Aloe
Vera, A Glyconutrient
www.lef.com
Dr. H.R. McDaniel, M.D. has spent 16 years exploring the therapeutic
nature of Aloe vera. In 2000, McDaniel addressed Comprehensive
Cancer Care, a conference highlighting the latest and most
promising of current techniques converging upon cancer therapy.
As a result of this appearance, Dr. McDaniel was invited (August
28, 2001) to present the glyconutrient principle before the
Royal Society of Medicine (London, England) and the United
Nations-sponsored 17th International Conference on Nutrition.
The following material (excerpted from these presentations)
should be viewed as part of an integrated approach to treat
cancer, not as an independent therapy.
The virtues of the aloe plant (chronicled in the writings of
Hippocrates) have evolved to include a strong anticancer connection
(Corsi et al. 1998). It was determined that aloe juice reduced
tumor mass and the frequency of metastasis in rats (Gribel
et al. 1986). Aloe protected individuals with weakened immune
systems against infection (Klein et al. 1988). Random scientific
papers, plus scores of anecdotal reports relating to cancer
regressions, spurred a group of physicians and scientists to
study the nature and role of carbohydrates in biological events;
a science referred to as Glycobiology emerged.
The active ingredients in aloe are eight chains of mannose
sugars, (glucose, galactose, mannose, fructose, xylose, N-acetylglucosamine,
N-acetylgalactosamine, and N-acetylneuraminic acid). Scientists
determined that the eight sugars (super carbohydrates), frequently
missing in the diet, are important to intercellular communication
(Reynolds et al. 1999).
Glycoproteins (on the surface of every cell) serve as signals
to tell other cells who they are and what they need. If the
cells do not have enough of the right sugars, they cannot make
the correct glycoproteins, and the cell-to-cell messages become
disrupted. Subsequently, the immune system cannot effectively
wage an offensive against bacterial and viral pathogens or
rapidly dividing cancer cells. The sugars of aloe ensure that
internal networking (cell-to-cell communication) is swift and
accurate.
Note: The reader should not confuse the natural sugars of Aloe
vera with sucrose, that is, common table sugar. The sugars
contained in glyconutrients are naturally occurring sugars
(not sweet to the taste) that elicit no blood glucose rise
or insulin rush.
A number of enzymes (endonucleases, hydrolases, esterases,
and lipases) are produced from the sugars of aloe. Enzymatic
reactions power up lymphocytes, white blood cells (about a
trillion in number) that bear the major responsibility of immune
surveillance. When white blood cells phagocytose (envelop and
destroy) bacteria, virus, and cancer, enzymes produced on the
mannose system optimize the cell's performance.
Aloe vera has an extraordinary antioxidant profile, with much
of its activity gained by increasing reduced glutathione levels
(Hu et al. 2003). Antioxidants neutralize free radicals produced
as a result of aggressive cancer treatments, as well as those
produced naturally through biological events. For example,
as the mitochondria produce energy to fuel cellular functions,
a plethora of free radicals results. A cell deprived of reduced
glutathione is unprotected and subject to free-radical damage
(a precursor to cancer) (Toyokuni 1998). Reduced glutathione
can independently protect against free radicals or increase
the efficiency of vitamin E (a lipid-soluble antioxidant),
vitamin C (a water-soluble antioxidant), and superoxide dismutase
(an enzyme that converts superoxide radicals into less toxic
agents). Many patients may be able to complete aggressive courses
of chemotherapy when aloe accompanies treatment (Nersesian
et al.1990; Wang et al. 2001).
Dr. Glen Hyland, a Mayo trained oncologist, reviewed the health
histories of 100 cancer patients (extracted from a three-state
analysis) who used glyconutrient therapy as a part of their
cancer treatment. Dr. Highland marveled at the speed at which
patients receiving glyconutrients experienced a reduction in
the size of squamous cell carcinomas (lung) and oat cell carcinomas
(usually originating in the bronchi or lungs). Numbers of erythrocytes
(red blood cells), leukocytes (white blood cells), and thrombocytes
(platelets) did not diminish when glyconutrients were a part
of cytotoxic therapies. Dr. Hyland commented that normal cells
appeared protected and abnormal cells appeared more sensitive
to treatment, when Aloe vera was a part of an integrated approach.
Various cancer patients have experienced remarkable reversals
in health status after adding aloe to their protocol. It was,
in fact, triumphant accounts of Aloe vera enhancing the efficacy
of previously failed treatments that spurred the glyconutrient
movement. From the files of Dr. McDaniel, a few case studies
have been extrapolated to illustrate the value of Aloe vera
as an adjunct in cancer therapy.
-
A
male (68 years old) presented the symptoms of obstructive
urinary symptoms, elevated PSA, and more than 100
nodules of metastatic lesions in the lungs. Dreadfully
ill and having failed other therapies, polymannose, a first-generation
glyconutrient discovered in the early 1980s, was added to
the protocol. After an additional
year of conventional therapy (that included Aloe vera), the lungs were
cleared of nodules, energy levels rebounded, and quality
of life returned. He appears
quite healthy as he approaches the 10th anniversary of being told his
condition was terminal.
-
A
researcher, trained under a NIH cancer fellowship and hostile
toward the carbohydrate/cancer theory, reluctantly
entered into a trial to
determine the
value of glyconutrients in cancer treatment. Laboratory mice were
injected with Norman's Sarcoma, a type of cancer carrying
a 100% death rate;
half of the test
animals were also injected with 1 mg/kg of the glyconutrient polymannose.
About 1 month into the trial, all control animals were dead; conversely,
all animals
receiving one injection of polymannose were alive, and at the 2-month
interval, 40% had survived. Amazed with the results, the researcher
repeated the test,
but doubled the concentration of the carcinogen. The results were,
nonetheless, the same. The odds improved when the therapeutic injections
were increased:
52% were alive when receiving 1 injection per week, and 67% survived
when the complete
formula (all monosaccharides required for glycoprotein synthesis)
was injected.
-
A
38-year-old breast cancer patient presented with 10 lytic
skeletal bone lesions and a mass appearing on the
neck. The patient also
had liver involvement
and
ascites (an intraperitoneal accumulation of water and electrolytes)
making her appear 8 months pregnant. Having failed earlier
courses of chemotherapy,
the
treatment was repeated, but this time glyconutrients were a
part of the protocol. At 1 year, the ascites had cleared,
and no evidence
of cancer was detected.
She survived approximately 7 years after being advised by her
oncologist that she
had less than 6 months to live.
Reports
of Aloe vera being life-saving to cancer patients are not scarce.
Dr. Julian Whitaker reported that a 10-year-old
boy diagnosed with a rare
brain tumor
(a meningioma) went into total remission after drinking 8 oz of whole-leaf
Aloe vera concentrate a day for 3 months. Because surgeons were unable
to remove the
entire tumor, its continued growth rendered an uncertain prognosis. At
the time of the Whitaker report, the child was living
a normal life and participating
in sports but drinking Aloe vera juice every day (Whitaker 1995).
The following animal trials are included to add additional strength to
human studies. Acemannan, a polysaccharide (carbohydrate) isolated from
aloe rind,
was administered intraperitoneally and intralesionally to 43 dogs and cats
with spontaneous tumors. Twenty-six of the animals showed histopathological
evidence
of immunological attack, evidenced by marked necrosis or lymphocytic infiltration.
Twelve animals experienced obvious clinical improvement as assessed by
tumor shrinkage, tumor necrosis, and prolonged survival (Harris et al.
1991).
Feline leukemia is a disease induced by an oncornavirus infection that
inevitably causes death to clinically affected cats. It has been estimated
that 40%
of cats are dead within 4 weeks and 70% are dead within 8 weeks of the
onset of
symptoms.
Administering acemannan for 6 weeks intraperitoneally to clinically symptomatic
cats significantly improved quality of life and survival rates: 12 weeks
after initiation of treatment, 71% of treated cats were alive and in good
health.
This study joins a medley of others, affirming Aloe Vera’s worth in veterinary
settings (Sheets et al. 1991).
Oral administration of Aloe vera is remarkably safe. It is, in fact,
difficult to estimate lethal dose ranges via animal studies (Ikeno et
al. 2002).
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