Goopy Ear Wax And Unpleasant Body Odors Signal Breast Cancer Risk

I found this research finding interesting since many practitoners of yoga are naturalists and don't use deodorant with chemicals, and many might have ear coning done to clear the ear canal to better "listen to God". We attempt to keep our temple light and clean of toxicities from food, beverage and thought.

In ancient yogic kriya practices, the use of "ear coning" was common to clear the ear of wax so we could better "hear God". The practice of cleansing the nasal passages with a neti bottle and warm saline was done to inhale "holy spirit" or our whole breath. Another practice included the swallowing of gauze rope to churn in the stomach and remove irritants and mucus. And self colonics were done to clear the lower colon of not only fecal contaminants, but also emotions that get trapped in the colon. Another practice is to brush the skin lightly in an upward movement toward lymph nodes (groin, abdomen, armpits) in the morning to stimulate the lymphatic drainage system. And finally the use of a tongue scraper to remove dead bacteria and other substances on the tongue in the morning that accumulate during the cleansing process that takes place while we are asleep. Might sound strange and a bit gross - but actually makes total sense.

The concept is to keep all mucous membranes and openings into the body, or temple, clean and clear for "God's spirit" to enter into a healthy state. Now I find this interesting that Japanese researchers have found that a protein created by a gene associated with breast cancer risk is also associated with smelly armpits and sticky earwax (probably indicating an internal toxic state).

Goopy Ear Wax And Unpleasant Body Odors Signal Breast Cancer Risk
If having malodorous armpits (called osmidrosis) and goopy earwax isn't bad enough, a discovery by Japanese scientists may add a more serious problem for women facing these cosmetic calamities. That's because they've found that a gene responsible for breast cancer causes these physical symptoms. The report describing this finding is featured on the cover of The FASEB Journal's June 2009 print issue, and should arm physicians with another clue for detecting breast cancer risk.

To draw their conclusions, Ishikawa and colleagues monitored the activities of a protein created by a gene associated with breast cancer, called "ABCC11." By studying this gene and its complex cellular and molecular interactions in the body, the researchers discovered a distinct link between the gene and excessively smelly armpits and wet, sticky earwax. Specifically, the researchers expressed the ABCC11 gene and variant proteins in cultured human embryonic kidney cells and showed exactly how the ABCC11 gene produces the wet-type earwax and excessive armpit odor. This discovery could lead to practical tools for clinicians—especially those in developing nations—to rapidly identify who may have a higher risk for breast cancer.

"Wet, sticky earwax might not be easily noticed, but most people can't miss unpleasant body odors," said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal, "As it turns out, the type of ear wax one has is linked to a gene that leads to bad odors from one's armpit. These may become lifesaving clues to the early detection and treatment of breast cancer."

Yu Toyoda, Aki Sakurai, Yasumasa Mitani, Masahiro Nakashima, Koh-ichiro Yoshiura, Hiroshi Nakagawa, Yasuo Sakai, Ikuko Ota, Alexander Lezhava, Yoshihide Hayashizaki, Norio Niikawa, and Toshihisa Ishikawa. Earwax, osmidrosis, and breast cancer: why does one SNP (538G>A) in the human ABC transporter ABCC11 gene determine earwax type? FASEB Journal, 2009 23: 2001-2013

http://www.fasebj.org/cgi/content/abstract/23/6/2001