Health And Freedom – The Natural Independent

The herbal market is continuing to boom, as healthcare costs rise and people look towards prevention rather than cures. To compliment this, the upsell approaches of supermarkets, online retailers and everywhere in between. This is a multi-billion dollar industry, so finding the ‘truth’ behind the products may take some research.

Like anything, there are good examples and bad examples. If you buy the wrong products, herbal remedies can get a bad name.

Links to herbs fighting breast cancer have been tossed around for years, some disproved and others unproven. The National Cancer Center in Tokyo disproved green tea as preventing breast cancers a couple years ago, in a large-scale study. But new hope arises from an herb that is native to Africa, India, Pakistan, parts of Europe and goes by the name of Fagonia cretica.

In Pakistan, the remedies have been a part of their culture and folklore for many generations. Cancer patients have even been asking for it and have found it to be highly effective in reducing side effects. Now scientists have taken the herb to task and the results are surprising to some.

Lead by Aston University in Birmingham and Russels Hall Hospital in Dudley, U.K., the extract of the plant killed cancer cells in the breast without causing damage to the healthy cells. Professor Helen Griffith of Aston University is quoted:

More research is needed to establish the role of the extract in cancer management and it now needs to be demonstrated that this extract is as effective in killing cancer cells inside the body as it is within laboratory. The next steps are to identify which element of the plant is responsible for killing the cancer cells with a view to eventually begin trails with human cancer patients.

The results show Fagonia cretica contains potential anti-cancer agents acting either isolated or in combination against breast cancer proliferation via DNA damage-induced FOXO3a and p53 expression.

Dr Caitlin Palframan, policy manager at Breakthrough Breast Cancer said:

Some of the most important cancer-fighting drugs are originally derived from plants. As this research is at the very earliest stage we won’t know for quite some time whether drugs derived from this plant will be effective in treating breast cancer but we look forward to seeing any progress.

Further research is ongoing for both preventive and treatment for breast cancer but the latest studies are encouraging for those looking for alternative, more effective approaches.

Although it is common knowledge than bipolar disease can take a severe toll on its victims, the traditional medications prescribed to help ease the symptoms of the condition may not be as effective as alternative remedies.

Affecting as many as 5.7 million adults in the United States alone, bipolar disease can cause a number of debilitating symptoms, ranging from severe depression to alternating manic episodes. In more extreme cases, the person afflicted may even be driven to suicide.

The effects of the condition extend beyond the primary victim as well, placing a significant burden on finances and causing intense strain and pressure on entire families. Worse still, the condition is often misdiagnosed and even undetected, until the patient has already gone through prolonged periods of mental anguish.

As with most other health conditions that severely affect people’s lives, the medical establishment (represented by the large drug companies) is actively pushing certain medications as being the only real hope for continued relief from bipolar disease. The reality however is that many of these medications involve side effects that can be just as debilitating and disruptive to the health and well-being of the patient. As it turns out, the answer may not lie in pharmaceutical drugs at all, but on natural remedies.

Proponents of alternative treatment for bipolar disease tend to shift focus away from pharmaceutical drugs, and instead espouse a treatment program based on lifestyle and nutritional changes. Diet had long been known to play an essential role in ensuring better physical, mental, and emotional health, which is why natural treatment methods often involve foods rich in certain nutrients.

There are varieties of cold water fish (salmon, mackerel and herring are only a few) that have long been identified as having significant benefits for human health. However, more recent studies suggest that the oils derived from these fish may be beneficial for brain related disorders–including bipolar disease–as well. Lending credence to this theory is data gathered from countries such as Korea, Japan, Iceland, and Puerto Rico, all of which have the lowest reported cases of bipolar disease, and the highest consumption of fish.

In addition to fish and fish oils, some people have reported favorable results by increasing their intake of vegetables, fruits, eggs, and nuts among other natural foods.

Even increased magnesium is thought to lower the risk of developing bipolar disease. Working in a similar manner as the commonly prescribed lithium, magnesium may play an increasing role in efforts to reduce the severity of symptoms associated with bipolar disease.

Does this mean that the use of pharmaceutical treatment solutions should be avoided entirely? Not necessarily. However, the promising results of alternative treatment methods may give the broader medical community the impetus to study its effects on bipolar disease in a more consistent and in-depth manner. It may take a while yet before pharmaceutical solutions for bipolar disease enter the mainstream, but when it does, there may finally be a lasting treatment for bipolar disease that doesn’t involve any severe side effects.