EAT AN APPLE AND CALL ME IN THE MORNING

It has been said that for every illness, nature has a cure. For every poison, Mother Nature has a plant, bush or berry nearby to counter act the poison. The old proverb "an apple a day keeps the doctor away". Could there be a compound in nature that combats cancer cells? According to Dr. Gerry Potter, Director of the Cancer Drug Discovery Group at the Leicester School of Pharmacy at De Montfort University, England, the answer is YES!

Dr. Potter's passion stems from an ordeal he witnessed as a child. He watched his Aunt fight a losing battle with cancer. At the tender age of four, he vowed he would find a cure. It looks like he may keep that promise. Partnering with the experts at " Nature's Defence", they have compiled encouraging research on a compound called salvestrols. According to the online article by Jayne Elliott, BBC News: " NatureÕs Defence was formed in January 2004 to research and promote salvestrol technology. The company represents a coming together of expertise in the fields of rational drug development, and the extraction of medicinal compounds from plant materials". They are currently doing clinical studies on salvestrols to determine if the compound can be used successfully in a commercially available supplement form.

Salvestrols are naturally occuring compounds produced in the skins of organic fruits and vegetables, late in their ripening stage. The claim is salvestrols, a compound found in organic food, can induce cell death, particularly targeting an enzyme found only in cancer cells. Researchers found salvestrols destroyed the CYP1B1 enzyme which is present in both pre-cancerous and cancerous cells. (as claimed by Natures Choice experts). Interestingly, it has been noted that non-organic produce does NOT contain salvestrols.

The working theory is a practical one. Survival. Over the years fruits and vegetables have evolved, as does any animal, plant or mineral, if it wishes to survive. They had to find a way to combat such threats as insects and more significant to this study, fungal infections. It did so by producing salvestrols. This natural fungicide provided protection to the skin on the plant. When we ingest that fruit, along with the other well known health properties, we also ingest the salvestrols that protect us in the same manner. Max Drake, medical herbalist at Nature's Defence, in Leicester states: "It is likely that we have discovered a mechanism that can tackle cancer cells whether they are formed or forming."

Today, with chemical farming being the method of choice for most farmers, there is no need for plants to develop the anti-fungal compounds (salvestrols). The chemicals being used, do it for them. They have lost their need to produce the salvestrols necessary to ward off a fungus attack. This is disturbing news and one more of the growing reasons to purchase organic fruits and vegetables. They may be more expensive, the shelf life is not as long and they are not always as perfect as their counter-parts, but organic fruits and vegetables give us something you can't put a price on. A fighting chance.

resources: Vista Magazine Issue 44, article: Cancer, Fruit and Organic Gardening and further info can be found from online reports www.news.bbc.co.uk.