In Malay it is known as buah kedondong. It is known as Ambla in Penang .

Amla fruit, often referred to as Indian gooseberry, is one of the richest known sources of vitamin C it contains 30 times the amount found in oranges making it useful for treating throat and respiratory tract infections.. It is regarded as sacred by Indian and Tibetan healers who believe it has special anti-ageing and immune enhancing properties.

Traditionally, healers have used the dried fruit to help overcome a wide range of problems like indigestion, fever, liver problems and anaemia. Not only is amla fruit revered by Ayurvedic (ancient Indian) practitioners, extensive research is revealing that it is beneficial in preventing and treating many conditions including stress, hay fever, arthritis, cataracts, and even cancer. Amla is proving a useful tool in the fight against cancer

Chinese researchers have discovered that amla fruit is a rich source of therapeutic chemicals, including quercetin (which is also found in apples), gallic and ellagic acids (found in green tea), and other less well-known ones such as chebulinic acid, chebulagic acid, corilagin, and isostrictiniin (Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi. 2003 Oct;28(10):940-3).

All of these chemicals are powerful antioxidants, which help protect you from harmful free radicals that can increase the risk of a wide range of serious diseases including cancer.

Subject: LEMON GRASS CAUSES CANCER CELLS TO COMMIT SUICIDE

I got this really good information on Lemongrass and cancer. Thought you would like to share this with everyone. Imagine what the Lemongrass essential oil can do. Would make a nice warm (not Hot) tea to drink and also get the benefits from it. Fresh Lemon Grass Drink Causes Apoptosis to Cancer Cells(apoptosis) noun: a type of cell death in which the cell uses specialized cellular machinery to kill itself; a cell suicide mechanism that enables metazoans to control cell number and eliminate cells that threaten the animal's survival.
************ ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ***

Fresh lemon grass fields in Israel become Mecca for cancer patients By Allison Kaplan Sommer April 02, 2006
A drink with as little as one gram of lemon grass contains enough citral to prompt cancer cells to commit suicide in the test tube.Israeli researchers find way to make cancer cells self-destruct - B

en Gurion UniversityAt first, Benny Zabidov, an Israeli agriculturalist who grows greenhouses full of lush spices on a pastoral farm in Kfar Yedidya in the Sharon region, couldn't understand why so many cancer patients from around the country were showing up on his doorstep asking for fresh lemon grass. It turned out that their doctors had sent them.

'They had been told to drink eight glasses of hot water with fresh lemon grass steeped in it on the days that they went for their radiation and chemotherapy treatments,' Zabidov told ISRAEL21c. 'And this is the place you go to in Israel for fresh lemon grass.'It all began when researchers at Ben Gurion University of the Negev discovered last year that the lemon aroma in herbs like lemon grass kills cancer cells in vitro, while leaving healthy cells unharmed.

The research team was led by Dr. Rivka Ofir and Prof. Yakov Weinstein, incumbent of the Albert Katz Chair in Cell-Differentiatio n and Malignant Diseases, from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at BGU.Citral is the key component that gives the lemony aroma and taste in several herbal plants such as lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus), melissa (Melissa officinalis) and verbena (Verbena officinalis. )

According to Ofir, the study found that citral causes cancer cells to 'commit suicide: using apoptosis, a mechanism called programmed cell death.' A drink with as little as one gram of lemon grass contains enough citral to prompt the cancer cells to commit suicide in the test tube.The BGU investigators checked the influence of the citral on cancerous cells by adding them to both cancerous cells and normal cells that were grown in a petri dish. The quantity added in the concentrate was equivalent to the amount contained in a cup of regular tea using one gram of lemon herbs in hot water. While the citral killed the cancerous cells, the normal cells remained unharmed.The findings were published in the scientific journal Planta Medica, which highlights research on alternative and herbal remedies.

Shortly afterwards, the discovery was featured in the popular Israeli press. Why does it work? Nobody knows for certain, but the BGU scientists have a theory. 'In each cell in our body, there is a genetic program which causes programmed cell death. When something goes wrong, the cells divide with no control and become cancer cells. In normal cells, when the cell discovers that the control system is not operating correctly - for example, when it recognizes that a cell contains faulty genetic material following cell division - it triggers cell death,' explains Weinstein.

'This research may explain the medical benefit of these herbs.' The success of their research led them to the conclusion that herbs containing citral may be consumed as a preventative measure against certain cancerous cells. As they learned of the BGU findings in the press, many physicians in Israel began to believe that while the research certainly needed to be explored further, in the meantime it would be advisable for their patients, who were looking for any possible tool to fight their condition, to try to harness the cancer-destroying properties of citral.

That's why Zabidov's farm - the only major grower of fresh lemon grass in Israel - has become a pilgrimage destination for these patients. Luckily, they found themselves in sympathetic hands. Zabidov greets visitors with a large kettle of aromatic lemon grass tea, a plate of cookies, and a supportive attitude. 'My father died of cancer, and my wife's sister died young because of cancer,' said Zabidov. 'So I understand what they are dealing with. And I may not know anything about medicine, but I'm a good listener.

And so they tell me about their expensive painful treatments and what they've been through. I would never tell them to stop being treated, but it's great that they are exploring alternatives and drinking the lemon grass tea as well.

'Zabidov knew from a young age that agriculture was his calling. At age 14, he enrolled in the Kfar Hayarok Agricultural high school. After his army service, he joined an idealistic group which headed south, in the Arava desert region, to found a new moshav (agricultural settlement) called Tsofar.

'We were very successful; we raised fruits and vegetables, and,' he notes with a smile, 'We raised some very nice children.' On a trip to Europe in the mid-80s, he began to become interested in herbs. Israel , at the time, was nothing like the trend-conscious cuisine-oriented country it is today, and the only spices being grown commercially were basics like parsley, dill, and coriander. Wandering in the Paris market, looking at the variety of herbs and spices, Zabidov realized that there was a great export potential in this niche. He brought samples back home with him, 'which was technically illegal,' he says with a guilty smile, to see how they would grow in his desert greenhouses. Soon, he was growing basil, oregano, tarragon, chives, sage, marjoram and melissa, and mint just to name a few.His business began to outgrow his desert facilities, and so he decided to move north, settling in the moshav of Kfar Yedidya, an hour and a half north of Tel Aviv.

He is now selling 'several hundred kilos' of lemon grass per week, and has signed with a distributor to package and put it in health food stores. Zabidov has taken it upon himself to learn more about the properties of citral, and help his customers learn more, and has invited medical experts to his farm to give lectures about how the citral works and why.

He also felt a responsibility to know what to tell his customers about its use. 'When I realized what was happening, I picked up the phone and called Dr. Weinstein at Ben-Gurion University , because these people were asking me exactly the best way to consume the citral. He said to put the loose grass in hot water, and drink about eight glasses each day.'Zabidov is pleased by the findings, not simply because it means business for his farm, but because it might influence his own health. Even before the news of its benefits were demonstrated, he and his family had been drinking lemon grass in hot water for years, 'just because it tastes good.'

Cancer Killer

Hi, the AngMo durian most of us ignored and disliked. Time
to plant some at home, if you've the garden.
This time let me pass some very useful and
informative Health related subject...read it carefully and if you believe
it is good ,pass to your friends.
Natural Cancer KILLER - 10,000 times
stronger than Chemo and more.....
How many people died in vain while this
billion-dollar
drug maker concealed the secret of the
miraculous Graviola tree?
If there ever was a single example that
makes it dramatically clear why the existence of Health Sciences
Institute is so vital to Americans like you, it's the incredible story
behind the Graviola tree.
The truth is stunningly simple: Deep
within the Amazon Rainforest grows a tree that could literally
revolutionize what you, your doctor, and the rest of the world thinks
about cancer treatment and chances of survival. The future has never
looked more promising.
Research shows that with extracts from
this miraculous tree it now may be possible to...
a.. Attack cancer safely and effectively
with an all-natural therapy that does not cause extreme nausea, weight
loss and hair loss
b.. Protect your immune system and avoid
deadly infections
c.. Feel stronger and healthier throughout
the course of the treatment
d.. Boost your energy and improve your
outlook on life
The source of this information is just as
stunning: It comes from one of America 's largest drug manufacturers, the
fruit of over 20 laboratory tests conducted since the 1970's! What those
tests revealed was nothing short of mind numbing... Extracts from the
tree were shown to:
a.. Effectively target and kill malignant
cells in 12 types of cancer, including colon, breast, prostate, lung and
pancreatic cancer.
b.. The tree compounds proved to be up to
10,000 times stronger in slowing the growth of cancer cells than
Adriamycin, a commonly used chemotherapeutic drug!
c.. What's more, unlike chemotherapy, the
compound extracted from the Graviola tree selectively hunts down and
kills only cancer cells. It does not harm healthy cells!
The amazing anti-cancer properties of the
Graviola tree have been extensively researched--so why haven't you heard
anything about it? If Graviola extract is as half as promising as it
appears to be--why doesn't every single oncologist at every major
hospital insist on using it on all his or her patients?
The spine-chilling answer illustrates just
how easily our health--and for many, our very lives(!)--are controlled by
money and power.
Graviola--the plant that worked too well
One of America 's biggest billion-dollar drug
makers began a search for a cancer cure and their research centered on
Graviola, a legendary healing tree from the Amazon Rainforest.
Various parts of the Graviola tree--including
the bark, leaves, roots, fruit and fruit-seeds--have been used for
centuries by medicine men and native Indians in South America to treat
heart disease, asthma, liver problems and arthritis. Going on very little
documented scientific evidence, the company poured money and resources
into testing the tree's anti-cancerous properties--and were shocked by
the results. Graviola proved itself to be a cancer-killing dynamo.
But that's where the Graviola story nearly
ended.
The company had one huge problem with the
Graviola tree--it's completely natural, and so, under federal law, not
patentable. There's no way to make serious profits from it.
It turns out the drug company invested nearly
seven years trying to synthesize two of the Graviola tree's most powerful
anti-cancer ingredients. If they could isolate and produce man-made clones
of what makes the Graviola so potent, they'd be able to patent it and make
their money back. Alas, they hit a brick wall. The original simply could
not be replicated. There was no way the company could protect its
profits--or even make back the millions it poured into research.
As the dream of huge profits evaporated, their
testing on Graviola came to a screeching halt. Even worse, the company
shelved the entire project and chose not to publish the findings of its
research!
Luckily, however, there was one scientist from
the Graviola research team whose conscience wouldn't let him see such
atrocity committed. Risking his career, he contacted a company that's
dedicated to harvesting medical plants from the Amazon Rainforest and
blew the whistle.
Miracle unleashed
When researchers at the Health Sciences Institute were
alerted to the news of Graviola, they began tracking the research done on
the cancer-killing tree. Evidence of the astounding effectiveness of
Graviola--and its shocking cover-up--came in fast and furious...
...The National Cancer Institute performed the first
scientific research in 1976. The results showed that Graviola's "leaves
and stems were found effective in attacking and destroying malignant
cells." Inexplicably, the results were published in an internal report
and never released to the public...
...Since 1976, Graviola has proven to be an immensely
potent cancer killer in 20 independent laboratory tests, yet no
double-blind clinical trials--the typical benchmark mainstream doctors
and journals use to judge a treatment's value--were ever initiated...
....A study published in the Journal of Natural Products,
following a recent study conducted at Catholic University of South Korea
stated that one chemical in Graviola was found to selectively kill colon
cancer cells at "10,000 times the potency of (the commonly used
chemotherapy drug) Adriamycin..."
...The most significant part of the Catholic University of
South Korea report is that Graviola was shown to selectively target the
cancer cells, leaving healthy cells untouched. Unlike chemotherapy, which
indiscriminately targets all actively reproducing cells (such as stomach
and hair cells), causing the often devastating side effects of nausea and
hair loss in cancer patients.
...A study at Purdue University recently found that leaves
from the Graviola tree killed cancer cells among six human cell lines and
were especially effective against prostate, pancreatic and lung
cancers...
Seven years of silence broken--it's finally here!
A limited supply of Graviola extract, grown and harvested
by indigenous people in Brazil , is finally available in America . The
full Graviola story--including where you can get it and how to use it--is
included in Beyond Chemotherapy: New Cancer Killers, Safe as Mother's
Milk, a Health Sciences Institute FREE special bonus report on natural
substances that will effectively revolutionize the fight against cancer.
This crucial report (along with five more FREE reports) is
yours ABSOLUTELY FREE with a new membership to the Health Sciences
Institute. It's just one example of how absolutely vital each report from
the Institute can be to your life and those of your loved ones.
From breakthrough cancer and heart research and
revolutionary Amazon Rainforest herbology to world-leading anti-aging
research and nutritional medicine, every monthly Health Sciences
Institute Member's Alert puts in your hands today cures the rest of
America --including your own doctor(!)--is likely to find out only ten
years from now.
You need the Health Sciences Institute in your life
because you and your loved ones deserve to know--and you deserve to know
it NOW!!

6 kinds of Food that Keeps You Young

Olive Oil
Four decades ago, researchers from the Seven Countries Study concluded that the monounsaturated fats in olive oil were largely responsible for the low rates of heart disease and cancer on the Greek island of Crete. Now we know that olive oil also contains polyphenols, powerful antioxidants that may help prevent age-related diseases.

Yogurt
In the 1970s, Soviet Georgia was rumored to have more centenarians per capita than any other country. Reports at the time claimed that the secret of their long lives was yogurt, a food ubiquitous in their diets. While the age-defying powers of yogurt never have been proved directly, yogurt is rich in calcium, which helps stave off osteoporosis and contains 'good bacteria' that help maintain gut health and diminish the incidence of age-related intestinal illness.

Fish
Thirty years ago, researchers began to study why the native Inuits of Alaska were remarkably free of heart disease. The reason, scientists now think, is the extraordinary amount of fish they consume. Fish is an abundant source of omega-3 fats, which help prevent cholesterol buildup in arteries and protect against abnormal heart rhythms.

Chocolate
The Kuna people of the San Blas islands, off the coast of Panama, have a rate of heart disease that is nine times less than that of mainland Panamanians. The reason? The Kuna drink plenty of a beverage made with generous proportions of cocoa, which is unusually rich in flavanols that help preserve the healthy function of blood vessels. Maintaining youthful blood vessels lowers risk of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, kidney disease and dementia.

Nuts
Studies of Seventh-Day Adventists (a religious denomination that emphasizes healthy living and a vegetarian diet) show that those who eat nuts gain, on average, an extra two and a half years. Nuts are rich sources of unsaturated fats, so they offer benefits similar to those associated with olive oil. They're also concentrated sources of vitamins, minerals and other phytochemicals, including antioxidants.

Blueberries
In a landmark study published in 1999, researchers at Tufts University's Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging fed rats blueberry extract for a period of time that in 'rat lives' is equivalent to 10 human years. These rats outperformed rats fed regular chow on tests of balance and coordination when they reached old age. Compounds in blueberries (and other berries) mitigate inflammation and oxidative damage, which are associated with age-related deficits in memory and motor function.