ful [mitzri] [fava beans [vicia faba]

ful [mitzri] “compared” to drugs

Probably eating ful [mitzri] [fava beans [vicia faba] may do the same [as tamoxifen did], according to james duke [ who knows what he is talking about]………..in case one this not sensitive to this [regishut le-ful,G6PD deficiency]

Drug Approved to Prevent Breast Cancer Recurrence

The Novartis drug Femara (letrozole) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to prevent recurrence of hormone-sensitive early breast cancer among post-menopausal women.

The Dec. 29 New England Journal of Medicine includes study findings that Femara was more effective at preventing breast cancer relapse when used as an initial therapy after surgery than tamoxifen, a standard breast cancer preventive. The study was funded by Novartis.[ DOES THIS SOUND FAMILIAR TO YOO.............??[my remark]

Femara showed its greatest benefit among women whose breast cancer had already spread to the lymph nodes, and among women who had undergone chemotherapy, Novartis said in a statement.

Femara is an aromatase inhibitor, a class of drugs that blocks production of the female hormone estrogen, which is thought to spur most post-menopausal breast cancers. The drug should only be taken by post-menopausal women, Novartis warned, since aromatase inhibitors aren’t thought to be effective before then. The drug could also cause fetal harm, the company said.

[......thank you for being honest!!]

Common side effects of taking Femara include hot flashes, joint pain, night sweats, and weight gain, Novartis said.

Femara is already approved by the FDA to treat advanced breast cancer.

Copyright © 2005 ScoutNews LLC. All rights reserved.

Last updated 12/30/2005.

This article can be accessed directly at:
http://www.healthscout.com/news/1/1507511/main.html

Olive oil shemen zait

Olive oil
Today we will not concentrate on the miracle of the “kad ha-shemen” but on the medical miracles of olive oil.
Olive oil is simply “good for everything”!
Prevention and treatment of: hypertension, heart and blood vessel diseases, diabetes, all sorts of cancers [extremely beneficial in the prevention of breast cancer, skin cancer, colon cancer etc], asthma, arthritis etc
Rub the skin also with olive oil after a day on the beach or excessive sun exposure.
On top of all that is mentioned above, new research suggests that extra-virgin olive oil contains a compound called oleocanthal that does relieve [chronic] pain and this may be beneficial, specially with long term use of olive oil.
As a test: If the oil is high in oleocanthal it will cause a slight burning or stinging sensation in the throat.
Nearly for sure the frequency of all form of cancer would drop dramatically if olive oil was the only oil used in the diet, as well as all forms of cardiovascular problems.
As known to you I advise as second healthy oil the use of sesame oil
[for the moment buy in Israel only the brand of the company B and D ]which has different health benefits.
No other oils, certainly not canola.
As we have too little space here to describe the mechanisms of the medical effects of olive oil [as far as they are known] let’s concentrate on some practical facts useful for anybody.
Buy a high quality olive oil: don’t save money in this case!
The quality of the oil is dependent on very many factors.
The olives on the upper branches of the tree are of a better quality [receiving more sun]
If you want to read some more about olive oil tradition then read the piece of text from yalkut ME’AM LO’EZ [ parasha: tetsawe].
For those studying mishnayot: see menahot chapter 8 ,mishna 4
Already in mishnaic times it was known that there are actually nine grades of olive oil. The only difference is in how they are made. Three times a year olives are harvested from the tree. They are not harvested all at once since different olives ripen at different times. There are some olives that ripen very quickly. These are the ones at the top of the tree, which receive the most sunlight. These olives are harvested first, and three grades of oil are pressed from them.
The quality of the oil is dependent on many factors : the kind of olives, the higher[of the best quality] or lower ones on the tree, the handling of the olives, the climate, the “field”, the pressing method, heat, light ,storage etc.
Olive oil should be stored from the moment of production in totally dark bottles, because light destroys much good of the oil
Buy always extra virgin oil [katit tahor]
An excellent description would be: organic ,cold-pressed, extra virgin olive oil, especially when all these characteristics are mentioned and bottled in dark bottles to the extent that the oil is not visible.[extra virgin should be mentioned on the bottle as the minimum requirement !!]
Cold pressed: this is the way of pressing the oil.
This does not mean that olive oil, once prepared already, can’t be used for cooking or frying purposes, an idea often spread by “nutrition-philosophers” without any basis to it.
In fact any Jew reading the Torah / Mishna should know better, where olive oil is described as being used for these purposes.
Nothing in modern science even would contradict this.
“Pure olive oil”[shemen zayit zach etc] and these kinds of descriptions mean nothing and these oils maybe of very low quality [produced after many pressings]
Using olive oil and at the same time other “rubbish oils” [not to mention margarine!] reduces tremendously the highly protective effects of olive oil.
Olive oil contains many important compounds.
Three important examined compounds are:
Oleic acid , squalene, linoleic acid
Various brands of olive oils contain different proportions of these compounds. In general: the higher the ratio of oleic acid to linoleic acid, the better!
For example a ratio of 13 or higher [that means 13 times more oleic acid then linoleic acid , could be very good, a ratio of 10 a bit less so and a much lower ratio far less good, but if you think this is all you have to know........then sorry!!
Squalene may be extremely important as well and may be one of the major cancer protecting factors.
Alas, in Israel I have not seen a single company specifying any of these compounds on the bottle.
But I am sure we have excellent oil and any company specifying more on the bottle would be a straight recommendation.
Extra virgin cold-pressed olive oil contains also substantial quantities of lutein and carotene, also very important compounds for good vision.
How much oil to use daily??
There is no answer to this question, from tradition one knows that it maybe a spoon or a few spoons a day.
If one is not in the habit to use regularly olive oil, then it maybe a good idea to use /"drink" in the morning [or at other times] one or two spoons together with some salt/herbs[we advise to buy Herbamare and to use this instead of plain salt]
This may be a very potent way of preventing many diseases.
For all of us it should be clear, that a good quality olive oil is a blessing “bli dai”, even without all the scientific back up
Chanuka sameach ,with olive oil [and sufganiot] as medicine as well : for sure an extra reason for saying Hallel!!

A few medical-pesach issuses

A few medical-pesach issuses.
טובא גריר, פורתא סעיד [ברכות לה ,תעמוד ב]
A large quantity has an appetizing effect; a small quantity sustains.[berachot 35b]
It seems strange but a large quantity of wine will stimulate one’s appetite, whereas a small quantity will
satisfy and keeps hunger away.
Therefore if one drinks wine one on erev Pesach he should drink a larger [not to small] amount] so that he will not suppress his appetite for the seder.
In the journal Science [1982] it was published that an rapid infusion of glucose in the duodenum very much increased the appetite of rabbits and a slow infusion decreased the appetite.
This is may explain the statement of the Talmud.
[Source; insights, a Talmudic treasury by rabbi Saul Weiss]
So for over-eaters: it is clear what to do.
Drink a very little bit of wine before the meal [one or two teaspoons]

[Rambam mishne tora [ chapter 5,halacha 2 ]:
[translation by Rabbi Eliyahu Touger, moznaim publ.corp]
“With regards to these five species of grain: if [flour from these species] is kneaded with fruit juice alone without any water, it will never become leavened.
Even if [flour] is placed in [these] juices the entire day until the dough rises, it is permitted to be eaten [on Pesach], for fruit juice does not cause [dough] to become leavened.
It merely causes [the flour] to decay.
The following are [included in the category] of fruit juice: wine ,milk, honey, olive oil, apple juice, pomegranate juice and all other similar wines ,oils, and beverages.
This applies so long as no water whatsoever is mixed with them.
If any water is mixed with them, they cause [the flour] to become leavened.”

Simply, the smallest amount of added water will cause the mentioned grains to become leavened[to become chametz]
It is fascinating to be able to remark here the halacha brought by the Rambam and to relate this to the fact that in traditional medicine [as well in homeopathy] all water is not just water.
Water in fruits is considered to be totally different
from just plain water [ both of them are H2O in chemistry]
In homeopathy water that is shaken very vigorously has found to be different [from the water before it has been shaken] when examined with atom spectrograpy.
It is as if water has a “memory” [like footprints in the snow, which show-like a memory- that somebody passed there some while ago]

On seder Pesach all of us will remember the leaning on the left side.
[Kitzur shulchan aruch [chapter 71,halacha 5 ]
“It is beneficial to begin one’s sleep while lying on the left side, and afterwards to change to the right side.
This is beneficial to one’s health, since the liver is on one’s right side, and the stomach on one’s left. When one leans to the left, the liver will lie on the stomach and warm it with its heat. This will hasten the digestion of the food. After the food is digested, it is preferable to lean to the right, thus allowing the stomach to rest and the wastes to descend. One should not turn frequently from side to side”
Do you know that I found in only one medical textbook form 1959 that the temperature in the liver veins is above 41 degrees!!
Thus, it becomes understandable that lying on the left side “cooks” the food in the stomach [see above] which means that the speed of digestion is increased significantly!!
Do you know that recently it has been found that people who sleep only one on side have more tendency for kidney stones?
Pesach sameach we-kasher.

guava,guaba, in Surinam-dutch:goejave

Instead of rimon ,instead of selek which would fit this month something about a fruit beloved by many and for some reasons “hated” by others, even the smell of it: the guava,guaba, in Surinam-dutch:goejave
The leaves of guava are an excellent remedy for diarrhea and dysentery [loose stools with mucus and blood, often caused by special bacteria or parasites:[ in case of dysentery consult your doctor as well], it also has antispasmodic, on top of the antimicrobial activities .
Many bacterial species [and parasites] are known to cause diarrhea, including Giardia lamblia, Entamoeba histolytica, Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli. By the way, also mango has been shown to be quite effective for giardia lamblia
[ girdia lamblia is a parasite which many people "pick up" when traveling-specially- to India ] and which can cause long-lasting diarrhea, abdominal bloating and weight loss]]

Research suggests that alcoholic extracts [so called tinctures have a greater antimicrobial activity than a water extract [so called tea].
If you make a tea then boil the leaves ,it is not enough to throw hot water on the crushed leaves],you have to boil the water and the leaves on a low fire for some 15 minutes or so [keep it covered]
the tea is quite save even in high doses and even in pregnancy [but consult your doctor about this in the last case]

The guava fruit itself is full of good things: high in potassium [good for high blood pressure and for the heart in general],high in vitamin C, high in soluble fiber [which helps to lower pathological high lipids],a good source of caretenoids [good for the eyes, for the prostate, and against various cancers ].
Recently the way guava shows it anti-tumor effect has been substantiated scientifically [.for those who are dealing with this issues: by depressing Tr cells and subsequently shifting to Th 1 cells] .
The guava is also a fine fruit to be used by diabetics and can moderately lower the blood sugar.[mango and kiwi's are also excellent for diabetics ]

Herpes zoster can be treated by a mixture of finely crushed guava leaves, red pepper [pilpel charif adom] and kaolin ["white clay"] [ask how to prepare before using this]

This method I have been using for many years and borrowed it from a publication by the World health organization ,who described the use of this mixture as it is/was used in Africa.

Now a days there is a commercial formula on the market [ zostrix], widely underused in my opinion by doctors, and which contains red pepper [pilpel charif adom].
Much cheaper to prepare it yourself at home!
It would be a wise idea if the formula would include in some form the guava leaves as well.

I wish you all a shana tova umevurechet with or without a guava at this time of the year.