Helen Healy Spoke at Stillwater, Jan 16

Notes from Doctor Helen Healy's talk at the Stillwater Myelma Support Group meeting, January 16, 2008

Helen classifies foods broadly into three catagories:

• Vibrant foods such as fresh raw vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, sprouts, whole grains, and healthy oils;
• Dull Foods such as overly cooked foods, packaged foods, "Healthy" bars, and boxed cereals;
• Toxic foods such as processed meats, cookies and crackers with hydrogenated oils, soda pop with high-fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners, most packaged snacks, dairy products containing hormones or antibotics administered to the cows.

Vitamin A and carotenes:

• Found in carrots, apricots, more ...
• Shown to inhibit the repair of radiation damage in cancer cells.
• Help cellular differentiation: Lungs, bladder, more ...

Vitamin C:

• Found in peppers, broccoli, strawberries, oranges, ...
• Shown to stimulate white blood cells.
• Assists repair of connective tissue.
• Activates natural killer (NK) cells, one of the body's primary defenses

Vitamin D:

• Found in dark leafy green vegetables, cold water fish, sunshine, ...
• Inhibits replication of cancer cells.
• Induces apoptosis (programmed cell death) in cancer cells.
• Reduces invasiveness and angiogenesis.
• As an antiangiogenic agent it fights many kinds of cancer.
• Dosage: 2000 IU daily (conservative), naturopathic 6000 IU!
• There is a simple blood test to evaluate it: 25-OH vitamin D test.

Vitamin E:

• Found in whole grains, seeds, nuts ...
• Great anti-oxidant.
• The recent study purporting to show a higher death rate from Vitamin C was seriously flawed.
• It assists healing, soothes drug side effects, protects LDL.

Vitamin K:

• Found in dark leafy greens, ...
• Helps to replace the calcium in bones.
• Helps against allergic reactions.
• There are drops for Vitamin K.

Folic Acid:

• Found in beans, asparagus, lentils, walnuts, spinach, ...
• Assists in DNA repair.
• Beneficial for those who drink alcohol, because alcohol uses up B complex.
• Helps prevent cancer from progressing, can reverse it by restoring DNA.

Calcium:

• Found in seaweed, almonds, cheese, watercress, ...
• Shown to reduce colon cancer.
• Important for bones, teeth ...

Magnesium:

• Wheat bran, brown rice, cashews, ...
• Activates enzymes.

Potassium:

• Bananas, oranges, lima beans, ...
• Maintains heart rhythm.
• Regulates water balance.
• Improves conduction of nerve impulses.

Selenium:

• Found in brazil nuts, whole wheat bread, orange juice, ...
• Prevents free-radical damage to cell membranes.
• Stimulates white cells and thymus function.
• Increases activity of NK cells.
• Associated with 50% decreased risk of mortality from cancer.
• Shown to help cancers of: Lung, colon, prostate, stomach, esophagus, liver.
• Dosage: 200-400 mcg/day.

Zinc:

• Found in fresh oysters, pumpkin seeds, pecans ...
• Antioxidant.
• Protective against prostate cancer.
• Aids in production of IL-1.

Flavonoids:

• Cherries, grapes, blueberries, strawberries ...
• Strengthen capillary integrity.
• Shown to enhance radiation-induced death by decreasing repair of DNA from radiation damage.
• Stimulate NK cells.
• Inhibit enzymes that cause inflammation.
• Inhibit tumor growth and may reduce metastasis.
• Reduce lung cancer by inducing apoptosis.
• Inhibit proliferation of leukemia cells, again by apoptosis.
• Specific flavonoids:
  • Resveratrol
  • Curcumin
  • Quercetin

Essential fatty acids:

• Found in fish, shellfish, flax seeds, sea veggies ...
• Direct anti-inflammatory effects.
• Inhibit growth of breast & lung cancer cells.
• Improves quality of life for pancreatic cancer patients.
• Reverses weight loss, gains are in lean tissue.

Inflammation is a good target for treatment, because tumor cells exploit inflammation.

Medicinal mushrooms:

• Antiproliferative
• Activate NK cells
• Increase tumor-toxic cytokines
• Protective against chemo toxicity
• Can be taken with conventional medicines
• Dosage: 1500 mg twice daily btw meals

Melatonin:

• Activates NK cells
• Antioxidant
• Supports apoptosis
• Inhibits negative effects of estrogen
• Reduces signals for tumor growth
• Improves quality of life during conventional treatment
• Dosage: 20 mg at night.

Nutritional yeast is loaded with nutrients

Coenzyme Q-10:

• Antioxidant
• Mitochondrial protection
• Protects heart from effects of adriamycin
• Dose: 100 to 200 mg/day, 400 ok

L-carnitine helps convert fat into energy.

Real foods have a story to tell. As a species, we grew up with them and need them, as contrasted with processed "food" products which we do not need and which tend to harm us.

Daily: Take a high quality multivitamin, extra E, fish oil, vitamin D, possibly more. Then take extra supplements to deal with specific issues. Example: for neuropathy, one might eat lots of berries and take alpha-lipoic acid. Thirty minutes before serious exercise, one might take alpha-lipoic acid, L-carnitine, Coenzyme Q-10.

Give chemotherapy 48 hours to work, then supplements can help restore the body.

Quercetin is a strong anti-inflammatory. Could 3 grams per day be a substitute for dexamethasone?

Helen practices at
Wellspring Naturopathic Clinic
905 Jefferson Ave., Suite202
Saint Paul, MN 55102
651/222-4111

Editor's note: Doctor Healy will be invited to examine these notes for content and accuracy; please stay tuned.