Keeping it simple: Final wrap-up of Annie Appleseed conference

A brief break at the beach, wearing the T-shirt Mike gave me for Christmas. He got it from Kris Carr's site http://crazysexylife.com/ if you're interested.

As I was catching up on my newspapers, I came across an interesting article about a study at The Ohio State University on the Amish and cancer. Not surprisingly, they found the Amish have a lower incidence of cancer than the rest of us.

Part of the reason is that they grow and raise their own food, avoid processed food, get plenty of exercise and have a strong sense of family and community (which reduces stress). I think there is something to be said about their simpler lifestyle too.

These are all things I’m striving for on my journey toward health – well except for growing my own food (maybe I’ll get into gardening again someday). So, wrapping up on the Annie Appleseed Conference, the information that was most helpful to me were the simple things.

The following are some takeaways I didn’t cover in previous posts:

• Add an 8 ounce glass of pomegranite juice a day to your diet to decrease estrogen.
• A study at Johns Hopkins showed that the sulforaphane found in cruciforus vegetables such as watercresss, broccoli and cabbage induces cancer cell death (apotosis).
• Get your Vitamin D levels checked; especially if you have a hormone-driven cancer such as breast, ovarian or prostate. Your levels should be at 60 -90. It is safe to take up to 100,000 IUs of daily D.
• The National Academy of Science supports using milk thistle for detoxification of heavy metals.
• There are 9,000 studies that show that fermented soy (i.e. tempeh) actually helps fight cancer by repairing DNA damage in cancer stem cells and metabolizing estrogen.
• European white mistletoe, known by the brand name Iscador and made famous by Suzanne Summers, is used widely in Europe. Studies have shown it increases survival time and reduces chemo side effects for breast, melonoma, pancreatic and colorectal cancers. It has limited availability in the US because it is not approved by the FDA.
• It’s important to get genetic profiling tests to determine how you will respond to chemo.
• Wine is a no-no; it increases estrogen levels. A better way to get reservertol found in wine is with organic grapes and juices.
• Chinese herbs that fight cancer: reishi extract, schisandra, and chago mushrooms (for melanoma and heart, liver and lung disease).
• Tumors are gluttons for glucose (AKA sugar); diabetics have higher incidence of breast, colon and prostate cancer. Women with the highest insulin had two times more breast cancer metastases and three times the death rate than women with lower insulin rates.
• As speaker David Haas, MD, says, “You are not your cancer. It is just part of your pilmgrimage. It’s important to hold on to who you are.

To learn more visit the Annie Appleseed Project’s site at http://www.annieappleseedproject.org/.