Dirt Rich
Don’t underestimate the dirt beneath your feet. Especially if
you’re standing on farmland soil in the western U.S.
Soil contains a trace mineral called selenium. When you
consume food that’s grown in selenium-rich soil, your body
is replenished with a nutrient that has been shown to help
fight autoimmune disorders, increase insulin efficiency, and
curb the mutation of viruses.
And if this were a late night infomercial, right about now I
would say, “But wait! That’s not all you get!” Because
selenium also has excellent antioxidant qualities, it boosts the
antioxidant power of vitamin E, and it’s been shown to
reduce the risk of several types of cancers by triggering the
activity of a tumor-suppressing gene.
And that’s where today’s e-Alert begins: Out west, with an
Arizona study that evaluates the association of selenium
intake with the reduced risk of one of the most common types
of cancer.
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Three into one
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Researchers at the University of Arizona (UA) wanted to
expand on previous research, which had indicated that
selenium may reduce the risk of developing colorectal
tumors.
The UA team used data combined from three trials: the
Wheat Bran Fiber Trial, the Polyp Prevention Trial, and the
Polyp Prevention Study. Each of these projects examined the
effects of different nutritional factors on the prevention of
benign colorectal tumors in patients who previously had such
tumors removed during colonoscopy.
Medical records and blood tests of more than 1,700 subjects
were analyzed to determine tumor developments and
selenium concentrations. When the subjects were grouped
ranging from least blood concentration of selenium to
greatest, results showed that subjects with the highest blood
selenium values had “statistically significantly lower odds”
of developing a new tumor when compared to subjects with
the lowest blood selenium values.
The researchers also noted that each of the three trials
individually indicated selenium’s protective effect against the
recurrence of tumors, and that those with the very highest
blood selenium value had more than a 40 percent reduced
risk of tumor recurrence compared to subjects with the very
lowest levels of selenium.
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The big six
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In the UA study – which appears in a November issue of the
Journal of the National Cancer Institute – the researchers note
that, given the limitations of the data from the three trials,
they were not able to pinpoint the selenium sources in the
subjects’ blood samples. Therefore they couldn’t draw any
conclusions about supplementing with selenium.
As I’ve noted in previous e-Alerts, in the U.S., selenium is
highly concentrated in the soil of only six states: North and
South Dakota, Utah, Colorado, Montana and Wyoming.
Anyone who lives in these states and eats ample amounts of
locally grown fruits and vegetables daily is probably getting a
good selenium intake. But the rest of us are probably not,
unless we’re taking a selenium supplement or a multivitamin
that contains selenium.
The U.S. RDA for selenium is 55 mcg for women and 70
mcg for men, but the average diet falls far short of that
amount – especially if you don’t eat produce from one of the
six states mentioned above. Research into the cancer-
preventive qualities of selenium indicates that a daily intake
needs to be around 200 mcg to insure adequate prevention.
Which brings up the issue of selenium toxicity.
this nutrient. And while it’s true that mega-dosing might
create problems, you would have to get more than 2,500 mcg
of selenium per day for an extended period to receive a toxic
amount, so the actual chances of getting a dangerous dose are
extremely slim.
In addition to fruits and vegetables, bread, fish and meat all
contain selenium. The real selenium powerhouse, however, is
the Brazil nut, delivering more than 800 mcg of selenium per
ounce.
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THE BEST CURES MAY BE RIGHT IN YOUR CUPBOARD
“Turn down” your cholesterol by 50%! Just eat one half of this
heart-healthy fruit every day.
Russian “Rogaine”: Slavic barbers reveal their secret formula
for regrowing thick, healthy hair.
Restore lost hearing with this simple Mediterranean remedy.
The “coleslaw cure” for stomach trouble. Soothes and repairs.
Memory problems fixed with this backyard herb.
Read on(This product is currently not available outside of
the U.S.and Canada)
http://www.bottomlinesecrets.com/blpnet/offers/order_hr_mag.html?l=3&sk=166694&sid=A120704A1A
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We tell kids not to use drugs. And then thousands of them are
sent off to school each day with a dose of Ritalin or some
other powerful drug designed to medicate Attention
Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
One of the sad results of this contradiction is drug abuse.
Last week I received this e-mail from an HSI member and
doctor named Ronald: “Recently an article appeared, I
thought in the HSI alerts: It spoke of a young person
perception drug that mimicked cocaine, that kids were
mashing the pill and snorting it to get high. Can you direct
me to this article or who published it if not HSI? This
information may save some lives here in Montana the second
highest rate of suicides in children.”
I don’t believe any recent HSI publications or e-letters have
addressed this problem. But it’s not new to us. In the e-Alert
“A Patchwork Orange” (5/16/02), I told you about a study in
the Journal of the American Medical Association that found
Ritalin to be a more active stimulant than cocaine.
So unfortunately it wasn’t really a surprise to come across an
article published in a 2000 issue of the Christian Science
Monitor (CSM) revealing that a Drug Enforcement
Administration study found that as many as one-half of the
teens in drug-treatment centers said they had used Ritalin to
get high. And because Ritalin taken orally doesn’t provide
instant stimulation, many of these young people are crushing
their Ritalin pills and inhaling the powder – just like cocaine.
The CSM article referenced two disturbing statistics that
appeared in the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral
Pediatrics:
* More than 15 percent of children who used Ritalin said that
schoolmates had asked to purchase doses of their drug
* Four percent of the kids who used Ritalin reported that their
doses had been stolen at least once
The DEA now lists Ritalin as one of the top ten most stolen
prescription drugs.
And while Ritalin is abused most often by children who
haven’t had the drug prescribed to them, studies have shown
that Ritalin users go on to have higher rates of alcohol abuse,
drug abuse and criminal activity compared to kids who don’t
use the drug.
It can be difficult to deal with a child that is hyperactive. And
these days parents get a lot of pressure from teachers,
administrators and other parents to “control” their children.
But if your doctor were trying to convince you that your child
or grandchild needed cocaine to control his behavior, you’d
probably run out of that office faster than you could say “Are
you crazy?”
Knowing what we now know about how Ritalin works in
children’s brains and how it impacts future drug abuse, it’s
time to look more closely at this medication we give our
children every day as if it were a street drug.
To Your Good Health,
Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute
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Why you shouldn’t waste another penny
on “grocery store” vitamins
A recent article in the Journal of the American Medical
Association actually admitted that vitamin deficiencies
cause problems. Eureka! Coming from a mainstream source this
is quite an affirmation of the nutrition-based health support
that you and I believe in. Then again, if you’re an HSI
member, you’ve already known this for some time – and
you’re no doubt already taking some type of supplemental
vitamins
However, many of today’s store-bought vitamins fall
painfully short of the complete nutritional necessities –
putting your health at risk.
Take a quick crash course in vitamin shopping – and learn
the 5 things your multivitamin should be doing for you.
http://www.youreletters.com/t/85335/6626398/656931/0/
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Sources:
“Selenium and Colorectal Adenoma: Results of a Pooled
Analysis” Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol. 96,
No. 22, 11/17/04, jncicancerspectrum.oupjournals.org
“High Selenium Linked to Lower Colon Cancer Risk”
Reuters Health, 11/16/04, reutershealth.com
“Stimulant Use and the Potential for Abuse in Wisconsin as
Reported by School Administrators and Longitudinally
Followed Children” Journal of Developmental & Behavioral
Pediatrics, Vol. 19, No. 3, June 1998, jrnldbp.com
