Quercetin Cancels Colon Inflammation
Plant-based foods contain a molecule that can put out the flames from inflammation and prevent damaging lesions from forming in the colon. This was the finding of a study conducted by Texas AgriLife scientist, Dr. Nancy Turner. Dr. Turner discovered another bit of good news; this amazing compound is easily obtained by eating fruits and vegetables.
Quercetin is the amazing compound. The molecule is very tiny, but very potent. The easiest way to ingest quercetin is to eat onions, peppers, tomatoes and most fruits and vegetables found in the human diet. Red wine also has quercetin and can be enjoyable to drink.
Earlier research has shown that quercetin is effective in reducing the rate of colon cancer in lab tests. Dr. Turner wanted to discover how the quercetin works and she was successful. Her research paper was published in the Journal of Nutrition and it explains how quercetin works. Scientists can now begin to understand how quercetin can help inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s or celiac disease. Dr. Turner commented, “The nice thing is that albeit high relative to what you see in the American diet, the level used in this study is actually similar to what can be achieved in diets around the world such as in, say, Mediterranean-style diets.” She went on to say, “So it’s not an unachievable goal for good ol’ Americans if we do the right thing with our food.
In this study, Dr. Turner’s team examined the response of quercetin-supplement diets in the lab rats used in the study. Some of the rats had early stages of colon cancer and others did not have any cancer. It was found that early lesions in a colon are some of the real changes occurring in the colon which can be observed visually. The lesions are not just found in an animal study, they are also seen in human patients. The lesions are called “aberrant crypts,” and are considered to be a marker or forecast of tumor formation. Previous research has shown that it reduces the number of the crypts.
Most of the time cancer is described as an uncontrolled growth in a human body. The natural process of cell death or apoptosis is also critically important in cancer. A healthy body will have a balanced equilibrium between new cells and cells that have completed their job and are ready to be removed from healthy tissue. Dr. Turner found that the body received benefits from cell deaths and new cells. With quercetin, Dr. Turner says they were able to decrease the number of cells that were proliferating in the colon. They were also able to increase the number of cells that were going through apoptosis. In effect, they were able to keep the number of cells at the normal number.
The next step in Dr. Turner’s research was to study how inflammation contributes to the development of colon cancer. The team targeted two enzymes; Cox-1 and Cox-2. Cox-1 is a routine protein that can be found in all parts of the body. But Cox-2 is associated with implications in many diseases and it is one of the biggest contributors to colon cancer. Recent research has shown that Cox-2 increases in colon cancer. It is therefore obvious Cox-2 has to be controlled. Quercetin can possibly help in containing and controlling Cox-2. Dr. Turner says that additional research is needed to explore and answer the many remaining questions in order to gain a better understanding of what is happening.
DISCLAIMER: I am not a Doctor and do not give medical advice; this is a news report and cannot substitute for the advice of a medical professional.
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