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Mistletoe is known for sparking romance around the holidays, but did you know it’s actually been used in medicine for thousands of years? Chris Kilh...
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-- Hello welcome to help on them back to -- It's most known for sparking romance around the holidays but mistletoe has actually been used for thousands of years in Madison.
Today it's one of the most widely studied alternative therapies for cancer he -- tell us more it is our own medicine hunter Chris Killen.
Thank you for being here my -- missile toe.
Missile has sold -- are usually looking for somebody to curious.
Right like that kind of planning your entry into the doorway like everyone in my -- you know in the holiday is I love your head right -- let's let's just.
But but you say it's a very.
Potent -- medicinal plant it's been used since the early Greeks and even that -- widths as kind of a cure all it's one of those medicines that.
You know you'd go to the herbalist and whatever it was that you were sick with.
They give you mistletoe some sort of a preparation of mistletoe.
And probably because it has significant immune boosting properties.
And so if you're sick with recurring -- severe sick with the you know with some sort of disease or another.
The odds are pretty good that if he'll take mistletoe.
And boost your production of protective white blood cells those teeth apple yet he's out the other killer cells the -- -- -- stimulate.
More rapid recovery so it really has been known historically as a cure all remedy.
Do people take give prophylactic an -- people the people take -- -- as a regular heed to prevent disease you know.
I don't seem missile toe around something that people take the kind of us just sort of I health agent I really don't see that.
Missile toe and it and it's.
Use for.
Can't -- at -- Qaeda in the Andrew mentioned cancer right a hot Hollywood -- -- that goes back to about the 1920s.
But.
Is is it isn't being used in in -- let's say -- in.
-- -- call legitimate video and in hot and medical hospitals.
Or is it yes guns not in the US right but it actually -- There are different extracts.
Of mistletoe.
That are used in injectable form especially in Europe.
And it's kind of curious mistletoe grows on different trees it's parasitic so it's not like a free standing bush itself.
You'll see it like in the crook of branches and an apple tree -- oak tree or and -- or something.
And there's some months.
Opinion that the mistletoe the grows on an apple tree for example.
We'll have somewhat different chemical properties in the mistletoe the growth on an L.
In any case.
Extracts of mistletoe are made by drug companies in Europe.
Much of the science on cancer.
And -- -- it's been conducted.
In and published in Germany.
For cancer treatment it is given by injection.
Either under the skin sometimes intravenously.
Sometimes directly into solid tumors.
And guess what we know in the laboratory.
Which is typical of many agents actually.
Missile -- -- certain forms of cancer.
In.
In clinical trials it seems to be helpful in cases of colon and rectal cancer.
It is used as an adjuvant therapy so in addition to other chemotherapy -- -- it appears to lessen.
The severity of the symptoms of other chemotherapy litigation that might make you quite sick -- lose your parents -- -- -- And in addition to that.
It appears to cut off the blood supply to solid tumors like the drug Avastin.
Right and Kate and -- and geo Genesis angiogenesis.
The blood supply to tumors keeps them fed.
If you cut off that blood supply the tumors die mistletoe appears to do that FDA doesn't approve missile -- As it doesn't with many other -- what are Peter King what about side effects.
-- the side effects seem to be limited to some cases of notch.
Some cases have headache nothing particularly serious.
They're not that common.
And it it does appear that is an adjuvant therapy.
It greatly.
Boosts the production of immune factors in the body.
It's very.
It's very interesting how you have a number of natural came therapeutic agents like got Cranston from mushrooms.
Mistletoe.
That are used in other countries in Europe in -- news here but not approved now do you -- that due to be a trial over any kind of you know.
-- movement towards -- applying them and how I do not know I think honestly Dr.
Manny I think it has to do with whether or not there's a patent position for a big drug company.
Because if there isn't a patent position.
Then no because the big box won't right there night.
If there is a patent position somehow if somebody can make a special extract -- mistletoe or what ever.
And there are billions potentially down the road then you see the truck Smith -- -- -- be about a little about them not -- to be about anyway I'm not gonna look at.
Christmas with -- though they martyr the same way it was kind of -- -- kind of like a Christmas he tied -- and -- this they had the sexy appealed to me now has more of a serious.
There's a serious Arab.
Serious I think he can still sits under the mistletoe I'll consider.
Thank you so much for being here you great.
And he's sure to check out the medicine sponsors articles every week on fox was held dot com and if you have any health -- to a talk about humility here at fox said that the manufacturers dot com the next time.
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