Cancer & Power of Prayer
Arecent study examined data on more than 32,000 adults who had been diagnosed with a wide variety of cancers of various stages. The study found that the patients who scored higher on scales of spiritual or religious belief also reported having better overall health. People with a sense of being connected with a power above human power reported fewer symptoms from cancer as also fewer side-effects of cancer therapy.
“Cancer patients who reported higher meaning, purpose, and spiritual connection in life also reported better physical health, as did patients who reported more positive religious or spiritual explanations for the cancer,” said lead researcher Heather Jim, of the Moffitt Cancer Centre, in an interview.
John M Salsman, of Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem (North Carolina), feels that spirituality and religiousness are multi-dimensional rather than a single defined trait. He had assessed that some spiritual and religious characteristics were more strongly associated with positive health outcomes.
New Cholesterol-Lowering Drug
Amgen Inc has won the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for their new drug, Repatha (evolocumab), to lower the so-called artery-clogging cholesterol—without the side-effects. As of now, its price tag is too high and we are not aware its long-term side-effects, if any. FDA approved the drug recently for patients who are unable to control their cholesterol with existing drugs and treatments. The good news for India is that one of our own companies, Zydus Cadila, has discovered a new molecule—100% indigenous—which brings down your cholesterol levels without any short-term side-effects known to date. The snag, though, is that we do not know what happens in the long run. Compared to Repatha, the Zydus drug is very cheap. Both these news reports do not excite me as I do not believe in the fat theory, in the first place: I do not see cholesterol as a dangerous ghost.
Sweet Potatoes Can Beat Cancer
The darker the colour of potatoes, the better the result: Indian sweet potato has that quality. The favourable gut bacteria like it, converting the potato contents into butyric acid which kills cancer cells and also the cancer predisposing substance in the colon. Of course, the researcher, Jairam Vanamala at Penn State University, did this work on rats and hopes to repeat it on humans. I will keep my fingers crossed until then, as rat is not man.
Garlic, As Always!
Imake it my daily routine, to eat garlic raw. A recent study, carried out by the Birla Institute of Technology and Sciences (BITS) in India and published in Pertanika Journal of Tropical Agricultural Science, Malaysia, found that garlic can also be an effective treatment for the antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria involved in many cases of urinary tract infection (UTI). This study showed that 82% of the antibiotic resistant strains of germs causing resistant UTI responded to garlic—without side-effects—and incapable of producing resistant strains like antibiotics do. This would be a boon to millions of women and men also who have recurrent UTI.
The authors summarised their results thus: “The results of the present study support the use of natural products as affordable effective substitutes and/or additives for reducing the disease burden and overall cost of disease management.” Old is gold but rarely sold!
Beware of Toothpaste
Your toothpaste might make your teeth look good and make your mouth feel fresh but it gradually damages the teeth enamel and also the gums. Most of our problems with the teeth and gums might have their beginning in the fancy toothpastes we use. Look out for any of the following ingredients in your toothpaste and, if they do contain them, buy something else: triclosan, sodium luryl sulphate, aspartame, saccharine, fluoride, propylene glycol, glycerine, diethanolamine and sorbitol.
I use coconut oil to clean my mouth and teeth...
