Mandarin oranges found to significantly prevent liver cancer

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Posted Tuesday, September 12, 2006 by NewsTarget

 

(NewsTarget) Two studies in Japan have found that eating mandarin oranges

significantly reduces the risk of liver cancer. The protective effect may be

due in part to vitamin A compounds known as carotenoids, which give mandarin

oranges their color.

 

Researchers at the National Institute of Fruit Tree Science surveyed 1,073

people in the Japanese town of Mikkabi, in Shizuoka, where mandarin orange

consumption is high. Chemical markers found in the blood of the Mikkabi

residents were linked to a lower risk of liver disease, hardened arteries

and insulin resistance.

 

A separate study conducted by scientists at Kyoto Prefuctural University of

Medicine studied 75 patients with viral hepatitis and found that the group

of 30 that drank mandarin orange juice for a year had no liver cancer. The

disease was found in 8.9 percent of the 45 not drinking the juice.

 

" Mandarin oranges contain potent medicine, " said Mike Adams, a holistic

nutritionist and author of The Seven Laws of Nutrition. " Liver cancer is

only one of many diseases that mandarin oranges help prevent and even

reverse, " he said. " Nature has provided us with the best medicines in the

world, but as consumers, we have to be wise enough to recognize these gifts

and take action to benefit from them. That means eating and drinking

multiple servings of fresh, unprocessed fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds

on a daily basis. "

 

The Kyoto researchers admitted more work was needed and announced their plan

to continue the study for five years.

 

Cathy Ross, a cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, felt the

studies underlined the influence on fruits and vegetables on health.

 

" This research appears to support the BHF recommendation of eating at least

five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, to help reduce the risk of

cardiovascular disease, " she said. " Different colored fruit and vegetables

contain different vitamins and minerals, so the more types of fruit and

vegetables you can include in your diet the better. "