Ancient Chinese Salad Plant Yields Cancer-Killing Compound

(Dr Greg’s comments in red italics)

Researchers have used a traditional Chinese medicine to create a compound that is more than 1,200 times more specific in killing certain kinds of cancer cells than currently available drugs.

The new compound is derived from artemisinin, which is made from the sweet wormwood plant (Artemisia annua L), an herb that has been used in Chinese medicine for at least 2,000 years, and is eaten in salads in some Asian countries.

The scientists attached a chemical homing device to artemisinin that targets the drug selectively to cancer cells, sparing healthy cells. "The compound is like a special agent planting a bomb inside the cell," said chemistry professor Tomikazu Sasaki, who worked on developing the compound.

The compound Sasaki and his colleagues developed kills about 12,000 cancer cells for every healthy cell.

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Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Cancer is the number one killer of Americans under the age of 85. By 2018, this disease is projected to be the number one killer of all Americans, young and old alike.

The American Cancer Society estimates that this year alone, 745,000 men and 692,000 women will be diagnosed with cancer. Of the women diagnosed, over a quarter will be found to have breast cancer. Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, this statistic is especially significant.(While not all cancers are alike, the kind of care necessary for treatment of most conditions can be very similar.)

Conventional Cancer Therapy: More Likely to Kill Than to Cure

As cancer treatments go, the news about a new, less deadly compound is encouraging. A conventional course of treatment that is not worse than the disease is a much needed weapon in the fight against cancer.

The biggest drawback to a conventional treatment like chemotherapy is it destroys healthy cells throughout your body right along with cancer cells. A typical and deadly side effect of chemo is the destruction of the rapidly multiplying and dividing cells found in your:

Bone marrow, which produces blood
Digestive system
Reproductive system
Hair follicles
Do most people realize this simple fact before agreeing to go through with chemo? Maybe not.)

Conventional cancer drugs are notoriously expensive. To add to the problem, they often result in no more than a few additional months of life, and they frequently kill patients prematurely.(If all we are doing is buying time at the end of our lives—that doesn’t seem like a great compromise. The last few years are normally the ones with the least amount of happiness. Why not buy back time while we can still potentially enjoy it?)

It is the toxicity of chemotherapy medicine that causes the often devastating and fatal side effects of treatment. Given the current state of conventional treatment choices available for cancer patients, there is certainly room for a less poisonous, more broadly applicable compound such as the one discussed in the above article.

The BEST Chemotherapy Agent Ever Discovered

It is encouraging to see research on natural options for treating cancer, especially with herbs that have proven particularly effective for malaria. However, human trials of the artemisinin-derived therapy are years away and the subtleties of dosing will likely benefit from further testing.

Fortunately, you don’t have to wait to use the BEST chemotherapy agent yet discovered that will work synergistically with virtually every other treatment. There are over 830 peer reviewed scientific studies showing its effectiveness in the treatment of cancer.

Not only is this approach almost without any side effects, but the treatment is virtually free.
So just what is this miracle therapy?

Why vitamin D, of course.

Vitamin D is not actually a vitamin but a powerful neuro-regulatory steroid that influences over 2000 genes in your body.

I believe it is virtually criminal malpractice to not optimize vitamin D levels when treating someone with cancer. Levels of vitamin D should be around 65-90 ng/ml. If the test is done in the U.S. it should only be done with LabCorp at this time, as Quest has inaccurate and falsely elevated results.

Prevention is Better Than a Cure

In addition to normalizing your vitamin D levels, which will reduce your risk of cancer by over 50 percent, there are a number of other strategies you and your family can deploy which will virtually eliminate your risk of cancer altogether.

Cancer is a nutritional-environmental-emotional disease process, which can quite often be successfully reversed through the application of sound nutritional practices and lifestyle changes. The most effective strategies according to my own experience and the experiences of patients at my clinic are: (Yes, Dr Mercola said REVERSED. It is possible to beat cancer safely, without side effects!!)

Connect your mind with your body

I am convinced, and the CDC agrees, the majority of illness is caused by negative, unmanaged emotions. On your path to preventing disease, you should start right here.

If you focus on pain, misery and grief, it’s likely you’ll experience and attract more of it into your life. However, if you keep your focus on what you want to experience and put some energy into healthy lifestyle choices, your body will respond accordingly. Before you know it you will start to feel much better.

Find a tool that will permanently erase the neurological short-circuiting that can activate cancer genes. One of the best approaches to processing your negative emotions is the Emotional Freedom Technique, and I highly recommend it.

Dr. Ryke Geerd Hamer has also done wonderful work with his German New Medicine technique for solving emotional conflicts as the first step in healing disease.

Discover your Nutritional Type™ and eat according to your specific needs.

When you feed your body the right type of fuel, you activate one of the most powerful anti-cancer strategies available.

Avoid processed foods, grains and sugars as much as possible in order to control your insulin levels. (This is the hallmark issue of virtually ALL health related issues. If we take back control of our diet—we can take back our true health!)
Exercise. Appropriate exercise helps drive your insulin levels down. Controlling your insulin levels is one of the most effective methods for reducing your cancer risk.
Eat your vegetables. Eat as many fresh, organic vegetables as you are comfortable with, depending on your nutritional type. For example, if you’re a carb type, you may need up to three times the vegetables required by a protein type.
When selecting vegetables keep in mind that fresh, conventionally grown produce is preferable to organic that has grown old and wilted in the grocery store.
Normalize your ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fats by taking a high-quality krill oil or fish oil and reducing your intake of most processed vegetable oils.
Optimize your vitamin D levels by getting plenty of sunshine and consider careful supplementation when this is not possible. If you take oral vitamin D and have cancer, make sure to monitor your vitamin D blood levels regularly.
Maintain an ideal body weight.
Get sufficient high-quality sleep.