Raspberries and Ellagic Acid

Your body has the ability to dissolve cancerous and pre-cancerous cells within a few days, and to replace them with young and healthy cells. However, you must feed and activate the responsible cellular mechanism, with the exact nutrient, in the potency it requires.

This can be done naturally.

Raspberries contain one of the most powerful antioxidants known; a series of ellagatannins which are converted into ellagic acid in your body. Many fruits contain ellagatannins, but your body cannot convert all sources into useable, beneficial levels of ellagic acid. Ellagic Acid has the ability to inhibit mutations within a cell’s DNA, causing apoptosis (normal death) in cancer cells. In addition, research has found that it has antibacterial and antiviral properties.

Raspberries are one of the few sources of ellagatannins that your body can transform into useful levels of ellagic acid. The very best way to get the ellagic acid is with extra fine ground raspberry seeds, combined with synergists. Ellagic acid has been found to inhibit the promotions and progression of many cancers, by keeping the cancer cells from dividing and multiplying. Ellagitannins can also lead to cholesterol reduction and other benefits such as antifungal, antiviral, antibacterial, slowing gum recession and weight loss. Excellent for “body maintenance”.

Economical and Delicious:
Can be added to fruit juice or smoothies, baking or salads, since it can withstand temperatures up to 400 degrees F.

Whole Raspberry Seeds

Natural, Ellagic Acid Antioxidant

Exsula Superfoods, Whole Raspberry Seeds are of the Meeker variety, and much like flax seed they need to be freshly ground before each use, to preserve the fragile essential fatty acids from oxidization. This product is for those who like to grind and mix raspberry seed with other ingredients, creating a unique nutritional program.

The inner goodies of the raspberry seed are protected by one of nature’s toughest shells, and no matter how fine we grind it or how long you soak it, you’ll feel this tough shell between your teeth. Please know this means you’re getting access to the complete spectrum of co-nutrients and incredible ellagic goodness, plus the healthy cleansing fiber of this most splendid seed. This special antioxidant blend protects the Raspberry’s ellagic-carrying essential fatty acids (EFAs) from free-radical oxidation. And the Lecithin formula emulsifies those EFAs to blend with water (a process essential for their conversion into assimilable Liposome Units).

Ellagic Acid is present in all parts of the raspberry, but it is most highly concentrated in the seed. It was found that Ellagic Acid is not changed, nor its potency weakened, by freezing, drying, or processing into a powder. The seed is processed into a maximum bioavailable flour, which frees the ellagitannins for immediate absorption and transformation into ellagic acid. Many fruits contain ellagitannins. However, raspberry ellagitannins are one of very few fruits that have been clinically shown to be transformed into beneficial levels of ellagic acid in the human body. Small amounts of Ellagic Acid is found in other foods (such as strawberries, blackberries, walnuts, pecans, pomegranates, and cranberries), however, raspberries have been found to have up to six times more.

Ellagitannins can also act as antibacterial agents. In order for bacteria to replicate, they require an enzyme called gyrase. Ellagitannins inhibit gyrase activity, so replication is restricted. Resistance to this type of antibacterial action is very difficult, making it a very desirable alternative. Ellagitannins have antiviral activity also. Viruses do not have the ability to replicate, instead they must insert themselves into a host cell. This requires an enzyme called integrase, which is inhibited by ellagitannins. Ellagitannins can also reduce blood sugar levels.

Antioxidant Stop Free Radical Cellular Damage

Mutation of cells is often caused by free radical damage – responsible for much ill health, from common symptoms of aging, to potentially terminal cancerous diseases. The cells in your body are in a continual cycle of birth (replication) and death. This replication is naturally controlled to ensure no mistakes (cancerous mutations) occur prior to cell division. If mutations are detected, the cell is instructed to die or not reproduce, thus protecting us from cancerous growth. When cells ignore these signals, they become virtually immortal, reproducing indefinitely, while abandoning their intended function.

The cause of mutated cancerous cell growth is free radicals: undesirable products of your metabolic processes, caused by poor or insufficient nutrition, and from exposure to environmental pollutants. Free radicals are the natural consequence of all metabolic processes, during which most of these radicals are extinguished by antioxidants. To control excessive amounts of free radicals your body needs help. Antioxidant supplements are needed to extinguish the radicals and to limit the damage done them. Science has proven that free radicals are responsible for mutated cell growth. This causes much ill health, from common symptoms of aging to potentially terminal cancerous diseases. Science also has proven that free radical reproduction can be slowed or even stopped with antioxidant supplementation.

Research indicates that raspberry seeds are antibacterial and antiviral, protect DNA, reduces birth defects, prevents harmful transmutations of cholesterol, prevents heart disease, and promotes cellular detoxification. The health benefits of raspberry seeds, including cancer prevention, are described in the American Cancer Society’s book “Complimentary and Alternative Cancer Methods”. The American Cancer Society, The Hollings Cancer Institute, and many other health organizations recommend that you eat one cup of fresh raspberries every day. But fresh raspberries are expensive, and difficult to buy when out of season. We have the answer.

Paradigm Breakthrough for Healthy Cells and Longevity

There is no cancer remedy or cure here. The phytonutrient does nothing directly to cancer. Yet there is no cancer growth or propagation. And only healthy cells remain. We trade “cancer-thinking” for “optimization-thinking”… nurturing of the cells.

History of Raspberries

There are over 200 species of raspberries in the world: all are grouped as red, black, or golden. There are Roman records dating back as far as 4th Century AD which include the description of these berries. Some varieties of raspberries are native to North America, including the wild red raspberry. It is believed that raspberries that were native to overseas countries made their way to North America by being carried by travelers and animals that came across the Bering Sea during ancient times.

The propagation of these plants throughout North America seems to have occurred by similar means. As early food gatherers and hunters traveled far distances, they would often discard what they thought to be an inferior quality food: the smaller sized raspberries. Wild raspberry bushed then began growing along these routes. The first written mention of the cultivation of raspberries is found in an English book on herbal medicine dated 1548. The English cultivated, hybridized and improved the fruit throughout the Middle Ages. In North America, raspberries were considered a luxury well into the mid-1800’s. They began to be grown more widely there in the 19th Century.

Raspberry (Rubus idaeus, Rosaceae)

Ellagic acid is a powerful plant antioxidant found in raspberries. In the plants, this biochemical helps to regulate growth and seed germination, protects them from microbial infections and heavy metal poisoning and prevents insects from eating them. However, more and more research is pointing to ellagic acid in these tasty fruits as a potent, natural weapon against cancer in humans.

Habitat: Cultivated in most temperate countries.

Collection: The leaves may be collected throughout the growing season. Dry slowly in a well-ventilated area to ensure proper preservation of properties.

Part Used: Leaves and fruit, seeds.

Constituents:

  • Polypeptides
  • Flavonoids, mainly glycosides of kaempferol and quercitin.
  • Tannins
  • Fruit sugar
  • Volatile oil
  • Pectin
  • Citric acid
  • Malic acid.

How Does Ellagic Acid Fight Cancer?

According to research by Gary Stoner, PhD, director of the cancer chemoprevention and etiology lab at Ohio State University, ellagic acid stimulates activities of enzymes that detoxify carcinogens. Plus, ellagic acid is anti-mutagenic, antibacterial and antiviral as well as anti-carcinogenic!

Ellagic acid:

  1. Acts as a scavenger that “binds” to cancer-causing chemicals and inactivates them
  2. Inhibits the ability of chemicals to cause dangerous mutations in bacteria
  3. Prevents cancer-causing substances from binding to DNA
  4. Reduces cancer in cultured human cells that have been exposed to carcinogens
  5. Promotes apoptosis, or cell death, of cancer cells without harming healthy cells, a process that may be beneficial in fighting prostate, breast, lung, esophageal and skin cancers

And, previous animal tests conducted by Stoner showed that eating large amounts of raspberries could fight esophageal and colon cancers. “We do believe that [raspberries] protect the esophagus and the colon because they are absorbed by these organs as the food moves through the digestive tract,” Stoner said. “Black raspberries are loaded with nutrients and [plant chemicals] that may prevent the development of cancer.”

Research at the Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) has also found powerful cancer-fighting potential from ellagic acid. According to their studies, ellagic acid slows the growth of abnormal colon cells in humans and prevents cells infected with human papilloma virus (HPV), which is linked to cervical cancer, from developing.

Ellagic acid is not just good for fighting cancer. Studies have found that it may also fight heart disease, reduce the risk of birth defects and speed wound healing. Ellagic acid also:

  1. Fights the H. pylori bacteria that’s linked to stomach ulcers
  2. Protects the liver and liver function
  3. Helps to reduce glucose levels, which can help keep diabetes under control

Furthermore, just-released research from the University of South Florida College of Medicine, James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital and the National Institute on Drug Abuse found that eating certain antioxidant-rich foods like raspberries may also limit the damage done by strokes and other neurological disorders.

Special Points of Interest

  • Red raspberries are also known as “cane berries” because they grow on erect stalks or “canes”.
  • Provide an excellent source of Vitamin C and manganese.
  • Very good source of copper and Vitamin B2 (riboflavin).1/2 cup of raspberries contains only 30 calories.
  • Good source of folate, Vitamin B3 (niacin), biotin, zinc, magnesium, Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), potassium and Vitamin A.

The Benefits of Raspberry

Raspberries are rich in ellagic acid. In fact, a clinic at the Hollings Cancer Institute at the University of South Carolina has identified the raspberry as having the highest content of this acid as compared to a wide variety of foods. Ellagic acid has been found to cause cell death (apoptosis) in cancer cells in laboratory tests. It has been found that ellagic acid is causing a G-arrest (inhibiting and stopping mitosis-cancer cell division) within 48 hours and apoptosis within 72 hours for breast, pancreas, esophageal, skin, colon and prostate cancer cells. Studies have shown that ellagic acid prevents the binding of carcinogens to DNA and strengthens connective tissue, which may keep cancer cells from spreading. Clinical tests also show that ellagic acid prevents the destruction of the P53 gene by cancer cells. Ellagic acid has also been said to reduce heart disease, birth defects, liver fibrosis and to promote wound healing.

Ellagic acid belongs to the family of photo nutrients called tannins, and is responsible for a good portion of the antioxidant activity of this (and other) berries. Another phyto nutrient component of the raspberry is flavonoid. These molecules are classified as anthocyanins, and belong to the group of substances giving raspberries their rich red coloring. The anthocyanins also give raspberries their unique antioxidant properties, as well as some antimicrobial ones. This includes the ability to prevent overgrowth of certain fungi and bacteria found in the body. Anthocyanins have been shown in studies to have numerous health benefits including preventing heart disease and cancer, controlling diabetes, improving circulation, reducing eye strain and even combating the loss of memory and motor skills associated with aging. Studies have also shown that raspberries help expel mucus, phlegm and toxins, They are excellent for female reproductive health. Raspberry leaf tea has been shown to reduce nausea during pregnancy.

Caution

Raspberries contain oxalic acid, which interferes with calcium and iron absorption. They should be avoided if you have bladder or kidney stones. They also contain salicylate and could cause an allergic reaction in people who are sensitive to aspirin.

Classification

Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae

Author: Life Enthusiast