Can Chlorophyll Protect You From Cancer?

Chlorophyll is a chemical compound in plants that collects light and uses the light to make energy. It also gives plants their green color. Chlorophyll is the life blood of plants. It has a long list of health benefits from alkalinizing the body to yes, protecting it from cancer.

A study at Oregon State University found that the chlorophyll in green vegetables “offers protection against cancer when tested against the modest carcinogen exposure levels most likely to be found in the environment.” The protective mechanism of chlorophyll is fairly simple – it just binds with and sequesters carcinogens within the gastrointestinal tract until they are eliminated from the body.

According to Michael T. Simonich of the Linus Pauling Institute, chlorophyll actually helps fight cancer cell growth and acts as an antioxidant in the body. Chlorophyll forms a complex with the carcinogens that your body has a difficult time absorbing, such as fungus-contaminated nuts and grains, the toxic materials created when meat has been overcooked, and carcinogens in the air that result from pollution, so your body eliminates these complexes through feces, helping to prevent cancer. It does this by blocking the metabolism of chemicals known as procarcinogens that damage DNA. By preventing DNA from being damaged, cancer growth is inhibited and prevented. It is important to have your veggie-filled salad before eating anything that may have carcinogenic effects, like a charbroiled steak, because if chlorophyll is consumed after having cancer-causing food items, there will be little benefit because the carcinogen has been ingested and assimilated. That said, including a lot of chlorophyll in your daily diet will help to protect you from other carcinogens like the polluted air we’re surrounded by.

The antioxidant action of chlorophyll, according to “Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine” can lower your risk for developing certain types of cancer. Chlorophyll also aids in oxygenating the blood, and cancer can’t thrive in oxygen. It efficiently delivers magnesium and helps the blood in carrying the much needed oxygen to all cells and tissues.

What else does chlorophyll do besides protect against cancer? Keep reading…

The range of health benefits to gain from chlorophyll is nothing short of miraculous. Chlorophyll is known to improve the health of the circulatory, digestive, immune and detoxification systems of the body – leading to many different and overlapping health benefits.

Some of the numerous health benefits of chlorophyll include:

• Cleanses, oxygenates and builds the blood
• A powerful detoxification effect on the body
• Rich in enzymes that promote quick rejuvenation of our cells
• High in Amino acids
• Extracts toxins form the liver and improves liver function
• Regulator of calcium
• Helps break addiction
• Alkalizes the body
• Anti-inflammatory
• Wound-healing properties
• Eliminates bad breath and body odors
• Feeds heart tissues with iron & magnesium
• Regulates menstruation
• Revitalizes the vascular system
• Improves teeth enamel and gums
• Improves milk production in lactating mothers
• Improves blood sugar problems
• Fights infection
• Anti-oxidant – neutralize free radicals
• Promotes healthy intestinal flora
• Helps reverse protein-deficient anemia
• Protection from cancer
• Helps skin disorders
• Bind and removes toxic heavy metals from the body
• Can stimulate bowel movements and is a great aid in colon cleansing
• Improves the detrimental effects of radiation

How do we integrate more chlorophyll into our diet?

Essentially, any green plant that you consume contains some level of chlorophyll as this is what gives it its green color, but some foods are higher in chlorophyll than others. Generally speaking, the darker the green color, the more chlorophyll, so dark leafy greens are a great source, especially dino kale and other kale varieties, swiss chard and darker greens like arugula. Click here to learn ways to incorporate more kale into your diet. Adding herbs like parsley and cilantro are also great ways to spruce up your salads and increase chlorophyll content in your diet. Blue-green algae such as spirulina and chlorella are also especially high in chlorophyll, as are all sprouts. Wheatgrass has one of the highest sources of chlorophyll available. Juicing it on a regular basis can have powerful detoxification effects.

Chlorophyll is very easy to absorb and assimilate. Eating organic whole green foods or fresh juice are by far the best ways to get more chlorophyll into your body. Another way that’s really simple to integrate it is with concentrated supplement drops that can simply be added to your water. It is tasteless, but will create a dark green color. When people ask you what in the world you’re drinking, you can share your knowledge about this wondrous substance that can do so much to add to our health and well-being.

Let’s approach our health from a standpoint of prevention. Let food be thy medicine, and eat more chlorophyll.

Feel a Cough or Cold Coming On? Eat a Pear!

Fall is the perfect time of year to munch down on a pear, so take a moment to sink your teeth into the juicy fruit and feel the energizing health benefits sprawling throughout the body. The pear, savored by most of the world cultures since the Stone Age, can heal with cooling compounds, excrete phlegm and cleanse the body of toxins.

Eating a pear is a stellar way to prevent colds and coughs from happening during fall and winter seasons. Known as a super fruit in some regions of the world, the pear holds precious cooling compounds to energize the lungs, keeping the area moist and free of bacteria. The pear can help excrete phlegm, as well. The fruit is packed with potent nutrients and can help prevent chronic ailments.

Have you ever bit into a juicy, crunchy pear and all of a sudden felt a rush of energy, health and refreshment? Perhaps that is due to its health benefits. Besides being an excellent source of vitamins such as C and K, the pear holds potent nutrients and minerals along with cooling properties, healing many ailments including coughs and colds.

Coughs and Colds

Colds and coughs usually find their way into the body from August through April when humidity levels drop in the air. A cold or cough within the body is usually your body’s way of telling you that it needs to rid excess toxins, waste and bacteria overgrowth. Over 66 million Americans catch colds per year and catching a cold in the fall usually signifies the lungs are being challenged. If a cough is happening, the body is trying to release unwanted toxins to cleanse itself. There is usually an energy imbalance or stagnation, according to Traditional Chinese Medicine. So it is best to harmonize with the body than fight it. Allow it to bring harmony and balance on its own and speed the recovery process with diet and natural remedies. Adding pears, which are in season from August through October, to the diet can boost immunity, release toxins and deliver all that is needed to keep colds and coughs away.

History of the Pear

The pear has been around since the Stone Age. The Chinese cultivate more pears than anywhere in the world, but pears are in abundant supply in the United States and Italy. Pears have been presented as a luxury delicacy and also referred to as the “gift of the gods.” Pears have a multiple of varieties including the common Bosc, Anjou, Bartlett and Seckel. The pear works as an anti-inflammatory in the respiratory system, and they help maintain moisture in the lungs. Pears, due to their sour properties, help eliminate phlegm. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, when the lungs take in dry, pathogenic factors, then the intestines and other areas of the body get involved. Since the pear is a cooling food, it helps prevents lung damage and adds moisture to the lungs and prevents bacteria. If you are a smoker, eating pears is one way to help prevent the lungs from disease.

Other Benefits of the Pear

Pears add approximately three grams of water, non-soluble fiber to the diet. The fiber binds to unwanted toxins and bacterium in the colon and leads the way out of the body, reducing the onset of heart disease, cancer and Type-2 Diabetes. The fiber in pears also helps reduce cholesterol.

Appetites usually diminish with coughs and colds. However, it is important to drink plenty of fluids. Eating pears can be a refreshing way to gain nutrients and help rid the ailments. It is also crucial to communicate with a medical practitioner to properly diagnose the illness and proceed with any additional care.

Onion - The Bacteria Magnet

In 1919 when the flu killed 40 million people there was this Doctor that visited the many farmers to see if he could help them combat the flu... Many of the farmers and their families had contracted it and many died.

The doctor came upon this one farmer and to his surprise, everyone was very healthy. When the doctor asked what the farmer was doing that was different the wife replied that she had placed an unpeeled onion in a dish in the rooms of the home, (probably only two rooms back then). The doctor couldn't believe it and asked if he could have one of the onions and place it under the microscope. She gave him one and when he did this, he did find the flu virus in the onion. It obviously absorbed the bacteria, therefore, keeping the family healthy.

Now, I heard this story from my hairdresser. She said that several years ago, many of her employees were coming down with the flu, and so were many of her customers. The next year she placed several bowls with onions around in her shop. To her surprise, none of her staff got sick. It must work. Try it and see what happens. We did it last year and we never got the flu.

Now there is a P. S. to this for I sent it to a friend in Oregon who regularly contributes material to me on health issues. She replied with this most interesting experience about onions:

Thanks for the reminder. I don't know about the farmer's story...but, I do know that I contacted pneumonia, and, needless to say, I was very ill... I came across an article that said to cut both ends off an onion put it into an empty jar, and place the jar next to the sick patient at night. It said the onion would be black in the morning from the germs...sure enough it happened just like that...the onion was a mess and I began to feel better.

Another thing I read in the article was that onions and garlic placed around the room saved many from the black plague years ago. They have powerful antibacterial, antiseptic properties.

This is the other note. Lots of times when we have stomach problems we don't know what to blame. Maybe it's the onions that are to blame. Onions absorb bacteria is the reason they are so good at preventing us from getting colds and flu and is the very reason we shouldn't eat an onion that has been sitting for a time after it has been cut open.

LEFT OVER ONIONS ARE POISONOUS

I had the wonderful privilege of touring Mullins Food Products, Makers of mayonnaise. Questions about food poisoning came up, and I wanted to share what I learned from a chemist.

Ed, who was our tour guide, is a food chemistry whiz. During the tour, someone asked if we really needed to worry about mayonnaise. People are always worried that mayonnaise will spoil. Ed's answer will surprise you. Ed said that all commercially-made mayo is completely safe.

"It doesn't even have to be refrigerated. No harm in refrigerating it, but it's not really necessary." He explained that the pH in mayonnaise is set at a point that bacteria could not survive in that environment. He then talked about the summer picnic, with the bowl of potato salad sitting on the table, and how everyone blames the mayonnaise when someone gets sick.

Ed says that, when food poisoning is reported, the first thing the officials look for is when the 'victim' last ate ONIONS and where those onions came from (in the potato salad?). Ed says it's not the mayonnaise (as long as it's not homemade mayo) that spoils in the outdoors. It's probably the ONIONS, and if not the onions, it's the POTATOES.

He explained onions are a huge magnet for bacteria, especially uncooked onions. You should never plan to keep a portion of a sliced onion.. He says it's not even safe if you put it in a zip-lock bag and put it in your refrigerator.

It's already contaminated enough just by being cut open and out for a bit, that it can be a danger to you (and doubly watch out for those onions you put in your hotdogs at the baseball park!). Ed says if you take the leftover onion and cook it like crazy you'll probably be okay, but if you slice that leftover onion and put on your sandwich, you're asking for trouble. Both the onions and the moist potato in a potato salad, will attract and grow bacteria faster than any commercial mayonnaise will even begin to break down.

Also, dogs should never eat onions. Their stomachs cannot metabolize onions.

Please remember it is dangerous to cut an onion and try to use it to cook the next day, it becomes highly poisonous for even a single night and creates toxic bacteria which may cause adverse stomach infections because of excess bile secretions and even food poisoning.

Top 12 Detox Superfoods

Even if you don’t plan on doing a detox program, your health will benefit from adding more detox superfoods to your daily diet. There are many great superfoods with detoxifying properties, but here are my top 12 picks.  And, they’re delicious too.

Almonds—are high in fiber, calcium, magnesium, and useable protein that helps stabilize blood sugar and remove impurities from the bowels.

Avocados—lower cholesterol and dilate blood vessels while blocking artery-destroying toxicity. Avocados contain a nutrient called glutathione, which blocks at least 30 different carcinogens while helping the liver detoxify synthetic chemicals. Researchers at the University of Michigan found that elderly people who had high levels of glutathione were healthier and less likely to suffer from arthritis.

Beets—contain a unique mixture of natural plant chemicals (phytochemicals) and minerals that make them superb fighters of infection, blood purifiers, and liver cleansers. They also help boost the body’s cellular intake of oxygen, making beets excellent overall body cleansers. Aphrodite, according to legend, ate beets to retain her beauty. She was definitely on to a good thing since beets, in addition to all the benefits listed above, also help stabilize the blood’s acid-alkaline balance (pH), which in turn supports healthy detoxification.

Blueberries—contain natural aspirin that helps lessen the tissue-damaging effects of chronic inflammation, while lessening pain. Blueberries also act as antibiotics by blocking bacteria in the urinary tract, thereby helping to prevent infections. They have antiviral properties and are loaded with super-detoxifying phytonutrients called proanthocyanidins.

Cabbage—contains numerous anti-cancer and antioxidant compounds and helps the liver break down excess hormones. Cabbage also cleanses the digestive tract and soothes the stomach, which could in part be due to its antibacterial and antiviral properties. Cruciferous vegetables like cabbage (kale is another excellent choice—see below) demonstrate powerful detoxification activity, including neutralizing some of the damaging compounds found in cigarette smoke (and second-hand smoke). They also contain a compound that helps the liver produce adequate amounts of enzymes for detoxification.

Cranberries—have powerful antibiotic and antiviral substances to help the body cleanse harmful bacteria and viruses from the urinary tract.

Flaxseeds and Flaxseed Oil—are loaded with essential fatty acids, particularly the omega-3s. They are essential for many cleansing functions and maintaining a healthy immune system. They are also critical to maintaining a healthy brain. The health of every cell in your body is dependent on getting adequate amounts of essential fatty acids.

Garlic—helps cleanse harmful bacteria, intestinal parasites, and viruses from the body, especially from the blood and intestines. It also helps cleanse buildup from the arteries and lowers blood pressure. Garlic has anti-cancer and antioxidant properties that help detoxify the body of harmful substances. It also helps cleanse the respiratory tract by expelling mucous buildup in the lungs and sinuses. I am referring to fresh garlic, not garlic powder, which has virtually none of the above properties.

Kale—contains powerful anti-cancer and antioxidant compounds that help cleanse the body of harmful substances. It is also high in fiber, which helps cleanse the intestinal tract. Like cabbage, kale helps neutralize compounds found in cigarette smoke and contains a substance that jump-starts the liver’s production of cleansing enzymes.

Legumes—are loaded with fiber that helps lower cholesterol, cleanse the intestines, and regulate blood sugar levels. Legumes also help protect the body against cancer.

Lemons—are superb liver detoxifiers. In addition, they contain high amounts of vitamin C, a vitamin needed by the body to make a substance called glutathione. Glutathione helps ensure that phase 2 liver detoxification keeps pace with phase 1, thereby reducing the likelihood of negative effects from environmental chemicals. Vitamin C and other antioxidants found in lemons are integral to ward off cancer, fight the effects of pollution and cell damage. Fresh lemon juice contains more than 20 anti-cancer compounds and helps balance the body’s pH levels.

Seaweed—could be the most underrated vegetable in the Western world. Studies at McGill University in Montreal showed that seaweeds bind to radioactive waste in the body so it can be removed. Radioactive waste can find its way into the body through some medical tests or through food that has been grown where water or soil is contaminated. Seaweed also binds to heavy metals to help eliminate them from the body. In addition, it is a powerhouse of minerals and trace minerals.

Top 10 Toxic & Detoxing Food