Frankincense oil kills cancer cells while boosting the immune system, studies show

(NaturalNews) Frankincense is a powerful medicinal oil that can not only boost the immune system but also kill cancer cells, a number of studies have shown.

One of the most significant recent studies was conducted by researchers from the University of Leicester, England, in 2013. The researchers found that the naturally occurring frankincense compound acetyl-11-keto-beta-boswellic acid (AKBA) targeted and destroyed ovarian cancer cells. The findings were particularly significant because they showed that AKBA had this effect even in late-stage ovarian cancer patients, not just in laboratory trials performed on isolated cells.

"Frankincense is taken by many people with no known side effects," lead researcher Kamla Al-Salmani said. This finding has enormous potential to be taken to a clinical trial in the future and developed into an additional treatment for ovarian cancer."

Kills cancer and reduces radiation side effects

The Leicester findings build on a large and still growing body of evidence that frankincense and its compounds have powerful immune-boosting and cancer-fighting benefits.

A study published in BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine in 2009, for example, found that the herbal form of frankincense triggered death in bladder cancer cells by activating several different cellular pathways. Another study, conducted by researchers from Nihon University in Tokyo and published in Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin, showed that several chemical components of frankincense were able to kill three separate human neuroblastoma cell lines. The same study also found that frankincense inhibited the growth of Epstein-Barr virus.

Neuroblastoma is a type of cancer that forms in nerve cells and primarily affects young children. Other studies have shown that frankincense and its components can kill cancers of the brain, breast, colon, pancreas, prostate and stomach.

Frankincense may also help mitigate the often-debilitating side effects of cancer treatment. One study, published in the journal Cancer in 2011, was performed on brain cancer patients experiencing cerebral edema (swelling) as a side effect of radiation therapy. The researchers found that 60 percent of participants given frankincense experienced a 75 percent reduction in cerebral swelling, a potent enough result for the authors to recommend frankincense as a potential alternative to steroids, the current favored treatment. Side effects of steroids can include headaches, blurred vision and migraines.

All-around immune booster

Frankincense's cancer-fighting benefits seem to come, in part, from its potent effects on the immune system. One study, conducted by researchers from Baylor University Medical Center, found that acts upon the expression of genes that help regulate the immune system, leading to cancer cell death. Another study, published in Phytotherapy Research, found that mice given frankincense exhibited increases in several key markers of immune function, primarily levels of white blood cells (lymphocytes) and anti-inflammatory activity.

Numerous studies have confirmed frankincense as a powerful anti-inflammatory. This, along with its other immune-boosting properties, may in part explain its usefulness in fighting infection and in treating autoimmune conditions such as asthma, rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Frankincense can also be used to heal skin, including from acne and scarring, and can reduce anxiety levels.

If you wish to incorporate frankincense as a regular natural health booster, it can be taken as an undiluted essential oil on the skin or as a few drops under the tongue. It can also be diffused and breathed in for respiratory conditions. Frankincense can also be purchased and consumed in powdered capsule form.

There are numerous species of frankincense, including Boswellia carteri, B. serrata and B. sacra. All three of these species have shown powerful anti-cancer effects in scientific tests.

B. carteri, native to east Africa, has been the species most heavily studied. B. sacra, also known as "sacred frankincense," was until recently restricted to use by the Saudi royal household, and could only be purchased in Oman. Recently, however, a distillery opened up in Oman to produce essential oil of B. sacra for public sale.


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Cancer risk from coffee downgraded

The cancer risk of coffee has been downgraded, with experts concluding there is inadequate evidence to suggest it causes the disease.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, had classed coffee as "possibly" carcinogenic since 1991.

This was because of a link to bladder cancer.

But the expert group has now decided there is insufficient evidence to say whether it causes cancer or not.

Drinking very hot drinks - above normal drinking temperature - probably does though, it has concluded.

The IARC said this was because of the link to oesophageal cancer.

But the risk was only there for drinks consumed above 65C.

This was based on studies in places such as Iran, China and South America, where tea is often consumed at 70C.

The findings have been reached after 23 scientists reviewed hundreds of different studies.

What should we make of this?

In a nutshell, experts are admitting they just don't know whether coffee causes cancer. Previously, they had said it was possible it did.

But what is also important to note is that this cancer-classification process has nothing to do with the likelihood of someone getting cancer, just whether something can cause it.

For example, the category 1 carcinogens - where experts are convinced the agent causes the disease - include smoking tobacco and eating processed meat.

But smoking increases the risk of cancer twentyfold, whereas regularly eating processed meat doesn't even double it.

Previously the IARC thought it was possible coffee caused cancer. That was not a judgment on the chances of getting it from drinking coffee, just that there was a link.

Now the evidence is judged to be insufficient to say either way.

But will this make a difference to coffee drinkers? It's doubtful. Most probably never even considered cancer when sipping their morning cuppa even when it was classified as a risk.

The IARC runs a register of environmental causes of cancer.

There is a scale ranging from category 1 - including activities such as smoking - where the evidence is convincing, to category 4, where there appears to be no risk.

Since 1991, coffee has been in category 2B - reflecting what was then seen as a possible link to bladder cancer.

Now, it has been switched to category 3, which means it cannot be classified.

The IARC also noted a reduced risk for coffee drinkers of cancers of the liver and womb.

Dr Rachel Thompson, of the World Cancer Research Fund, said the findings reflected the emerging research.

She said tea drinkers in the UK should not be alarmed though.

"These new findings don't mean that you can no longer enjoy hot drinks," she said.

"It is the very hot temperatures that have been identified as a cancer risk, and so, when drinking tea or other hot drinks, just let it cool down for a few minutes, especially if you're not adding any milk."

National Coffee Association president Bill Murray said: "This finding is great news and highly significant for coffee drinkers and confirms evidence from an avalanche of studies by highly respected and independent scientists."

Source by...http://www.bbc.com/news/health-36540417

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Anti-Cancer Foods: What Your Doctors Aren’t Ready to Tell You

My father has Stage IV Metastatic Lung Cancer. It is a harshly bleak diagnosis, one that a year later my family is still struggling to cope with.

Cancer is an appallingly destructive disease that touches us all in one way or another. According to The National Cancer Institute, during 2016:

An estimated 1,685,210 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in the US
Approximately 595,690 people in the US will die from cancer

Rising cancer rates

This hasn’t always been the case. Not only are cancer rates rising, they are higher in Western countries than other areas of the world. There are a number of reasons for this, including increasing lifespans and increased ability to detect cancer; however, approximately 30% of modern cancers are now estimated to be caused by diet2.

Scientific studies have shown that diets of processed red meat, fried food, refined white flour, sugar and alcohol, are all capable of causing cancer. But just as food can cause cancer, diet can also be used to help the body fight back against the disease.

Anti-cancer foods

When my father asked his oncologist if there was anything he could change in his diet to support his chemotherapy regime, his oncologist said no. He said that while a healthy, balanced diet should of course be recommended, my father couldn’t affect the spread or progression of his cancer with food.

I was shocked to hear him say this, because scientific studies being conducted by researchers all around the world, tell us that this isn’t true.

Studies on compounds such as lycopene in tomatoes3,4,5, glucosinolates in cruciferous vegetables6,7,8, catechins in green tea9,10,11 and curcumin in turmeric12,13,14 have all been shown to have anti-cancer effects. In other words, these compounds are able to act on cancer cells to stop them from developing, growing and/or spreading.

Diet can prevent cancer developing, diet can help to mobilize the immune system, and diet can deliver anti-cancer compounds into the body. The concept of using anti-cancer foods in the fight against cancer can be clearly explained using current scientific findings and logical scientific conjecture.

Waiting for the medical profession

The amount of research in this area is still in its infancy. Many of the studies so far have been carried out on tumour cells in vitro (outside of the body in petri dishes) or in small animal models such as mice. Until investigations have been extensively carried out on human populations, in double-blind studies, the medical profession won’t tell you to complement your cancer therapy with diet.

These extensive human studies are being carried out now and in five years’ time, this dietary advice might be given freely by oncologists to their cancer patients. Do you have five years or so to wait? My Dad doesn’t.

Can eating anti-cancer foods help to prevent you from developing cancer? Yes
Can eating anti-cancer foods help your body to fight cancer? Absolutely

Source by...http://blogs.naturalnews.com/anti-cancer-foods-doctors-arent-ready-tell/

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