Posted on 09/23/2021 12:05:01 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
A new study from Texas A&M Health suggests eating spinach could prevent colon cancer. And now, building on previous work, researchers are closer to understanding exactly how it works.
In the United States, colon cancer is the fourth-most common cancer and second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Previous studies have shown that eating green vegetables and fiber reduces risk of colon cancer by as much as half. This new study, recently published in the journal Gut Microbes, explores the relationship between spinach, gut health, genes and colon cancer outcomes.
After feeding freeze-dried spinach to an animal model of familial adenomatous polyposis for 26 weeks, the researchers observed significant antitumor activity in the colon and small intestine. Using an unbiased approach called multi-omics, the researchers found that the tumor suppression by spinach involved increased diversity in the gut microbiome (helpful microbes) and changes in gene expression to help prevent cancer. They also found that fatty acids associated with regulation of inflammation, called linoleate metabolites, were brought to up to a beneficial level after a spinach diet.
"We believe eating spinach can also be protective for people who do not have familial adenomatous polyposis," said principal investigator Roderick Dashwood.
Dashwood's lab previously noticed the benefits of spinach in a carcinogen-induced model of colorectal cancer that mimics sporadic cases. In that model, spinach was very effective in preventing polyps, which spurred the team to see how spinach might work in colon cancer driven by genetics.
"My bias was to focus on the chlorophyll story because of my long history examining anti-cancer effects of chlorophyll," Dashwood said. "But it turned out the multi-omics approach prompted other ideas. When we looked at the metabolomic data, there was no chlorophyll. It was actually fatty acids and linoleic acid derivatives that were causing the beneficial effects."
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
Collard Greens are better...
Interesting.
But....I’m thinking they tell kidney patients to NOT eat spinach because something in it helps cause kidney stones?
Not anti-spinach (got some in my fridge right now!). But seems like even healthy things can be unhealthy to the right (wrong?) people.
Research....some people on certain medications with too much potassium or too low potassium can be a problem. Foods and medications are very connected. Just sayin’...research....
There can be issues:
https://www.livestrong.com/article/529555-what-are-the-effects-of-too-much-spinach/
I understand having a calcium source with the spinach causes the oxalate to bind within the gut, rather than in the bloodstream, so have cheese, milk, or a supplement with your spinach. Also, as the link above states, theow out the remaining liquid from cooking spinach.
Curcumin also.
Oxalic acid is high in spinach. Kidney stone prone should avoid large amounts.
It fights to the finish
never hurt Popeye
I am a fan of spinach myself. Italian caneline, or Indian saag, and just a regular salad with vinaigrette are all good
I’ll take my chances with cancer.
An ounce of spinach (28g) has 114% MDR vitamin K and 89% of vitamin A and only 6.5 calories.
“Oxalic acid is high in spinach. Kidney stone prone should avoid large amounts.”
Spinach should NOT be consumed regularly because it has toxic levels of oxalates, which are sharp crystals that bind with calcium to cause kidney stones, breast cancer, heart attacks from plaques, and many other health problems.
That’s somewhat hard for me as I no longer have a stomach.
I am very sorry to hear that. Obviously, consult with your doctors, but also do a lot of reading for yourself. A source that I have learned a lot from is Life Extension Foundation https://www.lifeextension.com/ Specifically, they have a bunch of health protocols which describe a wide variety of diseases and conditions, what causes them, what conventional treatments are, what some novel or potential upcoming treatments may be available, and how to help that condition with nutrition. https://www.lifeextension.com/protocols
Best of health and luck to you.
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