"People
should still eat healthy food" - Do we rely too heavily on
supplements to provide antioxidants?
Perhaps. But it can be challenging
to change bad habits. There’s the idea that if we want to change our habits, it
is usually easier to add something new rather than take away something. For
example, it might be easier for someone to add a dance class for exercise to
their weekly routine than it would be to give up smoking. So, for people who
are making efforts to improve their health after maybe years of not paying
attention to it, it might be easier for them to take a pill -a supplement-
rather than change their eating patterns or learning to cook food and shop or
order at a restaurant in new ways. Also, I can think of another instance
where supplements could be good - someone who was recently getting sober after
years of using drugs or alcohol. Supplements could support their
recovery. In such cases, taking supplements would be an improvement. The shift
in eating patterns would come later as the next step.
That being said, healthy food is preventive medicine. The definition of "healthy food" will differ from person to person based on their constitution. Ayruveda takes the view that proper food IS proper medicine. If
a person is able to get complete nutrition -including antioxidants- from their
chosen diet this would be the best way to go. The downside to supplements is that they are (usually)
isolated nutrients perhaps even synthetically produced. Also purchasing
supplements will increase anyone’s grocery bill significantly. Many
people (I'm generalizing) are going off commercials or dubious internet results
for making nutrition decisions and may end up taking supplements that are expensive and not effective or even necessary.
Fruit smoothie with coconut milk and
acai berries anyone?
"Aspirin
a day could dramatically cut cancer risk" What are your thoughts on
this?
I have two family members with
anaphylactic aspirin allergies so even though I am not allergic to it myself, I
happen to not ever think about taking it. Internet research seems to reveal
that yes, aspirin might help cut down the risk of cancers especially colon
cancer. Aspirin does this by reducing chronic inflammation which can support
the growth of cancer cells. Seems like an inexpensive and simple preventive
measure to take for people who are worried about cancer risk.
What I do know about aspirin is that
it is derived from willow bark and this medicine is known to Traditional
Chinese Medicine, Ayruveda and the Native Americans. As I will be starting my
first year at ACCHS in the fall, I can't say for sure how TCM views aspirin or
willow bark but will be interesting to keep the aspirin-cancer connection in
mind as I learn more about the body and herbs from the TCM perspective.
From a chemical perspective, aspirin
a simple chemical known as acetylsalicylic acid this is very similar to salicylic
acid which is found in wart removers! And I have used this product
successfully. Are warts related to cancer? Yes. We know that HPV (genital
warts) leads to cancer ...so now I'm thinking that there's really something to
the aspirin finding. That's great - aspirin is inexpensive compared to most
pharmaceuticals. The studies done on the cancer-aspirin connection seem to have compared people who were prescribed low doses of aspirin for 6 months or more by their doctor for other reasons and then were compared epidemiologically to people of similar demographics to see which group had the greater risk for cancer. I mention this because now I am thinking it could be meaningful to take a low dose of aspirin for 6-8 months. Maybe I'll try this to hedge my bets.
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