Gillian McKeith's Food Bible (277 page)

HERBS AND SUPPLEMENTS

Panax ginseng. Preliminary trials have found that this herb improves immune function in people with lung cancer who have been treated with conventional cancer treatment (chemotherapy and radiation).

Mullein tea or tincture.

Lobelia has been reported to help reduce cigarette cravings, but you will need to see an herbalist about that.

A general multivitamin and mineral supplement. In a preliminary trial, lung cancer patients who took vitamin supplements survived almost four times as long as those who did not. This suggests that a good, all-around multinutrient formula is beneficial in the treatment of lung cancer.

Folic acid and vitamin B
₁₂
. These two B vitamins are required for normal cell replication. In a double-blind trial, smokers with precancerous changes to the lungs who supplemented a combination of these vitamins for four months had a significant reversal of precancerous cellular changes compared to those who received a placebo.

Vitamin E. As high dietary and blood levels of this nutrient have been linked with reduced lung cancer risk, its supplementation is recommended.

Selenium. Blood levels of this antioxidant nutrient appear to be low in lung cancer patients. In one study that involved selenium supplementation over a six and a half year period, results showed that there was a 46 percent decrease in lung cancer incidence and a 53 percent decrease in deaths from lung cancer, compared to those taking a placebo.

Salvestrols. These natural plant compounds indirectly target cancer cells and help to destroy them. Cells affected by cancer contain an enzyme called CYP1B1. Salvestrols get converted by this enzyme into chemicals that can kill the diseased cells. Because the CYP1B1 enzyme is not present in healthy cells, salvestrols exert no effects there.

EXTRA TIPS

Avoid exposure to passive smoke.

Minimize exposure to air pollution.

Avoid exposure to radon and other inhalant pollutants associated with lung cancer.

LUPUS

Lupus is an inflammatory disease that is poorly understood. It is an autoimmune disease, in which the immune system makes antibodies that attack body tissues. This creates pain and inflammation. The two main types of lupus are discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

DLE is mainly a disease of the skin. Symptoms include a red butterfly rash over the nose and cheeks with patches of yellowish lumps on the skin and ears.