DIET AND FITNESS:
Vanilla Fights Cancer-- It Causes
Cancer Cells to Commit Suicide
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January 3, 2010
By Susan M. Callahan, Associate Editor
and Featured Columnist
If you are at all concerned about your risk for developing
cancer, there's a powerful ally right in your kitchen cabinet--
vanilla.
Scientists working independently from around the world has
uncovered a startling property of vanilla, the common food
flavoring found in every humble kitchen pantry and used in
foods ranging from ice cream to cakes and breads. It can
cause cancer cells to undergo spontaneous death.
Apoptosis, the technical name for the process of cell death,
occurs naturally in healthy human cells. However, cancerous
cells resist this natural programmed process of death and
continue to grow unchecked. In effect, apoptosis is the
programmed death of a cancer cell. Vanilla appears to send a
signal to cancer cells to begin the process of cell suicide.
Vanilla’s flavor and smell is caused by the active ingredient
“vanillin”. Fortunately, even common commercially available
vanilla is almost pure vanillin.
Vanilla Stops the Spread of Breast and Colon Cancer Cells
In a 2005 study from Toyoma Medical and Pharmaceutical
University in Japan, researchers discovered that vanillin fed
orally to mice with breast cancer inhibited the growth of the
cancer cells and thwarted the ability of breast cancer cells to
invade and migrate to surrounding tissue. As the scientists
concluded , “ Our findings suggest that vanillin has anti-
metastatic potential by decreasing invasiveness of cancer
cells.”
More recent studies have confirmed the effectiveness of
vanilla in preventing the growth of cancer cells. In 2009, a
research team from in examined the effect of vanilla on
colon cancer cells. The study was conducted on the cells “in
vitro”, meaning the cells were isolated in a petri dish in a
laboratory and vanilla added to the dish. This study found
that low concentrations of vanilla (200 micrograms per
milliliter) stopped colo rectal cancer cell growth. Higher
concentrations (1000 microg/ml) stopped the growth at
even earlier points in their normal life cycle.
Vanilla Improves Ability of Cells to Repair Genetic Damage
Cancer cells differ from normal healthy cells in many
respects. One important difference is that cancer cells exhibit
genetic mutations and these mutations --mistakes --occur
rapidly. When you are healthy, cells which carry mistakes
either die on their own or are repaired. A study conducted
jointly by researchers from New York University, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, the National Institutes of
Health and Wakayama Medical University in Japan examined
the role of vanilla and cinnamaldelhyde (the active
ingredient in cinnamon) in stopping the rapid mutations of
special colon cancer cells, which lacked the ability to repair
themselves.
The results were astonishing. After treatment with vanilla
and cinnamaldehyde, a total of 64 genes, all related to DNA
damage stress and cell growth, were altered. These cells
exhibited enhanced ability to repair themselves and to resist
spontaneous destructive mutations.
How can you add vanilla to your game plan against cancer?
Here is a recipe for a delicious anti-cancer vanilla shake to
start your day or to sip before your exercise:
Vanilla Shake That Fights Cancer
1. One-half glass of cold soy or cow’s milk.
2. One cup of low fat vanilla yogurt.
3. Add 2 or 3 tablespoons of vanilla. Taste the mix to
make sure it has a strong vanilla flavor. If not, add another
tablespoon.
4. Add a heaping spoon of cinnamon.
5. Add two cubes of ice
6. Blend at medium speed for 45 seconds until frothy.
You're just getting started. Learn more about the
relationship between your diet and your risk for other
diseases and conditions: Sugar-The Disease Connection /
Are Diet Sodas Bad for Your Health? / Ideal Breakfast for
Diabetics / Ideal Breakfast for Arthritis /Healing Foods Links
/ Foods That Shrink Your Waist / Foods That Lower
Cholesterol/ VLDL-The Other Cholesterol/ Foods That
Reduce Blood Pressure/ Ideal Breakfast to Prevent
Alzheimer's
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