Traditional Naturopath

It sounds strange, but it is true! Chitosan from shellfish is the main component for this new bandage!

A shrimp bandage?

“The HemCon bandage contains chitosan (pronounced KY-ta-san), an organic substance found in crustacean shells. Scientists have long known that chitosan stops bleeding, but Wiesmann and Gregory were the first to develop a chitosan bandage. HemCon’s process starts with chitosan processed in Iceland from shrimp shells. After mixing it with acetic acid and turning it into a gel, the material is cast into tiles, each four inches square and a bit more than half an inch thick. The squares are then freeze-dried in a vacuum chamber, compressed to about half their original thickness, and backed with a thin sheet of brown plastic. Now looking like a square beer coaster-and smelling slightly of vinegar-each bandage is sealed in foil and sterilized by gamma radiation. When placed on a wound, the chitosan bandage sticks to surrounding tissue and creates a seal that blocks the flow of blood. The bandage also promotes clotting because blood cells and platelets carry a negative electrical charge and are attracted to chitosan, which bears a positive charge. Chitosan even has antibacterial properties, so it helps ward off infection until a patient reaches a medical facility, where the dressing can be peeled off easily. The bandage has stopped severe bleeding from combat wounds more than nine times out of ten, according to an Army study. Unlike a coagulant powder used by the Marine Corps, which might burn healthy tissue, the HemCon bandage causes no tissue damage.”

Strange… but true!

Normally, I try to do the Traditional Naturopath Podcast on Saturday… however, this past weekend I had to work and time got the best of me! I will get the podcast recorded in the next day or so… so stay tuned!

“A patent-pending compound isolated from fresh blackberries may inhibit the expression of genes that are associated with cancer-promoting agents. The purified compound, cyanidin-3- glucoside (C3G), inhibited tumors from growing and spreading when used in animal test models.”

Benefits of Compound in Blackberries Studied

“C3G is among a series of plant chemicals that are a subclass of flavonoids—water-soluble plant pigments known for their antioxidative and antimicrobial effects. For the study, the researchers tested mice that had skin tumors. In one group, they found a significant reduction in the number and size of skin tumors among the mice that had been supplemented with C3G, when compared to those that had not been supplemented. In another experimental model with immune-system-suppressed mice, the researchers studied lung cancer cells because of their relatively high tendency to spread to other organs. They found that the purified blackberry compound not only significantly reduced the amount of cancer cell growth in the mice, but also inhibited the spread of the cancer cells to other organs. C3G exhibited anti-cancer activity in this animal model, according to the researchers. The preventive effect of the extract may be due to the compound’s ability to control free radicals known as reactive oxygen species, which activate molecular signals involved in initiating, promoting and progressing cancer. The findings indicate a promising direction for understanding the molecular mechanisms responsible for the beneficial effects of plant chemicals on human health.”

You can do it with a simple excercise that Dr. Joseph Mercola talks about in his Health Blog.

Deeply Relax and Sharpen Your Vision With This Simple Technique

“You’ve probably done it without thinking … placed your hands over your eyes when you were excited, frustrated, fatigued, or had other strong feelings. It turns out that ‘palming’ is one of the most relaxing things you can do for your eyes, and relaxation is a cornerstone of improving your vision naturally. Try this simple version of palming:

1. Rest your elbows comfortably on a table or desk.
2. Cover your eyes with your cupped palms as shown. (See the photo in Dr. Mercola’s Blog at the link above.) Add a pillow under your elbows if more height is needed to keep your back relaxed and straight.
3. Breathe deeply while you palm for a few minutes.

Over 80 years ago, ophthalmologist William H. Bates found ways to use relaxation, imagination, and other natural means to resolve nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, and many other vision problems. The technique of palming to rest the eyes from all light stimulation was an integral part of his approach. He concluded from his study and treatment of thousands of eyes that tight muscles actually contort the eyes and restrict circulation. He found that palming helps those muscles relax and let go. Even Dr. Bates was surprised at what one man in his late 60’s accomplished with palming. This man had worn glasses for forty years for distance, and twenty years for reading. He was also developing cataracts. When he asked how long he could palm, Dr. Bates told him he could not overdo it.”

About a third of all cases of attention deficit syndrome are linked to lead contamination and smoking.

Smoking, lead linked to attention deficit

“About one-third of attention deficit cases among U.S. children may be linked with tobacco smoke before birth or to lead exposure afterward, according to new research. Even levels of lead that the government considers acceptable appeared to increase a child’s risk of having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, the study found. It builds on previous research linking attention problems, including ADHD, with childhood lead exposure and smoking during pregnancy, and offers one of the first estimates for how much those environmental factors might contribute. ‘It’s a landmark paper that quantifies the number of cases of ADHD that can be attributed to very important environmental exposures,’ said Leo Trasande, assistant director of the Center for Children’s Health and the Environment at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.”

Environmental “pollution” leads to many situations that are advancing sub-health conditions. Look around you and “clean up” your home and your environment… natural food is a benefit, but if you are surrounded by environmental pollution, it has less of a benefit.

How’s this for an amazing statement?

“Cancer prevention specialists have concluded that taking 1,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D3 per day may lower an individual’s risk of developing certain cancers, including breast, colon, prostate, and ovarian, by up to 50 percent. Researchers at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego call for prompt public health action to increase intake of vitamin D3 as an inexpensive tool for prevention of diseases that claim millions of lives each year.”

More Vitamin D for Everyone, Cancer Researchers Urge

This is actually amazing news to me! Allopathic researchers recommending a vitamin supplement to fight cancer? To me this is big news! It means that they recognize that nutrition is key in fighting cancer!

“‘The high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency, combined with the discovery of increased risks of certain types of cancer in those who are deficient, suggest that vitamin D deficiency may account for several thousand premature deaths from colon, breast, ovarian and other cancers annually,’ according to the Moores Center research group. ‘Breast cancer will strike one in eight American women in their lifetime,’ notes co-author Cedric F. Garland. ‘Early detection using mammography reduces mortality rates by approximately 20 percent. But use of vitamin D might prevent this cancer in the first place.’ ‘African-American women who develop breast cancer are more likely to die from the disease than White women of the same age, notes Garland. African-Americans also have substantially poorer survival rates for colon, prostate and ovarian cancers as well.’ After making adjustments for socioeconomic status and access to healthcare, researchers conclude the difference in survival rate is linked to vitamin D deficiency.”

Scientists have reported that brown seaweed, such as the kind used in traditional oriental miso soups, can help fight obesity!

Brown seaweed contains promising fat fighter, weight reducer

“Chemists in Japan have found that brown seaweed, a flavor component used in many Asian soups and salads, contains a compound that appears in animal studies to promote weight loss by reducing the accumulation of fat. Called fucoxanthin, the compound achieved a 5 percent to 10 percent weight reduction in test animals and could be developed into a natural extract or drug to help fight obesity, the researchers say. The compound targets abdominal fat, in particular, and may help reduce oversized guts, the scientists say. Their study was presented today at the 232nd national meeting of the American Chemical Society. Fucoxanthin is a brownish pigment that gives brown seaweed its characteristic color and also conducts photosynthesis (the conversion of light to energy). It is found at high levels in several different types of brown seaweed, including a type of kelp that is used in traditional Japanese miso soup. But fucoxanthin is not found in abundance in green and red seaweed, which also are used in many Asian foods, the researchers say.” (Emphasis mine.)

Note that “the compound targets abdominal fat, in particular, and may help reduce oversized guts…” Wow! I am for that! (Perhaps I am revealing a bit too much of a personal nature!) Anyway, another factor from a natural health perspective in regard to large “guts” is the liver. Sluggish liver function can lead to a larger mid-section. Liver cleansing, detoxifying, nourishing and reinforcing herbs for the liver are: Red Beet root, Dandelion root, Parsely herb, Horsetail herb, Yellow Dock root, Black Cohosh root, Birch leaves, Blessed Thistle herb, Angelica root, Chamomile flowers, Gentian root and Goldenrod herb.

We need to increase our Omega-3 Fatty Acids… but, a new book says that since we are eating the WRONG kinds of fats, we won’t get the benefits of eating fish and other foods that have more Omega-3s!

How Omega-6s Usurped Omega-3s In US Diet

“Has a little-known family of polyunsaturated fatty acids called Omega-6s, which has quietly permeated the Western diet in recent decades, nullified the impact of heart disease-fighting omega-3s? According to a new book, The Queen of Fats, Americans now have so many omega-6s in our bodies that eating fish to bolster our omega-3s may not do any good. Why? Because these two families of fats compete in our body’s metabolism. Or, as Susan Allport, the author of this new landmark book about the history, science and economics of omega-3s, published by the University of California Press (September, 2006), puts it: ‘It is not the fish we are NOT eating that is our problem, but the oils we ARE eating.’ How have omega-6s saturated the Western diet so completely and quietly? Ms. Allport’s heavily researched, fact filled book says that most of our cooking oils are heavily laden with omega-6s (much used corn oil, for example, has a 46 to 1 ratio of omega-6s to omega-3s; lesser used canola oil’s ratio, however, is only 2 to 1), and that whatever omega-3s there are in oils are eliminated if those oils are hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated to extend the shelf life of foods, as occurs in most food manufacturing.”

So, watch your hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated fat intake, and DO increase your good fats! It may take a while after these changes are made, but overall it will be a huge benefit!