Michael Murray, ND is a busy guy, active practice in Oregon, does a lot of research and speaking, also works for/with the Natural Factors supplement company. The seminar dealt with the role of natural medicine as mainly complementary, not stand-alone alternative to, conventional surgery, chemo and radiation. He reviewed some research that antioxidants, good nutrition and certain herbs and nutritional supplements reduce side effects of treatment, prolong life, prolong remission, enhance immunity and natural killer cell activity, improve quality of life etc. Selenium, Zinc, A, B6 and B12, folacin, CoQ10, Vitamin E and C. Minerals and fibre. Water, green drinks, fruits, vegetables and grains, no dairy, fish instead of meat. Indole -3 carbinol, cruciferous extracts, calcium D-glucarate, flax seed, essential fatty acids especially omega 3. But then he put up several slides detailing specifics of several substances like quercetin and curcumin and I couldn't write fast enough to get it all down. Here are the top 8 items the research finds to be unequivocally helpful. Murray ranked them according to his interpretation of their effectiveness. 1. Proteolytic enzymes 2. Curcumin (turmeric) 3. Quercetin 4. Maitake D fraction and M,D fraction 5. PSP/PSK coreolus mushroom 6. Polyerga (forgot what this is) 7. Modified Citrus Pectin 8. IP6 (still no human studies, but animal studies unequivocal showing benefit) I understood from this, although he didn't spell it out (because these are dangerous times when it comes to recommending cancer therapy) that these 8 items are also stand-alone natural therapies, not just complementary. Quercetin has several special features but I didn't get them down. Curcumin balances Phase I and Phase II detoxification pathways, which is part of why it is tremendously effective in reducing chemo toxicity. That is, it sets up the Phase II pathways to cope with the byproducts of Phase I toxin breakdown, as Phase I activity can result in a surge of toxicity as part of its normal course. So having a strong Phase II at the ready is very important. Garlic, ginger and capsaicin also work this way but curcumin is outstanding according to Murray. Flavonoid extracts: quercetin, bilberry, grapeseed, milk thistle, hawthorn, green tea and gingko. All effective and helpful, synergistic with AO and C. He brought up the beta carotene study with the lung cancer patients and I raised my hand to interrupt. He was reluctant to take my comment because of time constraints, but I just sent him a telepathic "please listen to me" from the back of the room, and he relented and allowed me to rebut. I pointed out that the "beta carotene" in the study was a synthetic with opposite effects to true beta carotene, and that the study has been used to discredit beta carotene as a supplement. He countered that he believes beta carotene alone, even in natural form, is ineffective without complentary substances. (I think he's wrong, that other studies DO show natural beta carotene on its own to be helpful. But this study was big, and pharma-funded, and the natural beta carotene studies were small, so I think he just proved my point -- that the study has been quoted by many, even naturopathic and alternative practitioners, as "proof" that beta carotene alone is harmful. Similar to what happened with the Vitamin E and heart disease studies. The big pharma-funded studies used only one, artificial component of the E molecules where the Shute Brothers had used all 8 or 9 in their natural form. But the Shute bros. were discredited, and so was Vit. E for heart disease.) He talked about breast and prostate cancer and dietary ground flax seed which provide lignan precursors. And here I learned a tremendously helpful thing. Many people can't turn the lignan precursors into the beneficial lignans that then reduce estrogen and testosterone, because that involves healthy bowel lining with healthy gut flora. Candida and food intolerances mean the lining isn't healthy. There are prebiotics and probiotics, and fructooligosaccharides, but unless the gut is healthy, those flora don't stay in the gut and the FOS just makes gas (my problem, in a nutshell!). Like pouring seeds onto stones. No grow. They die and the Candida and other bacteria that don't digest the lignan precursors take over. Research from Scandinavia and Canada on propionic gut bacteria have shown how they help the acidophilus and bifidus to stay and recolonize, which is how the precursors become lignans that can block estrogen. Without them, the precursors are mere fibre. So of course Murray with Natural Factors has developed a proprietary supplement of these bacteria. Which I intend to buy, with the money I made demonstrating flax oil. I did have a moment of fear, thinking that all these months of eating flax were for nought because of my longstanding bowel dysbiosis. Proteolytic enzymes: pancreatic chymotrypsin and trypsin, bromelain, papain, fungal proteases, Serratia peptidase. Dose: pancreatin 300-900 mg 3xday before meals; chymotrypsin 180-540 mg 3xday before meals; trypsin 3-9mg 3xday before meals. Bromelain 250-750 mg 3xday between meals. Fungal proteases 15,000-45,000 USP 3xday. Papain rarely used alone, 50-150 mg 3xday with other proteolytics. Serratia peptidase 50-150 mg 3xday. He suggests a balance of animal and vegetable-derived enzymes because they have different actions. Zymactive, Wobenzym, Peptizyme SP for example. He mentioned the paradoxical findings that tumors secrete their own proteolytic enzymes in order to invade surrounding tissues, and that treatment promise is shown in several enzyme-inhibitors found in soy among other foods. How proteolytic enzymes taken by mouth work to defeat the cancer when the tumor makes its own is not entirely clear, and how inhibitors taken by mouth work when active enzymes are critical for overall health is also not clear, but each of these seems to target cancer and according to Murray, blood levels can be measured and shown to increase with oral supplementation. Maitake therapeutic range: based on level of D or M,D fraction and body weight, typically 35-70 mg per day. Maintenance/prevention dose is typically 5-15 mg 20 minutes before food or on an empty stomach. Curcumin: anticancer effects shown at all steps of cancer formation: initiation, promotion and progression. Also an antioxidant, inhibits nitrosamines, raises glutathione, detoxicant, suppresses COX-2, inhibits angiogenesis, inhibits epidermal growth factor receptor sites, inhibits fibroblast growth factor, inhibits nuclear factor kappa beta, increases apoptosis of cancer cells, inhibits enzymes within tumor that promote growth. Dose is 200-400 mg 3xday. I wrote him a note thanking him for letting me speak about the beta carotene controversy and told him about the annieappleseedproject site and Amazons. I said that we were a diverse group and some of us were long-term survivors who have done very well with alternatives alone or limited conventional treatment plus alternatives. I also invited him to contact Ann Fonfa and contribute to the project. Aliss T. Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. 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