The benefits of mistletoe go further than just giving you the opportunity to kiss your Christmas cutie.

MedicalNewsToday.com reports that this yuletide plant can actually kill cancer cells, making it one possible alternative for chemotherapy.

Health sciences student Zahra Lotfollahi of the University of Adelaide, together with her mentors and other scientists, studied the extract of three different kinds of mistletoe and compared their effects on colon cancer cells against chemotherapy.

The team found that the species “Fraxini” worked most effectively against colon cancer cells. The Fraxini extract far was gentler than chemotherapy, and it zones in on the disease, leaving healthy intestinal cells unharmed.

Although the use of mistletoe for cancer treatment has already been legalized in Europe, it is still under investigation in other countries. In the Philippines, oncologists have yet to validate and prescribe this kind of herbal remedy.

There are many new ways to fight the Big C, but in the end, prevention is still the best cure. Live well, and do you best to stop stressing over things. Cancer has no room in the body of someone who is balanced physically, emotionally, and mentally.

(Photo by Will Folsom via Flickr Creative Commons)