As a Naturopath, I have many products at my disposal and I am constantly seeking products that work from a preventative standpoint. My own history of surviving breast cancer has placed a desire in my heart to seek out any substance, which will ultimately allow our bodies to prevent such a horrible disease. I believe in divine intervention and I know that God has placed everything here on Earth, which is needed to aid in our healing. He say's in His word that "my people perish for lack of knowledge" and I think this happens more often than we realize. I have personally seen while going through chemotherapy that the primary focus is on maintaining a good caloric intake and I believe this is very important. However, I also know that receiving "whole food" nutrition is critical to the bodies' ability to survive such a regimen.
I remember being in chemo and setting up a table with some flax seed and flax seed oil. I dressed up the containers with sunglasses and placed a little sign beside them, which stated, "Hi I am Fanny Flax Seed and this here is my brother Royal...He is easier to take than I am". One week I brought in Mr. Mango with a makeshift diaper because he started to leak after a week. For two years, I sat in my chair next to someone who had a similar fate and shared information with them about my many miracles to help encourage each one on their journey. One day the nurse informed me that the dietician did not want me to bring any more items in to the ward. I think she was just doing her job so no worries. The next week I brought "Larry the Veggie-tale Cucumber" and placed him on the table. He was the perfect mascot for those going though chemo because he was green, bald and when you pressed his belly, he would sing, "Where is my hair brush". I placed a disclaimer on Larry's shirt which said the following, I am neither vegetable nor mineral, I am totally inorganic so I will not offend anyone here, and my sole purpose is for your enjoyment"! I remember watching others come into the ward, their eyes tearing up as they took the tour before they started the initial treatment, then hearing them press Larry's button, and laughing as he sang. Larry never offended anyone and stayed until my treatment was completed.
So the product I am excited to share with you this month is Ellagic acid, Ellagic Acid is a potent substance shown to promote apoptosis in cancer cells with no harmful effects to normal cells. Ellagic Acid helps promote healthy cell function. Available in 800 mg capsules of concentrated red raspberry seed flour and fruit extract. Five capsules a day provides 40 mg of Ellagic Acid extract, equal to the amounts successfully used in the studies at Hollings Cancer Institute, Medical University of South Carolina. I personally take four per day for maintenance.
Ellagic Acid is found in red raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, walnuts, pecans, pomegranates, and cranberries. However, red raspberries have been found to have up to six times the therapeutic amount of Ellagic Acid available compared to what is contained in other fruits and foods tested. Ellagic Acid is present in all parts of the raspberry, but it is most highly concentrated in the seed. It was also found that Ellagic Acid is not changed, nor its potency weakened, by freezing, drying, or processing into a powder.
Although some of the early published research on Ellagic Acid appeared in the 1970's and 1980's, we owe most of our current knowledge about Ellagic Acid and it's use in cancer prevention to studies done at the University of Minnesota School of Nutrition Sciences and more recently to research conducted by Dr. Daniel Nixon. Dr. Nixon is the President of the American Health Foundation, a professor of Folk Medicine, and a Professor of Hematology and Oncology at the Medical University of South Carolina. He has used Ellagic Acid in his cancer research at the Medical University of South Carolina's Hollings Cancer Institute.
Some of the data published by Dr. Nixon and his team at the Medical University of South Carolina show that by consuming the equivalent of 40 milligrams of Ellagic Acid from red raspberries the following takes place: Human cervical cancer cells, which are infected with the human papilloma virus (HPV), will die a normal cell death within several days. This is called apoptosis (cells living their normal life span and then dying); it prevents the destruction of the P53 cell regulatory gene present in cervical cells. This gene is responsible for making sure the cells of the cervix divide normally and guards them against the intrusion of cancer producing cells; The (G1) growth cycle of cancer cells is arrested. This means that it inhibits mitosis cell division and the rapid abnormal growth and tissue intrusion that is common to most cancer cells.
Dr. Nixon and other investigators and researchers, both in the United States and in Europe, found that daily consumption of Ellagic Acid from red raspberries: Activate powerful detoxifying enzymes in the liver; This promotes the cleansing of the liver and the protection and regeneration of injured liver cells; Prevents the binding of carcinogens to the DNA of cells; Serves as a powerful antioxidant, which inhibits or destroys oxygen free radicals; May cause already established cancer cells to undergo programmed normal cell death (apoptosis); Stimulates the immune system to destroy cancerous cells; May be useful in reducing the incidence of birth defects; May slow the spread of the HIV virus in the body; May prevent periodontal disease and diabetic retinopathy; Can slow the aging process; Promotes wound healing; May help prevent heart disease because of the presence of a natural form of aspirin.
There are continued studies to support the use of Ellagic acid from a preventative standpoint and to use in conjunction with standard medical care such as chemotherapy. I personally have had great reports back from those who are using this particular form of Ellagic acid along with conventional therapy.
