Eulalee ThompsonFunctional foods provide health benefits beyond basic nutrition. When eaten on a regular basis as part of a varied diet, these foods may decrease the risk for developing diseases such as heart disease and cancer.
SIMPLE LIFESTYLE changes such as adding orange juice to the diet could cut colorectal cancer risk by as much as 70 per cent and dietary changes can reduce all cancers by 30 to 40 per cent. In some cases the cancer risk could even be eliminated. Sounds too good to be true? Well, it is as simple as that. Orange juice, legumes and soy products are listed among foods, now known as functional foods. These foods provide nourishment and protection against some chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease.
It was Dr. Maurice Bennink, professor of nutritional biochemistry at (U.S.) Michigan State University who was recently updating his local colleagues at the University of the West Indies' Department of Chemistry and the Mona Institute of Applied Science on his latest animal and clinical studies on functional foods for health.
He said that based on the conclusions of these studies, diet can definitely reduce the risk of colon cancer and of other diet-related cancers such as prostate cancer. The secret ingredients are the bioactive compounds and phytochemicals in some foods that act as anticarcinogenic agents.
"Diet influences the cell process...Diet has its impact in terms of slowing down the (disease) process. We are not entirely sure that diet will cure it but it will prevent the development of cancer," Dr. Bennink said.
In one of his animal studies, Dr. Bennink and research team induced colon cancer in animal subjects and separated them into two groups. One groups was fed water and the other, orange juice. The tumour incidence results showed a reduction from 73 per cent to 57 per cent in those drinking orange juice.
"So something as simple as drinking orange juice will reduce cancer incidence. There was a small but significant increase in cell differentiation. What was causing the differentiation, we are not quite sure but we suspect Hesperidin which is one of the phytochemicals/flavonids in orange juice," he said.
In another experiment, this time with legumes, animal subjects, taking certain types of beans displayed extremely large result reduction in colon cancer. The beans, Dr. Bennink said, have anticancer phytochemicals. They also have other compounds such as phenolic compounds, saponins, bioactive peptides including protease inhibitors, all which could impact the process of disease.
His clinical study (using people) focused on the health benefits of soy. In the double blind study where people (with colon polyps or their colons removed) were randomly assigned to treatment, Dr. Bennink found that people consuming isolated soy protein had changes in their labelling index.
"We have been able to reduce the cancer risk by one-half, just by adding something as simple as soy protein. Eating soy will reduce the cancer risk. Eating soy, even with a tumour, will see a slower growth of the tumour," he concludes.
Overall conclusions, Dr. Bennink said, are that diet can influence colon carcinogens and phytonutrients in orange juice, dried beans and whole soy and defatted soy flour inhibit colon carcinogenesis. He said however, that much more research is needed on the actual phytochemicals in food that are impacting
disease processes.
