14 DAY TRIAL // It would now appear that there are many other reasons to eat vegetables besides that of simply staying healthy, and having a balanced and varied diet. A new scientific study shows that veggies have the natural ability to help the human body fight against various types of poisoning, with substances that we consume daily. In addition, the vitamins and minerals they contain help boost our immune systems, which thus becomes better fit to fight against various types of microorganisms that have made a habit out of living on the things we eat.
Oddly enough, it would appear that the active ingredients in vegetables are chlorophyll (Chla), or chlorophyllin (CHL). These compounds, extracted from spinach, broccoli and kale, were found to be able to reduce the effects of aflatoxin poisoning, US Department of Energy's (DOE) Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) experts say. Aflatoxins are associated with the molds Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus, which can unfortunately be found on foods such as corn and its derivatives, cottonseed, peanuts and peanut products, tree nuts and milk. The active substance they produce, called aflatoxin, is a very potent, naturally occurring carcinogenic mycotoxin that can pose significant health risks to people.
“The Chla and CHL treatment each significantly reduced aflatoxin absorption and bioavailability,” LLNL researcher Graham Bench says. Scientists from the Oregon State University and an industry partner, Cephalon Inc., were also involved in this investigation, which basically determined that vegetables had a chemopreventative potential. “What makes this study unique among prevention trials is that we were able to administer a microdose of radio-labeled aflatoxin to assess the actions of the carcinogen directly in people. There was no extrapolation from animal models which often are wrong,” Ken Turteltaub, also a member of the LLNL research team, adds.
Details of this investigation appeared in the December, 2009 issue of the respected scientific journal Cancer Prevention Research. Funding for the work came from the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Resource for Biomedical Accelerator Mass Spectrometry. The LLNL is a national security laboratory, managed by the DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration that develops science and engineering technology and provides innovative solutions for the major issues confronting the US today.