Certain Hair Products May Increase Breast Cancer Risk

New research findings have uncovered that black women who use certain hair dyes and white women using certain chemical relaxants have a higher risk of breast cancer. The study involved over 4,000 women.

The study found that black women who used dark brown of black hair dyes had a 51 percent higher risk for breast cancer. White women who used hair relaxers had a 71 percent higher risk for breast cancer. Although the study uncovered an association between these hair products and breast cancer risk, it did not explain the connection.

The study’s lead author Adana Llanos explained, “Our findings do not suggest that simply using hair dyes, relaxers or both will cause a woman to get breast cancer. The reality is that we regularly encounter a variety of harmful exposures, which we have no control over.”

The takeaway here is that we should be limiting our exposure to harsh chemicals as much as possible.

Harsh hair products increase cancer risk

There has been a long-standing debate regarding the safety of hair chemicals like dyes and relaxants. There haven’t been many conclusive studies on the topic, so it’s often been unclear whether or not these products are safe to use.

In the past, studies on hair products and safety didn’t include black women. This study is the first of its kind The women in the study were asked about their use of hair products. Among those surveyed were 2,280 breast cancer survivors.

The products that the researchers analyzed included hair dyes, chemical relaxers, and deep conditioners that contained cholesterol or placenta.

It isn’t clear why there’s an association between the use of these hair products and breast cancer. Llanos suggested, “One hypothesis is that the chemical composition of hair products marketed for and used among whites may differ from the products marketed for use by African-Americans. More research is needed to determine specifically which compounds and chemicals are dangerous and even which specific consumer products and brands contain those chemicals.”

After adjusting for other factors, Llanos suggests that the association between hair product use and breast cancer may come down to lifestyle habits.

Don’t fret

Toxicologist Linda Loretz explained, “Those who use cosmetics and personal care products can feel confident that they are protected by a combination of strong federal safety regulations enacted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration [FDA] and the science-based safety assessments from the companies that manufacture these products.”

Does this mean that you need to stop treating your hair in fear of breast cancer? No, not necessarily. There are lots of factors that can contribute to a person’s risk of developing breast cancer, such as family history, genetics, and lifestyle habits. If you are concerned about your own risk, you should speak to your doctor.

Why the Baking Soda Cancer Treatment is False and Dangerous

In 2016, the American Cancer society estimated that 1, 685, 210 people would be diagnosed with cancer. Of that number, they predicted that 595, 690 would die from the disease. Based on current trends and statistics, the National Cancer Institute predicts that nearly 40% of men and women in this country will have cancer at some point in their lifetime. (4, 5)

There’s no way around it, those statistics are scary. Cancer cases are rising at a faster rate than we are coming out with new treatments, and the ones that exist are almost as scary as the diagnoses itself. It’s no wonder that many people consider turning to alternative medicine when given a grim prognosis. For many, they have nothing left to lose.

The Problem with Alternative Approaches to Cancer Treatment

At The Hearty Soul, we love alternative medicine and believe that it has a place in preventing and treating many illnesses, infections, and diseases. That being said, we are also firm believers in science and the need for treatments, especially for something as deadly as cancer, to be properly studied and verified before people turn to it as their first line of defense over conventional methods.

A big problem with unproven alternative methods for cancer treatment out there are the harm they can inflict on vulnerable people and also to the reputation of alternative medicine and its practitioners. The baking soda cancer cure is one of these unsubstantiated claims that discredits actual proven, holistic medicine.

The Baking Soda Cancer Treatment

You may have seen popular memes or articles being shared on social media that suggest cancer cannot thrive in an alkaline environment, and that an acidic body is a cause of cancer. Based on that hypothesis, some practitioners have suggested that baking soda can make your body alkaline, kill cancer cells and prevent them from coming back. Sounds too good to be true, right? Let’s unpack it. (1, 2)

Alkalinity vs Acidity in the Body

To understand the baking soda cancer treatment and it’s basis, we must first understand the body and its relationship with pH, which operates on a sliding scale between 0 (the most acidic) to a pH of 14 (most alkaline or basic). (1, 3)

This premise of the baking soda cancer treatments rests upon the assumption that we can alter the pH level inside our body. The problem with this theory is that every organ in our bodies has a different pH, with wider or more restricted range as to how much it can change. For example, the stomach has a pH level of 2 and saliva has a pH level of approximately 7.0-7.5.

When it comes to being able to alter the pH of our blood, this must remain within a tight range of 7.35-7.45 at all times, otherwise the human body would go into a state of acidosis; thankfully, our organs do an excellent job ensuring we maintain homeostasis at all times.

The bottom line: We cannot change the pH of our blood or anything else in our body using diet (or baking soda) except for our urine, which is what people typically measure and assume reflects the pH of their blood as well. (1, 3) For more information on the acidity and alkalinity of the body and why the alkaline diet does not work.

Cancer is Caused by Gene Mutations, Not Acidity

The idea that cancer is caused by acidity in the body comes from misinterpreted information from a study done by Dr. Otto Warburg, who won the Nobel Prize in 1930 for his contributions to chemistry and how cellular respiration works. (1)

What Dr. Warburg helped discover was how cancer cells originate from normal, healthy cells already present inside your body. Instead of using oxygen for energy, cancer cells use glycolysis, or the fermentation of glucose, to grow and divide. This process produces lactic acid, meaning that it is not acidic conditions or low oxygen that cause cancer, but instead irreversible damage to the cell’s ability to derive energy from respiration (oxygen). A low pH and low oxygen levels are a byproduct of cancer growth, not a cause. (1, 2)

Unfortunately, people have taken this information and twisted it to make claims like “Every person who gets cancer’s body is too acidic”, and that they can make their body more alkaline through diet or in this case, baking soda.

What Really Causes Cancer

There are more than one hundred types of cancer that currently exist, all named for where they occur in the body. While they are all different and require various methods of treatment, one thing unites all of them: They are causes by changes or mutations to the DNA within normal, healthy cells. (6, 7)

Inside every cell in your body, there are genes that tell the cell how to function, grow, and divide. Errors in this cause the cell to stop its normal function and may cause them to become cancerous. (7)

These gene mutations can be caused by a variety of factors, including: (7)

• Smoking
• Radiation
• Viruses
• Cancer-causing chemicals (carcinogens)
• Obesity
• Hormones
• Chronic illness
• Lack of Exercise

There is not a “cure-all” when it comes to cancer, baking soda included.

Early Signs That Cancer Is Growing In Your Body

Routine check-ups and tests are not a reliable form of cancer detection. In order to detect the disease on time you should also notice any strange and unexplained symptom you might experience. Here are the 20 early cancer signs that should never be ignored:

1. Wheezing and shortness of breath

Both symptoms are the earliest signs of the development of lung cancer in your body.

2. Chest pain and chronic cough

Lung tumors and leukemia can mimic symptoms of a chronic cough, and some patients have also reported pain down the arm accompanying the cough and chest pain.

3. Recurrent fever and infections

Frequent fever and infections can be a sign of leukemia, a type of blood tumor that develops in the bone marrow. Once it starts, leukemia makes the marrow produce abnormal white blood cells which attack your immune system.

4. Difficulty swallowing

Although often ignored, difficulty swallowing may be a sign of esophageal, throat or lung cancer.

5. Swollen lymph nodes on the underarms, groin and neck

These symptoms often indicate negative changes in the lymph system which are probably caused by cancer.

6. Bruising and bleeding that don’t stop

This is a sign that there’s something wrong with your platelets and red blood cells and may be caused by leukemia. The abnormal amount of white blood cells caused by the disease can crowd out the red blood cells in your body and hinder the blood’s ability to clot, which will result in blood loss.

7. Fatigue

Fatigue is one of the most overlooked signs of cancer. However, being tired doesn’t automatically indicate cancer – it should be looked in combination with other symptoms. If you’re feeling tired for no reason at all, we suggest visiting your doctor.

8. Pelvic and abdominal pain

Cramps and pain in the abdomen and pelvis accompanied by bloating are often a sign of ovarian cancer.

9. Bloating and sudden abdominal weight gain

These symptoms usually indicate ovarian cancer, especially if they go on for a long time.

10. Rectal bleeding and blood in the stool

If you notice blood in your stool you should visit a doctor immediately as it may be an early sign of colorectal cancer.

11. Sudden weight loss

If you’ve started losing weight all of a sudden, you should be concerned as it may be a sign that the cancer has spread to your liver and is affecting your appetite.

12. Stomachache or upset stomach

If your stomach is upset frequently, it may be a symptom of colorectal cancer.

13. Swollen and inflamed nipples

If you notice any kind of change in your nipples such as inflammation or swelling you should visit a doctor as it may be a sign of breast cancer.

14. Nipple changes

Twisted, flattened or invertednipples are some of the earliest signs of breast cancer.

15. Heavy and frequent periods

These symptoms are usually related to endometrial and uterine cancer. If you’re suspecting that you might be suffering from this type of cancer, get a vaginal ultrasound to be sure.

16. Changes on the nails

Streaks and dots in and under the nails, clubbing and pale or white nails can indicate lung or liver cancer.

17. Swelling in the face

Swelling, redness and puffiness in the face may be caused by small tumors in your lungs which are blocking the blood flow leading to your face.

18. Sore lumps that don’t heal

Melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma are 3 types of skin cancer that may create sore lumps on your skin that bleed easily and don’t heal.

19. Feeling full and being unable to eat

This is another sign of ovarian cancer – some women don’t have appetite and won’t eat even after skipping a few meals.

20. Pain in the back and lower right side

Pain in the lower right side of the back may be a sign of liver cancer, but it can also indicate breast cancer as well due to breast tumors pressing backwards into the chest.

No matter the gender or age, you should notice any unusual symptoms and address them appropriately. The sooner you notice and treat the problems, the higher your chances of survival. Cancer is a disease which can harm your health beyond repair and even worse, it may have fatal consequences, so it’s nothing to be trifled with. Like with any other disease, it’s best to prevent rather than treat it later, so make sure to live a healthy and active lifestyle and eat a healthy diet rich in foods that prevent cancer.

The Cancer Dies When You Eat These Five Foods, It’s Time To Start Eating Them

Cancer is a class of diseases characterized by out-of-control cell growth. There are over 100 different types of cancer, and each is classified by the type of cell that is initially affected. When the human body is formed, undergoes a stage named angiogenesis during which all blood vessels are created. However, this activity does not stop after we are born. It is also present later in our lives when we suffer injuries that cut through our skin, veins, or arteries, and the need for rebuilding the blood canals arises.

Very often, this process is related with cancer spread, and it is orchestrated by what are called activators and inhibitors. Almost all researches related to cancer focus mainly on the inhibitors, however, it is actually the activators who promote and boost the vascular growing of cells, so that new blood vessels could be created.

The 5 groceries listed below are actually anti – angiogenesis, and that is the reason why they help stop cancer growth, because they affect the feeding of cancers.

1. THE BLUEBERRY & RASPBERRY EFFECT

Blueberries and raspberries are plants that are well known by their anti – cancer capabilities, especially when it comes to ovarian cancer. Phytochemicals are the reason why they have their dark hue and the secret of their effectiveness, which are proven to be great for cancer prevention. Furthermore, blueberries and raspberries are also known to have a decreasing effect on oxifative stress and angiogenesis.

2. COFFEE AND GREEN TEA

Besides the fact that both coffee and green tea, are the most popular daily consummated drinks, they decrease the chances of cancer development.

3. THE TOMATO EFFECT

According to recent Harvard research, there is up to 50% reduction in chances for prostate cancer in people who regularly ate cooked tomatoes. It was proven that tomatoes are incredibly effective in inhibiting the angiogenesis, and the reason why this fruits are so effective is that they contain high amounts of a substance called lycopene, which has strong anti – angiogenic properties.

Experts explain that lycopene is easily distributed through the body’s digestion system due to the fact it breaks down in our bodies’ fat. In addition, lycopene concentration increases when it is subjected to higher temperatures. That is why cooked tomatoes are very effective when it comes to stopping cancer growth.

4. DARK CHOCOLATE

For many people this is almost unbelievable. Dark chocolate is an incredibly tasty desert, which also happens to be incredibly healthy to eat, because it is good for you heart condition, your overall happiness, but also for fighting cancer cells.

5. TURMERIC

This plant has various health benefits, and it is well known by the effectiveness in fat reduction, turmeric is also used as a preventive measure against cancer.

Do You Know The Danger of Turning On The A/C After Starting The Engine?

Please do not turn on A/C as soon as you enter the car. Open the windows after you enter your car, and then turn on the AC after a couple of minutes.

Here’s why: According to research, the car’s dashboard, seats, a/c ducts, in fact, all of the plastic objects in your vehicle, emit Benzene, a Cancer causing toxin. A big carcinogen… Prolonged exposure will cause Leukemia and increases the risk of some cancers.

Benzene is known to cause cancer, based on evidence from studies in both people and laboratory animals. The link between benzene and cancer has largely focused on leukemia and other cancers of blood cells.

Rates of leukemia, particularly acute myeloid leukemia (AML), have been found to be higher in studies of workers exposed to high levels of benzene, such as those in the chemical, shoemaking, and oil refining industries.

So the hard part here is that most of us turn on the A/C even without thinking.

This is because whenever we leave our cars outside, we close the windows. Whenever we leave it in the shade, it accumulates 400-800 mg of benzene.

When your car is parked in the sun and the temperature gets quite a bit higher, the level of benzene can increase to 2000-4000 mg and that is a staggering 40 times more than the permitted level.

When you sit in the car with closed windows, you inhale the benzene when in fact it affects your liver, bone tissue and kidneys. Our organism needs a lot of time so that it can eliminate it.

The cars’ manuals say that we should open the car’s windows before turning on the A/C, but they don’t tell you why.

Medical explanation:

Before it starts to cool the air, the air conditioner ejects all the heated air out, and the benzene with it. It’s a toxin that causes cancer.

So, when you sit in the car and you don’t notice any smell of heated plastic, open the windows for several minutes and then turn on the A/C. Leave the windows open for several minutes more when you turn on the car.

You must start practicing this so that you can protect yourself and everyone around you from toxins. The consequences can be fatal.

Scientists Discovered That Jackfruit Is A Strong Cancer Killer

Colon cancer is one of the most dangerous and hard to cure cancers that also create additional complications. According to  N. Cancer Institute, more than 1.16 million people suffered from this sickness in the USA in 2013.

Nature has again provided a cure for this deadly condition, like in many other similar cases, through the delicacy fruit named jackfruit. This fruit grows in hot tropical areas in the world and people from these parts use it to prepare many kinds of recipes.

Jackfruit is believed to be a strong cancer killer. This fruit is rich with nutrients such as isoflavones, lignans, phytonutrients and saponins that benefit the health and are able to fight cancer.

These nutrients prevent the flow of free radicals that are the main cause for cancer and other chronic sickness.

PHYTONUTRIENTS

Phytonutrients prevent the creation of the cancer cell in its first stage. The jackfruit can cure a person who suffers from belly ulcers and remarkably improves his/her  health condition. There are thousands of the phytonutrients discovered and recognized by scientists that have the capability to provide remarkable benefits to overall health. Phytonutrients originate from food based on plants.

Scientists are still researching to find out how these phytonutrients actually work to cure cancer.

SAPONINS

The saponins are very important and strong colon cancer killers.  A research has discovered that these phytonutrients caused mitotic arrest. In the condition of the leukemia cells. The research also showed that it is useful for various cases in creating remission. Saponins attack the outer layers of the cancer cells, by linking them and stopping them from growing further.

LIGNANS AND ISOFLAVONES

Isoflavones and Lignansbelong to phytoestrogens. They are attached on the receptors of estrogens. These nutrients are believed to be able to lower the risk of the endometrial cancer. In 2006, the N. Cancer Institute published a research that covered about 500 women that were chosen random. According to the research, the group of women that consumed largest levels of isoflavones leaves and the lignans from the jackfruit showed lower cancer rates than the ones in control group.

PROTECTION OF CELLULAR DNA

The jackfruit is also rich with antioxidants that are important for protecting the cellular DNA from the potential damage that could be caused by free oxygen radicals. And it is also successful in fighting already created mutations. Therefor the anti-cancer benefits of jackfruit do not stop here. The value of this fruit is enormous. It lowers the risk of colon cancer and is fiber rich. It is an incredible colon cleanser and also cleanses the digestive tract from toxins.

STRENGTHENING THE IMMUNE SYSTEM

Jackfruit is rich with vitamin C and with simple sugars that are important for strengthening the immune system in humans. A research was performed on mice that involved an analysis of influence of sugars that exist in the pulp of jackfruit on immunity. The results of the research showed that jackfruit consisted of polysaccharides that help improve the function of the phagocytic cell, which is part of the immune system. See below the nutritional value.

NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF JACKFRUIT

• For lowering the risk of colorectal cancer and improving the digestive system, jackfruit is the number one fruit.
• 1 cup jackfruit has 155 calories and just 4 calories from the fat
• The fruit has minimal quantities of saturated fats, cholesterol and also sodium.
• It is rich with vitamin A, vitamin C, folate, niacin, thiamine and riboflavin.
• It is rich with minerals such as potassium, zinc, magnesium, iron, calcium, manganese, copper, selenium and phosphorus.
• Contains simple sugars that are exceptional for human health
• Only one cup jackfruit provides more than 11% of daily fiber that your body needs.

This fruit is so delicious that it is almost impossible to satisfy your taste buds with just one cup, once you start consuming it. In China, jackfruit is also able to reduce the negative effects caused by alcohol.

Can You Get Cancer from Eating Tofu?

Tofu is a staple of vegetarianism. And the vegetarian diet is believed to help prevent cancer. So doesn't it stand to reason that tofu can also help prevent cancer — or, at the very least, not cause it?

Well, it's complicated.

Tofu is a soy-based food, and there is growing concern over a possible link between soy and breast cancer. There has also been speculation that soy might help protect against other cancers, like uterine and prostate. This is because soy contains estrogenic chemicals known as isoflavones. And estrogen (or any substance that acts like it) can have both positive and negative effects on the human body.

On one hand, estrogen has a protective influence. It's likely one of the main reasons women have a much lower risk of heart disease before menopause. On the other, too much of it may assist in activating cancers (like breast cancer) that contain estrogen-receptor cells.

It's believed that soy isoflavones mimic these processes. However, there are other things we know about the chemicals that may contradict this theory. For instance, it has been discovered that isoflavones can also have some anti-estrogenic effects in the body. And, they tend to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capabilities as well.

Of course, these facts alone don't allow us to make the leap that consuming soy-based foods causes or prevents cancer. It's necessary for us to see what research says. And, so far, what we have is a mixed bag.

Research conducted on lab rats points to a possible increased risk. However, rats don't metabolize soy in the same ways humans do, so such studies can't be definitive on their own. Furthermore, studies evaluating different populations of women have come up short on any soy-breast cancer link. In addition, new research is also casting doubt on the idea that soy protects against other cancers.

So, can you get cancer from eating tofu? Right now, there's not a definitive answer to that question. However, current evidence suggests that most soy-based foods — like tofu, edamame, miso and tempeh — are safe. In fact, the only caution doctors typically give patients is to avoid soy-based supplements. That's because the soy in supplements is processed differently than it is in natural foods.

If you still have concerns about a potential link between soy and cancer — particularly if you're a breast cancer survivor — talk to your doctor or oncologist before making any dietary changes.