The Amazing Benefits
of Ellagic Acid!
Due
to the way we have ignored nature
and consigned our health to
technology, we have created
a health care crisis in America.
Every 45 seconds an American
dies from cancer. Cancer now
kills more children between
the ages of 3 and 14 than any
other illness. Lung cancer has
become a leading killer of both
men and women.
Whenever
research shows that a natural
nutritional product or ingredient
could have a major influence
on the health of the human body,
I feel compelled, as a Nutritional
Biophysiologist, to pass that
information along to as many
interested parties as possible.
I try to do this in an educational
manner so that people will have
the information to make intelligent
decisions about their own health.
With
this in mind, I would like to
talk to you about an amazing
new nutraceutical compound extracted
from red raspberries. In research
and in vitro studies, extracts
from red raspberry fruit and
especially the seeds, have been
shown to reduce or eliminate
chronic diseases and to provide
a preventative influence on
cancerous conditions. This nutraceutical
compound is called Ellagic Acid.
Before
I delve into the health giving,
restorative properties of Ellagic
Acid, I would like to give your
attention to the FACTS information
to the right.
What
is causing these pandemic illnesses?
Why are people developing cancer
at such an accelerated rate
and often at an early age? Natural
and technologically produced
toxins surround us. These environmental
poisons are present in the air
we breathe, the foods we eat,
and the water we drink. In today's
industrial world, we cannot
escape them. We are exposed
to more toxins in 15 minutes
than our great-grandparents
were exposed to during their
entire lives. The majority of
these toxins are considered
to be cancer-causing carcinogens,
and, as unbelievable as it sounds,
the most toxic environment to
which we are exposed daily is
the environment in our own homes.
Each
of us has contributed to the
demise of our own health. In
our headlong rush to make our
lives easier, safer, faster,
more fun, and more convenient,
we have changed our lifestyles,
and, both accidentally and on
purpose, we have also changed
our environment. We have created
the toxic environment necessary
for a variety of old and new
disease microbes and degenerative
disease conditions, such as
cancer, to proliferate and devastate
our society.
Paradoxically,
we spend more than any other
country on health care. The
one trillion dollars we spend
on medicine, research, and health
technology each year is more
than the gross national product
of all but six countries in
the world. Still, disease continues
to accelerate, and our health
continues to deteriorate.
Why
is our health deteriorating?
It's because our body is rusting.
When a piece of iron turns rusty,
it is undergoing a degenerative
process called oxidation. During
the process of living, our bodies
also undergo this natural oxidation,
which promotes the aging process.
However, environmental toxins
and chemically induced elements
that are being introduced or
absorbed into our bodies everyday
are accelerating this oxidation
condition by a process referred
to as biological free radical
damage.
Free
radicals are unstable atoms
or molecules with at least one
unpaired electron. These unpaired
electrons want and need a partner.
Consequently, the unstable free
radicals, which have the ability
to attract electrons from other
atoms or molecules, go about
swiping electrons from other
stable atoms. This taking of
an electron from another atom
means that the free radical
is now balanced and is no longer
a free radical. But the atom
or molecule from which the electron
was taken is now damaged, and
it additionally becomes a free
radical. This sets off a chain
reaction of damage within the
body.
In
their reckless search for electrons,
free radicals do a lot of structural
damage to healthy cells. Cumulative
free radical damage contributes
to many forms of organ and tissue-specific
diseases. In fact, researchers
and the medical community generally
agree that most common ailments,
including virtually all chronic
degenerative diseases and pathological
conditions such as aging, stroke,
Lou Gehrig's disease, and cancer
are either caused directly by,
or are closely associated with
free radical damage and acid
accumulation in the fluids and
tissues of the body.
The
plasma membrane, which surrounds
each cell, is the structure
that is the most vulnerable
to free radical attack. This
membrane is a sophisticated
highly selective barrier whose
all-important job is to guard
access to the cell. It decides
what gets in, what stays in,
and what is removed.
Inside
each cell are many sub cellular
structures called organelles.
Each organelle is wrapped in
its own protective outer membrane
and performs a highly specialized
function. Mitochondria, for
example, transform oxygen and
food into energy that the cell
uses for metabolism. The cell's
nucleus is also an organelle.
It houses DNA, the cell's genetic
blueprint. When the cell's plasma
membrane or the membrane of
an organelle is damaged by free
radicals, it loses its protective
properties. This puts the health
of the entire cell in great
danger.
Because
cell membranes are mostly made
of oxygen rich fatty acids,
they are extremely vulnerable
to free radical attack. Like
tiny but very powerful bullets,
highly charged free radical
particles rip into the cell's
plasma membrane, literally punching
holes in it. When this happens,
transportation of nutrients,
oxygen, and water into the cell
and removal of waste products
and toxins from the cell become
compromised. This causes the
cell to either starve to death
or die in a sea of accumulated
toxic waste.
In
much the same way, free radical
damage to a cell's organelle
membrane sabotages that organelle's
function. For instance, when
mitochondria organelles are
injured, these power plants
of the cell can't produce the
energy necessary to drive the
cell's machinery. If damage
to the mitochondrial membrane
is extensive the cell dies because
of lack of energy production.
Each
cell contains a blueprint, which
enables it to create a new cell.
This blueprint is located inside
the nucleus in a complex mass
of molecules called deoxyribonucleic
acid or DNA. The molecules that
make up DNA contain a huge number
of electrons.
Free
radicals can blast their way
through the protective membrane
surrounding the nucleus, thereby
gaining access to the chromosome
DNA molecules housed inside.
If free radicals happen to break
up the DNA molecules in order
to steal electrons, the cell
dies or loses its ability to
reproduce. Even worse, it may
undergo an unnatural reproduction
process known as mutation. Mutation
can cause the abnormal cells
we know as cancer.
How
can we combat these cell-destroying
free radicals? To put it simply,
oxidation by free radicals can
be stopped by antioxidants.
In other words, if oxidation
is biologically damaging to
the body, then anti-oxidation
is the prevention of free radical
damage. Antioxidants are agents
that combat the biological damage
caused by free radicals. Research
has demonstrated that antioxidants
neutralize the mutation and
carcinogenic action of free
radicals as well as stop them
from creating the chain reaction
that contributes to various
diseases including premature
aging and cancer. The key to
neutralizing free radical damage
is to alkalize, cleanse, nourish,
and balance the body, thereby
giving it the ability to heal
itself naturally.
Now,
let's go back to Ellagic Acid.
Ellagic Acid is a nutraceutical,
naturally occurring phenolic
compound that has very strong
anti-oxidant properties. It
is also a potent anti-carcinogen.
Ellagic Acid has the ability
to inhibit mutations within
a cell's DNA. It is also considered
an anti-cancer inhibitor, which
has the ability to cause apoptosis
or normal death in cancer cells.
In addition, research has found
that it has anti-bacterial and
anti-viral properties.
I
could tell you about the studies
conducted on raspberries and
Ellagic Acid. These studies
refer to its physicochemical
properties, saponification number,
diene and peroxide value, carotenoid
content, and its UV protectant
potential. I could also go into
tocopherol content, oxidation
resistance, fatty acid ratio,
polymorphic changes and its
thermal properties. But all
most people want to know is,
"What is Ellagic Acid?"
"What does it do?"
and "Where can I get it?"
Now... here is a paragraph for
the scientific minded...
What
is Ellagic Acid? Well, scientifically
speaking, Ellagic Acid is formed
in raspberries when polymers
of gallic acid and hexahydroxydipenoyl
(HHDP) are linked to glucose
molecules to form compounds
of ellagitannins. When two gallic
acid groups become linked side
by side within a tannin molecule,
a HHDP group is formed. When
the HHDP group is then bioactively
separated from the tannin molecule,
it spontaneously rearranges
itself into subunits we call
Ellagic Acid.
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 is currently using 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 called salicylate.
This
data and research are backed
up with a prolifery of publications,
tests, clinical evidence, and
double blind studies, both completed
and ongoing in the United States,
Canada, and Europe. In Dr. Nixon's
words, "It's fair to say
that raspberries contain a chemical
that fights cancer cells."
There are also numerous clinical
reports and personal testimonies
by people who have participated
in the studies or taken Ellagic
Acid on their own which back
up Dr. Nixon's statement. There
are testimonies that tell of
the reversal or elimination
of colon, prostate, breast,
cervical, skin, and pancreatic
cancer conditions. Some testimonies
talk about the way Ellagic Acid
has saved or changed lives and
also about how time has been
added to lives because of the
inhibiting or elimination of
chronic or degenerative disease.
Technology
cannot prevent degenerative
diseases, restore health, or
rejuvenate the human body. However,
there is a proven approach to
treat or prevent disease conditions,
which is based on sound science
and common sense. This approach
is through nutrition. Poor diet,
smoking, sun exposure, and excessive
alcohol consumption, combined
with lack of exercise, is a
deadly cancer and disease-inducing
combination. If the body is
given the correct nutrients,
such as Ellagic Acid, those
nutrients will nourish, balance,
protect, and provide the body
with the building blocks necessary
for growth, repair, vitality,
and longevity.
HTN
Science Council
In
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