Family Cancer

Sorry I've been away, visited my Grandma, she is still feeling pretty ok, but will have to start taking morphine soon, so I'm glad we made it out before then. She's 83, and 2 months ago had no signs of cancer in blood tests or x-rays. A week ago they found that she now has agressive cancer throughout many major organs. She's my last grandparent, her husband died almost 2 years ago from old age and cancer. My other two grandparents passed away before I was born, and didn't live long enough to get cancer, due to heart damage from rheumatic fever and circulation/nerve problems relating to an unusual birth defect.

My Grandma nearly died 11 years ago. I remember the date well because it was my 18th birthday. She went in for kidney surgery, and ended up in the O.R. for over 10 hours. The doctor was a superhero that day, as her arteries were literally falling apart on the operating table. She also had uterine cancer 7 years ago, they removed it and thought they had contained it, but now we're not sure if this is from that, or new.

I'm slowly realizing that I have quite a few risk factors for cancer, my father's family has been in a geneology study because so many of them have had it. My father has had prostate cancer, and his younger sister has fought breast cancer. They're mostly Os from what I can gather, and do tend to survive it against some bad odds. As far as how it relates to me, I have two additional risk factors for gastric cancers... celiac disease and past h. pylori infection. I don't really have to worry yet, as I'm not quite even 30, but now is the time for preventative measures, and there are lots of preventative measures for gastric cancers: antioxidants in teas, pigmented fruits, and supplements such as querticin and the usual supplements like Vitamin C, etc. I take querticin for allergies, but am looking for a good source of vitamin C next time I shop at the health food store or online.

My allergies are finally getting under control again, the gluten from my rye test really threw my immune system for a loop. I came down with a bad cold the next day, and bad allergies for the next week or two. I'm now off gluten for good, forever, 100%

Citric Acid

I had a question come in about citric acid that I wanted to answer, and expound on my reaction to it. I first noticed it after drinking a diet pepsi, I got a headache and a goose-egg on my head, like I'd been hit on the head. I figured out that I hadn't actually been hit on the head, and blamed it on aspartame. Then realized diet coke didn't do that to me, and never quite figured out what ingredient it was until I drank a lemonade from the soda fountain and got the same reaction. After comparing all the ingredients, citric acid was the only one that was in all those soft drinks, but not diet coke. It's got phosphoric acid or something like that, which isn't good for a person, either, and I've pretty much given it up all but on holidays. My aunt (who is not a blood relative) also gets bumps on her head and a headache from diet pepsi, but hasn't decided what causes it. Incidentally, she's doing very well on a low-carb diet, so probably an O.

I did some research online tonight about citric acid. My most recent theory is based on the information at this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citric_acid Artificial citric acid is produced by fermentation of a sugar from various sources, with a fungus called Aspergillus niger, interestingly it can be produced with the penicillin fungis, and I'm allergic to penicillin. Anyway, the Aspergillus niger fungus is a common black mold on fruits. Of course all molds can be problematic for Os, nonsecretors especially. So perhaps the fungus or some remnant of it doesn't get completely purified out enough for my sensitivities, or it could have to do with the source of the sugar used.

Of course, citric acid is in soft drinks in very high amounts, compared to other foods it is added to, and I hardly ever notice a reaction from other foods that contain it as an ingredient. Soft drinks are bad for us anyway, that just makes it all the easier for me to avoid them...except when it comes to Coke on Christmas Eve.