Here’s another story suggesting that antibiotics may not be good for us: they may prevent some anticancer drugs from working. This can be added to the reasons why I posted about here. This was another study in mice, but they tested anticancer drugs in animals that had been treated with antibiotics, or not. The animals that had not received the antibiotics responded to the anticancer drugs better than those that had received them. More reasons to take probiotics after a course of antibiotics? I wonder if anyone is researching the effects in humans? I think it is quite likely.

I was asked this question the other evening, so I had to do some research. The questioner was interested in a possible use for cancer. Obviously, we cannot say that anything will cure cancer. However, asking if a product will help is a good question. This post is the result of my initial research.

The Mayo Clinic says that flaxseed contains some things that your body needs. These things include fiber (you know that is good for you, right?), omega-3 fatty acids (also helpful), and some chemicals called lignans.

So what exactly are lignans? My training as a pharmacist tells me that they have a very complex chemical structure, which I am not going to repeat here. Lignans are found in many plant products, although the greatest amounts are found in flaxseed and sesame seeds. The active ingredient is called secoisolariciresinal diglucoside, which usually gets shortened to SDG. SDG is broken down in the body, where it reacts with special structures called estrogen receptors (they come to life when the hormone estrogen becomes attached to them). This SDG is what has been investigated for possible anticancer effects in a number of clinical and animal studies.

Some types of cancer may respond to increased eating of flax seeds, but much of the research that shows up on PubMed (an index of articles that discuss treatments for diseases) is in mice or rats. Whether the findings in humans will match those in animals remains to be seen. The particular types of cancer that have been investigated include breast, colon, prostate, and skin. It appears that taking flax seed or that SDG that we talked about above, may be best in the very early stages of cancer, but again don’t stop taking the medicine that your doctor prescribes if you have been diagnosed with any of these diseases.

A recent study, published by Dr. Hijova and colleagues, from Safarikiensis University in Slovakia, was particularly interesting, so I took a look at the full article. These researchers gave rats a high-fat diet and then gave them a prebiotic alone or in combination with horse chestnut extract or flaxseed oil. Another group of animals got the prebiotic and both horse chestnut extract and flaxseed oil. What they found was that in the animals that got the treatments there was a reduction in concentrations of an enzyme that they say has been found to be increased in patients with colon cancer. There were also reductions in total cholesterol, triacylglycerols, and bile acids compared with animals that got only the prebiotic.

The design of this study doesn’t allow us to draw any conclusions about whether the same thing will happen in humans. The authors make a very valid point in their conclusion, however. That is that diet may be very important in prevention of disease, and the role of nutritional supplements, like flaxseed oil and horse chestnut extract, needs to be studied in the future.

Looking at the research that has been conducted that flaxseed or the oil that comes from the seeds may be helpful in improving the chances of medications working in a number of different areas. It appears that flaxseed may be good for you, with little risk of side effects. Of course, check with your doctor before taking flaxseed for any ‘medicinal’ purposes.

I have just realized that it has been  9 months since I last posted. Far too long, and I know I will need to post more frequently on Rod’sHealth in the future. A lot has been happening, so here is a brief summary:

I am continuing with the challenges of CPAP treatment – nobody should ever say it is easy! There is so much to learn. I have struggled a bit with insurance companies, DMEs, not to mention masks and machines! I have learned that probably because I have a beard a full face mask does not work for me. I have tried a couple, and end up leaking all around the mask, particularly where it sits on my beard.

I have tried various solutions to the mask question over the last 18 months, and have come to the conclusion that for me, a Silent Nite dental device works well – used in combination with a chin strap and the CPAP machine. More information on that later, but please note you need to find a dentist who is experienced in the treatment of sleep apnea or who can work with your sleep medicine professional. I am neither, so I can’t tell you if it will work for you. Also, I have learned about the importance of regular cleaning of the interface and the humidifier chamber – not doing this regularly has a serious impact on the ability of the machine to keep my AHI under control.

My mother-in-law was diagnosed with advanced cancer last year. She had a surgical procedure, then was put on treatment with hyperthermia. It is still experimental in the US, and requires careful medical supervision. It is being used more frequently in Japan. However, you can read more about it here. As I learn more about it I will post more information here.

I was forced to change my daytime job earlier this year – despite my working very hard (including long hours) my previous company was not doing well. In fact, after I left, they laid off a large number of my former colleagues. It seems like I escaped just in time! My new company has required the dedication of longer hours than I wished for, but I am now well established and able to focus on a few things other than just work!

Just a short post this time. I promise I will post more regularly in the future!