AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION ASKS GOVERNMENT TO REGULATE SALT

In an unprecedented move, the American Medical Association (AMA) voted on June 13 to call on the U.S. government to require salt warning labels on food products and to cut salt content in manufactured foods by 50% within a decade.

The AMA, the largest group of physicians in the U.S., is also asking the Food and Drug Administration to revoke salt's status as a food that is "generally recognized as safe," noting there is overwhelming medical evidence that high salt intake dramatically increases risk of heart disease, hypertension and stroke. Heart disease is the nation's leading cause of death.

Foods that would require warning labels would include everything from conventional hot dogs to some canned soups. The Food Products Association, a trade group for the food and beverage manufacturing industry, and one of the most powerful lobbying groups in Washington D.C. said the new policy is "misguided," claiming there is not enough scientific evidence tying salt to negative health effects.

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Omega-3 fatty acids inhibit growth of liver cancer cells

Reviewed by: Dr. Rashmi Yadav

"Beta-catenin is known to promote cell growth and also is implicated in tumor cell promotion. Therefore, our finding that omega-3 fatty acids can decrease levels of beta-catenin is further evidence that these compounds have the ability to interact on several points of pathways involved in tumor progression,"

By University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

Two new studies by a University of Pittsburgh research team suggest that omega-3 fatty acids--substances that are found in high concentrations in fish oils and certain seeds and nuts--significantly inhibit the growth of liver cancer cells. The studies, presented today at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., suggest that omega-3 fatty acids may be an effective therapy for both the treatment and prevention of human liver cancers.

The first study, Abstract number 2679, looked at the effect and mechanism of omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Hepatocellular carcinoma accounts for 80 to 90 percent of all liver cancers and is usually fatal within three to six months of diagnosis.

"It has been known for some time that omega-3 fatty acids can inhibit certain cancer cells. So, we were interested in determining whether these substances could inhibit liver cancer cells. If so, we also wanted to know by what mechanism this inhibition occurs," said Tong Wu, M.D., Ph.D., a member of the division of transplantation pathology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, in whose laboratory the research was conducted.

The investigators treated the hepatocellular carcinoma cells with either the omega-3 fatty acids docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) or the omega-6 fatty acid arachidonic acid (AA), for 12 to 48 hours. DHA and EPA treatment resulted in a dose-dependent inhibition of cell growth, whereas AA treatment exhibited no significant effect.

According to the investigators, the effect of omega-3 fatty acids on cancer cells likely is due to the induction of apoptosis, or programmed cell death. Indeed, the investigators found that DHA treatment induced the splitting up, or cleavage, of an enzyme in the cell nucleus known as poly (ADP-Ribose) polymerase, or PARP, which is involved in repairing DNA damage, mediating apoptosis and regulating immune response. The cleavage of this enzyme is considered a tell-tale indicator of apoptosis. Furthermore, DHA and EPA treatment indirectly decreased the levels of another protein known as beta-catenin, an overabundance of which has been linked to the development of various tumors.

"Beta-catenin is known to promote cell growth and also is implicated in tumor cell promotion. Therefore, our finding that omega-3 fatty acids can decrease levels of beta-catenin is further evidence that these compounds have the ability to interact on several points of pathways involved in tumor progression," explained Dr. Wu.

In the second study, Abstract number 2680, the investigators treated cholangiocarcinoma tumor cells with omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids for 12 to 48 hours. Cholangiocarcinoma is a particularly aggressive form of liver cancer that arises in the ducts that carry bile from the liver and has an extremely high mortality rate. Again, the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA treatments resulted in a dose-dependent inhibition of cancer cell growth, while the omega-6 fatty acid AA treatment had no significant effect. Likewise, DHA treatment induced a cleavage form of PARP in cholangiocarcinoma cells, and DHA and EPA treatment significantly decreased the level of beta-catenin protein in the cells.

According to Dr. Wu, these findings suggest that omega-3 fatty acids not only may be an effective therapy for the treatment of human liver cancers but may also be a means of protecting the liver from steatohepatitis, a chronic liver disease characterized by the buildup of fat in the liver and believed to be a precursor of hepatocellular carcinoma. The next step in the process, he said, is to test the effects of omega-3 fatty acids in mice harboring human liver tumors.

- American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.

Alfalfa - "Ther Great Healer"

Alfalfa, called by one eminent biologist, "THE GREAT HEALER", has been enthusiastically backed by many noted doctors, biologists, food and health authorities, who tell us that it contains more of the needed essential elements than almost any other plant or substance. The lack of elements is now considered to be one of the principal contributing causes of most human ailments.

Along with its other amazing qualities, it has been found that alfalfa contains Vitamin U. Dr. Garnett Chaney, well-known food scientist of Stanford University, CA, has published his findings on Vitamin U, and asserts that it has great possibilities as as aid for peptic ulcers. In fact, according to the record, 80% of the ulcers so treated were healed.

Alfalfa is the richest land grown source of trace minerals. The roots of this perennial plant burrow deep into the soil and absorb the important trace minerals and elements such as calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron and phosphorous. Combined with chlorophyll and other organic salts, these factors seem to balance the so-called salt system of the body and act as a natural diuretic.

Alfalfa is most important for its Vitamin A and enzyme content. Vitamin A is important in building healthy skin, both outer and inner skin. The outer skin complexion improves, dryness is prevented and the skin becomes less susceptible to infection. The inner skin, or mucous membrane, is also greatly aided. The lining of the throat, nose, stomach and intestines are all improved with Vitamin A.

Enzymes are organic catalysts which promote chemical changes. Alfalfa contains the following seven enzymes: Protase, which acts in the digestion of proteins: Coagulase, Emulsin and Peroxidase, which have direct action upon the blood: Amylase and Invertase which act in the conversion of starches and sugars: and Lipase, a fat splitting enzyme. Hence, Alfalfa greatly assists digestion both by promoting healthy mucous membrane tissue, and providing enzymes which convert foods into useable form. As many or our enzymes are destroyed by routine cooking and food processing, it is beneficial to take a few alfalfa tabs before each meal.

The use of alfalfa increases one's alkaline reserves and helps to offset the enervating effect of fatigue acids. It is beneficial to who have kidney or bladder trouble because it makes excretion of the kidney less acid and therefore less irritating to the urinary tract. The U.S.Dept. of Agriculture states that while the average fruit or vegetable is from one to ten units alkaline, alfalfa is 130 units alkaline. This alkaline nature makes the use of anti-acid tablets for digestion unnecessary.

Chlorophyll is plentiful in alfalfa, and chlorophyll is known as a body cleanser, infection fighter and nature's deodorizer. This wonder of nature possesses the property of breaking down poisonous carbon dioxide, releasing oxygen in turn, thus inhibiting or reducing the action of anaerobic bacteria. Try this experiment. If your dog has bad odor or bad smelly breath try crushing a couple of alfalfa tabs on his food.

Alfalfa is rich in Vitamin K, which helps develop fibrin, which in turn protects against hemorrhaging by helping the blood to clot properly. It contains 20,000 to 40,000 units of Vitamin K for every 100 grams.

Alfalfa is being used as a means of bringing relief to arthritis sufferers and there are approximately 10,000,000 arthritics today. The estimate is that 97% of all individuals over 40 have some form of arthritic disease. These individuals would do their aching joints a blessed favor by consuming some alfalfa in the tablet form. Patients who have had 18 alfalfa tablets, six, three times a day and some extra B-COMPLEX are free from pain and hands are limber. (Catharyn Elwood's "Feel Like a Million".)

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