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quote:...Also, do you think a child's level of vitamins A and D would affect the tendency to develop leukemia? If so, would children living in areas where deficiency in these nutrients are common might have a higher incidence of developing the disease?Getting back onto the subject of treatment, what other nutritional factors do you think would work along with cod liver oil to overcome the negative effects of treatment?Zoey
quote:Low antioxidant vitamin intakes are associated with increases in adverse effects of chemotherapy in children witn acute lymphoblastic leukemia...Chemotherapy leads to an increase in reactive oxygen species, which stresses the antioxidant defense system. Children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia rarely are overtly malnourished, which makes this population ideal for an investigation of the relations between dietary antioxidant consumption, plasma antioxidant concentrations, and chemotherapy-induced toxicity. ...a 6-mo observational study of 103 children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Plasma micronutrient concentrations, dietary intakes, and incidence of side effects of chemotherapy were ascertained at diagnosis and after 3 and 6 mo of therapy... Conclusion: A large percentage of children undergoing treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia have inadequate intakes of antioxidants and vitamin A. Lower intakes of antioxidants are associated with increases in the adverse side effects of chemotherapyKennedy D et al. Am J Clin Nutr 2004;79:1029-36.
quote:Antioxidant-Rich Diet Helps Fight LeukemiaAs if undergoing chemotherapy isn't trying enough, kids with the most common form of childhood leukemia receiving this treatment may also experience a significant reduction in their antioxidant and micronutrient levels. This decrease could lead to severe side effects from the chemotherapy. However, there may be a ray of hope amidst this dark cloud. According to a study, children could improve antioxidant and micronutrient levels and prevent some of the adverse side effects of chemotherapy by simply incorporating more fruits and vegetables into their diets. The study, prompted by parental concern regarding children's safety in taking antioxidant supplements (such supplements might affect the high cure rate experienced with leukemia), involved more than 100 recently diagnosed children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The children had their antioxidant levels, antioxidant capacity and oxidative damage measured during their first six months of chemotherapy treatment. FindingsBlood levels of vitamin E decreased over time, while vitamin A and total carotenoids increased Vitamin C and oxidative damage increased within the first few months and declined by the sixth month. Antioxidant levels were associated with side effects of the treatment; antioxidant capacity decreased throughout the course of the study Children with higher concentrations of vitamins A, E and total carotenoids experienced fewer poor outcomes (such as infections and toxicity) Based on the findings, researchers emphasized the importance of eating more fruits and vegetables -- which may provide a more balanced mix of antioxidants -- in addition to working with a nutritionist to improve the child's diet.Forbes.com December 27, 2004. Cancerpage.com December 27, 2004Dr. Mercola's Comment:It is no surprise that kids can better withstand the toll of chemotherapy by eating a diet full of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables. However, one needs to be VERY careful about using any product, even natural ones, as the ONLY approach to treating a complex illness like cancer, as it is likely to be counterproductive. For this reason, I have pulled together a list of alternatives to fight cancer.Healthy Alternatives to Fight Cancer1. Avoid sugar, as it is the primary fuel for most cancers.Eating too much sugar and too many grains -- which are converted to sugar in the body -- will cause your blood sugar levels to rise. If your blood sugar levels remain elevated, even mildly, over a period of time, your risk of developing cancer increases.Since I am fully aware that many people struggle with this sugar/grain restriction, I highly recommend using the energy psychology tool Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) to successfully treat stresses, including food cravings such as those related to sugar and grains. 2. Optimize your vitamin D levels, as it is probably the single most important vitamin in preventing and treating cancers. The safest way to maintain healthy vitamin D levels is through sun exposure, but many of us are not able to do that in the winter, and some of us also stay indoors in the summer. For those that don't obtain enough sun exposure, taking a high-quality cod liver oil is a reasonable alternative. Taking a high-quality cod liver oil is more important than any supplement you can take because it is not a supplement at all -- it is an essential food... NOTE: It important to have your vitamin D levels checked, as it is possible to overdose on vitamin D. Sunlight, which causes us to produce vitamin D, can also help lower the risk of many cancers. Sunlight might actually be helpful in treating cancers directly through some, as yet, unidentified mechanism. One of my favorite books from last year, The Healing Sun Tom place link, provides some further details about this approach.3. Make sure you exercise, as this will help lower your insulin levels.There is no shortage of literature documenting the major benefits exercise has in lowering the risk of cancer and improving cancer once it is diagnosed. One of the major ways exercise works is by reducing insulin levels. It is quite clear that elevated insulin levels are associated with an increased risk of cancer.When using exercise as a drug it will be important to have a goal of at least one hour per day, every day if you have high insulin levels or signs of them, such as:High blood pressure High cholesterol Overweight Diabetes Obviously, depending on one's current condition, one needs to work slowly up to this level. My experience is that weight-bearing exercises, such as walking, jogging, running and elliptical machines, are better than cycling and swimming. If you are already in shape then you can limit your workouts to 45 minutes three or four times per week. However, if you are already in shape; then it is likely you won't have cancer, as many studies show that people who exercise have far less cancer rates...Dr. Joseph Mercola
quote:...Every summer, thousands of barrels of cod liver oil were transported on cargo vessels, the so-called "jekt"s, from Lofoten to Bergen and further on to Europe.Fish, liver and roes, cooked together and referred to as "mølje", have always been an important and healthy part of the coastal people’s diet. Vitamins A and D and the Omega 3 unsaturated fatty acids in the cod liver oil, helped keep people healthy. It was often said that the cod liver oil makers and other people that took a lot of cod liver oil were seemingly never ill.Medicinal Cod Liver OilPharmacist Peter Møller wanted to introduce more people to the healthy effects of cod liver oil. In 1854, he built a lined cauldron, filled the space between the cauldron and its lining with water, and steamboiled the fresh cod livers. In this way he greatly improved the quality of the oil. The invention of medicinal cod liver oil was honoured with awards at many trade fairs in Norway and abroad. Later, the cod liver was steamed in conical oak barrels. In order to extract the last remaining drops of precious cod liver oil, the residue of the liver was then squeezed in a liver press before going to the manufacture of cattle feed or fertiliser.Today, much of the old production equipment can still be seen in the cod liver oil factory at the Norwegian Fishing Village Museum in Å. Cod liver oil is still produced there in the old fashioned manner, and small bottles of it together with cod liver oil lamps are on sale as mementoes from Lofoten.
quote:Action, Medical Uses, and Dosage.Cod-liver oil is nutritive and alterative. It has long been used as a domestic remedy in chronic rheumatic and strumous diseases, especially in the northern parts of Europe, and has been in general medicinal use only since the treatise upon it by Prof. Bennett, of Edinburgh, in 1841, although employed occasionally in the profession as early as 1766. Cod-liver oil is a remedy for defective nutrition, and when tolerated can be relied upon to give good results...When cod-liver oil "is kindly received by the stomach it increases the quantity of red corpuscles, improves the appetite and general strength, and the pulse becomes full and strong, flesh increases, and nutrition is improved" (Locke's Syllabus of Mat. Med., p. 346).Though used for many conditions, it has been shown to do the most good in the poorly nourished, suffering from phthisis pulmonalis, tabes, rickets, chronic bronchitis, and chronic rheumatism in the scrofulous. It is not necessarily a curative agent, but in many conditions it tides the patient over while other agents exert their curative effects.In rickets, given internally and applied locally to the spine, it is one of our best remedies....It is also asserted to have been found useful in diseases of the joints and spine, lupus, obstinate constipation, worms, and incontinence of urine; and may be advantageously employed in all chronic cases, in which the disease appears to consist mainly in impaired digestion, assimilation, and nutrition.But little advantage will be apparent from the administration of cod-liver oil, until its use has been persevered in for 5 or 6 weeks, though it often commences earlier. The light-colored oil is the best...It may be given in coffee, milk, or brandy, and for consumptives in Bourbon. A pinch of salt sometimes renders it palatable, while others advise the chewing of a small portion of smoked herring.