<snip>

        ????

I see Perlie's earlier-declared defeat at finding a cure hasn't
dimmed his endeavors at seeking to become the biggest boob possible.

        ==:-x

Mike

just found out I had herpes about  6 montha ago. It was real hard at first
but I am dealing with it. What can trigger outbreaks. I just joined this
newsgroup
Sorry folks, I just missed to bring a topic about these particular
factors before I took-off.

I've figured that every time I was ingesting whatever foods containing
fenugreek, cumin, fennel, I did not feel the same as before. I've
always
thought that the consumption of these above mentioned herbs (also the
beer
contains makes the level of estrogen increase in men at least)
would kind of trigger herpes reactivation ( did not had any real
symptoms due
to the strong fight I've taken against the virus but still..)

What I will do is I will try for a few weeks to avoid all these herbs
and continue to eat lots of high arginine containing foods to see if my
body can
cope with it in the fight to prevent herpes outbreaks.

Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum). The seeds and sprouts have a
centuries-old folk reputation as breast enlargers. In fact, 100 years
ago the herb was a key ingredient in the original formula for Lydia
Pinkham's Vegetable Compound, a popular remedy for "female
troubles"--everything from menstrual pain to postmenopausal vaginal
dryness.

As I learned in Arkansas, there are also modern testimonials for
fenugreek's effects on the breasts and good reason to believe this herb
really works.

Fenugreek seeds contain a fair amount of diosgenin, a chemical compound
that's often used to create semisynthetic forms of the female sex
hormone estrogen.

While estrogen has many effects on the body, two relate principally to
breast enlargement. The hormone causes growth of breast cells and
contributes to water retention. In fact, many women who take the Pill,
which contains estrogen, for birth control often experience as a side
effect the feeling of breast fullness caused by water retention.

Plant estrogen (phytoestrogen) from sources like fenugreek does not
lead to uncomfortable breast fullness. If my daughter wanted to try
fenugreek, I might suggest that she drink a formula that I developed
for exactly this purpose. I call it Bustea.

Massaging powdered fenugreek into the breasts is also worth a try,
since breast tissue can apparently absorb a certain amount of plant
chemicals. Not too long ago, two distinguished pharmacognosists
(natural product pharmacists) published a paper entitled "Higher Plants
as Potential Sources of Galactagogues." (Galactagogues are substances
that promote the secretion and flow of breast milk.) These two
scientists seemed surprised to find that 68 of the 255 plants used as
traditional galactagogues were and are applied topically.

To use powdered fenugreek, grind up seeds or sprouts in a blender, add
a dash of vegetable oil and apply the mixture as a paste.

Bustea

Want a bustier look? Drink Bustea! Here's a tea recipe that will give
you a hearty dose of breast-enhancing herbs.

In a saucepan, pour two cups of water over one cup of fenugreek
sprouts. Add a dash or two of anise, basil, caraway, dill, fennel,
licorice, marjoram and lemongrass. Bring to a boil, then let cool. Add
lemon juice and honey to taste. Drink one to two cups a day.

Fennel contains phytoestrogens, plant chemicals similar to the female
hormone estrogen. Folklore maintains that the other herbs in this tea
can also help enlarge the breasts.

PH_GP_2leaves Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare). Fennel is another estrogenic
herb that has been used for centuries to promote milk production. You
could include it in Bustea to complement thefenugreek. Don't use fennel
oil, however. In pregnant women, the oil can cause miscarriage. And in
doses greater than about a teaspoon, it can be toxic.

PH_GP_2leaves Saw palmetto (Serenoa repens). This plant is best known
these days for its ability to shrink an enlarged prostate gland in men.
But a century ago, this herb was best known as a folk approach to
breast enlargement. Naturopathic physicians continue to recommend it
for this purpose. Most people use standardized store-bought capsules
(one to two grams) or alcohol extracts. To use this herb, follow the
package directions.

PH_GP_2leaves Wild yam (Dioscorea villosa). Here's another herb that is
reputed to have estrogenic effects. Personally, I've never been that
impressed with wild yam because, according to my database, it contains
a lot less diosgenin than fenugreek. But I bow to practicing herbalists
such as Susun Weed, author of Breast Cancer? Breast Health! who say
that they have made salves out of the wild yam. These herbalists
maintain that the women who use this salve gain the desired effects. To
make a salve, it's best to shave off the outer bark of the root and
reduce the inner root bark to paste in a blender.

Wild Yam

Also called colic root or rheumatism root, wild yam is a twining
perennial that was once used by American Indians to ease the pain of
childbirth. 1 WILD

PH_GP_1leaf Cumin (Cuminum cyminum). Both common cumin and black cumin
(Nigella sativa) have been shown to increase the number of mammary
cells in laboratory animals. The herb's effects on the human breast are
unknown, but mammals tend to have similar reactions to compounds with
mammary effects. You could spice up Bustea with more ground cumin. You
could also make liberal use of this spice in cooking.
http://www.mothernature.com/Library/Bookshelf/Books/41/21.cfm

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/picrender.fcgi?artid=250664&blobtype=pdf

Stimulation of Estrogen Receptor mRNA Levels in MCF-7 Cells by
Herpes Simplex Virus Infection
ELIZABETH A. OFFORD," t ROBIN E. LEAKE,2 AND JOAN C. M. MACNAB1*
Medical Research Council, Institute of Virology, University of Glasgow,
Church Street, Glasgoit' Gl SJR,' and
Department of Biochemistry, University of Glasgow, Glasgois' G12 8QQ,2
Scotland
Received 26 July 1988/Accepted 23 December 1988
Infection of estrogen-responsive cells (MCF-7) with herpes simplex
virus type 1 or 2 stimulates expression of
the estrogen receptor message. Experiments on infection with the mutant
virus, tsK, together with transfection
studies implicate the virion protein, Vmw65, in the response. Cellular
protein synthesis is essential for estrogen
receptor mRNA expression.
Herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection stimulates the
expression of a limited number of polypeptides (19, 25, 28,
35) against a general background of shutoff of host macromolecular
synthesis (2, 18, 27, 36). Certain cellular genes are
activated at the level of transcription (13, 14, 31). The ability
of HSV to activate cellular genes may be important in the
process of transformation, since HSV is a common infectious
agent of the cervix and is associated with cervical
intraepithelial neoplasia and cervical cancer (24).
We have investigated the effect of HSV infection on
transcription of a specific cellular gene, the estrogen receptor
(ER). A proportion of human breast and gynecological
cancers is known to be estrogen dependent (21, 38). The
levels of ER and progesterone receptors in such tumors are
used to predict response to endocrine therapy. Long-term
exposure to the steroid-based contraceptive pill is a high risk
factor for development of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia.
(12). We were interested to know whether there was any
direct interaction between HSV infection and steroid hormones.
To study this, we utilized the estrogen-responsive
breast-cell line MCF-7 (37). These cells contain high levels of
ER and progesterone receptor. They are tumorigenic in nude
mice only in the presence of estrogen. Thus, stimulation by
estrogen is an essential prerequisite of tumorigenesis.
We looked at the effect of HSV infection on the level of
the ER message in MCF-7 cells by slot blot and Northern
(RNA) blot analysis. Cells (equal numbers in each experiment)
were cultured in plastic flasks in Dulbecco medium
plus 10% fetal calf serum until they were 60% confluent and
then maintained in Dulbecco medium plus 2% heat-inactivated,
dextran-coated, charcoal-stripped serum (22) for 48 h
before and throughout treatment with estrogen (10-8 M,
estradiol-173 [E2] for 24 h) or infection with virus (HSV-1 or
-2, 10 PFU per cell for 0 to 12 h). Total cytoplasmic RNA
was extracted (17) and quantitated spectrophotometrically.
RNA (10 to 25 jig) or RNA from equal numbers of cells was
denatured and transferred to Hybond TM-N membrane
(Amersham) either directly via slot blot apparatus (Schleicher
& Schuell) or by capillary transfer of electrophoretically
separated RNA (1.2% agarose, 6% formaldehyde,
morpholinepropanesulfonic acid [MOPS] buffer). Conditions
for denaturation of RNA, gel electrophoresis, hybridization,
* Corresponding author.
t Present address: Institut Suisse de Recherches Experimentales
sur le Cancer, Chemin des Boveresses 155, 1066 Epalinges.
S/Lausanne, Switzerland.
and removal of the probe were as specified by the manufacturers
of Hybond TM-N membrane. Blots were probed with
a kinase-labeled (>2 x 108 cpm per pg of DNA) synthetic
oligonucleotide consisting of the complementary strand of
the ER message in a region unique to the ER message
(nucleotides 258 through 313). ER blots were washed once in
2x SSPE (lx SSPE is 0.18 M NaCI, 0.01 M Na2H,P04,
0.001 M EDTA)-0.1% sodium dodecyl sulfate for 30 min
each at room temperature, resulting in a single, specific
6.2-kilobase (kb) band. The ER probe was then removed,
and the blots were reprobed with a cDNA clone (20) to the
standard y-actin message labeled by random priming (Pharmacia).
Actin blots were washed once in 2x SSPE-0.1%
sodium dodecyl sulfate and then twice in 0.lx SSPE-0.1%
sodium dodecyl sulfate for 30 min each at 65°C, resulting in
a single, specific band of 2.0 kb. The standard message used
FIG. 1. MCF-7 cells were maintained as controls or infected with
HSV-1 (10 PFU per cell) for 2 to 8 h or infected with tsK for 8 h.
Total cytoplasmic RNA was extracted in each case, and 25 p.g
of RNA was analyzed by Northern blotting. The blot was hybridized
first with [y--3P]ATP-labeled ER oligonucleotide and then with
[Oa-32P]dCTP-labeled y-actin cDNA. Size markers of 6 kb for the ER
message (actual size 6.2 kb) and 2 kb for the actin message are
indicated. The results of densitometric analysis are shown in Table

The rest of the article at the above link (or this link)
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/pagerender.fcgi?artid=250664&pageindex=1#page