Celery, Cilantro and Cloves Have Something on Cancer

A daily dose of apples can be good medicine. Archive photos.

AN apple a day keeps the doctor away. Everybody knows that, right?

But does everybody know that an apple a day can very possibly keep cancer away (among other debilitating illnesses). Same deal for celery, cilantro, cloves and numerous other herbs, spices and foods. All contain the natural flavonoid apigenin, which partners with myriad proteins to do its good work.

A recent study by Ohio State University researchers has revealed that apigenin zaps cancer cells of the power to live after their normal life cycle and makes them more susceptible to the effects of drugs used in chemotherapy. All the more reason to swap out colas for chamomile tea and reach for an orange over an Oreo.

Chamomile tea soothes the soul and heals the body.

“We know we need to eat healthfully, but in most cases we don’t know the actual mechanistic reasons for why we need to do that,” said Andrea Doseff, associate professor of internal medicine and molecular genetics at Ohio State and a co-lead author of the study.

“We see here that the beneficial effect on health is attributed to this dietary nutrient affecting many proteins. In its relationship with a set of specific proteins, apigenin re-establishes the normal profile in cancer cells. We think this can have great value clinically as a potential cancer-prevention strategy.”

Titled “Molecular basis for the action of a dietary flavonoid revealed by the comprehensive identification of apigenin human targets,” the findings are published in the online edition of the journal “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences … More shortly.

Visit http://www.bit.ly/16awcD9 and/or http://www.bit.ly/13AxEha to learn more about the study.