Month: April 2012

Dr Beecher’s April 2012 Monthly Chiropractic Newsletter

To download Dr. Beecher’s Monthly Newsletter, please click here!

“Use what talents you possess – the woods would be very silent

if no birds sang there except those that sang best.” ~ Henry Van Dyke

University of Colorado Research: Grape Seed Extract Kills Head And Neck Cancer Cells –

Leaves Healthy Cells Unharmed!

New Research shows the seeds of grapes

reduce certain tumor growth by 67% and 65%!

 

Also in this issue:

• Did you get “Broken Heart Syndrome” after Valentine’s Day?
• Research: 10 Minute Massage helps reduce inflammation in muscles
• Regular use of vitamins and minerals could reduce colon cancer risk?
• The Super Bowl Story More Important Than The Game: Mark Herzlich’s “tweet heard ‘round the world” about defeating cancer.

 

Houston – Not too long ago, this was a common saying by doctors all across the country: “Vitamins and supplements have no scientific proof.  To be healthy, all you have to do is eat right.  The only thing vitamins will do for you is give you expensive urine.”

Things have changed…

For example, a recent study done by researchers at the University of Colorado and published in the Journal of Carcinogenesis revealed great news about grape seed extract.

According to ColoradoCancerBlogs.org: A study published this week… shows that in both cell lines and mouse models, grape seed extract (GSE) kills head and neck squamous carcinoma cells, while leaving healthy cells unharmed.

“It’s a rather dramatic effect,” says Rajesh Agarwal, PhD, investigator at the University of Colorado Cancer Center and Professor at the Skaggs School of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

It depends in large part, says Agarwal, on a healthy cell’s ability to wait out damage.

“Cancer cells are fast-growing cells,” Agarwal says. “Not only that, but they are necessarily fast growing. When conditions exist in which they can’t grow, they die.”

Grape seed extract creates conditions that are unfavorable to the growth of cancer cells by both damaing the cancer cells’ DNA and inhibiting the pathways that allow repair. But, according to Agarwal, “… we saw absolutely no toxicity to the mice, themselves.”

The article also stated: “Again, the grape seed extract killed the cancer cells but not the healthy cells.”

Here’s some incredible information from the actual abstract of the study (GSE = Grape Seed Extract and HNSCC = Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma): “GSE feeding to nude mice decreased Detroit 562 and FaDu xenograft tumor growth by 67% and 65% (p<0.001), respectively. In IHC analysis, xenografts from GSE-fed groups showed decreased proliferation but increased DNA damage and apoptosis. Together, these findings show that GSE targets both DNA damage and repair, and provide mechanistic insights for its efficacy selectively against HNSCC both in cell culture and mouse xenograft; supporting its translational potential against HNSCC.”

In other words, in this study, grape seed extract reduced the growth of certain cancers by up to 67%, lowered the rate of progression of deadly tumors and DNA damage while inducing apoptosis (programmed cell death) of the cancer cells. Mice have been used to study specific cancer cell lines because they parallel tumor progression and metastasis in a manner similar to humans.

This is extremely important information and here is why…

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma accounts for 6% of all malignancies in the United States.  Nearly 12,000 people die from this form of cancer every year in the United States. As always, more research needs to be done, but the implications here are extremely exciting.  Who knows how many lives might be saved by all-natural grape seed extract?

Even more important, how many lives might be saved as more and more research is done on other natural substances and supplements to help treat disease, possibly without the side effects of current drugs?

One great example is a study published online on December 20, 2011.   The study published in the Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology (CJPP) found that rats given regular multivitamin and mineral supplements showed a significantly lower risk of developing colon cancer when they were exposed to carcinogens.

Another example is Vitamin D.  According to Science Daily, a recent study published in the British Medical Journal found: “Participants with the highest levels of blood Vitamin D concentration had a nearly 40% decrease in colorectal cancer risk when compared to those with the lowest levels.”

Broken Heart Syndrome

Is A Real Condition!!!

If you think you are having a heart attack, you might not be.  You might be suffering from “Broken Heart Syndrome.”

Broken Heart Syndrome, also called stress cardiomyopathy, has symptoms similar to a heart attack such as chest pain and difficulty breathing.

Broken Heart Syndrome often occurs during stressful emotional times.  For example, symptoms can often arise after a painful break-up, the death of a spouse, the loss of a job or extreme anger.

Dr. Binh An Phan, a Cardiologist from Loyola University Health System said, “The good news is that, over time, the symptoms go away. And unlike heart attack patients, people with Broken Heart Syndrome do not suffer lasting damage to their hearts.  Most people will get better in a few weeks without medical treatment.

“During an extremely stressful event, the heart can be overwhelmed with a surge of adrenalin and other stress hormones. This can cause a narrowing of the arteries that supply blood to the heart. It’s similar to what happens during a heart attack, when a blood clot in a coronary artery restricts blood supply to heart muscles. But unlike a heart attack, Broken Heart Syndrome is reversible.”

 

       And don’t forget, if you ever have any questions or concerns about your health talk to us. Contact us with your questions. We’re here to help and don’t enjoy anything more than participating in providing you natural pain relief.

Inspirational Story Of The Month –

(Names And Details May Have Been Changed To Protect Privacy)

Did You Miss The Super Bowl

Tweet Heard ‘Round The World?

 

The Third-String Linebacker For The New York Giants Didn’t Make It Into The Game

But His “Tweet” About Surviving Cancer Was More Important Than Winning It All…

 

We hear about the superstars every day.  You know, the athletes who star in the big game and make the big plays.  Eli Manning.  Tom Brady.  Most were gifted from birth and their exceptional genetic gifts and strong work ethics have them leading special, if not privileged lives.

Who knows how many little kids are running around New York and the rest of the country wearing an Eli Manning jersey while trying to be just like him in the pick-up football game at school?  One of those kids may be gifted enough, driven enough and lucky enough to be like him some day.

But, those are long odds indeed.  So many pieces of the puzzle must fall into place for that dream to come true.  God-given talent becomes useless if you don’t work hard enough or are unlucky enough to suffer a bad knee injury.

But, there is another football player every single kid (and person) can actually be like, no matter what gene pool you came from or how short, pudgy and slow you are. That player’s name is Mark Herzlich.  He’s a third string linebacker for the New York Giants. I bet you didn’t even see him on the sidelines on Super Bowl Sunday.  So, why is he so special?  It all started with the Tweet heard ‘round the world… 

“2 years ago I was told I might never walk again. Just WALKED off

a plane in Indy to play in The #SuperBowl. #Take That****Cancer.”

As you can imagine, his tweet went viral.  It was re-tweeted by countless people. You might have even seen that tweet but not known the full story behind it.

“Walking off the plane made me think back to how far I had come,” Herzlich said. “Walking down those steps, I remember walking with a limp after my surgery and trying to walk anywhere, so walking down steps again was amazing. I didn’t think the tweet would get that much exposure, but I’m glad it did because it reached a lot more people than I had anticipated in terms of giving them hope. That’s what defeating cancer is all about.”

Herzlich was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer (Ewing’s sarcoma) in his left leg during his senior year as an All-American at Boston College.  After surgery, he vowed to come back and play football again.  He found motivation in his highlight video and strong family support.  Never giving up, he beat cancer and made it all the way to the Super Bowl.

Herzlich added 10,000 followers to his twitter account shortly after he sent that tweet.  One follower wrote, “Obviously, this week is all about football and all about playing, but there are people out there who are going through cancer right now who see that and say, ‘Hey, if he is doing it, I can do it too.’”

That’s right… not everyone can play in the Super Bowl… but everyone can be like Eric Herzlich and never give up.

 

We love helping our patients and their friends and relatives through their tough times and getting them feeling better!  We are here to help you stay feeling better and looking younger!  Don’t be a stranger.  You really can afford Chiropractic care! Don’t wait until you can no longer move!

Did You Know?

Surprising Natural Health Tips And Facts

                                                                                                                                                 

• During your lifetime, you’ll eat nearly 60,000 pounds of food.
• Two-thirds of all office visits to family physicians are due to stress-related symptoms.
• Eating a naturally healthy breakfast every morning makes you less likely to suffer a heart attack.
• You are around one centimeter taller in the morning than in the evening!
• Sour flavors like those found in pickles and lemons can curb your appetite.
• A 4-5% reduction in your water intake may reduce your concentration and performance by as much as 30%.
• Age spots respond well to Aloe juice applied twice per day, virtually eliminating discoloration.
• Folic acid has been shown to lessen depression symptoms. This can be found in orange juice, spinach and kale.
• Capsacin, he primary ingredient in cayenne peppers, can be used topically as a powerful pain reducer for arthritis sufferers.
• Herbal teas like chamomile, passionflower and lavender calm the nervous system and facilitate a good night’s sleep.

                                                                                                                                                 

Tips Of The Month –

Research Shows A 10 Minute Massage

Reduces Muscle Inflammation…

                                                                                                                                                 

       Do you have aches and pain? After you wake up in the morning, are you stiff and does it take you a little time to “get going?”  Do your back and neck just feel stiff and sore?  If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions, then a massage may be just what you are looking for.

Here is why:  According to Science Daily, researchers at McMaster University have discovered a massage as short as 10 minutes can help reduce inflammation in muscles.  This is important because inflammation is a major source of stiffness and pain. “As a non-drug therapy, massage holds the potential to help not just bone-weary athletes but those with inflammation-related chronic conditions such as arthritis or muscular dystrophy,” says Justin Crane, a doctoral student in the Department of Kinesiology at McMaster.  While massage is well-accepted as a therapy for relieving muscle tension and pain, the researchers delved deeper to find it also triggers biochemical sensors that can send inflammation-reducing signals to muscle cells.

“The main thing, and what is novel about our study, is that no one has ever looked inside the muscle to see what is happening with massage, no one looked at the biochemical effects or what might be going on in the muscle itself,” said Crane.  “We have shown the muscle senses that it is being stretched and this appears to reduce the cells’ inflammatory response… As a consequence, massage may be beneficial for recovery from injury.”

Crane was surprised that only 10 minutes of massage had such a dramatic effect, especially considering the exercise performed in the study was strenuous and 70 minutes in duration.  The article goes on to report that the results of this research “hint that massage therapy blunts muscle pain by the same biological mechanisms as most pain medications and could be an effective alternative.”  It also showed that one long held “truth” about massage might be false.  In the study, massage did NOT help clear lactic acid from the exercised muscles.

                                                                                                                                                 

 

Remember, we’re always here to help your body heal

and maintain the pain free body you deserve.

 

                                                                                                                                                 

This information is solely advisory, and should not be substituted for medical or chiropractic advice.  Any and all health care concerns, decisions, and actions must be done through the advice and counsel of a healthcare professional who is familiar with your updated medical history. We cannot be held responsible for actions you may take without a thorough exam or appropriate referral. If you have any further concerns or questions, please let us know.