Most
of my friends know that I have suffered from headaches/migraines for
most of my life and they got worse last year after my "surgical
menopause" surgery that I had at the same time I had my breasts removed.
I have been searching for and experimenting with different supplements
with some success. I thought I had them under control until October. I
came down with the flu for a few days. After it was over, my headaches
returned EVERY DAY for a week and a half and were not showing any signs
of disappearing any time soon. I went to my library and began searching
for supplements that might help. I found one. It helped out better than
ANY of the previous remedies that I had tried. It turns out that this
supplement has an added benefit. What is this supplement and what does
having headaches and migraines have to do with Minimizing Your Risk of
Getting Breast Cancer? I will tell you.
The supplement is
called Co-Enzyme Q-10. I had heard of it many years ago. I knew of some
of the protective benefits that offers for your heart. What is Co-Enzyme
Q-10? I will share this information and definition from my book,
"Disease Prevention and Treatment. It says, "Co-Enzyme Q-10 is
synthesized in humans from Tyrosine through a cascade of eight
pre-cursors. These pre-cursors require 8 vitamins which are vitamin c,
B2, B3 (niacin), B6, B12, folic acid, pantothenic acid, and
tetrahydrobiopterin as their enzymes.
"Since the 1960's,
studies have shown that cancer patients often have decreased blood
levels of Co-Enzyme Q-10. In particular, breast cancer patients (with
infiltrative ductal carcinoma) who underwent radical mastectomy were
found to have significantly decreased tumor concentrations of CoQ10
compared to levels in normal surrounding tissues. Increased levels of
reactive oxygen species may be involved in the consumption of CoQ10.
These findings sparked inerest in the compound as a potential anticancer
agent. Cellular and animal studies have found evidence that CoQ10
stimulates the immune system and can increase resistance to illness.
CoQ10 may induce protect effect on breast tissue and has demonstrated
promise in treating breast cancer. Although there are only a few
studies, the safe nature of CoQ10 coupled with this promising research
of it bioenergetic activity suggest taht breast cancer patients should
take 100 mg up to 3 times a day. It is important to tak CoQ10 with some
kind of oil such as fish or flax, because dry powder CoQ10 is not
readily absorbed.
In a clinical study, 32 patients were
treated with CoQ10 (90 mg) in addition to other antioxidants and fatty
acids; 6 of these patients showed partial tumor regression. In one of
these cases the dose of CoQ10 was increased to 390 mg and within one
month the tumor was no longer palpable, within two months the
mammography confirmed the absence of the tumor. In another case, the
patient took 300 mg of CoQ10 for residual tumor (post non-radical
surgery) and within 3 months there was nonresidual tumor tissue. This
overt complete regression of breast tumors in the latter two cases
coupled with further reports of disappearance of breast cancer
metastases (liver and elsewhere) in several other cases demonstrates the
potential of CoQ10 in the adjuvant therapy of breast cancer.
There are promising results for the use of CoQ10 in protecting against
heart damage related to chemotherapy. Many chemotherapy drugs can cause
damage to the heart, and initial animal studies found that CoQ10 could
reduce the adverse cardiac effects of these drugs."
I have been
taking 50 mg of CoQ10 twice a day with fish oil. Once in the morning
after I eat breakfast and once in the evening after I have dinner. My
headaches are almost completely gone unless I eat something that I am
not supposed to. The supplement does not give me a license to eat
anything that I want. I still have to be careful.
When I read
the above information, I made the decision that the cost of the CoQ10 is
worth every penny. Not only as a benefit for alleviating my headaches
but also as a preventative remedy for breast cancer and heart disease.
