Citrus Pectin Helps Support Healthy Detoxification

Each day numerous cells in the body become cancerous. It is our immune system that we have to thank for detecting and destroying these cells. Still, for certain individuals, the immune system fails and a clinically relevant cancer occurs. One known suppressor of the immune system is toxic or heavy metals. Citrus Pectin helps support a healthy immune response by helping to support healthy detooxification.

Citrus Pectin Helps Support Healthy Cholesterol

A joint study by the US Department of Agriculture and KGK Synergize, a Canadian nutraceutical company, identified a class of compounds isolated from the peels of grapefruit and concentrated in citrus pectin that shows promise in animal studies as a supporter of healthy cholesterol.

The findings, released in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a peer-reviewed publication of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society, show that the compounds, called polymethoxylated flavones (PMFs) have been increasingly linked to healthy cholesterol.

The study is believed to be the first to show that PMFs can support healthy cholesterol, the researchers say. "Our study has shown that PMFs have the most potent supporting effect of any other citrus flavonoid," said Dr Elzbieta Kurowska, lead investigator of the study and vice president of research at KGK Synergize in Ontario, Canada. "We believe that PMFs have the potential to rival and even beat the supporting effects of some prescription drugs, without the risk of side effects."

PMFs are found in a variety of citrus fruits. The most common citrus PMFs, tangeretin and nobiletin, are found in the peels of tangerines and oranges. They are also found in smaller amounts in the juices of these fruits. Using hamster models with diet-induced high cholesterol, the researchers showed that feeding them food containing 1 per cent PMFs supported healthy cholesterol. Previous animal studies by others have shown that similar flavonoids, particularly hesperidin from oranges and naringin from grapefruit, also may have the ability to support healthy cholesterol, although not as effectively as PMFs, according to Kurowska.

Supplementing with PMFs did not appear to have any effect on levels of HDL cholesterol, or good cholesterol, the researcher said. No negative side effects were seen in the animals that were fed the compounds, she added. The researchers are currently exploring the compound's mechanism of action on cholesterol metabolism. They now suspect, based on early results in cell and animal studies, that it works by inhibiting the synthesis of cholesterol and triglycerides inside the liver.

A long-term human study of the effect of PMFs on high LDL cholesterol is now in progress.

Citrus Pectin and Prostate Cancer

A study published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry looked at the possible effect of citrus pectin on prostate cancer. The research suggests that a component in citrus pectin may help support healthy cell growth.

The study is the result of collaborative research among scientists at the Texas A&M-Kingsville Citrus Center at Weslaco, the University of Texas-Pan American at Edinburg and Texas A&M's Institute of Biosciences and Technology (IBT) at the Texas Medical Center in Houston.While this study is focused mainly on prostate cancer, scientists are also investigating the effect pectin may have on other types of cancer.

Dr. Bhimu Patil, a physiologist at the Citrus Center, who isolated pectin from four citrus varieties, said the study is preliminary but justifies further investigations in pre-clinical animal models, then possibly in humans.

A Texas A&M-Kingsville graduate student, Yan Liu, who worked under Dr. Patil and recently completed her master's degree, conducted a major part of this study, Patil said. "This is the first study that identifies a specific molecular target by which citrus pectin may impact abnormal cell growth," Patil said. The study shows that a component derived from pectin can effect the mis-communication that occurs between cells of the prostate, that can lead to abnormal cell growth. "There's cross-talk among cells of the prostate, that keeps the prostate healthy," said Dr. Wallace McKeehan, a cell biologist at IBT. "During abnormal cell growth, the signals get garbled and the cells don't understand each other. You end up with rogue cells that are not behaving properly, because they are not getting the right signals. They begin signaling and stimulating themselves and grow too much. "We've plugged the elements of citrus pectin into the signal mechanisms, that have gone haywire and shown that pectin can potentially effect that system and set it back to normal," he said.

The Phase II clinical trial investigating the effects of Citrus Pectin in recurrent prostate cancer has been completed and was published in Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases. A longer, more controlled study was undertaken in men where standard treatment (radical prostatectomy, radiation, or cyrosurgery) was initially successful (PSA = 0) but then subsequently PSA began to rise. This type of cancer recurrence typically represents a more aggressive form of cancer. The study results are remarkable.

While Citrus Pectin alone isn't a cure for prostate cancer, it is an important adjunct to standard treatment or a valuable nutrient for men in "watchful waiting". It also has many other health benefits which may contribute to a person's quality of life while they meet health challenges such as cancer.

While the mechanism of action of this important nutrient involves the Citrus Pectin polysaccharide chain interacting with galectin molecules on the surface of cancer cells, new research supports a broader range of action in maintaining optimal health. This year a pilot trial demonstrated that Citrus Pectin supports the urinary excretion of toxic metals and additional research with pectin suggests that Citrus Pectin may have a systemic effect on the immune system, which will help assist immune cells in supporting healthy cell growth.

The data from a phase II clinical trial using Citrus Pectin for biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer was just published in the journal "The Prostate". The manuscript validated a new statistical method of evaluating the effectiveness of any nutritional supplement or drug. While the statistical method was satisfactorily peer reviewed, the methods and results of the clinical trial were not scrutinized. However, all the preliminary clinical data was presented and from a clinical perspective the results are very encouraging.

Citrus Pectin and the Immune System

Aside from helping to support healthy detoxification, which in itself indirectly helps support a healthy immune response, components of citrus pectin may directly help support a healthy immune response. Maintaining an appropriately balanced immune system is important and research suggests that citrus pectin may help support such a healthy immune response.

Most of the modern research on garlic has concentrated on its effect on cholesterol and blood pressure.

Scientists have also looked at the effect garlic may have on the formation of blood clots and the impact such an effect may have on stroke.

The key to garlic's health benefits is allicin.

This pungent and powerful phytochemical (a plant compound that has protective health benefits) is also responsible for garlic's telltale odor.

So, what is it about garlic that helps support good health?

It's all about allicin.

When cloves are chewed, crushed or cut, they release a sulphur-bearing compound called allicin - the chemical that gives garlic its pungent taste and smell. And it's the allicin that scientists believe is responsible for garlic's good health support.

There is actually no allicin in an intact clove of fresh garlic: Allicin forms when the plant cells within the garlic clove are damaged, such as through crushing or cooking.

Garlic's ability to manufacture allicin serves to defend the plant against insects, bacteria, viruses, fungal organisms, and other invaders.

The chemistry of allicin is complex and unstable- Soon after allicin is formed, the compound breaks down into a host of other compounds.

Producing garlic supplements that will release significant quantities of allicin is not easy. This might explain their price.

When buying garlic supplements, check the label for the amount of allicin released. Use this information to compare different supplements. Other figures such as "equivalent to x cloves" are not really important.

Be aware that some garlic supplements list the amount of alliin they contain. That one letter difference is important! Alliin is a precursor compound to allicin however conversion rate between alliin and allicin is extremely variable. On its own an alliin figure is of little value.

Pectin Plus^® uses odorless garlic that has been standardized to provide 10% Allicin Potential.

Cilantro has a long history as a digestive aid. In Egypt, it has been found in pharaohs' tombs, presumably to prevent indigestion in the afterlife. While no one has been able to attest to its post-mortem healing properties, recent studies have supported its use as a stomach soother for both adults and colicky babies. According to James A. Duke, Ph.D., a botanist retire from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and author of The CRC Handbook of Medicinal Herbs, "Cilantro has been shown to settle the stomach, improving tummy troubles of all kinds, from indigestion to flatulence to diarrhea."

Cilantro was first discovered by the ancient Romans, who used it to preserve meats. The herb contains an antioxidant that helps prevent animal fats from turning rancid. It also contains substances that kill meat-spoiling bacteria and fungi. Intriguing new studies are investigating if Cilantro has anti-inflammatory effects.

Research has shown that mercury toxins can impair immune system function and thereby cause chronic viral, bacterial & fungal illnesses. Both allopathic & holistic practitioners have observed that patients diagnosed with these illnesses, often have dramatic recoveries following an aggressive mercury detoxification/amalgam replacement program.

Cilantro is thought to help support healthy detoxification because it may act as a reducing agent changing the charge on the intracellular mercury to a neutral state, allowing mercury to diffuse down it's concentration gradient into connective tissue. This is called connective tissue mercury toxicity. Binding agents such as Pectin, garlic or cilantro quite easily bind to this "free mercury" leading to it's excretion from the body.