Liquid Vitamin Blog » Pomegranate

Pomegranate vs Breast Cancer

CAOH — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 19:25:42 +0000

Compounds in Pomegranate may fight breast cancer!

Enzyme-blocking chemicals in pomegranates (phytochemicals) may reduce the risk of estrogen-fueled breast cancers, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

An acid found in pomegranates appears to block aromatase, an enzyme that converts androgen to estrogen, a hormone that plays a role in the development of breast cancer, the researchers wrote in the journal Cancer Prevention Research.

“We identified some of these chemicals in pomegranates that actually have properties that can suppress aromatase,” researcher Shiuan Chen, of the City of Hope cancer research and treatment center in Duarte, California, said in a telephone interview.

Many women who have had breast cancer take medicines called aromatase inhibitors — such as Pfizer’s Aromasin, Novartis’ Femara and AstraZeneca Plc’s Arimidex — to keep estrogen from feeding tumors.

Chen and colleagues studied whether compounds, or phytochemicals, in pomegranates can suppress aromatase and ultimately block cancer growth. They found that 10 natural compounds in the fruit may potentially prevent estrogen-related breast cancer.

Chen said the compounds would not be a replacement for aromatase inhibitors.

“We do not recommend people start taking this as a replacement for the AI’s,” Chen said. “They (pomegranate compounds) are not as potent as the real drugs so we think that the interest probably is more on the prevention end rather than in a therapeutic purpose.”

Other researchers not associated with the study told the journal that the results are promising, and suggested more studies involving animals and humans were needed to confirm the findings.

“It’s not clear that these levels could be achieved in animals or in humans because the (compounds) are not well absorbed into blood when provided in the diet,” said Gary Stoner of Ohio State University.

Dr. Powel Brown, an oncologist at the University of Texas, said in a statement that future studies should focus on testing pomegranate juice for its effect on estrogen levels, menopausal symptoms, breast density or even as a cancer preventive agent.

More than 400,000 women die from breast cancer globally every year. About 75 percent of breast cancers are estrogen-receptor positive, meaning they are fed by estrogen.

Previous research has shown that pomegranate juice is rich in antioxidants — vitamins and other substances — that may help prevent diseases such as cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease.

Pomegranate Products

Absolute Pomegranate Concentrate™ – Absolute Pomegranate Powder™

Acai-Max® – Mangosteen Elixir® – Maqui-Max™

Pomegranate Juice May One Day be a Treatment or Preventative for Prostate Cancer?

Marcus Ettinger DC BSc. — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 03:14:05 +0000

Compounds in Pomegranate Juice May Help Curb Prostate Cancer, Lab Tests Show
By Miranda Hitti
WebMD Medical News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

(Corrections made by Marcus Ettinger DC, BSc are in Italics)

Sept. 20, 2007 — Natural chemicals in pomegranate juice may slow the growth of prostate cancer, according to scientists at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

The key pomegranate chemicals, called ellagitannins, are also found in foods including strawberries, raspberries, and muscadine grapes, note Navindra Seeram, PhD, and colleagues.

Their theory is that when someone drinks pomegranate juice, the ellagitannins are broken down into ellagic acid then converted, in the small intestines by healthy gut bacteria, into chemicals called urolithins, which may fight prostate cancer.

Seeram’s team tested that notion in their lab.

The scientists bought pomegranates and made their own pomegranate extract from pomegranate skin. They closely measured the ellagitannins in their pomegranate juice.

Next, the researchers tested pomegranate juice against human prostate cancer cells grafted into male mice.

The scientists fed the pomegranate juice to some of the mice. They injected the pomegranate juice into other mice’s abdomens.

For comparison, the researchers fed or injected other mice with a placebo solution containing no pomegranate juice.

The prostate tumors grew more slowly in the mice that got the pomegranate juice orally or by injection, compared with mice that got the placebo.

Finally, the mice got urolithins orally or by abdominal injection. Those pomegranate-derived chemicals gathered in the mice’s prostate, colon, and intestinal tissues more than in other organs.

Add it all up, and it looks like pomegranate ellagitannins may slow (but not totally destroy) prostate cancer in mice.

More studies are needed to see if pomegranate juice works the same way in people, Seeram and colleagues write in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

SOURCES: Seeram, N. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Sept. 19, 2007; vol 55: pp 7732-7737. News release, American Chemical Society.

Pomegranate Juice and Red Raspberry can both be found in Acai Max.

Pomegranate and Acia Together? Yes

Marcus Ettinger DC BSc. — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 22:20:15 +0000

Q: Please tell me the benefits of pomegranate juice. I have heard that it prevents lung cancer is this true & if so is it substantiated? I currently use acai-max twice a day is there a benefit to adding pomegranate to this therapy? My father lost his battle with lung cancer 5 years ago. A non-smoker, he had none of the typical catalysts for the disease. Thank you for your time to answer this question, sincerely, Doris Chavez

A: Doris,

Here is a lot of easy to read data on the pomegranate – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomegranate

As far as cancer goes: Research suggests that pomegranate juice may be effective against prostate cancer^[14][15] and osteoarthritis.^[16] In 2007, six clinical trials in the United States, Israel and Norway have been approved to examine the effects of pomegranate juice consumption on parameters of prostate cancer or prostatic hyperplasia, diabetes or lymphoma ^[17].

Both acai and pomegranate are high in unique/different polyphenols, so both together would be better than each one separately.

Sincerely,

Marcus Ettinger DC, BSc.

Pomegranate Concentrate and the Prostate

Marcus Ettinger DC BSc. — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 02:14:33 +0000

Question: I read an article that said drinking 8 oz of pure 100% Pomegranate Juice per/day helps with slowing down the possible recurrence of prostate cancer. My question is, if using the Pomegranate Concentrate where it is 1 to 2 Tbsp, how does that compare/transfer? Do I mix it with water? Can I put it in other juice? Does this constitute 8 oz?

Thank you

Teri P.

Answer: Dear Teri,

Our concentrate is 15:1, so 2 tablespoons will be about equal to two 8oz glasses of juice. Yes, you can mix it with juice or water.

Sincerely,

Marcus Ettinger DC, BSc.

Pomegranates May Slow Prostate Cancer – 01/07/2006

Marcus Ettinger DC BSc. — Sat, 01 Jul 2006 07:58:36 +0000

The Daily Telegraph, United Kingdom

By Roger Highfield, Science Editor
(Filed: 01/07/2006)

The bottles of pomegranate juice flown to Germany to stop England’s football players wilting in the stifling heat could have other health benefits, according to a study published today that suggests the juice can combat prostate cancer.

Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) is a protein that the prostate produces. A rising PSA level may indicate prostate cancer, which kills 10,000 men every year in the UK.

A team from the University of California, Los Angeles, found that drinking an eight ounce glass of pomegranate juice daily increased, by nearly four times, the period during which PSA levels in men treated for prostate cancer remained stable.

The three-year study published in Clinical Cancer Research by Dr Allan Pantuck and colleagues involved 50 men who had undergone surgery or radiation but quickly experienced increases in PSA.

Pomegranate juice is known to have anti-inflammatory effects and has high levels of anti-oxidants, which are believed to protect the body from free-radical damage.

Acai or Pomegranate, which is better?

Marcus Ettinger DC BSc. — Tue, 13 Jun 2006 04:55:30 +0000

Q: I was wondering if you know which is a stronger antioxidant Acai or Pomegranate? I hear claims that pom. is stronger than green tea, wine or blueberries but I also hear that acai is stronger than blueberries but I’ve never seen a comparison on the two? what can you tell me? Thanks for the info.

A: Larry,

(This is my take on that situation and just my opinion)

I don’t care what is a stronger antioxidant; A, E, Zinc, Acai, Goji, or Green Tea. They are all excellent sources of antioxidants, all unique in composition and all of them warrant taking. I take and recommend taking a variety of antioxidants daily. Which ones you choose is a personal preference. The goal is to always have a ready reserve of antioxidants available to negate any free radicals that are produced.
Check out our Mangosteen Elixir, it has many different antioxidant rich fruit juices in it and is my and my family’s favorite.

Please read “Noni and the Prostate” for more info on antioxidants.

Please read my paper on “Synergy” (in the Dr. Ettinger Thoughts section), it will answer your question in more detail.

Sincerely,

Marcus Ettinger DC, BSc.