How Antioxidants Fight Against Diseases

"It is important to state at the outset that antioxidants vary widely in their free-radical quenching effects and each may be individually attracted to specific cell sites. Further evidence of the specialized nature of the Carotenoids is demonstrated by the appearance of two Carotenoids in the macula region of the retina where beta-carotene is totally absent (Handelman, 1988). These two retina specific Carotenoids are zeaxanthin (a yellow pigment found in corn seeds, sweet red pepper, bitter orange peel, and in green algae) and lutein (found in the green leaves of all higher plants, also in algae, in citrus rind, in apricot, peach, plum, apple, and cranberry)." Michael A. Weiner, Ph.D.

The Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine Vol. 9, No.3, 1994

Introduction

I have been interested in bioflavonoids and other polyphenols for a long time. These substances are thought to have anti-cancer properties and, according to my theory, they may also benefit mental illness as well as other diseases. The reason why polyphenols may benefit mental disease is very complex. It seems that a substance called DMPEA causes schizophrenia. This substance is created from dopamine with the help of two enzymes (COMT and GOMT). Polyphenols inhibit COMT.

Vitamin P
(Bioflavonoids)

Vitamin P is in the following foods:

Apricots, bark, black currants, blue and red berries, buckwheat, cherries, elderberry, fruits, grapes, grapefruit, garlic, green tea, green vegetables, hawthorne berry, horsetail, lemons, nuts, oil, oranges, onions, peppers, prunes, rose hips, soy beans, the peels of citrus fruits, and shepherd's purse.

These flavonoids are also polyphenols and can inhibit COMT. In addition to that, they are thought to have antiviral properties as well as other healthy functions.

Beta-Carotene

Beta-carotene is in the following foods:

Apricots, Broccoli, Carrots, Melon, Palm Oil, Papaya, Pumpkin, Spinach, Tomatoes.

"Current medical research shows that foods rich in Beta Carotene will help reduce the risk of lung cancer & certain oral cancers. Unlike Vitamin A from fish liver oil, Beta Carotene is non-toxic."

orthomolecular.org

Vitamins

"Until quite recently most physicians adhered to the belief that the only function of vitamins was to prevent deficiency diseases such as scurvy and pellagra. When Linus Pauling founded orthomolecular medicine twenty-five years ago by suggesting that vitamins might have other functions than this, he was greeted with scorn, derision and outright hostility by the orthodoxy. Today the situation is entirely transformed. There is now an enormous literature on the role of vitamins in the body other than their prevention of deficiency diseases." John Smythies, M.D., F.R.C.P.

The Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine Vol. 13, 1st Quarter 1998

Smythies is a very famous scientist who has done research since the Fifties. He published a famous paper with Osmond in 1952. Unfortunately Osmond is now deceased.

"A very large number of epidemiological, plus a few double-blind controlled, studies have shown that diets high in vitamin E, and/or vitamin E supplementation, are protective against heart attacks." Smythies

Cancer

"In one study Turmeric extract was tested for its anticarcinogenic and antimutagenic properties. Laboratory (non- human) experiments it was found that this ancient spice reduced both the number of tumors in mice and the mutagenicity of benzo(a)pyrene (BP) and two other potent mutagens, NPD and DMBA." Michael A. Weiner, Ph.D.

Herbal Antioxidants in Clinical Practice

The Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine Vol. 9, No.3, 1994

Ginger

"In a series of experiments with rats, scientists from Japan discovered that extracts of Ginger inhibited gastric lesions by up to 97%. The authors conclude that the folkloric usage of Ginger in stomachic preparations were effective owing to the constituents zingiberene, the main terpenoid and 6-gingerol, the pungent principle." Weiner

Conclusions

Hoffer has attempted to use nutrition to treat schizophrenia. He has claimed great success with this endevour, but others have been skeptical. I favor the use of nutrition in the treatment of schizophrenia and also in the treatment of cancer, heart disease, and other physical diseases.

My own theory is that a low tryptophan diet should be tried. Tryptophan is in the following foods:

Bananas, beans, brewer's yeast, brown rice bran, caseinate, cottage cheese, dairy products, dates, eggs, fish, lactalbumin, legumes, meat, milk, nuts, peanuts, protein (hydrolysis), seafood, seeds, soy, turkey, whey, whole grains.

For more information, consult the references.

References

1. Dragsted, L.O., Strube, M., & Larsen, J.C. Cancer-protective factors in fruits and vegetables biochemical and biological background. Pharmacology and Toxicology, 72( 1): 116-135, 1993.

2. Agarwal, R., Wang, Z. Y., & Mukhtar, H. Inhibition of mouse skin tumor-initiating activity of DMBA by chronic oral feeding of glycyrrhizin in drinking water. Nutrition and Cancer, 15(3-4): 187-193, 1991.

3. Baba, M. & Shigeta, S. Antiviral activity of glycyrrhizin against varicella-zoster virus in

vitro. Antiviral Research, 7: 99-107, 1987.

4. Hoffer A, Osmond H: How To Live With Schizophrenia. University Books, New York, NY, 1966. Also published by Johnson, London, 1966. Written by Fannie Kahan. New and Revised Ed. Citadel Press, New York, NY, 1992.

5. www.associatedcontent.com/article/796059/a_scientific_hypothesis_for_schizophrenia.html

6. www.associatedcontent.com/article/792401/hypoglycemia_and_mental_illness.html
7. www.associatedcontent.com/article/782431/conquering_schizophrenia.html