Jack Harrison

"Poor man's" plant may bring fast COPD relief

Just a walk to fetch the newspaper can leave you huffing and puffing like you just ran an Olympic marathon.

But instead of a gold medal around your neck, you're strapping an oxygen mask to your face.

You're spending nights on the couch because you can't bear to walk the stairs. Even that daily walk at the mall with friends has been scrapped... maybe for good... because doctors have told you that your chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) is incurable.

They've even told you that the panting, wheezing and coughing is only going to get worse.

Well, friend, it's time to stop feeling hopeless -- and to start feeling better. Because a massive new international study proves that a simple Asian plant could dramatically improve your breathing and send your stamina levels soaring.

A joint research team from China and Australia analyzed 48 studies on dang shen, which has been used in Chinese traditional medicine for centuries to treat everything from indigestion to high blood pressure.

You may have heard dang shen called the "poor man's ginseng" because it comes from a plant that's abundant and easily harvested all across Asia. You can buy a full month's supply for pennies a day.

And this is one case where you DON'T get what you pay for -- you get so much more.

Researchers found that dang shen extract actually increased air volume better than conventional prescription drugs. And if you're lugging around a steroid inhaler or pills... which come with side effects ranging from heart palpitations to mood swings... that's the best news you've heard in a while.

Even if you're not ready to ditch that trusty inhaler, dang shen can help. When volunteers took dang shen along with their prescription medications, they were able to walk longer and reported fewer "exacerbations."

An "exacerbation" is another word for COPD hell. It's a period of days... or even weeks... when your symptoms worsen and there's nothing your doctor can do about it.

COPD doesn't just take the air out of your lungs -- it takes the joy out of your life. It leaves you sitting on the sidelines during your golden years, when you should be taking that cruise with your spouse or playing with the grandkids.

Talk with your doc about giving dang shen a try (you'll find it easily online or at health food stores) and see if it can help ease some of your COPD misery. It just may deliver the one thing every COPD patient has been waiting for.

A breath of fresh air.

Could this ugly tree growth hold the next great cancer cure?

I have a friend who owned a parrot for years -- and it was a blast to come visit.

At first.

But before long, you realize this genius of the animal kingdom can only say two or three things -- like "pretty boy" or "hello" -- and he says them over...and over... and over again.

And if that sounds like torture to you, steer clear of your local mainstream cancer doctor. Because he may have traded the green feathers for a white coat, but he still only knows three words.

Cancer, radiation and surgery.

Whether you have early-stage breast cancer, a prostate tumor -- or anything in between -- most doctors will be sizing you up for what Dr. Douglass calls the "Big 3" in no time.

You deserve a cancer treatment that won't leave you with ugly scars or radioactive blood. Or how about a treatment that doesn't destroy healthy tissue right alongside cancer cells?

If that sounds good to you, it's time to teach your doctor two new words that could improve your cancer care and maybe even save your life -- tree fungus.

It sounds crazy, but researchers from BYU just wrapped up a major study analyzing the lichens that grow in tree fungus, and they think they may have stumbled upon the next great (and safe) cancer cure.

Researchers studied the anti-cancer effects of 17 species of lichens from North America. If you remember from your high school science class, lichens are organisms that grow in those blotchy fungal patches you often see on the sides of trees.

Well, lichens may not be easy on the eyes -- but they're awfully tough on cancer. Extracts from 14 of the 17 species killed cancer cells, and one species was like a cancer-seeking missile.

Tuckermannopsis ciliaris, a lichen that flourishes throughout Appalachia, increased apoptosis -- a process that kills cancer cells -- by more than 700 percent. And it took just 48 hours.

You're never going to hear about this in your typical cancer doctor's office. They avoid talking about natural cancer treatments the way a cat avoids a bath.

But the truth is, lichens have been used in alternative medicine for centuries to treat everything from cancer to ulcers. Some lichen extracts like usnea are widely available online and at local health stores.

When it comes to natural cancer treatments -- and cancer prevention -- you deserve to have all options on the table, not just the three most dangerous, toxic and expensive. If you're finding your cancer doctor's vocabulary a little limited, see if he recognizes these two words.

Second opinion.