Posted on 01/30/2014 9:48:59 PM PST by Tired of Taxes
(Reuters) - A decades-old medical mystery - why antioxidants such as vitamin E and beta carotene seemed to accelerate the growth of early lung tumors in high-risk populations such as smokers, rather than protect them from cancer, as theory suggests - may have been solved, according to research published on Wednesday.
In essence, "antioxidants allow cancer cells to escape cells' own defense system" against tumors,... That lets existing tumors, even those too small to be detected, proliferate uncontrollably.
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The antioxidants caused a 2.8-fold increase in lung tumors, made the tumors more invasive and aggressive, and caused the mice to die twice as quickly - all compared to mice not given antioxidants.
When the antioxidants were added to human lung tumor cells in lab dishes, they also accelerated cancer growth.
That result jibed with the many studies finding that "antioxidants do not protect against cancer in healthy people and may increase it" or promote it in those who already do, said Bergo.
The significant advance in the study was pinpointing how this can be. What seems to happen is that antioxidants indeed decrease DNA damage, as expected. But the damage becomes so insignificant as to be undetectable by the cell. The cell therefore does not deploy its cancer-defense system, which is based on a protein called p53.
Ordinarily, if the p53 system detects significant DNA damage, such as from ultraviolet light, it kills the cell before it can become malignant. By allowing cancer cells to stay below the radar of p53, antioxidants allow tumors to thrive, the study found.
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(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
yes
For tomorrow.
Again, man inserts something besides normal daily nutrition on the advice that he “needs” more of it and the body responds by letting down its own natural guardians designed to afford the same “protection” as the food additive.
I bet that is true about a lot of food supplements. If it’s swimming abundently in the blood stream the body’s natural mechanisms for producing the same thing are probably triggered to make less, and there is more than likely some difference that science does not understand, in human metabolism, between the man made version, or that that is produced by normal nutrition and the natural processes of the body.
I know my father was a long time believer in food supplements, and he died before his 65th birthday of heart disease.
That’s a good point. In reality, no matter what we do, maybe we really cannot escape our predestined fate.
so big pharma and other ‘experts’ will use this to go after vitamins, yet govt lets cigarettes still be sold. still subsidizes tobacco.
just pointing out two-facedness, and the agenda against supplements.
idiots.
Everything is poisonous, nothing is poisonous, it is all a matter of dose.”
— Claude Bernard, French physiologist
some forms of e are better than others. it may be the case they used an inferior form of vitamin e. if so it was probably deliberate to get these desired results so they can continue the smear against supplements.
“It is difficult to keep up with all the changing advice.”
Yeah, and if you drink too much water it will kill you!
“That’s a good point. In reality, no matter what we do, maybe we really cannot escape our predestined fate.”
Yes, your genetics probably have more to do with your longevity that what you eat or what supplements you take. But everything in moderation and avoiding stuff like smoking can usually help you live longer. The woman who is 115, smokes stogies and drinks all day is a point off the curve.
I have a chart that resulted from the most extensive study of all the known research studies on nutrition supplements.
In spite people’s own beliefs that they “feel better” sometimes, there is little evidence to support the vast majority of them as supplements.
Eat good amounts of the kinds of foods that have good stuff for you, because the artifiicial way has been studied and found to be no “supplement” for basic good nutrition.
If you want I will post it again; or a link to it. It even has links to all the studies that were analyzed and for each study links for the data from them. It was the most exhaustive report on the subect I’d ever seen.
Notice the sensational title of the article fails to mention the problem occurs in high risk individuals like smokers. He’ll, water probably kills smokers faster too.
In my dads case, in spite of the fact that his dad died of heart disease, my father had some lifestyle attributes - life long smoker - if not cigarettes then pipes, if not pipes then cigars, some unhealthy diet preferences, and years of a lot of family stress he felt (providing for a large family on not fabulous incomes and career disappointments after a twenty-year plus military career) which did not serve him well.
All of us who were his kids took note of much of that, as adults, and those that once smoked have quit and everyone tries to treat our bodies well. We even have history on my mom’s side, and with her as well, with dying from heart disease, but other than some really mild hypertension some of us have in our “old age” there has been no real heart disease among us.
So we were not “destined” to inherit our parents and grandparents heart disease. We could make some choices to improve our chances in spite of some possible adverse inherited genetic factors (what a fluid dynamics expert who later became a heart doctor once called “bad plumbing”).
Whenever I make my pilgrimage to Ybor City pick up a bundle of cigars, on the wrapping is a warning, “this product contains chemicals known to the state of CA to cause birth defects and reproductive harm”. Sooo if I’m ever in CA I’ll remember not to light up if there’s pregnant women around.
Natural Vitamin E – Vitamin E actually refers to 8 different fat soluble compounds and it acts as an antioxidant that protects fats from oxidation. The most biologically active form is found in grains, seeds, and the oils from grains and seeds.
Synthetic Vitamin E – The synthetic dl-alpha tocopherol is created using refined oils, trimethylhydroquinone, and isophytol. It is not as easily absorbed, doesn’t stay as long in tissues, and is quickly dispelled like a toxin or unknown chemical.
I eat a wide variety of foods, take a multi-vitamin a few times a week and try not to get an excessive amount of sun during the summer.
Many people say I look up to 20 years younger.
Then , hmmm - ConsumerReports does study finding ! (ick) *unmentionables* in health supplement pills.
What I recall hearing is about curcumin/turmeric,
and the pills found to be THE WORST offenders were the ORGANIC (marked) ones. ( well, guess the roach parts could be OG ~
[ ~ has me wondering what good/harm I have been doing to myself all this time taking the things . . .
? and how can one tell ?!
I have been hearing more and more about the most disgusting things they are adding to our food AND to the feed of animals.
With NO REQUIREMENT to notify us of the additives. And still call the stuff OG.
Can we say the Gov/FDA gets bought off ~
So how can we know whether supplements are actually doing us any good ? How can any study have any basis in fact ?
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