(NaturalNews) A new study conducted at the University of Kentucky in the United States, and published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research, found that leukemia cancer cells exposed to grapeseed extract (GSE) were rapidly killed through a process of cell suicide known as "apoptosis."
In these laboratory studies, an astonishing 76% of leukemia cells committed suicide within 24 hours thanks to the ability of GSE to activate a protein called JNK, which regulates apoptosis.
In a healthy person, cancer cell apoptosis is a normal, healthy part of biology. Every living system creates cancerous cells. There are hundreds or thousands of "microtumors" in every human being living today, but cancerous cells in healthy people destroy themselves once they realize they're flawed. This cellular "realization," however, requires healthy cell communication, and that's dependent on the correct nutrients, minerals and proteins being available in the body.
Grapeseed extract appears to accelerate this process in cancer cells, helping them more rapidly assess their own flawed state so they can engage in apoptosis (cell suicide), thus protecting the larger organism (the body).
It's important to note that this recent study was conducted in a lab, not in human beings, so its conclusions cannot necessarily be directly translated into saying something like "grapeseed extract cures cancer," for example. However, it does indicate quite convincingly that if the unique phytochemical molecules found in grapeseed extract can be delivered to leukemia cells with sufficient potency, they may play an important role in cancer cells destroying themselves, thereby protecting the whole organism from runaway cancer.
If the results demonstrated in the labs at the University of Kentucky can be replicated in humans, it could potentially position grapeseed extract as one of the most powerful natural chemotherapeutic agents yet discovered.
Grapeseed extract has been studied and demonstrated to be remarkably effective at killing cancer cells for many different types of cancer, by the way, including cancers of the breast, prostate, lung, skin bowel and stomach.
Eat more grapes?
The conventional cancer community, of course, is quick to warn people not to simply eat more grapes in the hopes that grapeseed extract will help prevent their cancer. But I ask, "Why not?" Unlike toxic chemotherapy, eating grapes has zero negative side effects. At the same time, grapes offer numerous other health benefits, since they are a source of resveratrol and various protective phytonutrients.
Of course, you have to eat grapes with seeds in them, and since the global food supply has become so distorted over the past few years, it's difficult to find grapes with seeds in them. My advice? Buy your grapes from a health food store: Look for organic, seeded grapes. And when you eat them, don't spit out the seeds (obviously). Chew them up, and you'll digest the grapeseed extract that's naturally present in those seeds.
I've talked with conspiracy theorists who believe the seeds were purposely taken out of the grapes in the national food supply for precisely this reason (to remove the anti-cancer nutrients from food, thus keeping people sick). I disagree with that explanation, however: Seedless grapes are simply a product of consumer demand, in much the same way that consumers prefer seedless watermelon. If consumers actually knew about the health benefits of grape seeds, they might think differently, but thanks to efforts by the FDA and USDA, the mainstream public has remained virtually illiterate on nutrition for several decades, and you'll rarely meet an individual who is aware that eating grape seeds is actually good for you.
Don't be fooled by the cereal Grape Nuts, by the way. That's just a clever name. The cereal contains no grape seeds whatsoever. (It's made from roasted barley and other grains.)
Protecting healthy cells
Another important finding in the University of Kentucky study is that the grapeseed extract was not toxic to normal, healthy cells even as it helped cancer cells commit suicide.
This is hugely important because it shows, yet again, that Mother Nature's medicine is far safer than medicine created by Man. Conventional chemotherapy chemicals are extremely toxic to healthy cells, which is why chemotherapy causes permanent brain damage ("chemo brain"), kidney damage and heart damage. Grapeseed extract, however, causes no such damage, and there has never been a person who died from eating grapes. (There have been millions, probably, who were killed by chemotherapy.)
As Professor Xianglin Shi, the lead researcher of the study, said in a BBC article: "These results could have implications for the incorporation of agents such as grapeseed extract into prevention or treatment of haematological (blood) malignancies and possibly other cancers. ...What everyone seeks is an agent that has an effect on cancer cells but leaves normal cells alone, and this shows that grapeseed extract fits into this category."
In other words, grapeseed extract is now a candidate for a natural chemotherapeutic agent.
Grapeseed extract and endurance
The benefits of grapeseed extract don't stop with its anti-cancer potential, by the way: The antioxidant is also known to be extremely effective at reducing oxidative stress during exercise.
I posted another article today about the results of a fascinating preliminary clinical trial using grapeseed extract, the antioxidant used in Moxxor (which is a premium marine omega-3 oil supplement that contains grapeseed extract as one of its three ingredients).
The results of that clinical trial are extremely promising in showing that the grapeseed extract used in Moxxor may help reduce the level of oxidative stress experienced during exercise. This trial was conducted by Dr. Glenn Vile in conjunction with HortResearch, a New Zealand research institution.
This preliminary trial was conducted on competitive boat rowers who were given GSE one hour before engaging in vigorous exercise. (The trial was structured as a double-blind, randomized cross-over trial using placebo.) Results indicate that the rowers given GSE experienced a significant reduction of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), a chemical marker for exercise-induced oxidative stress. The reduction level was 34% + / - 6%
In all, this is fantastic news about grapeseed extract, as it demonstrates the ability of this natural substance to kill cancer cells in the lab. Given that grapes are a safe and customary part of the food supply, and that grapes are naturally intended to contain seeds, it seems quite sensible to conclude that human beings were intended to eat grape seeds and derive health benefits from them. Buy more (seeded) grapes!
Note: This article makes no health claims about Moxxor, and Moxxor is not intended to diagnose, treat or prevent any disease. I have a financial stake in the success of Moxxor, and I currently take six to eight capsules of Moxxor each day.
Grapeseed extract is also available as a nutritional supplement from numerous sources, but one thing you'll notice about GSE in supplement form is that the actual nutrient is so tiny that most of the GSE supplements contain a lot of filler (silica, stearic acid, silicon dioxide, etc.). I've recently become more concerned about the cumulative levels of consumption of supplement fillers by people who take a lot of nutritional supplements, and I'm personally reducing my consumption of supplement pills while increasing my consumption of superfood-based powders and fresh product.
The best way to get grapeseed extract is by eating grape seeds. The second best way is to get it mixed in with a superfood powder or supplement that contains no filler. The least preferred way to get it is by taking a GSE capsule made with a lot of filler, so keep that in mind.
In addition to his lab work, Adams is also the (non-paid) executive director of the non-profit Consumer Wellness Center (CWC), an organization that redirects 100% of its donations receipts to grant programs that teach children and women how to grow their own food or vastly improve their nutrition. Click here to see some of the CWC success stories.
With a background in science and software technology, Adams is the original founder of the email newsletter technology company known as Arial Software. Using his technical experience combined with his love for natural health, Adams developed and deployed the content management system currently driving NaturalNews.com. He also engineered the high-level statistical algorithms that power SCIENCE.naturalnews.com, a massive research resource now featuring over 10 million scientific studies.