Olive oil polyphenols may help reduce breast cancer risk

A report published online on December 18, 2008 in the journal BioMed Central Cancer revealed the discovery of Spanish researchers of a suppressive effect of compounds found in extra virgin olive oil against breast cancer cells containing the cancer gene HER2. HER2 is amplified or overexpressed in an estimated 20 to 30 percent of invasive breast cancers, and is associated with a shorter relapse time and reduced survival.

Javier Menendez of the Catalan Institute of Oncology along with Antonio Segura-Carretero from the University of Granada and colleagues tested phenolic fractions of extra-virgin oil in two cultured human breast cancer cell lines, and left some cells untreated as controls. The team found that fractions containing polyphenols known as lignans and secoiridoids selectively triggered programmed death in cells overexpressing HER2 protein. “Our findings reveal for the first time that all the major complex phenols present in extra-virgin olive oil drastically suppress overexpression of the cancer gene HER2 in human breast cancer cells,” Dr Menendez remarked.

Extra virgin olive oil is produced by pressing olives without the use of heat or chemicals, and retains phytochemicals otherwise lost in refinement. Although the authors speculated in their introduction to the article that the intake of significant amounts of olive oil might be responsible in part for the association observed between the consumption of a Mediterranean diet and a reduction in breast cancer risk, they note that, “The active phytochemicals (i.e. lignans and secoiridoids) exhibited tumoricidal effects against cultured breast cancer cells at concentrations that are unlikely to be achieved in real life by consuming olive oil”. However, they add that “These findings, together with the fact that that humans have safely been ingesting significant amounts of lignans and secoiridoids as long as they have been consuming olives and extra-virgin oil, strongly suggest that these polyphenols might provide an excellent and safe platform for the design of new anti breast-cancer drugs.”

From The Life Extension Foundation http://www.lef.org

Metabolic Danger of High-Fructose Corn Syrup

What you need to know about high-fructose corn syrup:

• Dietary intake of fructose, particularly in the form of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), has dramatically increased in the US in recent decades. Increased HFCS consumption has paralleled increasing rates of obesity, metabolic syndrome, and other conditions associated with poor lifestyle habits.
• High-fructose corn syrup is found in sweetened carbonated soft drinks as well as in many packaged foods such as cakes, cookies, jams, jellies, and crackers.
• Excess fructose intake has been associated with adverse health effects such as metabolic syndrome, elevated triglyceride levels, hypertension, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, excess uric acid levels (associated with gout), and elevated levels of advanced glycation end products (AGEs; linked with aging and complications of diabetes).

Rebuttal to Recent Attacks Against Dietary Supplements

Have you recently been seeing a lot of anti-supplement sentiment in the media lately? Just so you’ll have both sides of the debate, check out the Life Extension Foundation’s rebuttal.

Rebuttal to Recent Attacks Against Dietary Supplements

Magnesium and calcium both needed for colorectal cancer protection

The Life Extension Foundation has noted in their newsletter that in a presentation at the American Association for Cancer Research’s Seventh Annual International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, Qi Dai, MD, PhD reported that it may be necessary to have a greater intake of magnesium in order for calcium to protect against colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer, also called colon cancer or large bowel cancer, is the third most common form of cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the Western world.

At this office, Dr. Kerr can test for any magnesium, calcium, or other vitamin deficiencies, and provide you with high-quality supplements to fill your nutritional gaps. If you’re concerned that you might need dietary supplements, or just want to learn how to make sure you eat right for your health, call today to set up an appointment! Invest in your good health!

Healthy Hearing

From the Life Extension Foundation

Researchers at the University of Michigan Kresge Hearing Research Institute are hopeful that a specific combination of nutrients could help protect the ear against hearing loss induced by loud noises. While the condition is of major concern among military personnel, preventing the return to duty of a large number of troops deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq, it has also been identified as a potential threat to iPod users and others who listen to music through headphones at high volume.

It had been believed until recently that noise causes hearing loss by mechanical vibrations which destroyed inner ear structures. The discovery that intense noise generates free radicals that damage the inner ear cells has led researchers to develop a protective formula that can be ingested prior to exposure to noisy environments. University of Michigan Healthy System assistant professor of otolaryngology Glenn E. Green, MD, and colleagues formulated the combination of vitamins A, C and E, and magnesium as a nutritional supplement. Pre-treatment with these nutrients reduces free radicals that form during and after noise exposure, and may also reduce damage to auditory neurons that can occur due to overstimulation. The supplement is being tested in military trials conducted in Sweden and Spain, a Spanish industrial trial, and a National Institute of Health-funded trial of University of Florida student iPod users. Laboratory studies have demonstrated a reduction in hearing impairment subsequent to noise exposure of approximately 80 percent in animals that received the nutrients.

Standard Process supplements

Another product we carry at our office is the Standard Process line of supplements, plus their MediHerb line of herbs and herbal tinctures.

Standard Process products are made entirely of whole foods that have been dehydrated or ground up into tablet or capsule form. This may sound strange, but our bodies evolved by getting vitamins and nutrients through natural plant and animal sources, not from sources synthesized in a lab. Therefore, it isn’t just the vitamin itself that is important, but the entire framework and delivery system of, for example, the orange juice and pulp that contains the vitamin C.

Here’s what the Standard Process website has to say:

Nutritional scientists are continually discovering what we at Standard Process have taught and practiced since 1929: Micronutrients, both known and unknown, found only in whole foods are more essential to health than selected vitamins and minerals taken away from their complete food matrix.

Our product formulas contain unique combinations of whole foods (whole plants, animal tissue extracts and concentrates, and botanicals), which contain essential vitamins, phytonutrients, and minerals to provide optimal health for your patients. Ingredients are selected for their specific supportive effects in metabolism.

Standard Process and MediHerb products and literature are only available through qualified health care professionals. Their knowledge and experience allows them to recommend both Standard Process products and health regimens that meet each patient’s unique health needs.

Check out more information at www.standardprocess.com.

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