It seems that largazole, the key component, is an effective bone remedy with lots of potential and is also an effective anti-cancer treatment, according to earlier research.  This is not such a new idea as you might think. Reports indicate that components similar to largazole are already used in a variety of popular medications. Bacteria containing such substances come from various trees, plants, soil, and animals. But the recent discovery of the substance in the coral reefs of Key Largo offers added potential as scientists were able to identify key cell regeneration properties in this particular variety of the substance that were previously unknown.

Largazole’s ability to reprogram cells can also be exploited for tissue regeneration, and extensive testing on its ability to regenerate bones came up with some amazing findings.  Largazone initiates the process of osteogenesis in the body, which is when the body begins not only to repair damaged bones but also to grow new bone tissue.  At the same time as it performs this function, largazole also prevents bones from breaking down and being reabsorbed back into the body. The implications of this dual effect are highly promising for people who suffer from bone fractures, osteoporosis, and other bone diseases.

It is still a long way off from being an effective solution, but certainly adds to the knowledge bank we are acquiring on dealing with bone degradation and osteoporosis.

This study was published recently in Cancer Prevention Research and highlights the work of Salman Hyder, Professor of biomedical sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine and the Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center. This was not a human trial, but exposed rats with a certain type of breast cancer to apigenin, a common compound found in parsley and other plant products. The rats that were exposed to the apigenin developed fewer tumors and experienced significant delays in tumor formation compared to those rats that were not exposed to apigenin. Hyder found that apigenin not only blocked new blood vessel formation, thereby delaying, and sometimes stopping, the development of the tumors but it also reduced the overall number of tumors.

However, this is only an animal trial and while apigenin did delay tumor growth, it did not stop the initial formation of cancer cells within the breast.

If you want to be proactive about breast cancer risk there are some simple changes to your diet that can help.

So What Should You Eat?

Apigenin is most prevalent in parsley and celery, but can also be found in apples, oranges, nuts and other plant products. Because apigenin is not absorbed efficiently into the bloodstream at the present time scientists are unsure of how much can or should be taken as there are no specific dosage for humans yet. However, it appears that keeping a minimal level of apigenin in the bloodstream is important to delay the onset of breast cancer that progresses in response to progestins such as MPA. So crunch on some celery and start eating the parsley you have been decorating your dinner plate with!

The study focused on Pill use by 14 to 18-year-old teenagers and looked at how bone density might change when a woman stops using the Pill. Delia Scholes, PhD, led the study and said that as hormones are a key component of bone health it made sense to study hormonal contraceptives. These are a major source of external hormones for women and the Pill is the most common birth control method worldwide.

A woman’s risk of fractures later in life is influenced by the bone mass she gains in her teens and her 20s, and this age group has the highest use of oral contraceptives. The study’s researchers measured hip, spine, and whole-body bone densities in 301 teenagers aged 14-18, and in 305 young adult women aged 19-30. They measured the bone densities of 389 participants using oral contraceptives with the two most commonly prescribed estrogen doses in Pills: 20-25 micrograms and 30-35 micrograms. These were compared to 217 similar women who were not using this method of contraception. Bone density measurements were taken at the start of the study, and every 6 months for 2 to 3 years. During that time, 172 oral contraceptive users stopped taking the medication, allowing the researchers to measure bone changes after Pill use was discontinued.

They found that after two years, teens who used the 30-35 microgram Pills showed about 1% less gain in bone density at both the spine and whole body sites than teens who did not use hormonal contraceptives. Any differences in bone density between users and non-users of oral contraceptives were less than 2%, and were seen only after two or more years of use, and only at some measured sites. At 12-24 months after stopping, young adult women who used either Pill dose showed small bone density losses at the spine compared to small gains in women who did not take oral contraceptives.

This may seem like a small loss of bone, but its impact in later life could be considerable. The researchers found that additional studies are needed, including looking at bone changes for a longer time after Pill use is discontinued so they can more accurately evaluate how oral contraceptive use is related to fracture risk.

For any young woman with a family history of osteoporosis, this finding is significant in terms of making a sensible contraceptive choice that will not adversely affect their long-term bone health. Additionally, taking extra precautions to optimise bone strength such as weight bearing exercise and ensuring progesterone levels are adequate would be a sensible plan throughout the teens and twenties.

It’s estimated that around 30% of menopausal women will get some form of hot flashes. How affected you are will depend on several factors, including where you live and what you eat. Some lucky women never get them at all and they are certainly very much more common in the Western world. There is no word in Japanese for instance to cover this phenomenon because they do not seem to suffer from it – unless they have switched to a predominantly Western diet. If you are unlucky enough to suffer from hot flashes this article will help you learn why they occur. If you’re not yet a sufferer, then it will help you gauge whether or not you are likely to become one.

The Reasons Why
Although some lucky women escape completely, there are some very good reasons why we experience the heat that we associate with menopause:

1 – Blood Vessels
Hot flashes occur when the blood vessels below the skin dilate. This causes more blood to rush to the skin’s surface, and that is what makes you look red and flushed, and feel that tell-tale rise in temperature. The body’s normal response to this is to try and cool you down, and it does this by making you sweat. What is unique about hot flashes is that this mechanism kicks in when the outside temperature can be very low and you do not have any signs of fever.

2 – Fluctuating hormones
Well you know all about this during menopause, and in fact the changing levels of your hormones are the prime cause of hot flashes. When your hormone levels fluctuate they cause the temperature control mechanism in the body to be disturbed. The centre which controls this is in a part of the brain called the hypothalamus and it seems that it is changing levels of oestrogen and FSH (follicular stimulating hormone) that can upset this delicate balance and cause hot flashes.

Women having hot flashes usually have decreased oestrogen levels and increased FSH levels, but it is important to remember that it is the changes and fluctuations in the hormone levels – rather than the actual amount of hormone being produced – that produces hot flashes.

3 – Surgical menopause
It is to be expected that menopause symptoms come naturally when a woman’s childbearing years are coming to a close and the menopause or perimenopause is under way. However, women who have a hysterectomy or their ovaries removed at an age when they would not normally be going through menopause are more likely to experience more severe and frequent hot flashes after the surgery than in a natural menopause transition.

Even if the ovaries are retained it is no guarantee that an early menopause will not occur, as their effectiveness at producing progesterone will be affected and will diminish over time.

These are some of the reasons behind hot flashes. I hope it helps explain why you may be feeling hot and bothered. After all, knowledge is power, and some women do like to refer to their hot flashes as power surges!

Hormones secreted by the thyroid gland are critically important to health because they affect the metabolism of every cell in the body. Thyroid hormones regulate the metabolism of glucose to release energy, as well as affecting protein synthesis and metabolism of fats.

Because the body creates thyroid hormones by using iodine, a healthy level of iodine in the diet is important. As well as being vital for general metabolism, there is also evidence that iodine in the diet can help in avoiding cancer.

This study was done at the Women’s College Research Institute in Toronto, where researchers looked at 213,500 people aged 70 or over. Patients in the study received at least one prescription for levothyroxine (the synthetic hormone) between 2002 and 2007. Results showed a significantly increased risk of fracture in people who were either taking or had recently taken levothyroxine.

As people grow older, there is a greater likelihood of diminished levels of thyroid hormones, with possibly as many as 20% of older people receiving treatment for hypothyroidism. But as doctors treat the disease by administering hormones, one of the possible side effects is a decrease in bone density. In some cases, bone density may reach the point that broken bones become more likely.

A researcher from the British Medical Journal study said that the condition needs more study, as not enough is known about the link between thyroid hormone and bone density in the elderly. A study published in 2010 on the link in elderly men did not find a decrease in bone density, but a study the same year in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism did find such a link in postmenopausal women. A 2010 review article looking at drug-induced osteoporosis also noted high doses of thyroxine as a possible cause of low bone density in postmenopausal women.

Women who are receiving hormone therapy should have hormone levels checked regularly, to see that levels do not grow too high, or for that matter too low. Some patients may not wish to take hormones acquired from animals, but the synthetic form of the hormone, levothyroxine, like any artificial drug, has the potential for side-effects.

Now new research at Michigan State University has found that long-term estrogen exposure generates excessive levels of a compound, superoxide, which causes stress in the body. The build-up of this compound occurs in an area of the brain that is crucial to regulating blood pressure, suggesting that chronic estrogen induces a build up of superoxide that in turn causes blood pressure to increase. Although the process by which estrogen induces high blood pressure in women is unclear, it is yet another reason to ensure that estrogen levels in the body are properly balanced with bio-identical natural progesterone during menopause.

The Good News Lead study author Dr. P.S. MohanKumar said, “This is an important study on at least two levels. First, it continues to confirm the negative effect that long-term estrogen exposure has for females. Second, it provides a new rationale for how and why this relationship occurs. Because so many women use estrogen-only HRT to combat the effects of menopause, it is imperative that we better understand the risks that chronic exposure has for females and why these effects occur. In studies such as this we come one step closer to clarifying the relationship and have established a launch pad for identifying how the process might be interrupted in the future.”

The good news is that the study also found that giving the anti-oxidant resveratrol reverses the increase in both superoxide and blood pressure . Resveratrol is a compound present naturally in red grape skin and red wine and is also being studied for its beneficial effects on both diabetes and multiple sclerosis. Seems like it would be a good idea add a daily bunch – or glass – to help lower your blood pressure and improve your health generally.

Preliminary data published in 2007 by Mayo Clinic investigators seemed to suggest that consuming 40 grams of crushed flaxseed daily might help manage hot flashes but now it seems that this is not the case.

Flaxseed may not help hot flashes, but is a good addition to a healthy diet as it has protective effects, particularly for women. Flaxseed is particularly rich in lignans, special compounds also found in other seeds, grains and legumes that are converted by beneficial gut flora into two hormone-like substances called enterolactone and enterodiol. These hormone-like agents demonstrate a number of protective effects against breast cancer and are believed to be one reason a vegetarian diet is associated with a lower risk for breast cancer. Studies show that women with breast cancer and women who are omnivores typically excrete much lower levels of lignans in their urine than vegetarian women without breast cancer.

Flaxseeds are also a very good source of fiber that can lower cholesterol levels in people with atherosclerosis and diabetic heart disease, reduce the exposure of colon cells to cancer-causing chemicals, relieve the constipation or diarrhoea of irritable bowel syndrome sufferers, and help stabilize blood sugar levels in diabetic patients. Flax seeds are also a good source of magnesium, which helps to reduce the severity of asthma by keeping airways relaxed and open, lowers high blood pressure and reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke in people with atherosclerosis and diabetic heart disease, prevents the blood vessel spasm that leads to migraine attacks and generally promotes relaxation and restores normal sleep patterns. This latter is particularly relevant for menopausal women as sleep patterns are often disturbed by the fluctuating hormone levels.

If you ask around amongst your female friends the range at which their periods began can be quite wide from as young as 9 to the late teens.  Now it seems that genetic makeup explains more than half of the variation between UK women’s ages at first period, according to a study of almost 26,000 women.   The age at which girls periods begin is known to run in families but the balance of genetic and environmental influences on this has been unclear.

Scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) analysed data from women participating in the Breakthrough Generations Study – a major UK-wide investigation into the causes of breast cancer – who had at least one other female relative also taking part.  What they found was that a woman’s age when beginning menstruation was significantly correlated with that of her relatives. For each 12 month delay in the age at which an older sister, mother or paternal aunt began their periods, there was a delay of around three months on average for the younger relative.  When the relative was a maternal grandmother or maternal aunt the delay in the younger relative was about 1.5 months and, not surprisingly, the age at which period began is also strongly correlated between twins, particularly identical twins.

Why does it matter?

The age at which menstruation begins is important because it has been linked to the risk of a number of chronic diseases including breast cancer.  This risk gradually increases with progressively younger age at menstruation and older age at menopause, possibly because women are exposed to female sex hormones for a longer period of time. Each two year delay in menstruation is associated with an estimated 10 per cent reduction in the relative risk of breast cancer.   This is important for the following reasons:

•           Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the UK – nearly 46,000 women and around 300 men are diagnosed every year

•           Breast cancer accounts for nearly one in three of all female cancers

•           More than 1,000 women die of breast cancer every month in the UK

If you know that these risk factors apply to you then it is important that you take all possible precautions to ensure your risk is lowered as much as it can be.  The good news is that more women than ever in the UK are surviving breast cancer thanks to better awareness, better treatments and better screening.  This includes having a sensible anti-estrogenic diet and   minimising exposure to it by avoiding where possible sources such as the contraceptive pill and HRT.

Raw pine pollen is the richest seedbed of testosterone derived from plants; since it is the male sperm of pine trees, it fosters plush growth in all living creatures, from trees and plants, to animals, to humans. Some experts claim that pine pollen is an ingredient in certain pharmaceuticals designed to treat low testosterone levels in both men and women.

Low testosterone in either men or women may cause an increase in cholesterol levels, premature aging, tissue and bone loss, highs and lows in blood sugar levels, decreased levels of aerobic energy, weight gain, and sexual dysfunction. In men, low testosterone may increase their chances for developing prostate cancer due to the simultaneous increase in estradiol in the body.

The reasons for low testosterone in either sex are varied. For men, the largest contributing factors are nutritional intake and age. In their 30s and 40s, males typically experience andropause, a term coined in the late 1960s, meaning male menopause, or a decline in the synthesis of androgenic hormones, especially testosterone. Nutrition-related onset of lower testosterone levels in both men and women is typically due to an over consumption of foods with too much phyto-estrogen for the body.

Pine pollen can provide the opportunity for endocrine hormonal balance, i.e. the ratio of testosterone to estrogen, within humans, thus reversing the troubling effects associated with the imbalances that cause quality of life to decrease. This is done mainly through the phyto-androgens in pine pollen, including androstenedione, testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and androsterone. The conditions of diabetes, high cholesterol and fatigue have all been improved through the biological and nutritional mechanisms provided by routine consumption of pine pollen.

Raw, natural pine pollen is considered part of a nutritional program aimed at boosting energy and vitality during the aging process, and as such, consumers may experience an overhaul of their entire physiological system. Pine pollen is not a medicine, per se; however, some men use this nutrient-dense natural substance to successfully increase sperm count through more balanced hormones.

Outside of a stronger sexual libido due to more testosterone in men, pine pollen advocates tout skin rejuvenation, improved immune systems and other anti-aging benefits of continued supplementation. Some elements within pine pollen even work to detoxify cells by breaking down toxins in the body.

Many consumers wonder about endocrine shutdown with pine pollen. Endocrine shutdown occurs when the glands atrophy due to the fact that they are not being used. If the gland detects enough of a certain hormone, it will cease production, and eventually atrophy or shrink. This can happen with overuse of steroids or man-made hormones because these are molecularly identical to those that the body produces. Pine pollen’s molecular structure, i.e. the androgens, is not identical to that of the body; however, it is similar enough to produce beneficial health effects, without the risk of gland cessation of production.

Pine pollen is easily absorbed by the body when taken in powder or tincture form. If the powder taste is not palatable, pine pollen can be mixed in drinks. The tincture form is considered more potent and uses organic grape alcohol as its liquid base.

For more information on raw food visit Alex’s website at: www.RawGuru.com

Ovarian cancer is created by the abnormal and uncontrolled growth of cells and it can spread more widely in the stomach through the bloodstream or the lymph system where it can grow here and form secondary tumours.

There are two main types of ovarian cancer. The most common (9 out of 10) is epithelial that affects the lining of the ovaries.   There are several different types of epithelial ovarian cancer including the two most common – serous and endometrioid. Non-epithelial ovarian cancer is much less common. These include germ cell cancers that form from the cells in the ovary that make the eggs. These usually affect younger women.

Symptoms of ovarian cancer
One of the major problems in diagnosing ovarian cancer is that there are very few, if any, symptoms in the early stages which is why it is known as the ’silent killer’.  Late detection is one reason why ovarian cancer is notoriously difficult to treat and the American Cancer Society estimates that 22,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with HGSOC each year, and 14,000 die of it. Worldwide, the incidence approaches 200,000 women with 115,000 deaths each year.

If there are symptoms, they can include stomach pain or a bloated feeling that can be confused with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Ovarian cysts and non-cancerous growths also cause the same symptoms as ovarian cancer.

Other symptoms include:
• loss of appetite
• unexplained weight gain
• swelling of your abdomen (tummy)
• pain during sex
• changes in bowel or bladder habits
• rarely, abnormal vaginal bleeding

Causes of ovarian cancer
We do not know Doctors don’t know precisely what causes ovarian cancer, but there are some things that seem to make it more likely. It’s more common in women who live in developed countries and for those who have gone through the menopause.  Other factors that have an impact include being on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) – particularly for longer than five years – endometriosis, being overweight (in pre-menopausal women) and
starting your periods early and having the menopause late.

Impact of the new research
Dana-Farber scientists have developed a laboratory model that mimics the process by which fallopian tube cells may turn into cancer cells that appear to have come from the ovaries. Their demonstration that this process can happen in the lab is powerful evidence that it does happen in patients, throwing new weight behind the theory that HGSOC begins, in fact, in the fallopian tubes and not in the ovaries as was previously believed.

This previous belief was founded on examinations of fallopian tubes surgically removed from women with a genetic predisposition to ovarian cancer and areas of the tubes adjacent to the ovary often had patches of cells that were predecessors of serous cancers. But to convincingly show that these cells are the source of high-grade serous ovarian cancer, the scientists needed to trace each step of the disease’s development and believe that their model provides that kind of demonstration.

The origins of HGSOC have been so difficult to track down because of the insidious nature of the disease. Ovarian tumors often establish themselves without producing any warning symptoms and so by the time the disease is discovered, the ovaries can be so overrun with cancer that adjacent sections of the fallopian tube are obscured, making them difficult to examine under a microscope.  Dana-Farber researchers created a laboratory model for studying the lining of the fallopian tubes by using tissue from women who had had their fallopian tubes removed for reasons unrelated to cancer.  Thus they were able to establish a model that mirrors the structure and function of normal fallopian tube tissue in the body.

Studies such as these will help us identify different types of high-grade serous ovarian cancer, as well as possibly discover biomarkers — proteins in the blood — that signal the presence of the disease. Ultimately, the model will enable researchers to test potential therapies to determine which work best in each type of the disease.