Cancer: Natural Cures Using Plants

Research Paper

Topic: Cancer: Natural Cures Using Plants

ANGIE FERNANDEZ

DATE: May 10, 2015

A large debate currently stirring in the world right now is whether or not it is possible to use natural remedies to cure or even prevent certain diseases. According to “World Cancer Research Fund International”, United States ranks number six among the highest rates of cancer worldwide. In today’s society, we are used to taking synthetic medications for everything, therefore, people do not realize preventing something is better than curing it, and by following the doctor’s, or even Google’s advice we may be doing more harm than reaching a solution. Society is unaware of the fact that a high consumption of fruits and vegetables is associated with a reduced risk of cancer, (Damle, S. 2015).

 There are ancient records from Egyptians and Sumerians using natural recipes to prevent ailments or even cure certain diseases; there is a wide range of information from curing stomach aches to sleepless nights, or in some cases even providing beauty tips. Taking a look at history, scientists believe humans got the knowledge of medicinal plants by observing animals. A study mentioned in A Treasury of Plants explains how the Bluetit bird chooses aromatic herbs to decorate its nest. The Bluetit bird uses herbs such as lavender, thyme, mint, among other seven herbs to fight illness; surprisingly, these same herbs have been used by humans for centuries to fight bacteria, parasites, and infections. Also, when observing a chimpanzee infected with intestinal worms, it showed how this chimpanzee consumed Veronia, a plant that usually is not part of their diet to cleanse his body from intestinal worms. This showed optimum results twenty-four hours after consumption. According to A Treasury of Plants, eighty percent of people in developing countries still regularly use traditional medicines from plants instead of, or in addition to, conventional medicine. There are many and different herbal substances humans can use, from the most common known vegetables and fruits to the most exotic ones.

Some fruits and vegetables that we can find common to us and are very beneficial to our health are cabbage, broccoli, garlic, onion, green tea, citrus fruits, soybeans, tomatoes, berries, and ginger. According to Damle, S. (2015) those fruits and vegetables are cancer chemopreventive, meaning that they help slow the development of cancer. Other study shows that walnuts, marijuana, and regular exercise are in the top list of prostate cancer natural cures (Muanya, C. 2014). There are also exotic fruits that are used for a wide range of treatments and preventions. The fruit called “Graviola” which grows in the rain forests of Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia, is used in treatments for infections with viruses or parasites, rheumatism arthritis, depression, high blood pressure, stress, nervous disorders, and sickness; Graviola is commonly known for the name of soursop in English, and scientists have been interested in this fruit because it has strong anticancer effects. Doctors recommend a well-balanced diet, eating lots of fruits and vegetables, eating organic if possible, and exercise regularly for the prevention of sickness, and to also have a higher rate of cancer survival.

Research suggests that there is a difference when we provide our body with natural based substances, like natural antioxidants, versus synthetic compounds. Our bodies are chronically exposed to oxidative stresses from the environment; different conditions come along with oxidative processes including the development of sunburn cells, apoptosis, inflammation, photo aging, damage of cellular DNA and cell membrane, and skin cancer among others. Overexposure to oxidative stresses can cause our skin to be overwhelmed with oxidation products. Due to constant exposure to oxidants, scientists have been looking for anti-oxidation products for chemo-protection, photo-protection, or to help the prevention of aging, help hair growth, anti-inflammation, and anti-irritant. Even though antioxidants can be very beneficial to us, the source of the antioxidant plays a role as well.

Sometimes when people think of antioxidants they think of longer life, or looking young forever. The truth is that synthetic antioxidants can actually shorten your lifespan. According to Organic Consumers Association, people who took Beta Carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E pills instead of eating fruits and vegetables with high amounts of these antioxidants have an increased mortality. Taking synthetic antioxidants is a little contradicting because even though synthetic antioxidants provides the right molecules these molecules can produce secondary radicals in the process of absorption while being used by the body, therefore, it’s a conflicting issue. On the other hand natural antioxidants prevent the development of secondary radicals in the body.

Breast cancer affects many women, usually women older than sixty are at the highest risks, but there is an increased risk of breast cancer development in women who had their first child after age of thirty years old. There could be different reasons for developing breast cancer, but one common environmental reason is the exposure to xenoestrogens which are synthetic compounds that mimic estrogen. Another environmental factor is pesticides. Nutrition wise, women who consume fewer amounts of legumes, nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetables are also at higher risk of developing breast cancer.

In the 1970s certain diseases were thought to be eliminated with antibiotics and vaccines, but the rapid dynamic change, rapid reproduction rate, and adaptation to the environment of these infectious agents just made those diseases more resistant to medicine instead of eliminating them. For example, this is seen in more resistant strands of HIV virus and pneumonia.  Right after World War Two, chemists discovered Aspirin, a huge development at the time. Shortly thereafter they started producing Aspirin in massive amounts for the public. According to A Treasury of Plants, Americans consume eight billion of Aspirin tablets a year and the French consume 1.7 billion. But Aspirin was not the only treatment made.

Nowadays we have many diseases and many treatments for almost everything. For example, there are treatments such as chemotherapy for cancer, and although some people may be thankful for this treatment, it is known that chemotherapy is a very invasive procedure, and has a lot of negative side effects including general weakness, anemia, hair loss, bleeding problems, diarrhea, infections, nausea and vomiting, sexual and fertility changes, appetite changes, and many others, even death. This is because while chemotherapy tries to kill abnormal cells (cancer cells), it also kills healthy ones. Some people decide to not get chemotherapy treatment and they live for many years, but this ultimately depends on the type of cancer they have and how fast it’s growing. Cancer patients should have an education of the foods that are good for them, along with good lifestyles habits in general. Modern medicine helps many people, but I believe it should be used along with traditional medicine.

 People may think that modern medicine is more accessible in the US than traditional medicine; this belief may arise simply because people are unaware of all the traditional medicine that surrounds them. However, when choosing what to eat people should be careful on their decisions because many “healthy” things might be genetically modified or processed. Even though there is no scientific research proving that GMOs are actually harmful for people, there is no evidence they are good either. GMO research has not been tested long enough to prove anything solid because GMOs are relatively new to humans; GMOs commercialization only recently started in 1995. According to the Institute for Responsible Technology, health problems have increased among Americans since GMOs started in the market, “the percentage with Americans with three or more chronic illness jumped from 7% to 13% in just nine years”. This is a big leap for illness for only nine years but why is this? Some people blame it on GM foods. Disorders that have increased are Autism, reproductive disorders, digestive problems, and others are still increasing. We cannot forget Europe already banned GMOs, and they require all US products that are GM to be labeled as such. If Europe is banning this why is the US government not making companies at least label their products as GM? We as consumers should have the right to know which products are genetically modified and which aren’t. Maybe they do not require companies to label such items because then, citizens will realize the large amount of foods are consumed are genetically modified.

Have you ever heard that processed foods are bad for you? There is actually a big difference between consuming whole foods and processed foods.  This is mainly due to the fact that most processed foods do not have the same amount of healthy nutrients that whole foods have. In some whole foods we can find good antioxidants, mentioned previously, are good for disease prevention. Also, processed foods tend to be linked to certain diseases because of the high amounts of salts and sugars they contain. We can determine through all this information that we as Americans, live a life of choices, and we need to choose everyday what to consume. It is hard, or even expensive, for most people to eat healthy foods, GM free foods and organic foods.

This text is not meant to convince people to stop going to the doctor. Instead, it is showing that taking care of ourselves by using traditional medicine along with modern medicine is the best choice. While having a healthy body, people should make the choice to eat as healthy as possible, exercise, and be aware of their consumerism. As it is mentioned, some people use natural remedies from plants to prevent diseases, or even cure symptoms. And scientists do agree that the best choice to prevent cancer and other disorders is to have a healthy eating in addition to a healthy lifestyle.

References

Augustyniak, A., Bartosz, G., Čipak, A., Duburs, G., Horákov, L., Łuczaj, W., & ... Žarkovi, N. (2010). Natural and synthetic antioxidants: An updated overview. Free Radical Research, 44(10), 1216-1262. doi:10.3109/10715762.2010.508495

Berson, D. S. (2008). Natural antioxidants. Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 7(7), S7+. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA182004404&v=2.1&u=txshracd2679&it=r&p=HRCA&sw=w&asid=daca2e7479b85cb3dac518834e5b94f1

Christiani, David C (2011, March 3). Combating Environmental Causes of Cancer. The New England Journal of Medecine. 364(9) Retrieved February 10, 2015 from http://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMp1006634 by University of North Texas

Damle, S. (2015). Cancer: Forbidden cures? Contemporary Clinical Dentistry, 6(1), 3-4. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/0976-237X.149282 by University of North Texas

Decoust, M., Le Paige, Hugues, Lieurac Productions, France 5, Radio-Télévision belge de la communauté culturelle française, Nanook, ... Films for the Humanities. (2004). A Treasury of Plants.

Muanya, C. (2014, November 20). Walnuts, Cannabis, Regular Exercises Top List of Natural Cures for Prostate Cancer. Africa News Service, p. Africa News Service, Retrieved February 9, 2015, from http://ic.galegroup.com.ezp.tccd.edu

Murray, M. T. (2010, August). Preventing breast cancer: simple things you can do. Better Nutrition, 72(8), 38. Retrieved from http://ezp.tccd.edu/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com.ezp.tccd.edu/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA270896944&v=2.1&u=txshracd2560&it=r&p=HRCA&sw=w&asid=978a327b9ae65cd0890ee47ec3ddedea

                Robert Paarlberg. (2010, November) GMO foods and crops: Africa's choice, New Biotechnology, Volume 27, Issue 5,Pages 609-613, ISSN 1871-6784, Retrived March 29, 2015 from http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nbt.2010.07.005. By University of North Texas

Pre-eclampsia

Angie Benedetto

December 12, 2016

Introduction

About seventy percent of women with high blood pressure during pregnancy will develop pre-eclampsia, this condition can describe mild hypertension as well as severe hypertension with end-organ dysfunction including high levels of protein in the urine, eclampsia, hemolysis, higher liver enzymes, and low platelet count (HELLP) syndrome (Ghulmiyyah et al., 280). The true reason for this condition is unknown although there are some theories and identified symptoms that could help improve maternal and fetus mortality and morbidity, some theories of the cause of pre-eclampsia suggest “inadequate endovascular remodeling of uterine spiral arteries, immunologic intolerance between fetoplacental and maternal tissues, maladaptation to cardiovascular changes, excess inflammatory changes of pregnancy, abnormal angiogenesis, genetic abnormalities…”  (Ghulmiyyah et al., 281).

To understand this condition, we should understand that there are two stages to pre-eclampsia: early-onset pre-eclampsia and late-onset pre-eclampsia, this is imperative since research suggests that early-onset and late onset could be attributed to different factors. Early-onset pre-eclampsia, which occurs before 34 weeks of gestation, has been associated with poor placental implantation leading to chronic placental insufficiency with inflammatory factors guiding to hypertension. Late-onset pre-eclampsia, which develops at 34 weeks of gestation or after, has been classified as placental disease as well as the result of maternal metabolic and cardiovascular risk factors (K. Durst et al. 651 e1).

Even though the reason for this condition is not completely known, are there any ways to prevent this gestational disease? The purpose of this research paper is to investigate possibilities on pre-eclampsia prevention. It will discuss the relationship of pre-eclampsia with severe features of mothers’ BMI during pregnancy, dietary factors that could help prevent the disease, supplements, and physical exercise.

Discussion

Pre-eclampsia has been studied in many countries by various scientist, experiments correlating this disease and women’s body weight have been made at different times in history. Obesity affects approximately one third of reproductive-aged women, increasing rates of obesity may contribute to a higher incidence in hypertensive disorders among pregnant women (K. Durst et al). According to a study made in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Washington University of St. Luis where 10,196 women were involved it was determined that late-onset pre-eclampsia with severe features does have a correlation with Body Mass Index (BMI).

The study consisted of 1473 of normal BMI (18.5-24.9), 3081 overweight women (25-29.9 BMI), 4196 obese women (30-39.9 BMI), and 1446 of morbidly obese women (BMI greater than 40). Of all patients 1119 women (11%) developed preeclampsia, out of the women whom developed the condition eight hundred and one patients (8.6%) developed severe features. Since there has been evidence in previous studies that early-onset pre-eclampsia and late-onset pre-eclampsia could be triggered by different pathogenesis, the cases were separated by the incidence during early onset (339 women) and late onset (542 women). For the early-onset pre-eclampsia no relation between obese and overweight BMI and risk of pre-eclampsia with severe features was noted, also when looking at the total cohort there was no significant trend. On the other hand, when looking only at the results of late-onset pre-eclampsia there was a trend that indicated BMI and severe symptoms are correlated. For late-onset pre-eclampsia with severe features there were 2.9% of normal BMI women, 4.5% of overweight women, 6.2% obese women, and 6.8% were morbidly obese women; these results support that there is a statistically significant relationship between BMI and the development of late-onset pre-eclampsia with severe features. This experiment shows the importance of having a healthy BMI at the time of conceiving and throughout pregnancy.

Although a real preventitive solution for pre-eclampsia does not exist, the condition is widely studied and several methods to prevent it have been tried such as dietary recommendations, cardiovascular drugs, antioxidants, and antithrombotic drugs (prevention of blood clots).

Under dietary recommendations a low salt diet is advise, fish oil supplementation, and calcium supplementation; these three factors were studied with several trials. A study performed by Steegers et al. suggested that no sufficient evidence was found to determine that a low salt diet will help in the prevention of pre-eclampsia. Also, a different study showed that prescribing a low sodium diet is not beneficial to reduce the rate of pre-eclampsia (Knuist et al.). Although many sources claim that fish oil reduce inflammatory-mediated vascular disease, a European study conducted by Olsen et al. where a comparison between fish oil and olive oil effects in pregnant woman at high risk of pre-eclampsia showed no significant difference in symptoms of hypertension or pre-eclampsia. A different study found that pregnant women who ingested large amounts of fish oil during early pregnancy actually contributed to the increase risk of hypertensive disorders therefore high supplementary fish oil during pregnancy is not a valid prevention factor for pre-eclampsia (Sibai et al). During a research, Belizan et al. studied calcium as a means to prevent pre-eclampsia, they found that calcium supplementations reduces maternal blood pressure and although the reason for this is unknown these scientist suggested that calcium influences parathyroid hormone release and intracellular calcium availability; but the United States Food and Drug Administration concluded that the relationship between calcium and decreased maternal blood pressure is inconsistent and inconclusive, and the amount of calcium to be given in calcium deficiency population for it to cause and effect would be fairly high.

Diuretics have also been studied in the prevention of pre-eclampsia as cardiovascular drugs, women given diuretics had a decreased occurrence of edema and hypertension but not of pre-eclampsia. Unfortunately, these studies did not have enough participants to determine a sure answer to whether or not diuretics do help in the prevention of pre-eclampsia (Sibai et al. 215).

There is evidence that increased free radical oxidants in plasma could be a reason to develop pre-eclampsia, this is why vitamin C and E as antioxidants have been studied since these naturally occurring vitamins help lower Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation and reduce both superoxide formation and cytokine production, unfortunately, in different studies the results could not be linked to benefits of using antioxidants as a means of pre-eclampsia prevention.

On the other hand low doses of Aspirin was used in studies as an antithrombotic agent, The Paris Collaborative Group developed 31 randomized trials with 32,217 women, and they found that the risk of developing pre-eclampsia was slightly reduced for those women who were given aspirin (Sibai et al. 217).

It is known that exercise is an effective way to lower high blood pressure in non-pregnant individuals, for this reason it has been study as a prevention and control of hypertension and pre-eclampsia during pregnancy. Two identical studies by the University of Oregon and University of Minnesota showed that exercise during pregnancy improves angiogenic balance, but it does not help to reduce hypertension in rats. Even though this experiment showed no difference in blood pressure, it did show improvement of angiogenic balance, and it is known that angiogenic imbalances lead to decreased vascular endothelial function and health, systematic oxidative stress, renal dysfunction, and high blood pressure (Banek C.).  It was determined that exercise before pregnancy and during pregnancy could help with reduce blood pressure; although molecular explanations for this is not known.

Conclusion

Pre-eclampsia and eclampsia have been affecting pregnant women for many years. Before pre-eclampsia was determined by symptoms of high blood pressure and high protein levels in urine, it was hard to draw the line between these two conditions, ending in women having seizures. Pre-eclampsia has earned the recognition of a mysterious disease, and the only “real” cure is the induced delivery of the child. To manage it doctors first look at the severity of the symptoms, then the fetal gestational stage, maternal and fetal status, presence of labor, and last they consider the wishes of the mother; all these play a factor at the decision of doctors. A lot of research and medical trials are still needed to understand more about this disease, but according to my research one of the best ways to prevent this condition is to start off by being healthy before getting pregnant, doing regular exercise before and during pregnancy, and maintaining a healthy BMI. Although a low salt diet, fish oil, and antioxidants did not prove to be effective, I would agree that maintaining a healthy diet will contribute not only to the prevention of pre-eclampsia but also to other conditions that could lead to this disease. More research is needed to understand the cause, cure, and prevention of pre-eclampsia.

Dolores, Uruguay is  small city on the Southwestern part of the country, nearly 20,000 people. But nature doesn’t discriminate and on April 18, 2016 a devastating tornado swept through the middle of the city. Thankfully as of today only four people were killed, but sadly about two hundred people were injured and many were left with nothing, no place to go home to, no place to go to school, no place to go to work, and even the church was demolished.

Uruguay is a small country of only 3.4 million people and only one quarter the size of Texas. I was born and raised in Uruguay and I’ve been living in the US for the last eight years, even though I’m far from my home, I treasure those who live there and I know how difficult it can be to live in the current economy situation. Even when people are working it is extremely difficult to build a place to live. My purpose is to be the medium of raising money internationally to deliver it to the city of Dolores in Uruguay. Let the voice of those in need be heard, and let’s all try to help them. Tornadoes are uncommon in Uruguay, people were not prepared for such a destructive event, as the pictures show entire brick homes were destroyed. It broke my heart to watch videos of people filming the tornado without knowing what to do.

Uruguay is a small country with not very many resources, but its citizens have big hearts and we all are trying to help the people of Dolores through this difficult time. Neighboring cities are helping as much as they can with basic items such as non-perishable foods, water, blankets, clothes, etc. Even though some kind hearts have been donating materials to rebuild the city, it is expenssive to do so and we still need all the help we can get. The goal of this fund raising is to collect enough money to help rebuild homes in the long run. All money collected will DIRECTLY GO TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH of Soriano Uruguay who is receiving donations to rebuild the homes in Dolores. I was able to speak to the bishop Carlos Colazzi on the phone today. If anyone would like to send donations directly to them the phone number is

+598 955 65233 and email: obismerc@gmail.com the catholic church is the organization most involved in the cause and I was told today they are receiving donations.

Donations can also be made through different groups in Uruguay like the Uruguay Red Cross and Club Soriano for more information: https://www.facebook.com/notes/todos-x-dolores/lugares-que-reciben-donaciones/986901574696614 

I want to say thank you to everybody who is donating, their help will be most appreciated. 

To Donate to the Cause please click here

Human Overpopulation

Angie Fernandez

November 3, 2015

Human Overpopulation

Some people’s priority is to make money and have high standards of living while other people worry about getting to live past adulthood and being able to survive the daily living. One current major problem that humanity experiences these days is overpopulation. If optimum world population is two billion (Daily et al. 1994) then we have a significant issue of 7.3 billion people right now, and according to the United States Census Bureau in only sixty five years the world population should be expecting even more billions of people. Countries with the most population like China and India have developed policies or campaigns in an attempt to lower their birth rates, China successfully implemented this strategy that couples could only have one child and throughout the years we can see how the older generations dominates over young ones.  Even though birth rate is lower, population keeps on increasing thanks to the advances in medicine death rates are lower than birth rates.

People do worry about overpopulation because the more people we have the harder it is to sustain our planet, more people need to eat, more people need to consume electricity, more people need to use water and land, and more people produce waste. We already see the problems that come with high human population, out of seven billion people we have in our planet today 3.3 billion live in poverty conditions struggling in meeting their basic needs and only earning two dollars or less per day (Berg et al. 2011).

I do think that many countries and not only United States should implement strategies to control population, of course it will be difficult and unfair to the people that are used to live with a certain level of freedom if they aren’t allowed to conceive as many times as they want, because of this the government plan should be to educate their citizens starting with the young community. People should learn about the problems that come with overpopulation, and also everyone should learn about their ways of living and their ecological footprint. People in developed countries such as the U.S. consume a lot more resources than people in less developed countries and this is because society is in the cycle that the more money you earn the more you spend and consume. One child raised in a developed country has more environmental impact than twenty children in a developing nation (Berg et al. 2011).

The problem with the planet carrying capacity and overpopulation isn’t just a problem emphasizing the large population we have, but it also implicates how large masses of people live their life, utilization of sources and distribution of these (Ip D. 1997).

Educating our community not only about reproduction but also about ways of recycling, waste, and wise usage of our resources could make a positive impact in our planet. Developed countries represent about twenty percent of the world population, but ironically these developed nations are also responsible for seventy five percent of world’s pollution and waste and consume more than half of word’s resources.

I do think the U.S. should spend time on campaigns trying to educate their citizens about all these facts and maybe population growth can slow down even more and people can be more mindful about our planet.

Literature Cited

Berg L, Hager M, Hassenzahl D. 2011. Visualasing Environmental Science.4rd ed. Hoboken (NJ): John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 492 p.

Ip D. 1997. Full House: Reassessing the world’s population carrying capacity. Sustainable Development. 5(2):99-99

Wostl RL, Walsh MJ. 2015. Biology 1442: evolution and ecology laboratory manual. Laboratory 8: Human population demographics and impacts. Version 2015.06.FA15. University of Texas at Arlington. P 83-95.

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