@ GRAPEFRUIT, vs childhood

GRAPEFRUIT, “the flesh is acidic” just about summed it up for me for most of my life. As with some other fruits I never quite understood the attraction. Why would anyone put a half of one of these on a plate in front of them and proceed to squirt acid in their eyes by pressing into the [ bleep ] thing with a spoon? Then I got older. Lately I cant seem to get enough GRAPEFRUIT. I sit down and cant stop. Fortunately it doesn’t come in gallon size containers. Maybe I will branch out and try the un-skinned do it yourself type.
(and one of the best alcoholic beverages I have ever had was something called a “Big Pink” love that ‘masculine’ name, in a hip coffee shop called Muddy Waters up in Burlington Vermont. If they had lined up four or five of them I am not sure if or when I would have stopped. The ingredients were Campari, ginger ale, vodka, and GRAPEFRUIT JUICE!)

My early “raw” research notes follow below, more detailed discussion of the supporting studies will appear later.

–GRAPEFRUIT contains MONOTERPENES the effects of which have been described as “sweeping carcinogens out of the body”.
–some studies indicate that GRAPEFRUIT inhibits breast cancer cells in vitro
–inhibits cytochrome P450 3A4
–high in LYCOPENE and LIMINOIDS. (Who thinks that the ONLY place one can find LYCOPENE is in tomatoes? If you stay with these reports for awhile you’ll find there are several other places/foods than tomatoes!)
–contains GLUCARATES which help prevent breast cancer
–contains pectin
–increases antioxidants
–recent research proves that drinking GRAPEFRUIT JUICE provides protection against lung and colon cancer. Drinking three 6 ounce glasses of GRAPEFRUIT JUICE a day reduced the activity of an enzyme that activates cancer causing chemicals
–a flavonoid in GRAPEFRUIT called NARINGENIN helps repair damaged DNA in human prostate cancer cells
–GRAPEFRUIT derived LYCOPENE was shown to have an effect against androgen independent prostate cancer cells, in a concentration and time dependent manner. Same study determined that LUTEIN demonstrated a similar but slightly lesser response than LYCOPENE. No synergistic or additive effect observed between the two phytonutrients together.
–CALCIUM D GLUCARATE IS THE CALCIUM SALT OF D-GLUCARIC ACID. (found in highest concentrations in Oranges, APPLES, GRAPEFRUIT and CRUCIFEROUS VEGETABLES.) It (CDG) has been shown to inhibit beta-glucuronidase an enzyme. Elevated b-glucuronidase activity is associated with increased risk of various cancers, particularly those that are hormone related such as breast prostate and colon cancers.
–ten essential oils were tested against three laboratory human cancer cell lines. One of the secondary results was that the ten oils were more effective against prostate cancer than they were against lung or breast. One of the ten was GRAPEFRUIT and the prostate cancer cell line was the PC-3 androgen independent line.
–LYCOPENE is found in GRAPEFRUIT watermelon and papaya as well as tomatoes. It exhibits antioxidant and anti-cancer properties. …it has the potential to interfere with chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
–contains a compound called BERGAMOTTIN which reduces the activity of MMP (matrix metalloproteinase) which plays and important role in the ability of cancer cells to invade other tissues. Affected MMP-2, MMP-5 and MMP-9 expression. BERGAMOTTIN a phytochemical in GRAPEFRUIT inhibits tumor activity through its anti-invasive effects on tumor growth.
–multidrug resistance is often seen in cancer cells that have stopped reacting to chemotherapy. One specific chemical on the cancer cell walls is seen to be overexpressed, P-glycoprotein. NARINGIN the predominant flavone found in GRAPEFRUIT is able to “significantly lower P-glycoprotein expression”
–contains D-LIMONENE, one of the most common terpenes in nature (found in orange, lemon, mandarin, lime and GRAPEFRUIT citrus oils). (D-LIMONENE is also described as a solvent of cholesterol) It has also been used for heartburn and GERD, “has well established chemopreventive activity against many types of cancer”
It has already seen a PHASE 1 clinical trial with results showing a partial response in a patient with breast cancer. and “stable disease” for more than six months in several patients with colon cancer.
–the results of another study indicated that the consumption of GRAPEFRUIT or a compound LIMONIN found in GRAPEFRUIT ‘may’ help suppress colon cancer development

If I had known as an eight year old how wonderful GRAPEFRUIT was would I have liked it any better? No!
I was an eight year old! A kid! A smart ass! BUT YOU ARE OLDER WISER AND MORE MATURE! These foods were put on earth FOR YOU! They were created in God’s Kitchen, and you want man made cheese puffs? Artificial sweeteners? Artificial colorants? Preservatives? Chemicals?

martin

@ FIG: Ficus carica, GO FIGURE!

FIGS were in my mind an unexpected surprise, I didn’t think of it as anything more than a natural package of candy and fiber. It wasn’t! It has some hidden and surprising phytonutrients.

My “raw” research notes appear below, more detailed discussion of the supporting studies will have to follow later.

–of all the common fruits FIGS have the highest concentration of minerals. Ditto polyphenols, RED WINE and TEA are low compared to FIGS.
–FIGS also have BENZALEDHYDE and COUMARINS two other anticancer compounds. BENZALDEHYDE has been used to treat terminal human carcinomas. COUMARINS have been used for skin and prostate cancers.
–FIGS are a member of the MULBERRY family.
–a study at the U of Wisc School of Medicine found a chemical compound called LUPEOL (also found in many fruits STRAWBERRIES MANGOES and FIGS) that may aid in fight against prostate cancer. “Nude” mice were injected with human prostate cancer cells. Mice receiving LUPEOL alone showed a substantial slowing of the cancer process and those that received LUPEOL with a lab produced antibody showed even greater results, Cancer Research Dec 1 2005.
–by dried weight can have 5% COUMARINS
–“these results may indicate a possible preventive effect at the level found naturally in the fruit
–have one of the highest amounts of calcium for any fruit
–contains measurable amounts of oxalates.
–FIG FRUIT LATEX, I tried this once in North Carolina by eating or trying to eat an unripe FIG a very unpleasant experience, contains significant amounts of POLYPHENOLIC compounds..findings in this study indicated potent effect in some cancer lines and little or no effect in others.
–FIG RESIN …showed in vitro inhibitory effects on proliferation of various cancer cell lines.
–FERULIC ACID, QUERCETINS, PSORALEN, and BERGAPTEN found within FIGS
–FIG leaf extracts contained QUERCETIN and LUTEOLIN
–FIGS are a component of the Mediterranean Diet “for millennia”. In a comparison of black red yellow and green FIG varieties the major CYANIDIN was C3R in all varieties. Extracts of darker varieties showed higher contents of phytochemicals than those levels found in the lighter colored varieties. “Fruits of the Mission FIG variety contained the highest levels of polyphenols, flavonoids, and anthocyanins, also exhibited the greatest antioxidant activity”
–FIG LATEX has been shown to be effective against warts, this from Iran.
–some studies from as far back as 1952 seemed to be aware that compounds from FIGS could inhibit cancer.
–crude extracts of West Indian Ficus Pumilla were shown to be cytotoxic to the leukemic cell line MT-4
–FIGS are low in calories 100 grams have 74 calories
–antioxidant levels comparable to apples
–chlorogenic acid in FIGS helps lower blood sugar levels
–100 g of dried figs contain 640 mg of potassium, 162 mg of calcium, and 2.03 mg of iron.

There are a number of sweet things that fight cancer. FIGS can be added to the list. Instead of reaching for a bowl of ice cream, milk or soy based, reach for some figs. They will provide phytonutrients that ice cream cant. They will provide vitamins minerals and fibre. They will do more towards improving your health than either you or I ever suspected.

choose carefully
eat well
best wishes

martin

+ WHAT IS: ONCOGENE?

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An oncogene is a gene that has the potential to cause cancer.^[ In tumor cells, they are often mutated or expressed at high levels.

Most normal cells undergo a programmed form of death (apoptosis). Activated oncogenes can cause those cells that ought to die to survive and proliferate instead. Most oncogenes require an additional step, such as mutations in another gene, or environmental factors, such as viral infection, to cause cancer. Since the 1970s, dozens of oncogenes have been identified in human cancer. Many cancer drugs target those DNA sequences and their products.

@ GARLIC, Allium sativum

“Did you know that if you rub garlic on the bottoms of your feet you will smell it on your breath the next day?” that was according to my father, a dentist who only ate garlic containing foods on Friday or Saturday so that when he began work the following Monday there would be no ‘garlic breath’.

It should come as no surprise that GARLIC has been heavily researched nor should it be surprising that it is ‘good’ for you.

It is the details, the phytonutrients that are in GARLIC and their effects that should be a surprise because this small odoriferous member of the allium family is claimed to be effective:
–preventing heart disease
–reducing cholesterol and high blood pressure
–decreasing aortic plaque deposits
–inhibiting vascular calcification in humans
–vasodilator
–reducing platelet aggregation
–reducing blood homocysteine levels
–enhancing thiamin absorption
–fighting some bacteria and fungi

According, recently, to the American Cancer Society, “not enough evidence at this time”. I know the august ACS is not to be questioned, but I find that a lot of their statements are simply out of date or far far too conservative.

my initial notes as follows, more detailed discussion of the studies I found is to come later..

-of 37 studies done to examine garlic’s effectiveness as a cancer inhibitor, 28 were successful..per Lisa Fayed: About.com guide regarding garlic, preliminary studies show an increased cancer inhibitory effect on PC and stomach cancer
-according to “Web MD, by Jennifer Warner: not enough evidence to link with stomach, breast, lung or endometrial cancers. but..exists.. some evidence may reduce risk in colon, prostate, ovary, larynx, mouth, kidney, and esophagus cancers. Many researchers say that most of the studies done on garlic meet ‘scientific standards’.
-garlic allegedly counteracts a cancer causing compound in fermented foods such as wine cheese yogurt and bread
-in a March 2, 2000 article in “Science Daily” “researchers have designed a urine test that can simultaneously measure the extent of a potential carcinogenic process and a marker of garlic consumption in humans”. The test suggested that the more garlic consumed the lower the levels of the potential carcinogenic process were. The research is all about body processes associated with nitrogen containing compounds…”our results showed..inversely related to each other.. process most commonly initiated by exposure to substances called NITRATES. About 20% of nitrates consumed convert to nitrites. A cascade of events can convert these compounds into what are called nitrosamines and many but not all nitrosamines are linked to cancer.” By the way virtually ALL sandwich meats and processed meats like hot dogs and sausages, are ‘doctored’ with nitrates and nitrites. Russian roulette with a hot dog?
– diallyl sulfide, a compound in garlic induces growth inhibition and apoptosis of anaplastic thyroid cancer cells.
-diallyl trisulfide another compound in garlic induced G2/M phase cell cycle arrest in DU 145 PCa cell line
Pharm Res 2010 Feb 9
-diallyl polysulfides “induce arrest of growth and apoptosis in colon cancer cells”
-ajoene is one of the main compounds found in garlic when crushed garlic is heated. Also a cancer fighting compound
-garlic constituent diallyl trisulfide induced apoptosis in MCF7 human breast cancer cells.
-diallyl trisulfide induces apoptosis in human T24 bladder cancer cells
-diallyl trisulfide suppresses androgen receptor function in prostate cancer cells (Clin Cancer Research, Aug 2009)
-Carcinogenesis 2006 Nov 27 …two new novel garlic compounds show anti-invasion effects in PCa ovarian nasopharyngeal and esophageal carcinomas, through restoration of E-cadherin expression.
-diallyl trisulfide inhibits DU 145 and LNCaP prostate cancer cells in culture and in vivo.
-diallyl disulfide inhibits MMP 2 and 9 in LNCaP cells
-diallyl trisulfide suppresses AR function in LNCaP, C4-2 and TRAMP-C1 prostate cancer cells
-diallyl disulfide suppresses expression of apoptosis associated proteins in androgen independent human prostate cancer cells (PC-3 cell line)
-garlic has a novel docetaxel sensitizer “as a treatment option for hormone refractory prostate cancer”
-S-allylmercaptocysteine described as a “novel in vivo anti-metastatic agent for androgen independent PCa”
-a population based study indicated that allium vegetables independent of virtually any other food, were directly related to reduced prostate cancer incidence

Above you’ve read a few very brief summaries of published studies (a fraction of the total available) regarding garlic and its constituents. You can rely on what the American Cancer Society tells you or be more proactive. Alter your eating habits. I’d rather sacrifice a few kisses for a longer and healthier life and so would you. Garlic is one of the few foods that scientists have found to contain compounds that have been shown to have an effect on those cancers that have already metastasized. Will your doctor tell you to eat more garlic? Will he tell you that it is an element in the Mediterranean Diet? Probably not. If he does let me know because I’d like to honor him in this blog

eat well, dont rub garlic on your feet
take my dad’s word for it
best in health
mm