by Lise Alschuler, ND, FABNO
Our internal milieu, as complicated and dynamic as it is, strongly determines the fate of mutated cells. If the mutations sustained within a cell are severe enough to overcome its innate suicide mechanism (apoptosis) and are essentially irreparable, the cell will have the opportunity to survive and divide. Its daughter cells will do the same, and with each generation of cell division, cancer becomes an ever-approaching reality.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, cells do not function in isolation. Cells are highly responsive to their environment. Membrane receptors translate the surrounding environment into cascading signals within the cytoplasm. These signals, in turn, direct the activity of the cell’s DNA and messenger RNA. In this way, the environment within which a cell resides directs the fate of the cell itself. Certain bodily states create perpetual and distinct influences on cells. This interface helps to explain why cancer growth is stimulated under tissue conditions of chronic inflammation.
Chronic inflammation is a complex prolonged internal response to a tissue insult. This response involves the immune and endocrine systems. The initial tissue insult results in a massive release of powerful chemical messenger molecules (cytokines, enzymes, interleukins and prostaglandins). These chemicals stimulate specific activities such as blood vessel growth and also bind to cellular membrane receptors and create cell division and anti-apoptotic signals. A powerful mediator of these reactions is nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB). NF-kB engages the inflammatory response, stimulates cell division, alters immunity and decreases apoptosis.
While all of these actions make sense in an acute inflammatory reaction, chronically elevated levels of NF-kB will result in uncontrolled cellular proliferation. When this proliferation includes a mutated cell line, the result can be disastrous, namely, the condition of cancer. In what appears as a well thought out survival strategy, tumors initiate an inflammatory tissue response. The inflammatory chemicals that flood into the area, in turn, perpetuate the survival and growth of the cancerous tumor. Thus, cancer and inflammation becomes a viscous and mutually enhancing cycle.
Breaking this vicious cycle of inflammation can be accomplished by interrupting the production of NF-kB and its subsequent messenger molecules. Basic lifestyle adjustments can go a long way towards minimizing inflammation. Sufficient sleep, adequate exercise, fresh air, a plant-based whole foods diet, and minimal stress singly and synergistically alter cytokine production patterns in our tissues away from NF-kB stimulation and inflammation. This has been demonstrated in overweight individuals with insulin resistance. Weight loss reduces inflammatory markers such as NF-kB, Il-8 and IL-6. Sufficient sleep decreases IL-6 levels. Adequate exercise lowers C-reactive protein, a powerful stimulator of inflammation. These are but a few of numerous well established links between lifestyle and inflammatory biomarkers.
Additionally, antioxidant compounds tip the body away from inflammation. Free radical reactions are basis of the tissue damage of inflammation. Free radicals are molecules deficient in an electron. This deficiency causes them to greedily strip an electron from a neighboring molecule. These neighboring molecules then become electron deficient themselves and, in turn, rob another molecule of its electron. This process will go on indefinitely and leave in its wake tremendous tissue destruction and inflammation. Antioxidant compounds put a halt to this process by donating their own electrons. This is one of the main reasons why the flavonoid compounds (colored pigments with electrons to donate) of fruit and vegetables are so critical for comprehensive anti-inflammation.
Supplemental antioxidants such as alpha-lipoic acid, L-glutathione, ECGC from green tea, bromelain, curcumin from turmeric, probiotics and vitamins C, D and E are all electron donors. Each of these compounds is effective in reducing chronic inflammation as evidenced by symptom relief and lowering of certain inflammation biomarkers (such as c-Reactive Protein, homocysteine, IL-8 and IL-6) with their use. A comprehensive anti-inflammatory plan will lower inflammation, and in doing so, will reduce a major impetus to cancer development.
Inflammation is the body’s call to action. Key lifestyle changes along with carefully selected supplements can quiet this inflammatory cry. In doing so, the risk for cancer development, not to mention insulin resistance and diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, autoimmune disease and heart disease, will decrease. Cultivating a healthy internal landscape alters the behavior of our genes away from inflammation and cancer formation, while shifting our cells into a state of vital health.
Dr. Alschuler has been a practicing naturopathic physician for 16 years. She is board certified in naturopathic oncology. She is the immediate past-President of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians and member of the American Board of Naturopathic Oncology Board of Medical Examiners. Dr. Alschuler is the Vice President of Quality and Education at Emerson Ecologics, a supplement distribution company based in Bedford NH. She also provides naturopathic oncology at Naturopathic Specialists, based out of Scottsdale AZ. Dr. Alschuler co-authored The Definitive Guide to Cancer: An Integrative Approach to Prevention, Treatment and Healing, 3rd ed. (Tenspeed Press, 2010). Visit www.DrLise.net for more information.
For more information on the link between chronic inflammation, immune dysregulation, insulin resistance, and metabolic toxicity and cancer formation, see The Definitive Guide to Cancer: An Integrative Approach to Prevention, Treatment and Healing, 3rd edition (Celestial Arts, 2010).
ABOUT THIS BOOK
Information is power--and when you or a loved one is faced with a cancer diagnosis, the need for accurate and trusted medical information becomes urgent. The Definitive Guide to Cancer, now in its third edition, encourages you to take an integrative approach that embraces both alternative and conventional therapies across the spectrum of cancer prevention, treatment, and healing. Naturopathic physician Lise N. Alschuler and medical journalist Karolyn A. Gazella present an overview of what cancer is, its causes and preventative strategies, an in-depth approach to integrative treatment options, descriptions of key body functions, and discussions of more than twenty specific cancers. This comprehensive guide delivers informed hope along with effective tools for reclaiming your vitality in the midst of cancer treatment, healing, and recovery.