supplements and a reduction in breast cancer. But previous studies do suggest that omega-3 fatty acids can help women maintain healthy breast tissue.
In a study published in the June 2005 issue of Breast Cancer Research, researchers found that when patients took omega-3 fatty acids in combination with the cancer drug propofol, cancer cell death increased by a whopping 40 percent!
What's more, the omega-3 acids seemed to play a role in reducing the spread of cancer cells by up to 50 percent.
While these results sound promising for women… there's still some debate about whether omega-3 oils have the same positive anti-cancer effects in men…
Maybe it's that pesky "Y" chromosome
The same Seattle, WA research center that found a positive association between omega-3 fats and breast cancer risk reduction found something different when it comes to prostate cancer.The 2011 study results published in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that men with higher DHA levels were two-and-a-half times more likely to have an aggressive form of prostate cancer.
What's more, the team found that men with the highest amounts of trans-fatty acids in their blood appeared to face LESS risk of developing prostate cancer! Trans fats, in case you don't know, are now considered deadly and we're all told to avoid them. So this recent finding is very odd indeed.
Brasky's team emphasized the need to continue researching the relationships before reaching definitive conclusions. The Hutchinson researchers that focused on breast cancer also emphasized the need for continued investigation into their positive findings.
Lead researcher Theodore M. Brasky, Ph.D. and colleagues at Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center based their conclusions on data gathered from 3,461 participants in the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial.
They wanted to see if high blood concentrations of omega-6 could be linked to developing prostate cancer.
Just to be clear—it's been proven repeatedly that omega-3 fats protect your body from inflammation, which has been associated with increased cancer risk. In contrast, omega-6 fats have been linked to increased inflammation.
But this group's findings turned these assumptions upside down!
It's important to note that the study focused on the DHA form of omega-3 fatty acids. This means the other two types were not linked to a possible increase in prostate cancer risk.
The people who participated in this study were not a “random” sample. The study was conducted ONLY on males and only on males over the age of 55. What’s more, the roughly 3,400 men in this study were just a subset of about 19,000 men taking part in a study of the drug finasteride, prescribed to prevent prostate cancer.
Of the 3,400 men in the fatty acid study, half developed prostate cancer while the study was in progress. That’s a very high cancer rate.
Long story short, this was not a typical group selected from the whole population. The researchers said very few of the men in the study even took fish oil supplements. Those who got any omega-3 in their diet at all got it from eating fish — most likely salmon, I’d guess.
Right off the bat, this makes me wonder how much mercury those fish eaters were taking in. Personally, I don’t eat a lot of omega-3-rich fish for that very reason. I take a liquid fish oil supplement (not the capsules) which the manufacturer claims is completely uncontaminated by mercury.
I also wonder how many of these men were taking the drug finasteride (since that’s what the main study was all about). The drug could easily have played a role in the results. As could the lack of the drug, in those participants who DIDN’T take it.
This is an odd result and I don't put too much confidence in it until more is known. A single study isn't the last word, especially in view of all the positive studies supporting the benefits of omega-3 oils. I supplement with fish oil myself, and I'm going to continue to do so, considering all its other proven benefits.
It's well established that you need to strike a balance among all the different types of omega-3 oils — ALA, EPA, and DHA. In addition, some authorities say it's important to supplement with a fourth — gamma linolenic acid or GLA—which plays an essential role in reducing inflammation and is NOT available in fish, walnuts, olive oil, etc.
The best source of GLA is evening primrose oil. I take evening primrose oil capsules myself — along with fish oil -- in hopes of achieving the optimum balance among all these different oils. Just to repeat: There's persuasive evidence that GLA plays a vital role -- and you can't get it from fish or flax.
In short, you don't want to supplement with DHA in isolation, and if you take fish oil, you're getting EPA along with DHA. I wish this were all black and white, but things seldom are. The study of nutrition is in its infancy and new findings are coming out every day.
I do NOT recommend that men throw out their fish oil or flaxseed oil, much less start eating trans fats or increasing their intake of omega-6 fats (the typical American diet is already loaded with omega-6s; you don't need more).
Kindest regards,
Lee Euler, PublisherFootenotes from 1st article:1Results presented at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting in 2006.2Reference: American Association for Cancer Research 97th annual meeting, April 1-5, 2006, Washington, D.C..3http://www.med.umich.edu/opm/newspage/2006/ginger.htm4http://naturalnews.com/037503_ginger_breast_cancer_treatment.html#ixzz2HK0191s5 (downloaded 1/14/13)5http://www.naturalnews.com/038215_ginger_root_miracle_cure_prostate_cancer.html6http://thepositivepear.com/2012/01/17/the-healing-power-of-ginger-root/7http://www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/featured/trials/ccum-0202Resources from 2nd article:American Association for Cancer Research (2010, July 8). Fish oil may reduce risk of breast cancer. ScienceDaily. Retrieved fromhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100708071349.htmBrasky, T. et al. Cancer Risk: Results From the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial . Am. J. Epidemiol. (2011) doi: 10.1093/aje/kwr027 First published online: April 24, 2011. Retrieved fromhttp://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2011/04/19/aje.kwr027.abstract Gamonski, W. 2011. Omega-3 & breast cancer. Livestrong,com. Retrieved fromhttp://www.livestrong.com/article/394182-omega-3-breast-cancer/ University of Maryland Medical Center. 2009. Omega-3 fatty acids factsheets. Retrieved fromhttp://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/omega-3-000316.htm Woodward, K. 2011, April 25. A high percentage of omega-3 fatty acids in the blood is linked to an increased risk of aggressive prostate cancer. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Retrieved fromhttp://www.fhcrc.org/about/ne/news/2011/04/25/omega-3-fatty-acid-
aggressive-prostate-cancer.html
aggressive-prostate-cancer.html
