Life Over Cancer Blog

Cell Phones & Cancer

Research showing a link between cell phone use and cancer continues to mount. Though preliminary, it is of some concern, particularly in light of how many of us use cell phones and how often we use them. Most recently, researchers at Tel Aviv University (read the press release announcing the study here) compared what they defined as heavy cell phone users – those who used their cell phone a minimum of 8 hours per month – to non-users (how many of you only use your cell phone 8 hours per month?!?). Compared to the non-users, the heavy cell phone users had a significant increase in all salivary oxidative stress measurements studied. Damage caused by oxidative stress is linked to both genetic and cellular mutations, which can cause the development of tumors. Since it isn’t likely that any of us are going to ditch our cell phones, what can we do? Dr. Block has the following suggestions:

No-Egg Salad Sandwich

No-Egg Salad Sandwiches

Makes 8 sandwiches

Consuming Carrageenan

Recently, we were asked our opinion about carrageenan, an ingredient used as a thickener in many organic dairy products, dairy substitute products, natural and vegan products, as well as in many conventional food products. It appears there is some cause for concern with carrageenan, much of it based on the research of a UIC College of Medicine professor, Joanne Tobacman. While carrageenan does not appear to be absorbed systemically, there is concern that it may cause inflammation in the GI tract, and this inflammation may be linked to intestinal diseases, as well as to intestinal cancers. It’s the smaller carrageenan molecules, sometimes called degraded carrageenan, that seem to be the problem. While Tobacman’s studies do raise a number of red flags, the extent to which it is involved in carcinogenesis is apparently somewhat controversial. However, the indication that it may contribute to intestinal inflammation suggests that daily carrageenan intake is a poor choice for people with irritable bowel syndrome and related diseases.

Unfortunately, if you are looking to limit your intake of carrageenan, there may be times when you may have to weigh the pros and cons of trading one potentially unhealthy ingredient for another. For instance, most, if not all of the non-sugar, non-dairy ice creams available today seem to have carrageenan in them. So if you’re going to indulge in the occasional “treat,” you will probably have to choose between a product that contains sugar, and one that contains carrageenan. 

Obviously, anyone who finds they are sensitive to carrageenan should try to avoid it as best as possible. And even for those who do not have a sensitivity or intestinal problems, it may be better to choose carrageenan-free products, though occasional use is probably OK. We should also mention that the law doesn’t require that ingredients be listed on alcoholic beverages. Carrageenan is, in fact, commonly used to clarify beer, though you won’t see it on the label. It can also be found in other alcoholic beverages, though it generally doesn’t show up on the ingredient list. 

If you’re interested in information about which products contain or don’t contain carrageenan, cornucopia.org provides a list of these products that can be found here.

For more information on The Block Center for Integrative Cancer Treatment, call (847) 230-9107 or visit BlockMD.com.

 

Jani’s Jammin’ Potato Salad

Jani’s Jammin’ Potato Salad    

Serves 8

Recipe courtesy of Jani – one of our cancer survivors!

Powerfood Profile: Medicinal Mushrooms

Medicinal mushrooms contain compounds that can enhance the effectiveness of chemo while reducing side effects such as nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite, as well as suppress metastasis and increase levels of natural killer cells. One type of mushroom compounds, beta-glucans, has been shown to boost the cancer-fighting powers of the immune system's cyto-toxic T cells.

Vegan Country Coleslaw

Vegan Country Coleslaw

10 Servings

Ingredients:

2 tbsp Canola or grape seed oil

½ tsp Celery salt

2 ½ tbsp Agave

2 tbsp Apple Cider vinegar

¼ tsp Salt

¼ tsp Pepper

2/3 c Vegan mayo

9 c Multi-colored cabbage

1 c Carrots

1c Arame

 

Instructions:

1. Let dried arame soak in hot water for 10-15 minutes, drain the water before use.
2. Shred all the cabbage and carrots
3. Mix together all the ingredients except for the cabbage and carrots in one bowl
4. Pour the mixture of other ingredients over top of the shredded veggies
5. Toss well before serving

For more information on The Block Center for Integrative Cancer Treatment, call (847) 230-9107 or visit BlockMD.com.

Pesto Chickpea Salad

Pesto Chickpea Salad   

Serves 6                  

Ingredients:

1 can (15oz) garbanzo beans

4 cups fresh baby greens

1 avocado, diced

½ c red grapes, halved

¼ c pesto sauce (recipe below)

¼ c walnuts, finely chopped

 

Instructions:

Rinse and drain garbanzo beans.

Combine the beans with the grapes and nuts and toss over baby greens.

Well coat with pesto sauce and top off the salad with fresh, diced avocado.

Glutathione with Chemotherapy | Part 2

Several clinics, mostly in Italy, have performed clinical trials in which they gave glutathione in combination with chemotherapy to determine whether it might ameliorate side effects while preserving the drug activity. Dr. Block has extensively reviewed the use of antioxidants, such as glutathione, given in combination with chemotherapy before deciding to use this combination. Two systematic reviews were done to gather the literature on all the randomized, controlled trials of antioxidants given with chemotherapy. These were analyzed to determine whether antioxidants affected either the toxicity or the efficacy of chemotherapy. There were indications that the antioxidants did lessen the toxicity of chemotherapy, and there was no evidence that they diminished efficacy—in fact, there was some indication that, due to fewer missed cycles resulting from side effects, patients may have done better with antioxidants.  In the literature searches that we did, 7 of the trials that we found concerned the administration of glutathione with chemotherapy. The main chemotherapy drugs with which it was studied were oxaliplatin and cisplatin, both of which are related to carboplatin. Today’s article will take a look at the review we did on ovarian cancer studies.    

Glutathione with Chemotherapy | Part 1

The concern about the use of glutathione with chemotherapy is that it is an intra-cellular antioxidant that – in some laboratory studies – appears to block certain effects of chemotherapy drugs in cancer cells.  Specifically, the naturally produced glutathione in cells can stop apoptosis, or cancer cell suicide, from occurring. It is also associated with drug resistance to chemotherapy in cancer cells. This is certainly a concerning possibility. However, the extracellular application of glutathione, which is what would happen when glutathione is given to a cancer patient by infusion, has a different effect from the naturally occurring intracellular glutathione that is involved in cancer resistance. 

The effects of extracellular glutathione were investigated by, among others, Paolo Perego. In a study published in 2000), for instance, Perego and colleagues applied extracellular glutathione to ovarian cancer cells. Two different lines of ovarian cancer cells were used; one was chemotherapy–sensitive and one was chemotherapy-resistant.  In control cells, with no glutathione, the apoptosis rate was about 3% in the chemotherapy-sensitive line. With glutathione added, the apoptosis rate was about 30%.  Glutathione was not effective in causing apoptosis in the chemotherapy-resistant line. The investigators also found that adding glutathione in this concentration caused the production of hydrogen peroxide, a well known free radical that can cause apoptosis and DNA damage in cancer cells. Hydrogen peroxide was also shown to cause apoptosis in the chemotherapy-sensitive cell line, although not in the chemotherapy-resistant line. The conclusion of the study was that extracellularly administered glutathione produces apoptosis and DNA damage in cancer cells due to production of hydrogen peroxide. Production of hydrogen peroxide is important since this will cause an oxidizing environment around the cancer cell, which may predispose it to damage by chemotherapy drugs, as well as to apoptosis. Previous work suggested that hydrogen peroxide was produced by the action of a glutathione-related enzyme, gamma-glutamyl transferase, on the administered glutathione. Ironically, it is suspected that the chemotherapy-resistant line obtained its resistance at least in part due to high intracellular expression of glutathione-related enzymes. 

White Bean Salad