Holistic Health Articles and Research Related to Herbal Medicines, Foods and Phytochemicals

Monday 23 September 2019

Dietary Patterns in the Risk of Metabolic Syndrome

By Kyle J. Norton

A dietary pattern is the measurement of the quantity, variety, or combination of different foods and beverage in a diet as well as the frequency of the foods are habitually consumed.

Most common dietary patterns are
* The traditional diet, Wikipedia wrote, "Traditional foods are foods and dishes that are passed through generations or which have been consumed many generations. Traditional foods and dishes are traditional in nature, and may have a historic precedent in a national dish, regional cuisine or local cuisine".

* The Western diet is a standard American diet (SAD) associated with high intakes of red meat, processed meat, pre-packaged and refined foods, fried foods, high-fat dairy products, high salt, and sugar.foods.

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions associated with the increased risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

The health problems found in the group include too much fat around the waist, elevated blood pressure, high triglycerides, elevated blood sugar, and low HDL cholesterol.

In other words, if you have 3 of the conditions in the group, your risk of CVD and diabetes are increased substantially compared to those who have less.

According to the statistics, approximately 30% of people in the US are living with metabolic syndrome.

Believe it or not, among US adults aged 18 years or older, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome rose by more than 35% from 1988–1994 to 2007–2012, increasing from 25.3% to 34.2%.

Besides the aforementioned conditions, risks of metabolic syndrome may include age, family history, physical, inactivity, and women with polycystic ovary syndrome, epidemiologically.

As of today, treatment of metabolic syndrome commonly is prescribed medications to reduce blood pressure, cholesterol, and/or blood sugar with an aim to reduce the risk of developing further health complications and improve quality of life.

On finding a potent ingredient for the treatment of metabolic syndrome, researchers investigated the association between major dietary patterns, including several eating habits.

The cross-sectional study included a total of 425 subjects 35 to 55 y of age, using a food-frequency questionnaire in 5 dietary patterns.

Five major dietary patterns were examined by the Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, including

* A western pattern (high in sweets, butter, soda, mayonnaise, sugar, cookies, the tail of a lamb, hydrogenated fat, and eggs),

* A prudent pattern (high in fish, peas, honey, nuts, juice, dry fruits, vegetable oil, liver and organic meat, and coconuts and low in hydrogenated fat and non-leafy vegetables),

* A vegetarian pattern (high in potatoes, legumes, fruits rich in vitamin C, rice, green leafy vegetables, and fruits rich in vitamin A),

* A high-fat dairy pattern (high in high-fat yogurt and high-fat milk and low in low-fat yogurt, peas, and bread), and

* A chicken and plant pattern (high in chicken, fruits rich in vitamin A, green leafy vegetables, and mayonnaise and low in the beef, liver, and organic meat).

Based on the tested differentiation and adjusting to other confounders,

* The western pattern has a strong and negative impact in increasing triacylglycerol and blood pressure.

* The prudent pattern was positively associated a low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels comapred to other dietary patterns.

* However, the vegetarian dietary pattern was inversely associated with a risk of an abnormal fasting blood glucose level.

Collectively, all dietary patterns are associated with positive or negative in increasing or decreasing the risk of metabolic syndrome.

Sources
(1) Relationship between major dietary patterns and metabolic syndrome among individuals with impaired glucose tolerance by Amini M1, Esmaillzadeh A, Shafaeizadeh S, Behrooz J, Zare M. (PubMed)

Cranberry in the Prevention of Advanced Glycation (AD) Expression

By Kyle J. Norton

Advanced glycation end is a by produces formed by protein or fat combine with sugar caused by cooking meat at high temperature.

The products have been found to affect metabolic health.

Most common causes of AGEs are from the diet, particularly in people who follow the Western diet with high saturated and trans fat, a lot of red meats and processed foods.

Low levels of AGEs may not be a problem, however, overexpression of AGEs can induce oxidative stress, leading to inflammation and damage proteins, lipid and sometimes alternation of cells DNA.

In other words, AGEs initiates the production and free radicals and free radical a chain reaction that can not be stopped until all electrons in the outer ring paired or inhibited by antioxidants.

Accelerated formation and accumulation of advanced glycation end-products have been found to increased hyperglycemia or oxidative stress, leading to age-related and chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus, chronic renal failure, neurodegenerative diseases, osteoarthritis and also non-diabetic atherosclerosis and chronic heart failure.

Some researchers suggested that modern life byproducts AGEs are the results of the promotion of the processed food diet.

Dr. Chetan Sharma, Amarjeet Kaur, the lead scientist in the assessment of AGEs, wrote, "As modern diets are largely heat-processed, they are more prone to contain high levels of advanced glycation end products (AGEs)".

And, "The chemistry of the AGEs formation, absorption and bioavailability and their patho-biochemistry particularly in relation to different complications like diabetes and aging,... The emerging evidence about the adverse effects of AGEs makes it necessary to investigate the different therapies to inhibit AGEs".

The results strongly suggested the link of the modern diet with highly processed food is a leading cause of chronic diseases.

Cranberry is an evergreen dwarf shrub, genus Vaccinium, belongings to the family Ericaceae, native to Northern America and Southern Asia. Because of its health benefits, cranberry has been cultivated in some parts of the world for commercial profit and used in traditional and herbal medicine to treat wounds, urinary disorders, diarrhea, diabetes, stomach ailments, and liver problems.

On finding a potential compound for the treatment of oxidative stress, researchers examined anti-glycation effects of several polyphenol-rich fruits, including blackberry, black raspberry, blueberry, cranberry, red raspberry, and strawberry extracts, which are rich in anthocyanins.

Berry crude extracts (CE) yielded anthocyanins-enriched (ACE) extracts used in the study, showed a significant effect against oxidative stress by exhibiting the free radical scavenging, reactive carbonyl species trapping, and anti-glycation effects compared to their respective ACFs.

Furthermore, the berry ACEs (at 100 μg/mL) inhibited both thermal- and MGO-induced Aβ fibrillation induced by the overexpression of glycation.

Moreover, the berry ACEs (at 20 μg/mL) also reduced H₂O₂-induced reactive oxygen species production and lipopolysaccharide-induced nitric oxide species in BV-2 microglia by decreasing H₂O₂-induced neuron cytotoxicity and caspase-3/7 activity in BV-2 microglia involved in inflammation.

Based on the findings, researchers said, "The free radical scavenging, reactive carbonyl trapping, anti-glycation, anti-Aβ fibrillation, and microglial neuroprotective effects of these berry extracts warrant further in vivo studies to evaluate their potential neuroprotective effects against AD".

Taken altogether, cranberry may be considered a remedy for the treatment of AD, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Sources
(1) Evaluation of Polyphenol Anthocyanin-Enriched Extracts of Blackberry, Black Raspberry, Blueberry, Cranberry, Red Raspberry, and Strawberry for Free Radical Scavenging, Reactive Carbonyl Species Trapping, Anti-Glycation, Anti-β-Amyloid Aggregation, and Microglial Neuroprotective Effects by Ma H1,2,3, Johnson SL4,5, Liu W6, DaSilva NA7,8, Meschwitz S9, Dain JA10, Seeram NP. (PubMed)

Betaxanthins, the Antioxidant Phytochemicals

By Kyle J. Norton

Antioxidants are stable atoms which inhibit oxidation caused by free radical.

Antioxidants besides produced by the body, they can also come into the body from the dietary sources, including second metabolites found in fruits and vegetables.

Free radical scavengers are types of antioxidants that inhibit free radicals before they can induce a chain of reaction, leading to the onset of oxidative stress.

Oxidative stress associated with chronic disease is caused by long-term imbalanced ratio of free radicals and antioxidants. Oxidative stress has been found epidemiologically to induce proteins, lipid, and cellular damage, a major causes of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.

Not all free radicals are bad, in a moderate amount, free radicals are necessary for the body functioning, including the promotion of heart function in blood circulation.

In a healthy individual, antioxidant enzymes produced by the liver are more than enough to counter the expression of free radicals induced by cell metabolism and the environment such as the air we breathe and the food we eat.

However, people with a weakened immune system, intake of antioxidant from outside sources such as fruits and vegetables can be helpful.

Most common types of free radical scavengers produced by the human are catalases that protect the cell from oxidative damage by decomposed hydrogen peroxide to water and oxygen, glutathione peroxidase, a cytosolic enzyme produced by the body that dissolves hydrogen peroxide to water and oxygen and peroxide radicals to alcohols and oxygen, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) that dissolves superoxide radical into either ordinary molecular oxygen or hydrogen peroxide.

Dr. V. Hajhashemi, the lead scientist wrote, "Free radicals are produced continuously in the cells as part of normal cellular function, however, excess production might play a role in the pathophysiology of many disease conditions, including cancer, Alzheimer's disease, atherosclerosis and some of the drug-induced toxicity".
And, " Many basic research studies and observational epidemiologic studies in human suggest that antioxidants can prevent oxidative damage".

Betaxanthins are Phytochemicals in the class of red and yellow indole-derived pigments, belonging to the group of Betalains, found abundantly in beets, Sicilian prickly pear, etc.

On finding a potent ingredient for the prevention of heart diseases associated with oxidative stress, researchers investigated the effects of beetroot juice (BTJ) and whole beetroot (BF) on high blood pressure.

The a randomized, crossover design study included a total of 10 healthy males consumed either 250 ml of BTJ, 300 g of BF or a placebo drink.

According to the sample analysis,
* Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) was 11.4 ± 0.2 mmol/L for BTJ comapred to 3.4 ± 0.4 μmol/g of BF.

* Both BTJ and BF contained a number of polyphenols (1606.9 ± 151 mg/GAE/L and 1.67 ± 0.1 mg/GAE/g, respectively)

* Betaxanthins exerted a TEAC of 41.7 ± 0.7 mg/indicaxanthin equivalents/L and 7.5 ± 0.2 mg/indicaxanthin equivalents/100 g, respectively comapred to betacyanins of 68.2 ± 0.4 mg/betanin equivalents/L and 19.6 ± 0.6 mg/betanin equivalents/100 g, respectively.

* Betanin contents the highest TEAC in both BTJ (~194 mg) and BF (~66 mg), betanin could not be detected in the plasma at any time point post-ingestion comapred to other chemical compounds.

In other words, beetroot juice (BTJ) and whole beetroot (BF) showed high levels of antioxidants associated with increasing plasma NOx bioavailability.

Taken altogether, betaxanthins second to betacyanins may be considered an antioxidant remedy for the inhibition of free radicals, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Sources
(1) The plasma bioavailability of nitrate and betanin from Beta vulgaris rubra in humans by Clifford T1, Constantinou CM2, Keane KM2, West DJ3, Howatson G2,4, Stevenson EJ. (PubMed)
(2) Are antioxidants helpful for disease prevention? by V. Hajhashemi,1,* G. Vaseghi,1 M. Pourfarzam,2 and A. Abdollahi. (PMC)

Lycopene Protects the Lung Against Cancer Developing

By Kyle J. Norton

The lung is a vital organ located near the backbone on either side of the heart with major functions to inhale oxygen from the air to the bloodstream that nourishes the body cells and exhale carbon dioxide from the bloodstream.

Other functions of the lung are to maintain the right levels of pH, filter out blood clots, protect the heart against shock, infection, and speech.

Cancer is a class of diseases caused by cells growth and multiplication disorderly and uncontrollably due to the alternation of the DNA.

After colonizing the entire tissues of the specific organ, the oversize tumor cell can travel a distance away from the originated site to invade other healthy tissues, via lymph or blood.

Most advanced stage of cancer may result in the death of the patients.

Lung cancer is a condition of the abnormal growth of the cells in the lung's tissue. Most common form of primary lung cancers is derived from epithelial cells.

According to the statistics provided by the American Lung Cancer Association, lung cancer is the leading cancer killer in both men and women in the U.S. in 2018, 154,050 Americans died from lung cancer in 2018, accounting for approximately 25 percent of all cancer deaths.

The exact causes of lung cancer are unknown. However, passive smoking, tobacco smoking are 2 of the most common risk factors were found in patients with the disease.

Dr. wrote, "Tobacco smoking remains the most established cause of lung carcinogenesis and other disease processes. Over the last 50 years, tobacco refinement and the introduction of filters have brought a change in histology, and now adenocarcinoma has become the most prevalent subtype".

And, "Over the last decade, smoking also has emerged as a strong prognostic and predictive patient characteristic along with other variables:.

Lycopene is a phytochemical found in tomato in the class of carotenoid, a natural pigment with no vitamin A activity found abundantly in tomatoes and other red fruits and vegetables, such as red carrots, watermelons, and papayas,

Tomatoes provide about 80% of the lycopene in the world diet. In plants, lycopene protects the host against excessive photodamage and perform various functions in photosynthesis.

On finding a potential compound for the treatment of cancer, researchers examined the protective effects of tomato lycopene against the formation and the development of lung cancer.

According to the tested analysis, lycopene inhibited the growth of several cultured lung cancer cells and prevent lung tumorigenesis in animal models through various mechanisms.

More precisely, lycopene efficacy in the prevention and treatment of lung cancer by promoting the balanced ratio of free radicals and antioxidant enzymes produced by the host.

Lycopene exerted cell cycle arrest and/or apoptotic activity by regulating abnormal growth factor signaling, and inhibiting the changes in cell growth-related enzymes.

Smoke-induced inflammation-induced abnormal cell growth associated with the risk of lung cancer also inhibited by the application of lycopene.

Lycopene also inhibited the lung cancer invasion, angiogenesis, and metastasis in the tested animal model through its metabolites.

Based on the findings, researchers said, "The study reviews data on the cancer-preventive activities of lycopene, possible mechanisms involved, and the relationship between lycopene consumption and human cancer risk." and " More well-controlled clinical intervention trials are needed to further clarify the exact role of lycopene in the prevention of lung cancer cell growth".

Taken altogether, lycopene found in tomato combined with conventional medicine may be considered an anti lung cancer remedy, pending on the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Intake of lycopene in the form of supplement should be taken with extreme care to prevent overdose acute liver toxicity.

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Back to Kyle J. Norton Homepage http://kylejnorton.blogspot.ca

Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

Sources
(1) Tobacco carcinogen induces both lung cancer and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and hepatocellular carcinomas in ferrets which can be attenuated by lycopene supplementation by Aizawa K1,2, Liu C1, Tang S1, Veeramachaneni S1, Hu KQ1, Smith DE3, Wang XD. (PubMed)
(2) Tomato lycopene and lung cancer prevention: from experimental to human studies by Palozza P1, Simone RE, Catalano A, Mele MC. (PubMed)
(3) Tobacco Smoking and Lung Cancer. Perception-changing facts by Muhammad Furrukh. (PMC)

Sunday 22 September 2019

Herbal Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara), the Anti-Inflammation Herbal Remedy

By Kyle J. Norton

Inflammation is a natural response in which the white blood cells in the first line of defense of the immune system try to destroy the harmful pathogens before they can enter the body to multiply inducing the acute phase of infection.

However, overproduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines in this phase can cause damage to the nearby healthy cells, leading abnormal production of collagen ratio in the initiation of scars forming.

Inflammation can be classified into 2 types
*Acute inflammation caused by trauma, microbial invasion, or noxious compounds, is a condition that starts rapidly, and becomes severe in a short time and lasts for a few days.

Most pathogens are stopped in the acute phase of infection, depending on the location and the size of the wound and tissues damage.

* Chronic inflammation is a slow, long-term inflammation, lasting for months to years caused by the inability of immunity to repair and overcome the damage or injury.

If the immune system can not kill off all invaded pathogens with a set of period of time, it will compromise, leading to the low-grade chronic inflammation with the persistent production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the affected area.

Long-term low-grade inflammation ultimately leads to tissues and organs damage, inducing a number of chronic illness, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Symptoms of low-grade chronic inflammation include body pain as in arthritis, constant fatigue and insomnia as in cancer, depression, anxiety, and mood disorders and gastrointestinal complications such as constipation, diarrhea, and acid reflux, unintended weight loss or gain depending on the infected tissues and organs.

According to statistics, chronic inflammatory diseases affects approximately 350 million people worldwide and nearly 43 million people in the United States or almost 20% of the population. The prevalence of the diseases is anticipated to increase persistently for the next 30 years, causing a financial burden on the economy and health care sector.

Turmeric is a perennial plant in the genus Curcuma, belonging to the family Zingiberaceae, native in demagogical South Asia.

The herb has been used in traditional medicine as anti-oxidant, hypoglycemic, colorant, antiseptic, wound healing agent, and to treat flatulence, bloating, and appetite loss, ulcers, eczema, inflammations, etc.

Coltsfoot(Tussilago farfara) is a perennial herbaceous plant, genus Tussilago, belonging to the family Asteraceae, native to Europe and Asia. The herb has been used over thousands of year to treat asthma, various coughs, bronchial congestion, respiratory disorders, headaches and obstruction in the nasal passage, etc.

On finding a potential compound for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia, researchers examined the anti-inflammatory effect of Tussilagone (TSL), isolated from the flower of buds of Tussilago farfara (Compositae).

According to the tested analysis, RAW264.7 cells treated by TSLshowed a significant activity to increase HO-1 protein expression associated with anti-inflammatory activity in a dose- and time-dependent manner without the induction of HO-1 mRNA expression.

In other words, TSL-mediated HO induction may be regulated at the translational level involved in the cellular response to stressors, growth cues, and differentiation through its anti-inflammatory properties.

Pro-inflammatory proteins such as nitric oxide (NO), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) were also inhibited by the administration of TSL in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 cells.

Based on the findings, researchers said, "TSL may be an effective HO-1 inducer that has anti-inflammatory effects and a valuable compound for modulating inflammatory conditions.".

Taken altogether, coltsfoot may be considered a remedy for the treatment of disease associated with inflammatory disease, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Sources
(1) The anti-inflammatory effect of tussilagone, from Tussilago farfara, is mediated by the induction of heme oxygenase-1 in murine macrophages by Hwangbo C1, Lee HS, Park J, Choe J, Lee JH. (PubMed)
(2) Chronic Inflammation by Roma Pahwa, and Ishwarlal Jialal. (NCBI)

Ashwagandha Increases Body Mass and Strength in Resistance Training Exercise

By Kyle J. Norton

Body mass calculated by the body mass index (BMI), is a value derived from the mass (weight) and height of a person.

The BMI indes = weight (kg)/ height (m2)

Weight loss is a process that intentionally reduces the total body mass, through the decrease of fluid, body fat or adipose tissue or lean mass.

Obesity is a medical condition of excess body fat has accumulated over time, while overweight is a condition of excess body weight relative to the height.

According to the Body Mass Index(BMI), a BMI between 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight, while a BMI of over 30 is an indication of obesity. According to the statistic, 68% of the American population is either overweight or obese.

In North America, over 68% of the US population is either overweight or obese.

The weight loss products is a 66 billion business in the US, according to the statistic provided by the Marketdata LLC research firm. And the business continues to grow at a rapid rate.

Resistance training is a type of exercise associated with the improvement of muscular strength and endurance used most in professional athletics.

The exercise is emphasized to move the limbs against resistance provided by your body weight, gravity, bands, weighted bars or dumbbells.

Today, most resistance training exercise is performed against exercise machines.

Body strength on the resistance training exercise is a type of workout that focuses on the entire body to build lean muscle tissue and strength.

Ashwagandha also is known as Withania somnifera is a nightshade plant in the genus of Withania, belonging to the family Solanaceae, native to the dry parts of India, North Africa, Middle East, and the Mediterranean.

The herbal medicine has been considered as Indian ginseng and used in Ayurvedic medicine over 3000 years to treat tumors and tubercular glands, carbuncles, memory loss, and ulcers and considered as anti-stress, cognition-facilitating, anti-inflammatory, and anti-aging herbal medicine.

On finding a potent compound for enhancing the results of resistance training, researchers examined the effects of ashwagandha root extract consumption on muscle mass and strength in healthy young men engaged in resistance training.

The randomized, prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study included 57 young male subjects (18-50 years old) with little experience in resistance randomized into treatment (29 subjects) consumed 300 mg of ashwagandha root extract twice daily and placebo (28 subjects) groups consumed starch for 8 weeks.

Compared to the placebo subjects, the group treated with ashwagandha had significantly greater increases in muscle strength on the bench-press exercise and the leg-extension exercise and significantly greater muscle size increase at the arms.

Furthermore, Ashwagandha treatment group also showed a significant increase in muscle size on the chest.

Furthermore, the Ashwagandha treatment group also reduced the risk of exercise-induced muscle damage by stabilizing the serum creatine kinase and increased the production of testosterone level. compared to control.

Most importantly, comapred to control, the Ashwagandha treatment group demonstrated a significantly greater decrease in body fat percentage.

Based on the findings, researchers said, "ashwagandha supplementation is associated with significant increases in muscle mass and strength and suggests that ashwagandha supplementation may be useful in conjunction with a resistance training program".

Taken altogether, Ashwagandha may be considered a functional herb that increases body mass and strength in resistance training, pending to the result of larger sample size and multicenter study

Natural Medicine for Fatty Liver And Obesity Reversal - The Revolutionary Findings To Achieve Optimal Health And Lose Weight

How To Get Rid Of Eye Floaters
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Ovarian Cysts And PCOS Elimination
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Permanently Eliminate All Types of Ovarian Cysts Within 2 Months

Back to Kyle J. Norton Homepage http://kylejnorton.blogspot.ca

Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

Sources
(1) Examining the effect of Withania somnifera supplementation on muscle strengthand recovery: a randomized controlled trial by Wankhede S1, Langade D2, Joshi K3, Sinha SR4, Bhattacharyya S. (PubMed)

Healthy Food Onion Reduces The Risk of Esophageal cancer

By Kyle J. Norton

Esophagus or gullet, an organ in vertebrates, is the tube that leads foods from the pharynx to the stomach.

Esophageal cancer is a medical condition caused by cell growth disorderly and uncontrollably in the tissue of the esophagus due to the alternation of the cell DNA.

More precisely, esophageal cancer can be a result of DNA alternation of the cells that line the upper part of the esophagus or glandular cells that line the lower part of the esophagus, connecting to the stomach.

Patients with esophageal cancer at the very early stage due to the very small size of the tumor are asymptomatic. However, at the advanced stage, esophageal cancer tends to travel a distance away to infect other healthy tissue and organ, leading to the secondary metastasis.

Most common areas of metastasis of esophageal cancer are lymph node around the bottom of the esophagus, stomach and the chest.

According to the statistic, esophageal cancer is the seventh most common cause of cancer death among men. In 2019, about 17,650 new esophageal cancer cases will bed diagnosed, including 13,750 men and 3,900 women.

Esophageal cancer will cause the death of 16,080 Americans, including 13,020 men and 3,060 women.

Believe it or not, esophageal cancer is more common among men than among women. The lifetime risk of esophageal cancer in the US is 1 in 132 in men and about 1 in 455 in women.

Esophageal cancer can be classified into, depending on the location which cancer starts
* Squamous cancer
If the cancer cell starts in the upper part of the esophagus caused by the DNA alternation of the squamous cell.

* Adenocarcinomas

If the cancer cell starts in the lower part of the esophagus caused by the DNA and alternation of the glandular cells.

Most common symptoms of the esophageal cancer are difficulty swallowing or pain caused by refluxing or swallowing, pain in the throat or back, behind the breastbone, heartburn, hoarseness or coughing, coughing blood and accompanied by the general symptoms shared by other types of cancer.

The onion is a plant in the genus Allium, belonging to the family Alliaceae, a close relation of garlic. It is often called the "king of vegetables" because of its pungent taste and found in a large number of recipes and preparations spanning almost the totality of the world's cultures.

Depending on the variety, an onion can be sharp, spicy, tangy, pungent, mild or sweet.

On finding a potential compound for the treatment of esophageal cancer, researchers examined the effect of raw garlic/onion consumed at least one time per week on the development of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in three different sections of the esophagus.

The study included a total of A 343 patients with SCC of the esophagus and 755 cancer-free control subjects recruited for this study from 1996 to 2005.

According to the results of tested assays, intake of raw onions/garlic, and fruits are significantly protective against esophageal SSC risk compared to the increased risk of hot foods.

In other words, adding additional certain dietary components may affect carcinogenesis locally and systemically.

Furthermore, according to the study of the Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche "Mario Negri",
consumption of onions showed a protective effect on esophageal cancer, compared to garlic and other vegetables.

More precisely, onion and garlic intake improved the relative risk ratio by 0.12 and 0.43, respectively.

The results strongly suggested the inverse association between the frequency of use of allium vegetables such as onion and garlic against the risk of several common cancers, inclduing esophageal cancer

Dr. Galeone C wrote in the final report, "Allium vegetables are a favorable correlate of cancer risk in Europe".

Taken altogether, onion may be considered a remedy for the prevention and treatment of adjuvant esophageal cancer, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Sources

(1) Garlic and onions: Their cancer prevention properties by Holly L. Nicastro,1 Sharon A. Ross,2 and John A. Milner. (PubMed)
(2) Cancer of Esophagus/Esophageal cancer by Kyle J. Norton