Time and time again people tell me their doctors tell them that food has NOTHING to do with their condition. Tell that to a diabetic or anorexic. Being the accomplishment oriented person that I am, I studied curriculums FOR YEARS. Curriculum shows us very clearly WHY doctors tell their patients that – because they have only taken ONE course in nutrition and that was in the beginning of their studies, which offered only the very BASIC information about nutrition. And yet, there is an ongoing continuum of Time and time again people tell me their doctors tell them that food has NOTHING to do with their condition. Tell that to a diabetic or anorexic. Being the accomplishment oriented person that I am, I studied curriculums FOR YEARS. Curriculum shows us very clearly WHY doctors tell their patients that – because they have only taken ONE course in nutrition and that was in the beginning of their studies, which offered only the very BASIC information about nutrition. And yet, there is an ongoing continuum onutritional science research going on in our nation and the world. So much so that I can guarantee that you will be able to find a study that would support just about any viewpoint you decided to take (I could be exaggerating a bit there). When I was writing my Straight Nutrition column for our local newspaper, my editor warned me that nutrition was the #1 subject of controversy with their readers. It didn’t take very long for me to fully experience that. If you support eating meat, the vegetarians are upset. If you support a vegetarian diet, the meat eaters oppose your article. Nutrition has become a NO WIN category for experts and certainly many doctors will NOT support a nutritional approach to caring for your health. However, each of us understand what VITALITY feels like in our bodies. It doesn’t take long for a diabetic to feel better once they’ve come off the sugar and balanced their nutrition. And a fully recovered anorexic or overeater can tell you that it’s ALL ABOUT THE FOOD!
What’s my answer to all of this? Reduce your toxins and fill your nutritional deficiencies. Then, your body will tell you what works. Making the “this is what I ate” and “this is how I feel” connection can change your life~! Educate yourself and put the balance of your “Food First”.
To finish the categories of plant pigments, today we are going to focus on the color of YELLOW
– Flavonoids. What are they?
Flavonoids (or bioflavonoids) (from the Latin word flavus meaning yellow, their colour in nature) are a class of plant secondary metabolites. Flavonoids were referred to as Vitamin P (probably because of the effect they had on the permeability of vascular capillaries) from the mid-1930s to early 50s, but the term has since fallen out of use [1].Classified as plant pigments, flavonoids were discovered in 1938 when a Hungarian scientist named Albert Szent-Gyorgyi used the term “vitamin P” to describe them.
Flavonoids, an amazing array of over 6,000 different substances found in virtually all plants, are responsible for many of the plant colors that dazzle us with their brilliant shades of yellow, orange, and red.
The chemistry of flavonoids is complicated, and within the non-technical term “flavonoids” can be found many different chemical groups of substances. These groups include flavonols, dihydroflavonols, flavones, isoflavones, flavanones, anthocyanins, and anthocyanidins. Within each of these groups fall hundreds, and sometimes thousands of different flavonoids.
For example, well-known flavonols include quercetin, rutin, and hesperidin, while well-known flavones include apigenin and luteolin. Flavonoids may also be named directly after the unique plant that contains them. Ginkgetin is a flavonoid from the ginkgo tree, and tangeretin is a flavonoid from the tangerine.
Benefits of Flavonoids
Flavonoids may induce mechanisms that affect cancer cells and inhibit tumor invasion. [2] In preliminary studies, UCLA cancer researchers proposed that smokers who ate foods containing certain flavonoids, such as the flavan-3-ols (catechins) found in strawberries and green and black teas, kaempferol from brussel sprouts and apples, and quercetin from beans, onions and apples, may have reduced risk of developing lung cancer. [3]
Flavonoids were found to be strong topoisomerase inhibitors and induce DNA mutations in the MLL gene, which are common findings in neonatal acute leukemia. [4] [5] The DNA changes were increased by treatment with flavonoids in cultured blood stem cells. [6] In one study, a high flavonoid-content diet in mothers seemed to increase risk of MLL+ acute myeloid leukemia in neonates. This result was not statistically significant though, and when the data on all types of leukemia in the study were taken together, a beneficial effect of the high-flavonoid diet was seen. [7] [8] [9]
Natural phenols (flavonoids in one set of experiments and delphinidin in another) [10] were found to be strong topoisomerase inhibitors, similar to some chemotherapeutic anticancer drugs including etoposide and doxorubicin. [11] This property may be responsible for both an anticarcinogenic-proapoptotic effect and a carcinogenic, DNA damaging potential of the substances.
Benefits of Citrus (Rich in Flavonoids)
• These pigments help protect us from disease.
• Extend activity of vitamin C.
• Antioxidants.
• Protect LDL cholesterol from oxidation to unsafe cholesterol oxides.
• Inhibit platelet aggregation (decreasing blood clotting)
• Anti-inflammatory & anti-tumor action.
• Bioflavonoids in plants thought to act as insect attractants, repellants, & anti-fungal agents
Dietary Recommendations from the UCSD HEALTHY EATING PROGRAM, Sponsored by The American Cancer Society, supports their cancer diet with these well researched suggestions:
• Choose predominantly a plant-based diet.
• Maintain a healthy weight & avoid weight gain in adulthood (
• Maintain physical activity (1hr/day moderate activity & 1hr/wk vigorous activity)
• Increase vegetables (3-5 svg/day)
• Increase fruits (2-4 svg/day)
• Increase whole grains & legumes (3+/day)
• Limit red meat (< 3 oz/day)
• Limit dietary fat (15-30% energy)
• Limit alcoholic beverages (<1/day for women)
• Limit charcoaled or smoked foods
Many times when we think we need something sweet, our cravings can be satisfied by a simple food such as a fruit or vegetable. Eating simple can make your life simple, save you time AND keep your calories down. The documentation of the benefits of increasing our intake of fresh fruits and vegetables daily, is extensive. No matter which way it is spun, our bodies tell us how it feels. Perhaps we should listen~!
Health never got easier –
Debi
References:
[1] ^ Mobh, Shiro (1938). “Research for Vitamin P”. The Journal of Biochemistry 29 (3): 487–501.
[2] • ^ Jump up to: EurekAlert!. Adapted from a news release issued by Oregon State University
[3] ^ Irwin, Kim (May 29, 2008) UCLA news May 2008 – Fruits, vegetables, teas may protect smokers from lung cancer. ewsroom.ucla.edu
[4] Thirman MJ, Gill HJ, Burnett RC, Mbangkollo D, McCabe NR, Kobayashi H et al. (1993). “Rearrangement of the MLL gene in acute lymphoblastic and acute myeloid leukemias with 11q23 chromosomal translocations”. N Engl J Med 329 (13): 909–14. doi:10.1056/NEJM199309233291302. PMID 8361504.
[5] Strick R, Strissel PL, Borgers S, Smith SL, Rowley JD (2000). “Dietary bioflavonoids induce cleavage in the MLL gene and may contribute to infant leukemia”. Proc Natl Acad Sci US A 97 (9): 4790–5. doi:10.1073/pnas.070061297. PMC 18311. PMID 10758153.
[6] Barjesteh van Waalwijk van Doorn-Khosrovani S, Janssen J, Maas LM, Godschalk RW, Nijhuis JG, van Schooten FJ (2007). “Dietary flavonoids induce MLL translocations in a b Stauth, David (5 March 2007) Studies force new view on biology of flavonoids, primary human CD34+ cells”. Carcinogenesis 28 (8): 1703–9. doi:10.1093/carcin/bgm102. PMID 17468513.
[7] Ross JA (1998). “Maternal diet and infant leukemia: a role for DNA topoisomerase II inhibitors?”. Int J Cancer Suppl 11: 26–8. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1097-0215(1998)78:11+3.0.CO;2-M. PMID 9876473.
[8] Ross JA (2000). “Dietary flavonoids and the MLL gene: A pathway to infant leukemia?”. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 97 (9): 4411–3. doi:10.1073/pnas.97.9.4411. PMC 34309. PMID 10781030.
[9] Spector LG, Xie Y, Robison LL, Heerema NA, Hilden JM, Lange B et al. (2005). “Maternal diet and infant leukemia: the DNA topoisomerase II inhibitor hypothesis: a report from the children’s oncology group”. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 14 (3): 651–5. PMID 15767345.
[10] Esselen, Melanie; Fritz, Jessica; Hutter, Melanie; Marko, Doris (2009). “Delphinidin Modulates the DNA-Damaging Properties of Topoisomerase II Poisons”. Chemical Research in Toxicology 22 (3): 554–64. doi:10.1021/tx800293v. PMID 19182879.
[11] Bandele, O.J.; Clawson, S.J.; Osheroff, N. (2008). “Dietary polyphenols as topoisomerase II poisons: B-ring substituents determine the mechanism of enzyme-mediated DNA cleavage enhancement”. Chemical Research in Toxicology 21 (6): 1253–1260. doi:10.1021/tx8000785. PMC 2737509. PMID 18461976. http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php tname=nutrient&dbid=119 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flavonoid
