Polyps Benign!

In my previous blog posting, I talked about the colonoscopy I underwent. The procedure, which used up a couple of hours on a Tuesday afternoon, included the removal of several polyps. These polyps or portions of them were sent to a lab to be analyzed.

The results have come back and it was all good news. First, I had two different types of polyps growing on my intestine walls. One type does not get cancerous and the other type can become cancerous. Thankfully, in my case, the polyps that were of the second type were not cancerous. Hurray! I am very glad that they were benign and were removed before they could change into a threat to my life. I do take selenium and other cancer fighting supplements such as various anti-oxidants, perhaps that helped. And I eats me greens...

Anyway, eat wisely and check with your doctor about the health of your colon.

Best wishes to all.

Colon Cancer and Diet

This week I underwent a colonoscopy. Not the most pleasant afternoon I have ever spent, but the results may extend my life by several years. The purpose of a colonoscopy is to check for colon cancer.

This procedure involves a doctor threading a tube with a camera up your rectum to examine the large intestine (the large intestine is comprised of a short section called the rectum and a much longer section called the colon). The doctor is looking for unusual growths on the intestine wall called polyps. If polyps are found, they are removed, if possible, and biopsied to check for cancer (colon cancer). If the polyps are found to be cancerous, surgery is required to remove the part of the intestine where the cancerous polyp occurred and to remove any remaining polyps.

Up to 30 percent of adults, middle-aged and older have colon polyps. Thankfully, the survival rates from colon cancer, if found soon enough, is very high. There can be a genetic component to getting colon cancer. Check with your older siblings and parents to see if they have developed polyps. If they have, you need to get checked as well, especially after the age of 40.

Your diet can help you prevent the formation of polyps and colon cancer. Eating a high-fiber diet - one plentiful in fruits, vegetables and whole grains is recommended. Fiber helps to move your stool more quickly through the bowel. This limits the time that cancer-causing substances (carcinogens) in your food are in contact with your intestines. Also the anti-oxidants in the fruits and vegetables help protect your cells from damage by free radicals (unstable molecules) that can lead to cancer.

Daily exercise is also a good preventative measure as exercise speeds up the movement of the stool through the bowel as well.

Again this commonsense approach of a good, natural diet coupled with daily physical movement is a key component to the prevention of many diseases including colon cancer.

For more information about colon cancer, its symptoms and risk factors and the procedures for treating colon cancer visit Mayo Clinic - Colon Cancer.

On a related subject, if you are a constant sufferer of constipation and bloating, you may want to check out: Colon Cleansing.

Change Your Diet, Eat Real Foods

This simple message,

Change Your Diet, Eat Real Foods

should be posted over every grocery store in America. Of course, if Americans followed through with this message, most packaged and processed items on the grocery store shelves would disappear. But would that be a bad thing?

I haven't eaten a "chip," potato or otherwise, for 15 years and guess what? Life is still good! There must be 10,000 items in my grocery store I will never put into my mouth. Why? Because I have grown up past having my taste buds rule my choices and only buy food that has real nutritional value. And there is a simple reason for this, I want to live the healthiest life I can.

Note that the American Cancer Institute says about one third of cancer deaths in 2006 were related to improper nutrition, physical inactivity and being overweight -- and could have been prevented. And if you haven't noticed diabetes rates are up and heart attacks are up and America's health care system is not preventing these disease from increasing. Simply put - Americans have stopped eating real foods, they feed junk to their kids and the results are obvious: We are fat and dying from illnesses that are preventable.

If our society is going to change health-wise and work-wise, you and I have to make changes. And saying no to food that is meaningless beyond it's easy and fast is a necessary step in creating an America that leads the world in healthy citizens.

Pumpkins Scare Away Diabetes (Type 1)

Natural ways to treat diabetes continue to be found. This week scientists reported that a compound found in pumpkins promote the regeneration of damaged insulin-producing beta cells in diabetic rats, thereby improving the level of insulin in their blood.

If this ability of pumpkins to help rats is also successful for humans, this is good news for those suffering from Type 1 Diabetes. People with Type 1 Diabetes do not produce enough of their own insulin and must rely on insulin injections to manage their blood sugar levels. Insulin, produced by the pancreas, is used by the body to transfer blood sugar into the body’s cells. A beta cell is a cell that makes insulin. Beta cells are located in the islets of the pancreas.

Researchers at the East China Normal University found that pumpkin extract promotes regeneration of damaged pancreatic cells in diabetic rats, boosting levels of insulin-producing beta cells and insulin in the blood. The protective effect of pumpkin is thought to be due to both antioxidants and D-chiro-inositol, a molecule that mediates insulin activity. The scientists also stated that pumpkin extract is potentially a good product for people who are pre-diabetic, as well as those who have already developed diabetes.

While pumpkins may not eliminate the need to take insulin injections, it could decrease the amount of insulin a patient needs to inject each day.

By the way, pumpkins are not the only plant thought to help control blood sugar levels. Onion, ground fenugreek seeds and broccoli are also potential aids in the fight against Diabetes. Israeli scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have shown that fenugreek seeds can lower blood sugar and cholesterol in both diabetics and healthy people.

So if you are concerned about your blood sugar levels, start adding more pumpkin, onion, ground fenugreek seeds and broccoli to your diet.

Fat in the Diet and Diabetes

Too much fat in your diet is a health risk for cardiovascular disease and for diabetes as well. Everyone thinks it is just the sugar in our diet that leads to diabetes, but fat can be a problem as well.

A recent study by scientists at the University of California, San Diego, found that overdoing it on fatty foods appears to suppress the action of GnT-4a, the single gene that controls the production of the hormone insulin. Insulin is the chemical the body uses to regulate blood sugar (glucose) levels in check. And consistently high glucose levels in the blood is the hallmark of diabetes.

"The results of the study, which was done on mice, have the potential to explain how diet influences the development of type II diabetes in people," says study author Jamey Marth, Ph.D. Scientists are now trying to find out what causes the gene to stop doing its work - and how to correct it.

While researchers continue to pursue this avenue, you can do something to prevent diabetes from developing. Trim the fat from your diet. A low fat diet containing healthy fats fights diabetes!

For more about natural ways to prevent and reverse diabetes check out: YourDiabetesCure.com.

Beta Carotene and Strokes

As one ages, the risk of a stroke happening increases. What can you do to help lower the risks? Studies at Harvard show that ensuring a good supply of beta carotene in your diet may be one way to lower those risks.

For example, carrots were found to be very valuable in preventing stroke. A recent Harvard study demonstrated that eating carrots five times a week or more can reduce the risk of stroke drastically by two-thirds, compared with eating carrots only once a month or less often. This conclusion was reached after observing nearly 90,000 women nurses over an eight year period.

Beta-carotene is a powerful antioxidant, protecting the cells of the body from damage caused by free radicals. It is also one of the carotenoids believed to enhance the function of the immune system. Beta carotene also appears to stimulate cell to cell communication.

Spinach is another vegetable found valuable in the prevention and treatment of stroke. The protection seems to come partly from beta carotene in carrots and spinach. A previous Harvard study found that eating the extra beta carotene in about one and a half carrots, which equals 200 g of mashed sweet potatoes or 170 g spinach (weighed raw and then cooked) every day saved 40 per cent off stroke rates. The drop was evident in those who ate 15-20 mg of beta carotene daily compared to those who ate only 6 mg. The anti stroke activity in carrots, spinach and other carotene-rich vegetables seems to emanate from their antioxidant properties.

So can what you eat make a difference in your health? Yes, start adding more fresh vegetables such as carrots, yams, spinach, romaine lettuce, cilantro and even cantaloupe.

Are you dealing with a stroke or with someone who has had a stroke. I recommend: Life after a Stroke, to help you cope and improve your situation.

Mind over Fibromyalgia

Recent studies of sufferers from Fibromyalgia have shown biofeedback techniques can bring relief from symptoms.

Biofeedback is a technique that measures bodily functions (like breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, skin temperature, and muscle tension) and teaches one to alter these functions through relaxation or imagery.

Those who suffer the pain caused by Fibromyalgia know how difficult it is to treat this disease. Why? Because the condition varies widely from patient to patient and the causes are are often hard to pinpoint. Stress and fatigue often aggravate the symptoms. Anything that will help the patient to relax and cut down on stress should have a positive effect on symptoms.

Thus it is no surprise that patients who learn to visualize their pain centers and mentally ask those areas to "quiet down" can be helped.

Continued awareness of where you body is at, physically, emotionally and nutritionally can be keys to curing Fibromyalgia. Biofeedback techniques can be one component of learning to fight and win over this disease.

For more information about curing Fibromyalgia, go to: 
Diet Cures - Curing Fibromyalgia.