ScienceDaily (Jun. 28, 2007) — They’ve been said to stall aging, ward off disease and wage internal war against the harmful free radicals that pummel our bodies every day. But just how well do antioxidants—those all-powerful compounds often found in richly colored fruits and vegetables, such as blueberries, blackberries and red cabbage—actually perform inside the human body?

Nutritionists with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief scientific research agency, recently tackled this question. Their findings appear in the current issue of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition.

Led by Ronald Prior, an ARS chemist who works at the Arkansas Children’s Nutrition Center in Little Rock, the researchers investigated how the consumption of different fruits affected volunteers’ antioxidant status.

They did this by measuring the plasma (blood) antioxidant capacity (AOC) of volunteers who’d just ingested blueberries, cherries, dried plums, dried-plum juice, grapes, kiwis or strawberries.

The series of ARS studies confirmed what many antioxidant experts have long suspected: that the free-radical-busting compounds found in foods are quite complex, with some apparently being easier to absorb and utilize than others.

For instance, the researchers found that despite their high antioxidant content, plums did not raise plasma AOC levels in volunteers. According to Prior, one of the major phytochemicals in plums is chlorogenic acid, a compound not readily absorbed by humans.

As for the wild blueberry, a larger-than-average serving of this much-heralded antioxidant source was needed to boost plasma AOC levels. A noticeable climb in AOC wasn’t detected until volunteers consumed at least a half-cup serving of the berries.

The volunteers’ consumption of grapes and kiwifruit both led to noticeable spikes in plasma AOC. But it’s not clear yet which compounds were responsible for the increased levels.

Alternatively, when volunteers were asked to consume a shake containing protein, carbohydrates and fat, with no antioxidants, their blood antioxidant levels dropped.

While additional research is needed to determine if elevated plasma AOC levels translate to a lower risk for chronic degenerative disease, the current ARS study is an important first step in efforts to establish recommendations for antioxidants in the diet.

USDA/Agricultural Research Service (2007, June 28). Not All Antioxidants Are Created Equal. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 4, 2007, from http://www.sciencedaily.com

ScienceDaily (Nov. 12, 2006) — Cancer patients can get the vital nutritional benefits from taking antioxidants without the risk of interfering with radiation treatment, according to research findings being presented this weekend at the Society of Integrative Oncology’s Third International Conference in Boston. The Society for Integrative Oncology is a non-profit organization of oncologists and other health professionals studying and integrating effective complementary therapies in cancer care.

The study, Effect of Concomitant Naturopathic Therapies on Clinical Tumor Response to External Beam Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer, was conducted by researchers at Cancer Treatment Centers of America and reviewed PSA levels of prostate cancer patients after receiving radiation therapy. Researchers found no difference between patients taking antioxidants and those who did not. Antioxidants used in the study included green tea extract, melatonin, high-potency multivitamins, vitamin C and vitamin E.

Cancer Treatment Centers of America chose this study to address clinical concerns about the use of dietary supplements in conjunction with conventional cancer therapies. The study addressed the concern that antioxidants might interfere with cancer cell oxidation levels that contribute to tumor killing by chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

“This study provides evidence that antioxidants as a complementary therapy in cancer treatment do not interfere with external beam radiation therapy,” said Timothy Birdsall, ND, vice president of integrative medicine for Cancer Treatment Centers of America and lead author of the paper. “Antioxidants are one of many complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies that are crucial in today’s fight against cancer.”

Treating cancer with advanced radiation, chemotherapy and surgery remains the best option for patients medically. But the side effects of these treatments can devastate a patient physically and emotionally. Through a fully integrated whole person care model, combining the best of traditional medicine with scientifically supported complementary and alternative therapies, cancer patients appear to be living a better quality of life.

“In cancer treatment today, we have to look beyond the traditional focus of treating only the tumor,” Birdsall said.

“Cancer patients will be the first to tell you that’s not enough. The integrated, whole person approach to cancer is highly valued, so much so that cancer patients and their caregivers are seeking out complementary or alternative therapies on their own.”

More than 80 percent of cancer patients report using some sort of CAM treatmenti, many of them without medical supervisionii. Taking supplements without supervision, however, creates a huge patient safety risk. St. John’s Wort, for example, is taken by some cancer patients to help lessen feelings of depression. But St. John’s Wort can interfere with the effectiveness of some forms of chemotherapy, ultimately doing patients more harm than good.

John C. Williams, Jr., a prostate cancer survivor from Reidsville, GA, credits having fully integrated cancer care with helping him get through his cancer treatment. “I didn’t know which was scarier, being diagnosed with cancer or when the doctor told me about the treatments,” Williams said. “The whole person approach at Cancer Treatment Centers of America was my choice because they used nutrition, supplements, physical therapy and other therapies to help me keep my body, mind and spirit strong.”

Adapted from materials provided by Cancer Treatment Centers of America, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Janice and Rodney Dietert display herbal and fungal medicinal sources that show promise for addressing developmental immunotoxicity (DIT) and DIT-associated diseases. On the tray are: sang-hwang mushroom, Panax ginseng, echinacea, shiitake mushroom and astragalus. (Credit: Image provided by Cornell University)

ScienceDaily (May 3, 2007) — A Cornell researcher and his wife have conducted the first comprehensive review of later-life diseases that develop in people who were exposed to environmental toxins or drugs either in the womb or as infants. They have found that most of the diseases have two things in common: They involve an imbalanced immune system and exaggerated inflammatory reactions (at the cellular level).

In an invited, peer-reviewed article on developmental immunotoxicity (DIT), published in a recent issue of Current Medicinal Chemistry, Rodney Dietert, professor of immunotoxicology at Cornell’s College of Veterinary Medicine, and Janice Dietert of Performance Plus Consulting in Lansing, N.Y., found that almost all the chronic diseases that are associated with DIT share the same type of immunological damage.

The diseases linked to DIT include asthma, allergy, suppressed responses to vaccines, increased susceptibility to infections, childhood neurobehavioral conditions, autoimmunity, cancer, cerebral palsy, atherosclerosis, hypertension and male sterility.

Toxins that are known to cause developmental immune problems in fetuses and neonates, according to the Dieterts, include herbicides, pesticides, alcohol, heavy metals, maternal smoking, antibiotics, diesel exhaust, drugs of abuse and PCBs.

Antidotes to DIT, the researchers note, could come from a variety of sources, including herbal and fungal chemicals — from mushrooms to clover — which appear to have promise.

Two immune processes — T helper (Th) cell balances and dendritic cell maturation — are both compromised in ways that disrupt the regulation of inflammatory cell function, which leads to exaggerated inflammatory responses.

“Most therapeutic approaches have looked at specific disease outcomes from DIT, rather than focusing on the underlying immune dysfunction that creates the increased disease risk,” said Rodney Dietert, who also presented his findings March 28 at the annual Society of Toxicology meeting in Charlotte, N.C. “Instead, we looked at the common immune dysfunction that is related to a host of diseases.”

Knowing the most common immune dysfunction patterns from DIT allows researchers to consider more seriously those “medicinals with the capacity to restore inflammatory cell regulation, promote dendritic cell maturation and restore desirable Th balance that would be the most likely candidates to combat the problems resulting from DIT.”

Focusing on studies of herbal and fungal chemicals, the Dieterts scoured the literature and found that some of the chemicals appear to be particularly promising when taken at appropriate doses. These include: Astragalus; Echinacea (purple coneflower); sang-hwang shiitake, reishi, maitake and snake butter mushrooms, black seed, Asian ginseng, milk vetch root, wild yam, Sophoro root and Greek clover (all of these also go by various other names).

In their paper, the Dieterts also list a multitude of substances that have been found to have “an uncertain impact” on DIT as well as several found to exacerbate immune dysfunction (including marijuana).

“We hope that these findings of persistent immune dysfunction from gestational exposure will provide encouragement for additional research. Furthermore, that researchers will look at these categories of medicines that have the possibility of correcting inflammatory and immune balance problems resulting from DIT rather than focusing solely on individual disease symptoms,” Rodney Dietert said.

He noted that until recently toxin-testing guidelines predicted only risk in adults, but that the Environmental Protection Agency has announced it will issue new guidelines to take into account the increased immune sensitivity of fetuses and young children.

Adapted from materials provided by Cornell University

ScienceDaily (May 18, 2007) — It turns out Mom was right – you should eat your broccoli. But what Mom may not have known is why broccoli is so healthy, and how its lesser known, younger offshoot may be a powerful anti-cancer agent.

Researchers at the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University have found that sulforaphane – a compound found in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, bok choy and brussels sprouts – has strong anti-cancer properties.

Even more promising results have been found in broccoli sprouts. The tiny, thread-like broccoli sprouts sold at stores next to alfalfa sprouts have more than 50 times the amount of sulforaphane than found in mature broccoli.

Emily Ho, a researcher with the Linus Pauling Institute and an assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Sciences at OSU, will describe these dietary inhibitors for cancer prevention at the conference on “Diet and Optimum Health,” organized by the Linus Pauling Institute. The conference will be held May 16-19 at the Hilton Hotel in Portland. Ho will speak at 10:30 a.m. Friday, May 18.

Ho’s main area of research is on the dietary prevention of prostate cancer. The Asian diet could be a key in this prevention. White males born in the United States have dramatically higher rates of prostate cancer than Asian men. But when Asian men live in the U.S. for five years or more, their rates of prostate cancer rise significantly, Ho says.

Past studies in Ho’s lab have focused on dietary elements in cancer prevention such as green tea and soy.

In her new study, which was published in the Journal of the Society of Experimental Biology and Medicine, Ho and her colleagues at Linus Pauling Institute looked at cruciferous vegetables. While many cruciferous vegetables have sulforaphane, broccoli and broccoli sprouts have the highest amount and thus could be a major player in the prevention of prostate and colon cancer.

Ho said drugs classified as histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors are being looked at as potentially preventing cancer. She said their research shows that these same effects of inhibiting HDAC might be obtained by consumption of cruciferous vegetables.

“I would say if you’re at all worried about cancer or at high risk of cancer, especially of prostate or colon cancer, then increasing your dietary intake of broccoli and other vegetables could be a good idea,” Ho said.

“It certainly can’t hurt. And drugs can have negative side effects and be difficult to administer.”

While Ho said the research is not at the point where she can make a specific recommendation on how much broccoli or bok choy to eat, she personally tries to have two servings of cruciferous vegetables a day.

In human subjects, just eating some broccoli sprouts on top of a bagel with cream cheese resulted in HDAC inhibition.

“The compound in broccoli may be one of the strongest anti-cancer fighters we have,” Ho said.

Adapted from materials provided by Oregon State University