Getting to Know Nutraceuticals

Title of Article: Getting to Know Nutraceuticals
Author: Thomas Hayden
Source: Scientific American Body
Date Published: December 2007
Date Obtained: December 1^st 2008


Getting to Know Nutraceuticals pertains to the Metabolic Processes Unit of Study

Link to the Article: http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=getting-to-know-nutraceut

Summary of the Article:

Getting to Know Nutraceuticals is an article scrutinizing the health claims of four major nutraceuticals; Omega 3`s, Lycopene, Glucosamine, and Tofu. Although all four of these dietary supplements are claimed to be beneficial, only two of them are free of negative side effects. Clinical trials surrounding Omega 3`s have found that this nutraceutical effectively prevents cardiac attacks and deaths, but the claim that it reduces chances of stroke cannot be proven, as results were varied. Glucosamine was also attributed with positive results, combating the pain and cartilage destruction associated with osteoarthritis, however, a placebo yielded strikingly similar results. The other two subjects in this report were found to have adverse effects hidden from the general public. Lycopene, which is supposed to lower risk of prostate cancer, was found to actually increase the risk of aggressive prostate cancer in certain test subjects. Tofu, often regarded as the king of nutraceuticals, was also found to contain certain soy compounds that increase the risk of breast cancer.

In reading this article, I learned that oftentimes, health claims are lacking the scientific evidence needed to back them up. Dietary supplements are a multi-billion dollar a year industry, and many of these products have little or no scientific evidence to prove their claims. It can be very confusing to choose which, if any, dietary supplement is right for you. I learned that before buying, one should always research the effects of the nutraceutical they are considering to use. If nutraceuticals are put through a rigorous screening process before they are approved, it will be a significant advancement in this field. FDA regulations are very loose surrounding what information is placed on a bottle of pills, and this creates a deep ethical and moral issue. This information is supposed to supply the customer with valid facts backed up by scientific evidence, but it is often no more than a farfetched hunch, created with one simple goal; to make money.

Spice Healer

Title of Article: Spice Healer
Author: Gary Stix
Source: Scientific American
Date published: February 2007
Date obtained: December 1st 2008
Spice Healer pertains to the Metabolic Processes Unit of Study

Link to the Article: http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=spice-healer

Summary of the Article:

Spice Healer is an article investigating the effects of using curcumin, an ingredient found in curry, to treat diseases ranging from Alzheimer’s to cancer. This compound played a vital role in early Indian medicine, and was used to heal wounds, cleanse blood, and cure stomach ailments. Although most of the clinical trials surrounding curcumin and its effects have been performed on animals, they have yielded unprecedented results. This extraordinary spice targets malignant cells with such a diverse attack that it takes them a very long time to develop a resistance to it. M.D. Anderson (a widely renowned cancer institution) went as far as suggesting a dose of 8 grams of curcumin daily for cancer patients.

In my opinion, this article sheds light on a revolutionary new experimental treatment for diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer`s. This could be an enormous advancement in the field of cancer research, which is incessantly searching for a cure. As this treatment is yet to have experienced large scale clinical trials, its effects on humans are not yet confirmed. For M.D. Anderson to go ahead and suggest this treatment to all cancer patients is a very bold move, and one that could yield dire consequences. In reading this article, I have learned that some researchers are very quick to praise their own results, without always taking the necessary precautions to find out if their discovery (in this case curcumin) has any negative side-effects in human patients.

In the latter part of Spice Healer, there is a section surrounding the research of an Israeli scientist that suggests possible cancer-promoting effects of curcumin. Yosef Shaul found that in the cases of Myeloid leukemia, Colon cancer, and breast cancer, high doses of curcumin caused the degradation of a cancer-preventing protein. If this research is valid, then M.D. Anderson could have made a vital error, and raised an ethical issue, in suggesting this spice for all cancer patients, without having done any large scale clinical trials beforehand.