Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Antioxidants and Disease

A number of research papers presented last week at the 234th annual American Chemical Society National Meeting in Boston centered around the ability of antioxidants to prevent DNA damage.

Julia Brumaghim, of Clemson University in South Carolina suggested. "Cancers, cardiovascular diseases, Parkinson'ts and Alzheimer's diseases are often linked to DNA damage that can be prevented by increasing the amount of green tea and garlic in our daily diets."

Monica Giusti of Ohio State University tested the anti-colon cancer effects of anthocyanin-rich extracts from a variety of fruits and vegetables including grapes, radishes, purlple corn, bilberries, purple carrots and elderberries. Her research fround that purple corn was the most potent antioxidant, with bilberry extracts being nearly as potent.

Dr. Giusti said, "All fruits and vegetables rich in anthocyanins have compounds that can slow down the growth of colon cancer cells, whether in experiments in laboratory dishes or inside the body."

1 comment:

Spencer Thornton, M.D. said...

Isn't it interesting that some of the things that give the most benefit (like purple corn and bilberry) are from nature and not from a pharmaceutical lab? Antioxidants give natural protection without life-threatening side effects. Cheaper too. How good is that?