Tuesday, April 27, 2010 Breast milk is documented to be the best food possible for infants and breastfeeding is known to have enormous health benefits for moms, too. It turns out, however, that breast milk has even more amazing properties. Swedish researchers have found that it contains a compound that kills cancer cells in humans.

The substance, dubbed HAMLET (which stands for Human Alpha-lactalbumin Made Lethal to Tumor cells), is comprised of a protein and a fatty acid. Although found naturally in breast milk, scientists are not sure if HAMLET develops spontaneously or if it requires interaction with the acidic digestive system of a newborn.

HAMLET was first discovered by chance several years ago by researchers who were investigating the antibacterial properties of breast milk. Scientists soon began testing it on cancer cells and the findings were nothing short of astounding.

For example, studies in the lab showed that HAMLET was able to kill 40 different types of cancer cells. What's more, in animal studies the natural substance was found to be effective in killing one of the most deadly types of brain cancers -- glioblastoma.

However, HAMLET was only recently tested for the first time on humans. Scientists at Lund University and the University of Gothenburg in Sweden tried HAMLET on patients suffering from cancer of the bladder. The result? After treatment with the breast milk-derived therapy, the cancer patients excreted dead cancer cells in their urine.

The Swedish research team is working to see if the compound can be eventually developed into a viable cancer therapy. Next on their agenda: tests to see if HAMLET can treat skin cancer, a variety of brain tumors and tumors in the mucous membranes.

So what exactly does HAMLET do that makes it such a potent cancer fighter? In a paper recently published in the science journal PLoS One, scientists Roger Karlsson, Maja Puchades and Ingela Lanekoff of the University of Gothenburg discussed research showing how the substance appears to interact with cell membranes. Using a fluorescent red tracking substance to show the exact location of HAMLET, the researchers clearly demonstrated that the compound binds to the membranes of tumor cells, killing them. However, HAMLET does no harm whatsoever to surrounding healthy cells.

Written by by: S. L. Baker, for NaturalNews.com

Off for some sun and surf? Maybe you're thinking of getting in a bit of pre-tanning before you hit the beach? Perhaps you're even considering taking up the local tanning salon on one of those introductory offers that keep arriving in the mail? Beware - risk lurks behind closed doors.

The World Health Organization warns that indoor tanning does carry increased risk of skin cancer, skin aging and eye damage. In a report released in 2003, the WHO noted that indoor tanning is a billion-dollar-a-year industry that has not shown "significant capacity to self-regulate effectively." The report says "consequences of regular sunbed use could include pain and suffering, early death and disfigurement, as well as substantial costs to national health systems for screening, treating and monitoring skin cancer patients."

The WHO has called for the tanning bed industry to face stricter regulations. It has also called for a ban on the use of tanning beds by anyone under the age of 18.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the arm of the WHO that co-ordinates and conducts research on the causes of human cancers, has moved tanning beds to its highest cancer-risk category. In a report published in the medical journal Lancet Oncology on July 29, 2009, the organization says tanning beds are carcinogenic to humans. The use of sunlamps and sunbeds was previously classified as "probably carcinogenic to humans."

The change in designation means that tanning beds are now in the same category as cigarettes, arsenic and plutonium. The international agency's report says use of tanning beds can be especially problematic for young people. The risk of skin melanoma increases by 75 per cent when use of tanning devices starts before 30 years of age, the report says.

Read full CBC story here.

Personal care and consumer products manufacturer, Proctor & Gamble (P&G) has responded positively to reports that its Herbal Essence line of shampoos contains high levels of a toxic substance.

The shampoos were found to contain higher than normal levels of the substance 1,4-dioxane. This ingredient is listed as a cancer causing agent under Proposition 65. Reports indicate that P&G decided to reformulate the shampoos after being threatened with a lawsuit by Green Patriot Working Group founder, David Steinman.

Steinman reported that tests on the shampoo showed it contained 24 ppm (parts per million) of the substance. The number should ideally be 10 ppm according to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. At least 18 of the shampoos will be reformulated to reduce the levels of the substance.

To read more about this story, click here

Written by the CareFair.com

03/08/10 - CBC NEWS
You're really careful about what you and your family eat, checking product labels religiously for ingredients you don't want entering your body. Yet, no matter what precautions you take, circumstances beyond your control put you at risk.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration ran some tests on equipment at the Basics Food Flavor plant in Las Vegas and found traces of salmonella. The equipment might have contaminated an ingredient that's used in a wide variety of food products — hydrolyzed vegetable protein.

What is hydrolyzed vegetable protein?
It's a "flavour enhancer" used in processed foods like soups, chili, sauces, gravies, stews and some meat products like hot dogs. It's in some dips and snacks like potato chips and pretzels. You'll also find it in some mass-produced vegetarian products made of soy.

Hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP) is produced by boiling foods such as soy, corn, or wheat in hydrochloric acid and then neutralizing the solution with sodium hydroxide. The acid breaks down the protein in vegetables into their component amino acids.

One of the amino acids in the dark-coloured liquid that's left is glutamic acid. Consumers are more familiar with glutamic acid in the form of its sodium salt — monosodium glutamate, or MSG.

A similar product — derived from dairy products — is hydrolyzed whey protein.

If I'm sensitive to MSG, should I avoid HVP?
Yes. MSG is an established headache trigger. Some MSG-intolerant people can develop MSG symptom complex. Besides headaches, its symptoms can include a rapid heart rate, nausea, chest pain and facial pressure or tightness.

Even though HVP may contain 10 to 30 per cent MSG, products that contain HVP do not have to be labelled as containing MSG. Product labels have to identify MSG as an ingredient only when it is directly added to food. It does not have to be identified as an ingredient when it is a byproduct of another process.

How extensive is the recall?
HVP is found in a wide range of processed foods - thousands of products. The FDA's recall — which was initiated on Mar. 4, 2010 — involved all hydrolyzed vegetable protein in powder and paste form produced at the Las Vegas plant since Sept. 17, 2009.

The recall started with several chip and vegetable dips. Health Canada added certain potato chips and pretzels to the list.

The FDA and Health Canada say — so far — no illnesses have been associated with this recall.