When the brain is addicted

July 2, 2014

When the brain is Addicted-How Drugs Affect the whole system

No matter what you do you need your brain free from addiction to live a life to the fullest

Generally drug addiction and all kind of addiction for that matter have been consistent problems for a long time. It is so because of its lasting effect in the brain functions which are not easy to correct. Take for example in the US where the scourge is prevalent how many brains are addicted to drugs, statistics has it that about 2 million are heroin and cocaine addicts, 15 million alcoholics and several millions are cigarette smokers. Several decades ago this was a disaster because little was known about addiction but today a lot has been established and that knowledge is beginning to influence addiction treatment and prevention. This therefore brings us to the question why opium?

When the brain is addicted-Why does the brain prefer opium to broccoli

This is very interesting and the answer involves the nucleus accumbens a group of nerve cells located under the cerebral hemispheres. When one execute an action which satisfactorily fulfills ones desire the neurotransmitter dopamine is released into the nucleus accumbens and produces pleasure. This communicates that the action facilitates survival or reproduction, directly or indirectly. This system is refferd to us the reward pathway. Undertaking an activity which provides this reward enables the brain to register the experience and we are likely to repeat the same thing again. The damage to the nucleus accumbens and drugs that block dopamine release in the region make everything less rewarding.

Naturally rewards usually come only with an effort and after some interruptions and addictive drugs normally provide a shortcut each in its own way sets in motion a biological process which result in flooding the nucleus accumbens with dopamine. The pleasure is not helping the existence or reproduction and evolution has not provided our brains with an easy way to withstand the onslaught. If one becomes addicted through consistent use of a given drug, then the overwhelmed receptor cells will call for a shutdown reducing the natural capacity to produce dopamine in the reward system. This will make the brain to lose its access to other less immediate powerful sources of rewards. This may require the addicts to constantly use higher doses and quicker passage into the brain. This is seen as though the machinery of motivation is not functioning anymore and so they want to use the drug even when it has ceased giving pleasure to them.

When the brain is addicted-Compelling memories

The change in the reward system alone does not necessarily denote the persistence of addiction as many addiction victims may admit that stopping may be easy because they have probably done it often. They (the addicts) go through long periods without taking the drug, but they risk relapse even after years of abstinence, when the dopamine reward circuit has had plenty of time to recuperate. They are victims of conditioned learning, which creates habitual responses.

Drug-induced changes in the links between brain cells establish associations between the drug experience and the circumstances in which it occurred. These implied memories can be recovered when addicts are subjected to any reminder of those circumstances like moods, situations, people, places, or the substance itself. For example heroin addict may be in danger of relapse when they see a hypodermic needle, an alcoholic when they walk pass a bar where they used to drink or when they meet a former drinking companion. Most addicts may restart the habit on falling into a mood in which they used to turn to the drug. It must be noted that a single small dose of the drug itself can be one of the most powerful reminders.

When the brain is addicted-Stress

Internal or external stress is another cause of relapse. The nucleus accumbens will direct signals to the amygdala and hippocampus, which record and amalgamate memories that evoke strong feelings. When you asked the addicts why they relapse they are likely to make references as “my job was not going well,” or even, “The traffic was frustratingly so heavy that day.” These responses can only suggest that they are hypersensitive to stress, either congenitally or as a result of past addiction. Stages of corticotrophin releasing hormone (CRH), the brain chemical that regulates the stress hormone system, often rise in addicts just before a relapse, while the amygdala becomes more active.

Findings from the resent research established that addiction involves many of the same brain pathways that govern learning and memory. Addictions can changer the strength of connections at the synapses (junctions) of nerve cells, especially those that use the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate. Underlying these changes are drug-induced activation and suppression of genes within nerve cells, another process scientists are beginning to explore.

When the brain is addicted-Why we are not all addicted

The reward system may be more vulnerable, responses to stress more intense, or the formation of addictive habits quicker in some people, especially those suffering from depression, anxiety, or schizophrenia, and those with disorders like antisocial and borderline personality. It has been established that almost 50% of individual disparities in susceptibility to addiction is hereditary and according to a recent report, one gene variant diminishes the quantity of dopamine release caused by cocaine in human beings a genetic defense against at least one type of addiction.

Individuals also differ in their ability to workout judgment and inhibit impulses. The brain’s prefrontal cortex aids to establish the adaptive value of pleasure recorded by the nucleus accumbens and checks the urge to take the drug when it would be unwise. If the prefrontal cortex is not working correctly, an addictive drug has more power to dominate the reward circuit. Research shows that the prefrontal cortex is not completely established in adolescence, which could elucidate why we often develop addictions at that stage of life. In other words if one does not indulge in smoking before age 21that person is likely not to become addicted to nicotine

When the brain is addicted –Implications for prevention and treatment

Although findings on the addicted brain are suggesting new approaches to treatment, progress has been limited so far. Researchers have tested dopamine receptor antagonists, drugs that bind to receptors for dopamine and prevent addictive drugs from acting. But these substances usually have too many side effects because they also interfere with the motivation for natural and adaptive rewards. One way to avoid side effects is to disrupt the mechanisms by which individual drugs start the process that culminates in dopamine release; for example, the opiate antagonist naltrexone is now used to treat both heroin addicts and alcoholics.

The biggest problem is preventing relapse. Neutralizing the pleasurable effect of the drug is not enough because reminders of the drug experience perpetuate the longing and cause addicts to stop taking the counteracting medication. Glutamate has been the main target of research on relapse prevention. In one experiment, formerly addicted rats returned to using cocaine when their hippocampi the brain region where memories of the drug experience are likely stored were electrically stimulated. A drug that blocked glutamate activity prevented this re-addiction.

An all-out assault on glutamate is impossible. Half the neurons in the cerebral cortex use this transmitter, and a major reduction in its activity would be toxic. Instead, researchers are trying to target specific types of glutamate nerve receptors in specific parts of the brain. Acamprosate used in the treatment of alcoholism, acts at the NMDA receptor, a type of glutamate receptor. The anticonvulsant topiramate (Topamax), another proposed medication for alcoholics, may also act at that receptor. Memantine a relatively new drug that blocks NMDA receptors has proved promising in one small study of heroin addicts.

Researchers are working on other approaches to medication for addictive disorders. Some are looking into the possibility of preventing stress-induced relapse by blocking the activity of CRH. Others are experimenting with immunization for cocaine and nicotine training the immune system to recognize the drug by injecting a molecule that simulates its effect, creating antibodies with the capacity to break the drug down before it reaches the brain.

When the brain is addicted-The old and the new

Finding new things is a continuous process and as scientists dig into addiction it is being revealed that chemical solutions may not be found anytime soon. Therefore in future treatments will only help to psychosocial treatment. This can only mean that we will still embrace 12-step self-help groups, behavioral therapies, and exploration of traumatic and everyday proficiencies which are likely to have distressed the balance of the reward and inhibition system.

Behavior therapy offers the bases of reward and punishment that contest with the drug, such as payment for clean urine in the form of vouchers, or contingency contracts (in which addicts consent to forgo their cherished item if they go back to drug consumption).

Motivation or will can be regarded as a brain function that is damaged by addiction, just as language or movement can be damaged by a stroke. In successful treatment of a stroke, other parts of the brain assume the functions of the injured region. In the same way, treatment for addiction may be able to make use of the remaining healthy parts of the motivation system to repair the damage. Twelve-step groups and motivational enhancement therapy could be seen as ways of accomplishing that.

Administering treatment is often subject to the type of addiction and the addict. Novelty seekers and risk takers with inadequate reserve and conclusion may not respond to the same methods applicable to persons aggrieved by traumatic stress or hypersensitivity to daily stress. The great lesson we can get from this is that addictions are treatable chronic conditions but stretch longer to cures.

When we know the nerve receptors targeted by the addictive drugs we get to learn more about their separate and common effects. However there is still a lot to be achieved about:

How changes in reward circuits results to addiction
How the brain creates the unconscious memories that make addicts susceptible to relapse
Why some people are especially vulnerable to addiction
How to translate the knowledge we have into more effective treatments.

New brain research proposes that addiction is not just a property of certain drugs but a characteristic of certain human activities and relationships. Experts have established that there are similarities between the brain scan images of compulsive gamblers and drug addicts. The impression of addiction to television, video games, overeating, or sexual behavior may be more than a comparison. Discovering the biology of addiction could lead to a profound understanding of the sources of all human motivation and habit formation and this can only be done by the involvement of experts like doctor Dalal Akoury who has been of great help to many people the world over for over two decades now.

When the brain is addicted-How Drugs Affect the whole system

Substance Abuse and Addiction

July 2, 2014

Substance Abuse and Addiction- Alcohol the most Abused drug

Substance abuse and addiction are not friendly to anyone but the good news is whatever drug you are addicted to be it alcohol there is hope of recovery

In your neighborhood probably there is a bar or just any place ware legal is sold and you will confess that in those places there are individuals who will never miss visiting those joints not even for one day. These are the people I want to talk about in this article. Moderate alcohol consumption may not be that bad health wise and in fact can be soothing and relaxing. However when consumed disorderly alcohol can be poisonous and injurious to human life in many ways which includes traffic accidents, homicides, suicide and rape, alcohol abuse also has adverse effects on social and domestic life ranging from absconding employment duties, spousal and child abuse and even crime.

Those who take alcohol are likely experience changes in their bodies immediately as mood changes to complete loss of coordination, vision, balance, and speech these changes can be attributed to acute intoxication or just drunkenness. It is important for the public to know that the authorities regard a rate of 0.08% of alcohol in the bloodstream as evidence of intoxication. If the rate becomes more in the blood then this can impair brain function and eventually cause unconsciousness but an extreme overdose is serious alcohol poisoning and can be fatal.

Substance Abuse and Addiction- Understanding Alcohol Abuse

Chronic alcoholism is a potentially fatal disease characterized by continuous craving for amplified tolerance of physical dependence upon and loss of control over alcohol consumption. The physical dependence on alcohol differs with individual consumer with some chronic alcoholics get very drunk and others exercise enough control to give the appearance of coping with everyday affairs in a near-normal way. However, alcoholism can lead to a number of physical ailments, including hypoglycemia, high blood pressure, brain and heart damage, end-stage liver damage, enlarged blood vessels in the skin, pneumonia, tuberculosis, chronic gastritis, and recurrent pancreatitis.

The consequences of alcoholism may include: impotence in men, damage to the fetus in pregnant women, and an elevated risk of cancer of the larynx, esophagus, liver, breast, stomach, pancreas, and upper gastrointestinal tract. And also because alcoholics rarely have proper diets, they are at a high risk of being malnourish. Nevertheless high level consumers will have impaired liver function with one in five developing cirrhosis.

Symptoms of Alcohol Abuse

If you have to take good precaution to be free from being an alcoholic, you must know the signs and symptoms of alcohol abuse and the following are just but a few:

Short-term blackouts or memory loss.
Repeated arguments or fights with family members or friends as well as irritability, depression, or mood swings.
Continuing use of alcohol to relax, to cheer up, to sleep, to deal with problems, or to feel “normal.”
Headache, anxiety, insomnia, nausea, or other unpleasant symptoms when you stop drinking.
Flushed skin and broken capillaries on the face; a husky voice; trembling hands; bloody or black/tarry stools or vomiting blood; chronic diarrhea; and drinking alone, in the mornings, or in secret; these symptoms are specifically associated with alcoholism.

Keep in mind that alcohol abuse is different from alcohol dependence.

With abuse, a person uses alcohol in excess but may not have regular cravings, a need to use daily, or withdrawal symptoms during sudden stoppage. The person may often have heavy alcohol binge episodes separated by periods of not drinking.
If a person is dependent on alcohol, he or she needs to drink regularly or even daily and drink more and more to get the same effects. The person also experiences withdrawal symptoms if he or she stops drinking and wants to quit drinking alcohol but can’t.

Substance Abuse and Addiction- Treatments for Alcoholism

The ultimate objective of treatment for alcoholism is abstinence. Among alcoholics with otherwise good health, social support, and motivation, the chances of regaining is good. About 50% to 60% remain abstinent at the end of a year’s treatment and a majority of those break dry permanently. However those with poor social support, poor motivation, or psychiatric disorders have a tendency to relapse within a few years of treatment. For these people, success is measured by longer periods of abstinence, reduced use of alcohol, better health, and improved social functioning.

Substance Abuse and Addiction- Conventional Medicine for Alcoholism

Treatment for alcoholism can begin only when the alcoholic accepts that the problem exists and agrees to stop drinking. They will have to understand that alcoholism is treatable and must desire to change and to diligently follow the three treatment procedures:

Detoxification (detox): This may be needed immediately after stopping alcohol use and can be a medical emergency, as detox can result in withdrawal seizures, hallucinations, delirium tremens (DT), and in some cases may result in death.
Rehabilitation: This involves counseling and medications to give the recovering alcoholic the skills needed for maintaining sobriety. This step in treatment can be done inpatient or outpatient. Both are equally effective.
Maintenance of sobriety: This step’s success requires an alcoholic to be self-driven. The key to maintenance is support, which often includes regular Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings and getting a sponsor.

Because detoxification does not stop the craving for alcohol, recovery is often difficult to maintain. For a person in an early stage of alcoholism, discontinuing alcohol use may result in some withdrawal symptoms, including anxiety and poor sleep. Withdrawal from long-term dependence may bring the uncontrollable shaking, spasms, panic, and hallucinations of DTs. If not treated professionally, people with DTs have a mortality rate of more than 10%, so detoxification from late-stage alcoholism should be attempted under the care of an experienced doctor and may require a brief inpatient stay at a hospital or treatment center.

Treatment may involve one or more medications. Benzodiazepines are anti-anxiety drugs used to treat withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety and poor sleep and to prevent seizures and delirium. These are the most frequently used medications during the detox phase, at which time they are usually tapered and then discontinued. They must be used with care, since they may be addictive.

There are several medicines used to help people in recovery from alcoholism maintain abstinence and sobriety. One drug, disulfiram may be used once the detox phase is complete and the person is abstinent. It interferes with alcohol metabolism so that drinking a small amount will cause nausea, vomiting, blurred vision, confusion, and breathing difficulty. This medication is most appropriate for alcoholics who are highly motivated to stop drinking or whose medication use is supervised, because the drug does not affect the motivation to drink. Our job is to help you get better and be free from any form of addiction and that is why at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center Doctor Akoury who is the founder is offering a focused Neuroendocrine Restoration (NER) treatment with the sole intension to reinstate normality through realization of the oneness of Spirit, Mind, and Body, Unifying the threesome into ONE when this is done you will not only have a testimony but life a productive and happy life free from addiction.

Substance Abuse and Addiction- Alcohol the most Abused drug

Hyperthermia and Cancer Treatment

July 1, 2014

Hyperthermia widely used in Treating Cancer

Hyperthermia is a condition in which the body temperatures are higher than the normal degrees. Hyperthermia can be caused by certain diseases but it can also be created by medical experts to help in treatment of certain diseases especially cancer. In this case it is referred to as heat treatment. Higher than normal temperatures are known to cause various health complications but in hyperthermia the heat is under careful control of qualified medical personnel hence cannot kill the patient but only kill the cancerous cells.

Use of hyperthermia which is also called thermal therapy in cancer treatment involves exposing the patient’s body tissues to high temperatures of up to 113°F.Thermal therapy is used to kill or damage the cancerous cells without or with minimal hurt to the healthy cells.

Thermal treatment helps in making the cancer cells more vulnerable to treatments like chemotherapy and radiation therapy. High temperatures may also kill the cancer cells instantly. Hyperthermia is very effective in treatment of cancer but it may also lead to the death of healthy cells for this reason it needs to be handled by doctors who are well versed in the area and can take good control of the heat so as to avoid harm to the patient.

Hyperthermia had been used in the past however, back then the tools used in hyperthermia were not as effective and so the results were not constant. The reason to this was that the doctors were finding it hard to maintain that heat on a specific area of the body for a certain time without affecting the remaining parts of the body that was not subject to the treatment. This means the other body parts that did not have cancerous cells also got affected adversely. Nevertheless there is no hopes left as today’s tools used in hyperthermia are more effective and it is now easy to control the heat on a certain area without affecting the rest of the body. Today very many health institutions are using hyperthermia in treatment of cancer worldwide.

There are two ways through which hyperthermia is done. All this are related to the surface that that the heat is concentrated on and the intensity of the heat. The heat can be concentrated in one area that is infested by the cancer cells especially on tumor. When the heat is focused on one small area it is referred to as local hyperthermia or thermal ablation. In local hyperthermia the heat used is much stronger and so helps in killing or damaging the cancer cells on that small area.

The cancer cells are killed when the proteins in them get coagulated and the blood vessels that supply them with nutrients are killed. This leaves a place that is cooked hence no living cancer cell. Various sources of energy can be used in this process including Radio waves, microwaves, and ultrasound waves.

Thermal ablation can be either internally or externally. When done external the source of heat is focused on a specific area of the patients body while in internal ablation involves using a needle that is pricked into the tumor. The needle releases lots of heat at the tip killing the cancerous cells.

Thermal ablation can be used in treatment of cancers that are deeply rooted In the internal organs. It is the method that is used in killing cancer cells in brain tumors. This technique is called Interstitial and it releases lots of heat than the external thermal ablation. Needles that release heat are used in the tumor to kill the cells in it.

At times the heat can be concentrated on whole body of the patient. This is especially when the cancer cells are well spread in the body of the patient. When the heat is concentrated on the patient’s whole body, it is referred to as whole body hyperthermia or regional hyperthermia.

Regional hyperthermia is not used with a lot of heat as in the thermal ablation. It is used on an entire organ or on a large surface affected by the disease. Regional hyperthermia is mostly used with other treatment methods like chemotherapy as well as radiation therapy

The regional hyperthermia can involve the following techniques in treating cancer:

Deep tissue hyperthermia– Deep tissue is used to heat a specific area that is affected by the cancer. It involves use of external applicators that are placed around the affected organ and then Radio waves, microwaves or ultrasound waves are focused on that area to heat it killing the cancerous cells.
- Whole body hyperthermia– whole body hyperthermia is an approach that is used to treat cancer that is widespread in the body. Metastatic cancer is mostly spread hence use of thermal ablation may not be very effective. Here the temperatures can be heightened upto108° Fahrenheit.

Regional perfusion– regional perfusion involves removal of some of the patient’s blood, heating it and then pumping it back into the system after the cancerous cells have been killed. It is useful in treatment of specific areas of the body for example the lung or the liver.

Are there risks Associated with hyperthermia?

Hyperthermia can be safe when it is used under the control of experts in the field it involves use of heat that can be dangerous if not well controlled and the patient needs to assess the credibility of the oncologists that is to control the heat. In most cases the healthy cells are rarely affected by hyperthermia. However side effects like burns, blisters and pain may occur due to the high temperatures. Perfusion may cause other problems like blood clot, tissue swelling and even bleeding. Generally these side effects are associated with hyperthermia: Vomiting, nausea and diarrhea.

Doctors are doing research daily to find better ways of treating cancer. Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) is particularly committed to finding you the best information that can help you in staying away from cancer. Visit her website regularly for information about cancer and other diseases.

Hyperthermia widely used in Treating Cancer

Internet Addiction and Its Treatment

June 30, 2014

Internet addiction is an impulse control disorder that does not usually require use of intoxicating drugs. It’s also very similar to drug addiction and even gambling. These addicts of the net may at times build up emotional affection to friends they meet online. Some of these friends that they have never met physically before in their lives. Some will even create activities online to keep them going back to the net. These platforms like social networking websites, chat rooms are just some of the aspects that these internet addicts use.

Blogging has also been known to keep internet lovers for many, many hours on screen while searching for internet topics and even end up trying to imagine themselves in the topic or discussion. What is blogging? It’s a web blog where a person can post their comments or ideas while keeping ordinary journal of events.

Just like other addictions, internet addicts usually have the desire of connecting to the real people or at least who they think are real through the net. They find it as an alternative to connecting to people who they would have not achieved by and large. This addiction is growing so much and very fast rate among the youth. The fact that gadgets like mobile phones are easily attainable has also widely contributed. There is also very little restrictions as to who and what age one should handle a phone. The world has gone very digital that a day without internet can be a very long day for these addicts.

Effects of internet addiction

Just like any other addictions, internet addiction will most of the time end in academic, , personal, financial, occupational and even family problems that are more often characterized by other addictions. Most real life affairs like marriage, friendship and even social life are always affected because of too much use of the internet because these addicts spend too much of their time in seclusion. They don’t spend enough time with the real people around them. They become so anti social that people will start finding them awkward because of the time they spend on the internet.

Have you even seen the people who surf the net and when they see someone approaching they hide whatever it is they were doing in the net? Well these are just some of the characteristics of internet addiction. They always don’t like people knowing that they spend too much of their time on the net. These kind of actions will also lead to the detriment of a quality relationship that was once very stable.

Some will even go as far as creating multiple online identities or profiles where they will pretend to be someone other people and even engage people in conversation using all those identities. They even go as far believing that all those identities are real. People who are susceptible to this kind of addictions are mostly people with very low self esteem of themselves. The ones who feel unwanted and inadequate in the society or among their peers

internet addiction

Addiction is addiction and people facing internet addiction are bound to face severe withdrawal symptoms that will include mood swings, fear, anxiety, loneliness, sadness, anger and even depression. Others will even be bored and have stomach upsets. Too much dependency on the net will also make someone develop medical problems that will most of the time include backaches, dry eyes and carpal tunnel syndrome. Some are even known to have eating irregularities, difficulty in sleeping and even poor personal hygiene.

Signs and symptoms of internet addiction

When one stays on the net for more hours than he had expected and is still not satisfied. When your thoughts are constantly on what you had encountered or watched on the net earlier even when you are not online and is anxious about the next episode or series or program. When you find yourself gradually remaining alone without friends, job or even an important relationship that there once was then know that you are headed to the problem of getting addicted to the net. Some even go as far as lying to close friends, bosses, family members and even therapists that they don’t have such problems in an attempt to hide the extent of the addiction.

Help and treatment of internet addiction

Agreeing and accepting that one has a problem with internet is the first step to getting help. There are usually trained addiction therapist who will more often execute assessment to find out the level of addiction and give an appropriate care. Counseling and abstinence can help resolve internet addiction. One needs to get help as soon as possible as this addiction has led to serious problems such as infant deaths or malnutrition due to neglect by their parents or caretakers who spend more time on net instead of tending to them due to internet addiction.

Internet Addiction and Its Treatment

Hormonal Imbalance and Cancer Development

June 29, 2014

Hormonal Imbalance increases risks of cancer infection

Hormones are the body’s messengers that are made by the Endocrine glands and they flow through the bloodstream to the organs and tissues. The hormones affect bodily functions and so are important in the entire human body. Our bodies function well when hormonal balance is achieved, the entire body becomes healthier and you can be cancer free as well as enjoy a life free from other diseases that are caused by hormonal imbalance. However the body may experience hormonal fluctuations naturally. This is because as we grow some hormones become more dominant. So hormonal fluctuation naturally happen during certain stages in life like puberty, pregnancy and menopause.

Natural fluctuations in hormones may not be so dangerous to our health but when hormonal imbalance is caused by environmental factors such as toxins in the air we breathe or in the foods we eat, our lifestyle begin to beckon cancer. So it is wise to prevent the causes of hormonal imbalance that are within our control so as to be free from cancer and other diseases associated with hormonal imbalance.

Many researchers have linked hormonal imbalance to cancers. Prostate cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer, uterine cancer and cancer of the ovary are attributed to the dominance of estrogen hormone. This hormone is present in our environment. It is found in our foods especially in commercial poultry, household plastics may contain estrogen compounds as well as the pesticides we use in our crops. The dominance of estrogen hormones has left us at risk of cancer.

Linking hormonal imbalance to Cancer

Insulin Hormone Resistance

The blood sugar level is controlled by insulin hormone. It is responsible for transporting food that is converted into simple sugar (glucose) and transports it to the cells where it is broken down through oxidation to release energy. At times our bodies may have more sugar than what the insulin hormone can transport. This will lead to insulin resistance and eventually will cause obesity and diabetes. The connection between insulin resistance and cancer is that, when there is plethora of carbohydrates that cannot be broken down, they are store as fats. Excess body fats increase the levels of estrogen hormones, estrogen dominance leads to higher risk of breast cancer.

Insulin hormone inhibits growth and it increases when we eat more processed foods, carbohydrates and sweets. When this hormone is in high levels it increases the Insulin growth factor (IGF) which triggers the growth of cancer cells. There is a research that was done by Vanderbilt University in 2004, the findings of this research proved that increased growth factor and insulin resistance increased the risk of breast cancer in women. Women who have high levels of insulin resistance and increased growth factor are highly at risk of getting breast cancer. Another doctor, Dr. Pamela Goodwin while working at Mt. Sinai Hospital observed that most of the women who had breast cancer had high Insulin growth factor.

Testosterone to Estrogen

Being overweight exposes you to cancer. Fats stored in the body are grounds for toxin storage as well, so the bigger the “store room” the more the toxins stored. Eating foods that have high fiber content will help to excrete these toxins. Exercise may also help you in shedding off the unwanted fats. An Enzyme, aromatase is found in fats, this enzyme will convert the testosterone into estrogen hormones. The dominance of estrogen in the breasts tissues exposes you to breast cancer. The fats also have an inflammation substance that is known as cytokines which is known to cause lots of diseases including prostate and breast cancer.

Levels of estrogen may also go high when Sex Hormone binding globulin is reduced. The sex hormone binding globulin is responsible for keeping estrogen hormones circulation in control but they can be reduced in case of obesity. When this happens there will be more estrogen hormones in circulation hence will trigger growth of cancer cells especially in the breast tissues.

Excess estrogen

Cancer has been linked to estrogen dominance in the body. In a case where estrogen is excessively higher than the progesterone hormones in the body the hormonal environment in the body becomes conducive for the growth of cancer cells. Excess Estrogen hormones in the breast tissues are a major risk to breast cancer.

An imbalance between the progesterone and estrogen hormones is a major cause of cancer. The level of progesterone is always lowered during perimenopause and menopause stages as ovarian hormone production stops completely. When production of this hormone is reduced, the body will have high estrogen hormones hence exposing women to cancer. A key approach to cancer prevention is in ensuring a balance between the estrogen and progesterone hormone is achieved.

Artificial hormone xenoestrogen adds the estrogen activities in our bodies. We get this hormone in commercial dairy products that are from animals injected with growth hormones and it acts as estrogen in our bodies. It is also available in pesticides used to spray crops and unfortunately they end up in our bodies. When introduced in the body they inhabit fatty tissues like the breast tissues and hence favor growth of cancerous cells in the breast. This hormone is more poisonous than natural ‘estrogen dominance’ and it also poisons the DNA, unfortunately xenoestrogen cannot be easily removed from the body.

Finally….

Hormonal imbalance is key factor that should be looked into if the rate of cancer deaths is to be reduced. The foods we eat also has a way of affecting our hormonal balance therefore you should eat foods that are high in fiber hence can help in cleansing the body from toxins that may inhibit the growth of cancer cells. You should also reduce the amounts of sugar you take so that insulin resistance becomes reduced. Xenoestrogen are found within our environments and we are privileged to have control over them. A country like Israel banned the use of organochlorine pesticide and after that saw reduced rate in cancer deaths. Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) is an expert in health issues and will be of benefit to you if you need more information to help you stay cancer free.

Hormonal Imbalance increases risks of cancer infection

Category Archives: addiction