Pomegranate

Pomegranate juice may slow the progression of post-treatment prostate cancer recurrence, according to new long-term research results presented at the 104th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA), April 2009.

Researchers found that men who have undergone treatment for localized prostate cancer could benefit from drinking pomegranate juice by seeing a significant slowing of the rate of rising in their PSA (prostate specific antigen).

This study used grape seeds

An extract from grape seeds forces laboratory leukemia cells to self destruct, or commit cell suicide, according to researchers from the University of Kentucky. Within 24 hours of exposure to the extract, three-quarters of leukemia cells die off.

The researchers say that this proves the value of natural compounds. In making their discovery, they teased apart the cell signaling pathway associated with use of grape seed extract that led to the cell-suicide. This self-destructive process, known as apoptosis, normally gets rid of damaged or aberrant cells.

Pectin, a type of fiber found in fruits and vegetables and used in making jams and other foods, kills prostate cancer cells according to a new University of Georgia study.

“What this paper shows is that if you take human prostate cancer cells and add pectin, you can induce programmed cell death,” said Debra Mohnen, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology. “If you do the same with non-cancerous cells, cell death doesn’t occur.”

Mohnen’s study, published in the August issue of the journal Glycobiology, found that exposing prostate cancer cells to pectin under laboratory conditions reduced the number of cells by up to 40 percent. Mohnen, a UGA Cancer Center researcher, her UGA colleagues and Vijay Kumar, chief of research and development at the VA Medical Center in Augusta, found that the cells self-destructed in a process known as apoptosis. Pectin even killed cells that aren’t sensitive to hormone therapy and therefore are difficult to treat with current medications.

Consuming grapefruit appears to increase risk of breast cancer in post-menopausal women, according to a study in British Journal of Cancer (July, 2007) (Prospective study of grapefruit intake and risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women: the Multiethnic Cohort Study)

One quarter grapefruit per day compared to none increased risk by about one third. The significance of this slightly increased risk is underscored by 2 factors — women are taught lifelong to associate grapefruit intake with health and with weight-control (the “Grapefruit diet”).

The factor involved in the increased risk is a chemical in grapefruit (CYP3A4) that blocks the body’s breakdown of estrogen.

Since vitamin C and other antioxidants found in grapefruit are readily available from other fruits, with this new information women can choose to switch to oranges, tangerines, lemon juice, and other fruits and avoid grapefruit.

Dr. Gary Stoner, a researcher in chemoprevention, is currently conducting several trials evaluating black raspberry supplements as a way to prevent or slow the growth of colon and other cancers. He and other scientists at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center have been researching the anticancer properties of berries for nearly 20 years.

Quercetin, a natural antioxidant derived from plants is able to reduce illness and maintain mental performance in physically stressed test subjects, according to researchers at Appalachian State University. Found in red grapes, red wine, red apples, green tea and broccoli, quercetin now becomes as a result of the Appalachian research the first plant compound proven in a controlled clinical trial to reduce susceptibility to viral illnesses.