You are in luck if you love sinking your teeth into juicy delectable fruits, and if you know someone with breast cancer or are a breast cancer patient yourself. Pomegranates and mangoes are considered to be superfruits, or fruits that are known for their exceptional nutritional richness and antioxidant qualities. New research indicates that substances found in pomegranates and mangoes may be natural alternatives to breast cancer medication and other treatment options. The wonderful thing about fruits as natural medicines is that they are delicious, there are no side-effects as a result of their consumption, and they contain a variety of nutrients.

Both fruits have the potential to alter some of those dismal breast cancer statistics by preventing the spread of breast cancer!

Pomegranates

Pomegranate fruit contains phytochemicals, specifically Urolithin B, that work like aromatase inhibitors. In reference to the results of a study published in the January issue of Cancer Prevention Research, researchers say they’ve found a natural substance in pomegranates that could prevent the development of hormone-dependent breast cancer and stop the growth of estrogen-responsive tumors.

According to the Mayo Clinic website, AI drugs come choc-full of side effects such as severe joint pain, muscle aches, hot flashes, headaches, bone fractures, fatigue, and even a risk of heart disease. Aromatase inhibitors are used by physicians to block the synthesis of estrogen in an attempt to subdue the growth of estrogen-dependent breast cancer tumors.

The research team for the aforementioned study discovered that natural phytochemicals found in pomegranates suppress estrogen production, thereby preventing the spread of breast cancer cells and the growth of estrogen-responsive tumors. One particular substance found in pomegranates – dubbed Urolithin B – significantly inhibited the growth of cultured breast cancer cells in the laboratory.

Mangos

What do mangoes contain that may eventually have the scientific and medical communities singing their praises as worthwhile adversaries of breast cancer? The answer is polyphenols, the natural phytochemicals found in plants. Polyphenols are antioxidants with the potential to protect the body from disease.

At Texas A&M University’s AgriLife Research department, laboratory experiments indicated that mango fruit prevented or stopped cancer growth in certain breast and colon cell lines. The experiments also showed that mango extract demonstrated some anticancer abilities when tested on prostate, leukemia and lung cancer cells. When tested on the most common breast and colon cancers, however, mango compounds were found to have even stronger cancer fighting abilities than when tested on the other types of cancer cells.

In the experiments, the researchers documented that the cancer cell division process was interrupted by the mango extract. In fact, the mango extract caused the colon and breast cancer cells to undergo apoptosis, or programmed cell death.

When husband and wife food scientists Dr. Suzanne and Steve Talcott performed the experiments at Texas A&M, they evaluated specific polyphenols for effectiveness. What they found was that gallotannins were the most active cancer-fighting agents in mangoes. Gallotannins are a class of natural polyphenolic compounds believed to aid in the prevention or halt the growth of cancer cells.

So, pomegranate and mango lovers, eat and drink up!

By Jenny Heart. Research breast cancer medication through extensive breast cancer info resource site. Find doctors, breast cancer statistics and patient stories.
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Technorati Tag: Breast Cancer, Breast Cancer Treatment

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