Over de positieve werking van
voedingsmiddelen waar probiotica of plantaardige middelen aan toegevoegd werden, bestaat
onvoldoende bewijs. Dat stelt het Efsa in een eerste advies over de zogeheten
gezondheidsclaims. "Straks mag je zelfs een appel niet meer gezond noemen. Onzin
toch", reageert directeur Christian Vastenavond van Nutrilab.
Professor Dr Paul Kroon: „De
bacteriën in de darmen zetten deze polyfenolen om in stoffen die belangrijk zijn voor de
gezondheid, ze stimuleren bijvoorbeeld de activiteit bij antioxidanten.
New evidence that people make
aspirin's active principle -- salicylic acid
Scientists in the United Kingdom are reporting new evidence that humans can make their own
salicylic acid (SA) — the material formed when aspirin breaks down in the body. SA,
which is responsible for aspirin's renowned effects in relieving pain and inflammation,
may be the first in a new class of bioregulators, according to a study scheduled for the
Dec. 24 issue of ACS' biweekly Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. In the report,
Gwendoline Baxter, Ph.D. and colleagues discuss how their past research revealed that SA
exists in the blood of people who have not recently taken aspirin. Vegetarians had much
higher levels, almost matching those in patients taking low doses of aspirin. Based on
those findings, the researchers previously concluded that this endogenous SA came from the
diet, since SA is a natural substance found in fruits and vegetables.
UGA study finds common component of
fruits, vegetables kills prostate cancer cells
A new University of Georgia study finds that pectin, a type of fiber found in fruits and
vegetables and used in making jams and other foods, kills prostate cancer cells. The
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.
Compounds that color fruits and
veggies may protect against colon cancer
Understanding the molecular structures of compounds that give certain fruits and
vegetables their rich colors may help researchers find even more powerful cancer fighters,
a new study suggests. Evidence from laboratory experiments on rats and on human colon
cancer cells also suggests that anthocyanins, the compounds that give color to most red,
purple and blue fruits and vegetables appreciably slow the growth of colon cancer cells.
Scientists found that the chemicals that give foods such as grapes, radishes, purple
carrots and bilberries their colour significantly slow the growth of colon cancer cells
Fruits and Vegetables in Cancer
Prevention and Treatment
Relatively recently, researchers have become keenly interested in exploring which food
compounds are beneficial in treating and preventing serious diseases such as cancer and
osteoporosis. Omer Kucuk, MD, is one of those researchers. Kucuk, a professor of
hematology and medical oncology at Emory Winship Cancer Institute, studies specific food
compounds and their effect on cancer prevention and treatment. Evidence indicates that
some food compounds, such as soy isoflavones and curcumin, can increase the effectiveness
of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. To listen to Kucuk’s own words about which
food compounds affect cancer prevention and treatment, access Emory's new Sound Science
podcast. Kucuk conducted the first clinical trials to show the benefits of soy and
lycopene supplements in prostate cancer treatment. “In our preclinical studies we
have observed that taking soy isoflavones during chemotherapy and radiation for advanced
prostate cancer can improve the efficacy of the treatments," says Kucuk. “The
compounds sensitize the cancer cells to chemotherapy and radiation while at the same time
they protect the normal tissues from side effects.” Most nutritional compounds used
for therapy or disease prevention can be taken as part of a routine diet and have little
if any side effects, Kucuk says. “People can get enough lycopene by eating tomato
paste and tomato sauce, which is very rich in lycopene. So, if people ate a couple of
ounces of tomato paste a day as part of a regular diet, they would eat enough to get all
the benefits,” he says. Kucuk and his colleagues are currently exploring how soy
isoflavones make chemotherapy and radiation more effective. “These are pleiotropic
agents. That means they affect multiple pathways in cancer cells as well as other
cells,” Kucuk says. “This is actually good, because a lot of the drugs that are
developed target one pathway, and they’re usually very toxic. But because nontoxic
nutritional compounds work with multiple pathways they have mild side effects making them
very attractive for treatment.”
We've all seen the term "super food" used to describe those nutrition-loaded
edibles that promote health and discourage disease. Powerhouse foods high in antioxidants
and phytochemicals that block the development of cancer cells have been touted as nature's
way to fight off the potentially devastating disease.
Consumption of fruits may reduce
the risk of Alzheimer's disease
Apples, bananas, and oranges are the most common fruits in both Western and Asian diets,
and are important sources of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. A new study in the Journal of
Food Science explores the additional health benefits of these fruits and reveals they also
protect against neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease.
New Evidence for the Protective
Effects of Fruits and Veggies
The age-old refrain, "Eat your vegetables!" gets scientific support as
researchers present the latest findings on cancer prevention at the American Association
for Cancer Research's Sixth Annual International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer
Prevention, being held December 5 - 8 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Today, researchers
present new data that demonstrate how diets full of raw vegetables -- particularly
broccoli sprouts -- and black raspberries could prevent or slow the growth of some common
forms of cancer.
Lupeol Compound in Fruits Found to
Destroy Cancer Tumors in the Head and Neck Faster Than Chemotherapy Drugs
A chemical that naturally occurs in certain fruits such as grapes, mangoes and
strawberries may be able to suppress the growth and spread of head and neck cancers,
according to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Hong Kong and published
in the journal Cancer Research.
