Rumors of a tea from curing cancer in the forests of Ontario, Canada, began circulate in the 1920s
?.The tea ingredients were kept secret. Canadian nurse Renee M. Caisse held the only recipe, and she fervently protected until just before his death.
Caisse said the herbal recipe came from the wife of an English miner who claimed a Native Indian healer Ontario had cured her breast cancer with tea 20 years ago . Caisse named Essiac tea (reverse spelling of his last name) and would have gave it to cancer patients for free.
not only its origins and its healing properties steeped in mystery, Essiac tea is also linked to federal restrictions on its use, a report of toxicity and death.
Today thousands of cancer patients, including some with mesothelioma, use Essiac tea as an alternative medicine hoping it will help them to achieve remission. A 00 survey found 15 percent of Canadian women with the use of Essiac breast cancer. A separate survey of 5,051 American Essiac users found 22 percent had breast cancer.
The human research on Essiac did not hold much weight in the scientific communities. Although some laboratory studies have published results, scientific journals with referees has not published a clinical trial involving humans. The results of human studies in the 1970s were kept hidden.
Article Homemaker Magazine about Rene Caisse 1977.
Caisse alleges she observed a 80 percent survival rate among all cancers with treatment Essiac, a figure that has never been supported by any records or scientific studies.
Despite a furtive history, Essiac herbs may offer some health benefits.
herbs Pack Antioxidant Punch
The original herbal ingredients in Essiac eventually became known :. burdock root, rhubarb root, sheep sorrel and slippery elm bark
research on these herbs show they have compounds that protect DNA against damage and can affect the immune system
burdock roots and anti-cancer properties in rhubarb show tube studies and rat test .; However, they also contain carcinogenic properties.
A Chinese study showed rhubarb extract significantly reduced pulmonary toxicity in patients with lung cancer receiving radiation therapy.
Slippery elm bark contains mucilage, a gelatinous substance that can relieve cough and throat irritation. It can offer relief to patients with pleural mesothelioma experiencing pulmonary symptoms.
A Canadian study in 07 in a laboratory without human subjects revealed Essiac contains more antioxidant properties than red wine or green tea. None of the antibacterial effects were observed, but several essiac stimulated cells and enzymes of the immune system.
The National Institute for Safety and Health at Work examined the antioxidant power of Essiac in a 06 study and found effectively protected the DNA from damage free radicals. This protective effect of DNA will not repair damage that has already led to cancer, but it could have a preventive effect with long-term use.
Reported side effects of Essiac include nausea, vomiting, frequent urination, increased bowel movements, swollen glands, headache, flu-like symptoms and imperfections the skin.
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secret Recipe Brews controversy
the origins of the phrase are debated because many herbs are not native to North America and have had not done in the Americas through trade routes when the fund first tea Promotion .
originally brewed Caisse three herbs into a tea and injected intramuscularly the other herb. No one other than the Caisse knew which herbs were brewed and that was injected.
discusses Rene Caisse Essiac tea.
that the formula and the preparation was kept secret has become a roadblock for scientific research and a source of controversy in later investigations.
Caisse Essiac provided to cancer patients in Bracebridge cancer clinic in Ontario in 1935. evidence of reported deaths and a toxicity report caused the Canadian Cancer Commission to investigate the clinic in 1938. Although the Canadian government closed the clinic in 1941, Cassie continued to provide cancer patients with Essiac his house.
During the 60s and 70s, the Fund has worked with the American physician Dr. Charles Armao Brusch change the Essiac recipe and promote its use. Brusch also served as personal physician of President John F. Kennedy.
Brusch and the Caisse conducted clinical and laboratory studies, but they never published the results. They expanded the recipe with four additional herbs: blessed thistle, kelp, red clover and watercress. The pair named the new Flor-Essence mixture. This new formula contained grass formerly injected and with his inclusion, the Fund ceased providing injections.
In 1977, a year before his death, the Caisse sold the original, four Essiac recipe ingredients to a Canadian company. The company filed a presentation of new preclinical drug with the Canadian Department of National Health and Welfare (CDNHW). The company has received approval and started clinical studies in cancer patients Essiac. But in 1982, the CDNHW learned the study was not conducted as planned and stopped looking.
The secret recipe Essiac was sold again, this time to Essiac Products Inc., currently and sells a variety of Essiac supplements. Flor-Essence is manufactured in British Columbia, and Brusch was involved in its production before his death. Today, several companies produce more than 40 different formulas Essiac and sell them worldwide.
Some proponents of Essiac say it should not be taken alongside traditional cancer treatments like chemotherapy. If cancer patients take Essiac as a first-line treatment or in place of traditional cancer treatment, they run the risk of their cancer progresses to the point that the traditional treatment will be more effective.
Dr. Andrew Weil, a well known supporter of natural medicine, warns, "[S] ome Essiac promoters irresponsibly advise against chemotherapy and other conventional treatments when using tea for help them work effectively. This recommendation is irresponsible and dangerous. There is no clinical evidence that either Essiac or Flor-Essence has anti-cancer. My advice activity? to avoid. "
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scientific research on Essiac has yielded conflicting results.
All human clinical trials have either been arrested by government authorities or kept hidden from the public.
an unpublished 1977 report a phase II clinical study of Essiac cancer patients found the tea does not affect survival or shrink tumors.
tea contains antioxidants that help fight against the effects of aging and exposure to toxins such as asbestos, and it slows the growth of some cancer cells in test tubes. However, a study showed that it stimulates the growth of breast cancer and another found no effect on cancer cells in the prostate.
Overall, the research confirmed the antioxidant power of Essiac and presented no evidence that it can cure cancer.
In 09, the Food and Drug Administration of the United States cited a Essiac tea brand from a list of remedies against fake cancer that consumers should avoid.
consumer Essiac is unlikely to cause serious side effects in people with mesothelioma when used as directed. The antioxidant potential in essiac may be beneficial for the more remarkable health tea.
