"Only a person who can live with himself can enjoy the gift of leisure" --Henry Greber
Thanks Karen
What is leisure time? Who actually has the time to do something for himself/herself? Well, I do. This blog is something for me, which happens to be shared with all of you. Living with oneself does not mean you are living alone. It means are you able to live with yourself emotionally, spiritually and psychologically. I have learned to do 'things' for myself which have enhanced my life. These are my hobbies. All of you have seen some of them displayed in earlier blogs. I love needlecraft. That has lead me to exploring www.etsy.com -- check out our store www.etsy.com/shop/RickFratCreativeDuo
The experience of falling in love with plants is one of the most important aspects of my adult life and not only in terms of medicine.
This has led me on a journey that will likely encompass the rest of my life. I want to continually challenge myself to learn . What do I want to achieve? I honestly do not know. Perhaps it is for the wildflower or herb garden in a house that Rick and I will live in one day! Perhaps this is a stepping stone for Rick and I to study plants and live abroad in a foreign country? I am following a Higher Power instinct, and like I have known for a long time - I am not doing it alone. On each side of me there is someone.
For the last few weeks I have been blogging about vitamins, supplements and herbs for the treatment and prevention of cancer. The key to a healthy life is diet. There is not a specific diet for everyone. It is a lifestyle diet. A diet rich in fruits/vegetables with an emphasis on low carbohydrates is essential. I found it difficult to read an article published by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) denying a major role of fruits and vegetables in the prevention of cancer. What are they thinking about? A European Cancer Prevention study (EPIC) found that by adding 150 g/day of a fruit, the cancer risk is reduced by 2.6% ( in men) and 2.3% ( in women). This is like adding an apple to your diet. Remember apples. There was a blog in March 2010 about Apples.
I am appalled that with all the data, research, and published papers that a statement like that could be made about nutrition and cancer. Maybe I can agree that adding an apple or another fruit/vegetable could not make that much of a change, but a change in the diet of a cancer patient emphasizing fruits and vegetables will certainly affect the morbidity and mortality.
Perhaps these doctors have never visited an integrative practice where the emphasis on disease prevention starts with talking with the patient. Maybe the doctor never asked about their dietary habits? their alcohol consumption? their life stress? their marriage? their exercise routine? Perhaps big pharmaceuticals is more important than the 60 year old woman dying of cancer in Ohio or the 34 year old with leukemia!
Mistletoe (Viscum album) is the common name for a group of hemi-parasitic plants in the order Santalales that grow attached to and within the branches of a tree or shrub. Mistletoe is a plant that grows on several types of common trees such as apple, oak, and elm, and has been used since ancient times to treat many ailments.
Mistletoe is one of the most widely studied complementary and alternative medicine therapies for people with cancer. In certain European countries, products made from European mistletoe are among the most prescribed therapies for patients with cancer.
The Druids held mistletoe in high regard. They collected mistletoe in white robes and held ceremonies after collecting. They believed mistletoe prevented evil. An English physician, Sir John Colbatch used the plant for a variety of nervous disorders especially epilepsy.
Mistletoe extract has been shown to kill cancer cells in the laboratory and to affect the immune system. However, there is no evidence that mistletoe's effects on the immune system help the body fight cancer. Mistletoe extracts are usually given by injection under the skin or, less often, into a vein, into the pleural cavity, or into the tumor. Animal studies have suggested that mistletoe may be useful in decreasing the side effects of standard anticancer therapy, such as chemotherapy and radiation . More than 30 human studies using mistletoe to treat cancer have been done since the early 1960s, but major weaknesses in many of these have raised doubts about their findings.
There are studies showing the efficacy of mistletoe for cancer, as well as studies showing no benefit for cancer. Very few bad side effects have been reported from the use of mistletoe extract, though mistletoe plants and berries are poisonous to humans. The berries have been regarded as more toxic than the leaves for viscum preparations- Eurixor and Iscador. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved mistletoe as a treatment for cancer or any other medical condition The FDA does not allow injectable mistletoe to be imported, sold, or used except for clinical research.
The top photograph is of mistletoe.
The second photograph is from 7song laboratory in Ithaca, NY
Credit for the third photograph: WINDOWS by Rick Byrd. Rick has hundreds of photographs . He especially loves windows and doors from around the world.
Until tomorrow..
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