about GREENS (long)

[Guest guest]

For Cheryl-Anne, Sandy (UK Support) and others interested in

alternative options,

I was dx in fall 1998 and within a few months was also under the care

of my first naturopath. She was about 15 years out of the top

naturopathic college in Seattle. What I remember her telling me about

the green and blue-green algae is that they were like filters and if

harvested from polluted waters, they were full of toxins and heavy

metals.....so she did not advise using them and I stayed away from

them.

I now use a product called Greens First (www.greensfirst.com). A

serving contains 2500mg of barley grass, chlorella and

spirulina....but this is less than 25% of the contents of this

product. A serving is comparable to the antioxidants in over 10

servings of fruits and veggies....so a good way to make sure you get

plenty each day. In a short period of time I discovered that every

alternative medical person that I was working with in Eugene was

recommending this same product...one reason is because it is

palatable. Don't know if you have ever swigged a shot of wheatgrass

juice, but it will make your eyeballs spin!

So, with Cheryl-Anne's question about spirulina, I asked my present

naturopath....who is more recently graduated from the Portland

naturopathic college and was one of the first 5 NDs in the US to do a

residency in oncology. I asked about the concern that supergreens

(spirulina and chlorella) are polluted with toxins....she said that

was not a concern now. The industry has developed and most of these

products are cultivated in clean waters (but it is good to know their

source) rather than just harvested where they are naturally growing.

I gave her a brief synopsis of Cheryl-Anne's situation with low red

count on IM and asked if she thought it would help the anemia......

Tina did not think that it would help drug induced anemia but said

that there would be no harm in trying it. She did caution that it

should not be used by anyone taking a blood thinner because it is

high in Vit. K.

So, what is it about green superfoods. There is a long list of

benefits that are attributed to them, including improve digestion,

detoxify the body, enhance growth and tissue repair, and stimulate

immune response:

Chlorella contains higher chlorophyll than any other known plant, it

is a complete protein food. It has a particularly beneficial effect

on intestinal health, stimulating peristaltic activity and promoting

the growth of friendly bacteria (so might help anyone dealing with IM

diarrhea).

Spirulina is an easily produced algae. It is a complete protein,

providing all 21 amino acids and the entire B complex of vitamins,

including B12, and is rich in beta carotene, minerals, trace

minerals, and essential fatty acids.

The green grasses (barley grass, alfalfa, wheat grass) contain all

the known mineral and trace mineral elements, a balanced range of

vitamins and hundreds of enzymes for digestion.

from Healthy Healing.... Page, ND, PhD:

" The MOST therapeutic ingredient of all the green grasses and the

super green foods is chlorophyll. The chlorophyll molecule is

remarkabley similar to human hemoglobin in composition, except that

it carries magnesium in it center instead of iron. Consuming

chlorophyll-rich foods helps the body to build red blood cells.

Chlorophyll is a primary aid for detoxification of organs, especially

the liver.

(This is sort of like ingesting glucosamine sulfate, a component of

connective tissue, to help with joint repair.....which has now been

documented even by 'western medicine'....does this hold for red blood

cells???).

For MJ.......Chlorophyll is easily digested and rich in Vit K, which

is necessary for blood clotting. It is used by naturopathic

physicians for women with heavy menstrual bleeding as well as for

anemia.

For Amy.....Vit K also helps form a compound in the urine that

inhibits growth of calcium oxalate crystals (common kidney stones),

so chlorophyll may help with this very painful condition. "

______________

For Cheryl-Anne.....I did quite a bit of other reading and I am not

sure that spirulina by itself is an exceptional product.......but

there is much to potentially gain from using any or a combination of

these products in a reasonable amount (see next post about mega doses

by OHSU pharmacist Bubalo).

Now I will tackle the lecture given by the OHSU oncology

pharmacist.....and his point of view.

C.