What is Cancer and How Does It Attack the Body?
The second most common cause of death in the U.S. is cancer, accounting for 1 in 4 deaths in the year 2003. In 2003, according to the American Cancer Society, 1,334,100 new cancer cases or a 3.8% increase will occur with 556,500 deaths. That equates to three jet commercial aircraft carrying 1,500 people going down per day with all lost! 2.5+ per minute will be diagnosed with cancer with 1+ per minute dying. The most new cases for 2003 are estimated for prostate cancer (220,900 new cases - 28,900 deaths). Next is Breast Cancer with 212,600 new cases and 40,200 deaths, followed by Colorectal Cancer with 147,500 new cases and 57,100 deaths.
But what is cancer?
Cancer is any of a group of more than 100 diseases which symptoms are unrestrained growth of cells in one of the body organs or tissues. The fact is you probably will get cancer up to six times during your life, but your immune system when at peak destroys the cancerous cells before growth and multiplication! When not destroyed immediately by your immune system, the cancer-invaded cells deviate from the usual controls over cell growth.
The growth begins when the genes controlling cell growth and multiplication (oncogenes) are transformed by cancer-causing agents known as carcinogens. After a cell has a malignant transformation, the small group of abnormal cells divide more rapidly than the normal surrounding cells. The abnormal cells usually show a lack of "differentiation," meaning they no longer perform the specialized task of their host tissue. Thus, the cancerous cells are in fact parasites avoiding control of hormones and nerves and consuming nutrients while contributing nothing. This rapid multiplication results in invasion and destruction of other body cells. These cancerous cells can then spread (metastasize) via the bloodstream and lymphatic system to other parts of the body from their original site.
A cancer differs from a benign (non-dangerous) tumor in two ways: cancers grow, spread and infiltrate the tissues around them, in addition to spreading to form new tumors that grow independently. Cancerous tumors develop and multiply when the immune system surveillance team fails to identify the cancerous cell invaders and then is overwhelmed when recognition does occur, due to the massive number of corrupted cancer cells that have multiplied rapidly when undetected and unchecked. We are our own worst enemies in that we first suppress our immune systems with excessive free radicals, or rogue molecules, that damage cells due to the impact of toxins on our systems. Polluted air, water, fast food; in addition to pathogens such as parasites, fungi, bacteria and viruses joined with heavy metals and toxic chemicals, assault us daily. Genetic factors join immunological weakness in certain cancer cases.
Cancer Treatments
The most common treatment in 50% of cases is chemotherapy, but success occurs in only a few cases (2 to 25%), such as ovarian cancer in women and testicular cancer in men, in addition to Duke's C, a form of colon cancer. The logical question to ask would be, if chemotherapy has such a low rate of success, why is it used so often? Dr. Ralph Moss, author of Questioning Chemotherapy, explains that most people confuse decreased tumor size with disappearance of disease. The association appears logical, but no known proof exists to support the connection.
Fractionated chemotherapy is gaining acceptance, including at Cancer Treatment Centers of America, and involves spacing smaller amounts of chemotherapy drugs over more treatments in an extended period of time. The theory is to allow the body more time to recover from the poison effects in essential functions excepting the killing of the cancer cells. Results appear to be positive.
It is troubling that alternative therapies are often criticized for not being tested according to scientific standards, but many "accepted" treatments, including chemotherapy, have only limited success and little correlation between tumor shrinkage and patient survival. The answer unfortunately often appears to be economics, with chemotherapy treatments frequently costing six figures. We must understand the facts, which are often difficult to accept in the midst of such suffering and fear for life caused by these dreaded cancer diseases.
How Beta 1,3/1,6 Glucan Nutritionally Fights Back Through the Immune Response Against Cancer and Aids in Chemotherapy Effectiveness
The most common form of cancer is carcinoma, which originates in the skin, or in the glandular tissue such as the breast or prostate gland. Another form of cancer, sarcoma, affects connective and supportive tissue such as bone, muscle, cartilage and fat. Still another type are melanomas which are skin cancers. Lymphomas affect the lymphatic system, while leukemias are cancers of the blood-forming organs.
The inability of the immune system to first recognize and then to appropriately respond to cancer tumors is a major contributing factor to the ability of the disease to multiply and spread before recognition by the body.
Good news!
The immune response can be potentiated to more ably recognize the cancer attempting to hide in normal cells by a naturally occurring biomolecule named Beta 1,3/1,6 glucan. A particularly potent immune potentiator is an insoluble particulate Beta 1,3/1,6 glucan extracted and purified from Baker's yeast (no harmful yeast proteins remain that cause an allergic reaction). Beta glucan is a non-toxic nutritional biomolecule classified G.R.A.S. by the FDA, that significantly potentiates the macrophage, the large white immune cell; increasing its ability to recognize cancerous cells, particularly as we age.
A MacrophageAccording to research by Peter Mansell, Donald Carrow, M.D., Nicholas DiLuzio, D.L. Williams, M.L. Patchen and others at Harvard, Baylor, Tulane, the Armed Services Radiobiology Research Institute and a multitude of other scientific research centers, Beta glucan extracted from yeast cell wall enhances immune system awareness of the cancerous cells and nutritionally aids in control. When potentiated by Beta 1,3/1,6 glucan, the immune alarm to activate the entire immune response is sounded against the cancer, enabling the macrophages to attack the cancerous cells with enhanced cytotoxic granules (toxic chemicals) that kill the cancer cell and prevent further multiplication and spreading. Results have been particularly dramatic in breast, sarcoma and melanoma cancers.
The research demonstrates Beta 1,3/1,6 glucan, particularly in small particle sizes (microparticulate vs globular) for better absorption and more rapid response, increases protection of the immune cells from the damage of radiation treatments and then, after treatments, enhances recovery of platelets and white immune cells. The macrophage is also enhanced to more ably and rapidly remove the toxic debris (phagocytosis) created by radiation and chemotherapy in the body, thus reducing or eliminating the negative side effects such as nausea, hair loss, inability to sleep and skin radiation injury.
In a Research Summary Report issued in 2001 by The University of Nevada School of Medicine and Nutritional Supply Corporation it was found, "MPG Glucan has been shown to enhance the envelopment and digestion (phagocytosis) of pathogenic microorganisms that cause infectious disease. The Beta-1,3/1-6 glucans additionally enhance the ability of Macrophages, one of the most important immune cells in the immune system, to kill tumor cells. Laboratory studies have revealed the new MPG Glucan is significantly effective at activating Macrophages, and via the Macrophages, in turn the entire immune cascade including T-Cells and B-Cells."
Beta 1,3/1,6 glucan is most effective in nonaggregated, microparticulate form additionally purified in a patent-pending proprietary process to provide enhanced potentiation of the macrophage immune cell with minimum amounts. Science demonstrates particulate Beta glucan can nutritionally enable your immune response to fight back against cancer invasion, reduce or eliminate the negative side effects of many treatments including chemotherapy and radiation and, as an adjuvant, make chemotherapy treatments more effective than acting alone.
A nonaggregated microparticulate Beta glucan containing 10 mg per capsule (U.S. Patented MPG Beta glucan), with potent nutritional phagocytic potentiation capabilities and the ability to increase natural production of TNF Alpha (tumor necrosis factor - necrosis meaning "killing") in the immune cells, is the nutritional oral supplement ingredient suggested.
Cancer affects us all and we must now utilize all available science to provide answers. Nature has provided Beta glucan; science has demonstrated the benefits; now we must begin using this incredible biomolecule for nutritionally potentiating the immune response not only to fight cancer, but the legion of pathogens that attempt to rob us of good health daily. Reprinted by permission of Immunition Reports Research Notes to Report: (Entire transcripts of the referenced research are available through PubMed) Cancer - Carcinoma of the Breast: Mansell P.W.A., Ichinose H., Reed R.J., Krements E.T., McNamee R.B., Di Luzio N.R.; "Macrophage-mediated Destruction of Human Malignant Cells in Vitro". Journal of National Cancer Institute; 54: 571-580. 1975.
Quote: "The initial 9 patients studied had malignant carcinoma of the breast. Control and experimental lesions were injected; subsequently biopsies were performed at varying intervals for histologic evaluation. Always when glucan or glucan and RF fraction were administered intra-lesionally, the size of the lesion was strikingly reduced in as short a period as 5 days. In small lesions, resolution was complete, whereas in large lesions, resolutions was partial." Cancer - Melanoma: DiLuzio N.R. Williams D.L. et al, "Comparative evaluation of the tumor inhibitory and antibacterial activity of solubilized and particulate glucan," Recent Results Cancer Res 75:165-172. 1980.*
Quote: "Intravenous administration of soluble or particulate glucan resulted in significant reduction in the growth of a syngeneic anaplastic mammary carcinoma and melanoma B16 and enhanced survival." Cancer - Sarcoma and Melanoma: Williams DL, et al, "Therapeutic efficacy of glucan in a murine model of hepatic metastatic disease," Hepatology 5(2):198-206. Mar 1985.*
Quote: ".coincubation of particulate glucan with diverse populations of normal or tumor cells in vitro indicated that glucan exerted a direct cytostatic effect on sarcoma and melanoma cells and, in contrast, had a proliferative effect on normal spleen and bone marrow cells." Cancer : Carrow, D.J.; "Beta-1,3-glucan as a Primary Immune Activator," Townsend Letter; June 1996.
Quote: "Over the past 11 months I have been able to convince five out of eight breast cancer patients who were undergoing radiation therapy, to consume one capsule of beta 1,3/1,6 glucan (NSC-24 3 mg) three times per day. To date, I have observed that none of the patients using NSC-24 have suffered from any type of radiation injury to the skin, while the three patients who chose not to use NSC-24 all show signs of extensive radiation damage to the skin." Hemopoietic Stimulation: Patchen M.L., McVittie T.J.; Temporal Response of Murine Pluripotent Stem Cells and Myeloid and Erythroid Progenitor Cells to Low-dose Glucan Treatment. Acta Hemat; 70:281-288. Experimental Hematology Dept, Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Insti, Bethesda, MD. 1983.
Quote: "Clearly, there are numerous possible uses for an agent such as glucan, which is a potent stimulator of hemopoietic [formation of blood cells] activity. Currently, we [U.S. Armed Services] are using glucan to enhance hemopoietic proliferation in conjunction with hemopoietic injury induced by radiation." Platelet and White Blood Cell Recovery: Pachen ML, MacVittie TJ, "Comparative effects of soluble and particulate glucans on survival in irradiated mice," J Biol Response Mod 5(1):45-60. Experimental Hematology Dept, Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Inst, Bethesda, MD. Feb 1986.
Quote: "Both glucan-P and glucan-F enhanced the recovery of peripheral blood white cell numbers, platelet numbers, and hematocrit values. In addition, both agents increased endogenous pluripotent hemopoietic stem cell numbers in sublethally irradiated mice."
T97-5 Judith Foulke (202) 205-4144 January 21, 1997 Broadcast Media (301) 827-3434 Consumer Hotline (800) 532-4440
FDA ALLOWS WHOLE OAT FOODS TO MAKE HEALTH CLAIM ON REDUCING THE RISK OF HEART DISEASE
[Editor's Note: You would have to eat 6 bowls of Quaker Oats to get the same anount of beta glucan as contained in a single tablet of Young Again's Beta Glucan]
FDA will display at the Federal Register a final rule allow- ing health claims on the labels of foods containing soluble fiber from whole oats (rolled oats, oat bran and oat flour) noting that these foods, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and choles- terol, may reduce the risk of heart disease. The following may be used to answer questions. FDA regulates health claims on food labels under provisions of the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 to ensure that claims are accurate and not misleading to consumers. The law allows the agency to authorize a health claim only if there is significant scientific agreement that the claim is true. In allowing this health claim, FDA concluded that the beta- glucan soluble fiber of whole oats is the primary component responsible for the total and LDL blood cholesterol-lowering effects of diets that contain these whole oat-containing foods at appropriate levels. This conclusion is based on review of scientific evidence indicating a relationship between the soluble fiber in these whole oat-containing foods and a reduction in the risk of coronary heart disease. Food products eligible to bear the health claim include oat bran and rolled oats, such as oatmeal, and whole oat flour. Oat bran and rolled oats were the two food products named in a petition submitted by The Quaker Oats Company in March 1995. FDA added whole oat flour to this final rule in response to data provided in comments following the agency's publication of the proposed rule on January 4, 1996. The data submitted showed that whole oat flour is nutritionally equivalent to rolled oats and, more importantly, has similar effects on serum lipids. In the final rule, FDA acknowledges that sources of beta- glucan soluble fiber other than from whole oats, and certain soluble fibers other than beta-glucan, are also likely to affect blood lipid levels. However, FDA must await evidence on these other sources before making a judgment on their effects. To qualify for the health claim, the whole oat-containing food must provide at least 0.75 grams of soluble fiber per serving. The amount of soluble fiber needed for an effect on cholesterol levels is about 3 grams per day. Adding whole oat flour to the list of substances eligible to be the subject of a claim means that many products will qualify for the claim, thus making it possible that oat-containing products could be consumed as many as 4 times a day. Examples of how the newly allowed health claim may be used are: "Soluble fiber from foods such as oat bran, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease." or "Diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol that include soluble fiber from oatmeal may reduce the risk of heart disease." The words, "Diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol" must be included in any such health claim because FDA concluded, after reviewing comments, that consumers might otherwise be misled into thinking that eating a diet high in oats is all that is necessary to reduce the risk of heart disease. The final rule will be published later this week in Federal Register.
Quaker Oats, the cereal manufacturer, has a wonderful website clearly explaining how the abundant
beta glucan in oatmeal provides remarkable cholesterol lowering power. Please remember you would
have to eat 32 bowls of Quaker Oats to get the same amount of beta glucan you get in one of our 200 mg tablets.
How Beta Glucan Work How Oats Work Quaker Oats.com