Posted on 05/15/2005 8:38:58 AM PDT by CarrotAndStick
A natural component of rice bran oil lowers cholesterol in rats, and ongoing research also shows it may have potential as an anti-cancer and anti-infection agent in humans, according to a University of Rochester scientist who has studied the antioxidant since 1996.
The latest findings from Mohammad Minhajuddin, Ph.D., and colleagues, are reported in the May 2005 Food and Chemical Toxicology journal. They show that total cholesterol levels in animals dropped by 42 percent, and LDL or "bad cholesterol" levels dropped up to 62 percent, after their diets were supplemented with a concentrated form of Vitamin E called tocotrienol rich fraction or TRF isolated from rice bran oil.
Vitamin E, which has been widely studied for its health benefits, consists of both tocopherols and tocotrienols. Much research has focused on the tocopherols derived from corn, wheat and soybean. But the tocotrienols (TRF) seem to have greater antioxidant properties and are becoming more noteworthy in scientific research, Minhajuddin says. TRF is derived from barley, oats, palm and rice bran.
The best form of TRF comes from rice bran oil, which is contained in the outer grain hull of rice. Its properties inhibit the activity of HMG-CoA reductase, an enzyme involved in cholesterol biosynthesis. However, since taking any form of Vitamin E for a long time can be harmful, the purpose of Minhajuddin's latest reported research was to find the minimum dose of TRF that provided the maximum antioxidants and effectively lowered cholesterol.
The results: The most effective dose in rats was 8 IU kg/day. Extrapolated to humans, a person with an average body weight of 154 pounds would get around 560 IU, which is close to the 400 IU of Vitamin E normally taken. (The upper tolerable intake of Vitamin E is 1500 IU).
Researchers have been investigating natural ways (besides diet and exercise) to achieve lower cholesterol levels, despite the popularity and effectiveness of statin drugs. Although millions of Americans take statins and do well, they are expensive and they come with side effects. So far, scientists have not found any adverse effects of tocotrienols, says Minhajuddin, a research associate in the Department of Pediatrics.
Minhajuddin, who is from India, also has preliminary, unpublished data from a study he conducted in that country, showing that TRF reduces cholesterol in humans as well as in animals. Five healthy volunteers with total cholesterol levels in the "normal" range of 170-230 mg/dL, who ingested TRF in capsule form at a dose of 8 IU kg/day for four weeks, saw their cholesterol levels drop by 10 percent with a 26-percent decline in LDL-cholesterol levels. A case study of a 5-year-old boy in India, who had a genetic defect (familial hypercholesterolemia) that caused his total cholesterol to climb to 440 mg/dL, resulted in a 20-percent decline after about two months of tocotrienol supplements. The boy's cholesterol did rise again, however, after 100 weeks of TRF supplements.
In addition, Minhajuddin and colleagues previously showed in animals that TRF reacts with liver enzymes in such a way that it clears toxic substances from the organ, and reduces or stabilizes liver tumors. The group concluded that long-term use of tocotrienol might reduce overall cancer risk, according to published research last year in the European Journal of Cancer Prevention. Currently, Minhajuddin's research group is using a scientific model to study infection and the immune system, and how to regulate the expression of a gene called ICAM-1 on the surface of endothelial cells.
Much of Minhajuddin's research on TRF was carried out in India until he joined the UR faculty in 2003. A Research Fellowship from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi, funded his work.
Contact: Leslie Orr leslie_orr@urmc.rochester.edu 585-275-5774 University of Rochester Medical Center http://www.urmc.rochester.edu
It's the wrong kind of rice: they are talking about a constituent oil in outer rice hulls, and commonly sold rice has been cleaned of them. There must be a conspiracy of saboteurs who infiltrated the food industry.
There is rice, and then there is rice with nutrients. Depending on what rice you have been consuming your diet may be improved by taking rice out of your diet.
Gary Hart must have very low cholesterol, since he had a lot of rice...
OK is there a rice i can eat that won't escalate my Diabetes?
I've read more and more that Vitamin E called tocotrienol is excellent for you.
There have also been some tremendous advances in treating skin cancer with CoQ10.
CoQ10 is an enzyme used by the cells to help in energy production. Seems it can also trigger the gene that is in cancer cells that "turns back on" the natural cell death processes.
Tip from an ole timey pediatrician...My son's cholesterol was out of control at age 7. Genetic factors we think since he was adopted--but the pediatrician said to add oat bran to his diet.(we used Hodgkins Mill brand.) I added a small handful to anything that would work with it, meatloaf, breadcrumb breading, etc. It worked like a charm.
Good for your pediatrician. Most doctors would reach for the prescription pad. Treasure him.
Rice is nice.
I love oat bran.....I must try your suggestion. Thanks!
Someone near and dear to me dropped their cholesterol from 242 to 213 in three weeks by diet alone. If anyone is interested, freepmail me how it was done.
No lie.
http://health.discovery.com/news/afp/20030512/rice.html
http://www.doctorndtv.com/FAQ/detailfaq.asp?id=6335
This is one of the most insideous, and deliberately harmful lies that the quacks keep repeating. One of the best ways of preserving your immune system is taking large doses of natural vitamin E forever. I have taken 2000 to 3000 IU of vitamin E for more than 30 years.
I wonder if it was not the change in climate but the fact that you had become allergic to it that caused the rash. If I take a medication, any medication for a long time I will develop an allergy to it.
First, there is zero rice bran oil in rice (Unless you're eating whole grain rice, not the white or brown stuff)
Second, For better information on cholestral, go to the Health Sciences Institute forum, and get educated. By trying to lower your cholestral, you could do yourself much harm.
Weston Price is the real inventor of the Atkins diet; he is a true genius!
Not necessarily. Basmati rice is brown until bleached, like most rices. The inner kernel of the rice is white.
Thanx hope they devolope that rice soon in the U.S. i love rice
Red Palm Oil http://www.congocookbook.com/c0226.html
The fruit of the African oil palm (Elaesis guineensis), which grows throughout tropical Africa, is used in many African dishes. Palm nuts, the fruit of the African oil palm, are not much bigger than grapes and grow in large bunches. They are orange-red in color, and their pulp and oil give a distinctive color and taste to many African soups and stews. Palm oil is to tropical African cooking what olive oil is to Mediterranean cooking and butter is to northern European cooking.
Vitamin E - The Tocotrienols: Super Anti-oxidants http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/red_palm_oil.htm
Vitamin E is one of the most important phytonutrients in edible oils. It consists of eight naturally occurring isomers, a family of four tocopherols (alpha, beta, gamma and delta) and four tocotrienols (alpha, beta, gamma and delta) homologues. While most Vitamin E supplements on the market today are composed of the more common tocopherols, tocotrienols are believed to be a much more potent antioxidant than tocopherols. Tocotrienols are naturally present in most plants, however they are found most abundantly in palm oil extracted from palm fruits. Other sources are rice, wheat germ, oat and barley. It has been shown by published research that alpha-tocotrienol is 40-60 times more potent than alpha-tocopherol in the prevention of lipid peroxidation. Since tocotrienols are a form of Vitamin E found less abundantly in nature than tocopherols, the research on this super anti-oxidant is still recent and ongoing. It is predicted that tocotrienols will become recognized as the new super anti-oxidant in the very near future.
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