Leukemia - A brief overview

Leukemia literally means "white blood" and is a type of cancer that develops from the stem (immature) cells of the bone marrow. This results in massive over-production of abnormal “leukemic” white blood cells that “crowd out” normal white and red cells which reduces their development and effectiveness.

Normal white cells prevent infection by ridding the body of invading bacteria and other organisms. They also help kill the cancer cells that continually develop in the body. Because there aren’t enough of these normal cells, the patient can develop infection, anemia, and easy bleeding. The latter is due to a reduction in blood platelets that normally help control bleeding. This can cause the skin to bruise easily or the gums to bleed.

There are a number of different types of leukemia, usually divided into acute (rapid development) and chronic (slow development) that are more prevalent in different age groups. For example, acute lymphoblastic leukemia is the most common form in young children, but it also occurs in adults.

Symptoms can be numerous, but common ones are fatigue, weight loss, night sweats, and frequent infections due to compromised immunity.

There is no single known cause for leukemia, but radiation e.g. natural radiation from the sun, viruses, chemicals and hereditary factors are all thought to predispose to the condition.

The most common treatment used is chemotherapy, and less frequently bone marrow transplants. Survival rates vary considerably depending on what type of leukemia the patient has.

I was prompted to write about leukemia and wheatgrass because of an encouraging email I received from a mother in Florida, USA whose 7 year old daughter is undergoing treatment for the condition. She wrote:

My 7 year old daughter, K. has Leukemia. The treatment for Leukemia is 2 1/2 years for girls and 3 1/2 years for boys. Being on Chemotherapy for years can be very destructive to the body.

When I purchased your products I must admit that I was really worried about it being a rip off. You must know that I am completely delighted with your products.

My daughter takes the Super shots every day, twice a day. Your Recovery Cream is unbelievable. K. got some sort of severe skin irritation from the chemo. It was swollen, cracking and very red. We applied the cream several times throughout a 48 hour period. Much to my astonishment the irritation started to heal right away and disappeared after two days. Now, she will let me know when an outbreak is starting to happen and your cream handles it immediately. Never, would I have dreamed that a product would work so well.

K. is the star of the Oncology clinic because she does not look like a cancer patient. Her skin is bright, eye's bright, physically she is strong and much to the amazement of the oncology team, she has had very little side effects for the amount of chemo she is getting. We are doing quite a bit of alternatives and yours is primary.

On the blood counts, K's counts have stayed pretty consistent for months. I never connected the possibility that the Super shots was directly related to this. Before the super shots her counts would go down to 100 for ANC, (Author's Note: A normal ANC* is above 1,500. An ANC less than 500 significantly increases the risk of infection.) and then come back up. The medical staff made this sound very normal. The last time K.'s count was very low was on the 14th of April. Since that time her counts have been in the 1000's. I do not recall exactly when we ordered, but think this correlates to using the shots. Her ANC has not dropped below 1000 since that time.

*Absolute Neutrophil Count. Neutrophils are white blood cells.

Numerous studies over the years have shown potent anti-cancer effects by wheatgrass and other cereals. As recently as 2007 (yes, they’re still researching wheatgrass) Karadan (1) and his colleagues stated:

“Wheatgrass (Triticum vulgare/aestivum ) is a rich source of vitamins, antioxidants and minerals and has higher levels of cancer-fighting phenols and flavonoids in ethanol extracts than water extracts (e.g. by juicing). Flavonoids have been shown to have anticancer properties and can prevent some mutations that lead to cancer development.”

Their study showed that wheatgrass extract (similar to the type I use with my patients) is capable of inhibiting growth as well as inducing death of human (acute lymphoblastic) leukemia cells significantly faster than non-blood cancer cells. Also, the response was dose dependent i.e. the stronger the extract, the quicker the cancer cells were killed.

There exists a large number of laboratory studies demonstrating the efficacy of wheatgrass (and other cereals) working against cancer development and progression. My own clinical experience and numerous anecdotes from around the world also attest to this.

Footnote: Wheatgrass Cures Alopecia

Alopecia areata is a common disorder where loss of (usually) scalp hair occurs, probably due to auto-immunity i.e. the patient's immune system goes awry and attacks normal body tissues causing damage.

There is really no satisfactory treatment of the condition, but I am glad to say I have had a number of patients regain full heads of hair using wheatgrass extract. This is most likely due to re-activation of dormant hair follicles under the skin. Click here to see how effective the extract can be.

Reference:
1. Karadag, A. et al. Antiproliferative and apoptotic effects of wheatgrass (Triticum aestivum L.) extracts on chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) cell line. Planta Med 2007; 73
See abstract:

Kind regards,
Dr. Chris Reynolds.