All Videos for DNA Damage

Appropriating Plant Defenses

Plants and animals share similar biochemical pathways and signaling systems, which may explain why so many phytonutrients are beneficial to our physiology.



Phytates for the Prevention of Cancer

Phytic acid (phytate), concentrated in food such as beans, whole grains, and nuts, may help explain lower cancer rates among plant-based populations.



Carcinogen-Blocking Effects of Turmeric

Less than a teaspoon a day of turmeric appears to significantly lower the DNA-mutating ability of cancer-causing substances.



Seeing Red No. 3: Coloring to Dye For

The artificial food coloring Red No. 3 has yet to be banned—despite its purported role in causing thousands of cases of thyroid cancer.



Is Liquid-Smoke Flavoring Carcinogenic?

Different brands of liquid smoke flavorings have been tested for DNA-damaging potential, p53 activation, and levels of known carcinogens. Smoked foods such as ham, turkey, barbequed chicken, herring, and salmon were also tested.



Food Antioxidants and Cancer

Antioxidant intake from foods (not supplements) is associated with lower cancer risk.



Who Shouldn’t Consume Curcumin or Turmeric?

Just because something is natural and plant-based doesn’t mean it’s necessarily safe. Those who are pregnant, have gallstones, or are susceptible to kidney stones may want to moderate their turmeric consumption.



Spicing Up DNA Protection

The DNA of those cooking with spices such as ginger, rosemary, and turmeric appears less susceptible to breakage.



Which Spices Fight Inflammation?

An elegant experiment is described in which the blood of those eating different types of spices—such as cloves, ginger, rosemary, and turmeric—is tested for anti-inflammatory capacity.



Antioxidant-Rich Foods with Every Meal

To stay out of oxidative debt, we need to take in more antioxidants than we use up.



BRCA Breast Cancer Genes and Soy

One reason why soy consumption is associated with improved survival and lower recurrence rates in breast cancer patients may be because soy phytonutrients appear to improve the expression of tumor-suppressing BRCA genes.



Enhanced Athletic Recovery without Undermining Adaptation

Might the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of plant-based diets undermine some of the benefits of exercise?



Methionine Restriction as a Life-Extension Strategy

Plant-based diets may prove to be a useful nutrition strategy in both cancer growth control as well as lifespan extension, because these diets are naturally lower in methionine.



Preventing Exercise-Induced Oxidative Stress with Watercress

Those eating a more plant-based diet may naturally have an enhanced antioxidant defense system to counter the DNA damage caused by free radicals produced by high-intensity exercise.



Reducing Radiation Damage with Ginger & Lemon Balm

A component of cooked ginger root protects human white blood cells in vitro against radiation-induced genetic damage, and lemon balm tea appears to protect radiology staff against radiation-induced oxidative stress.



Mediating Radiation Exposure from Airline Travel

Based on studies of atomic bomb survivors, Chernobyl victims, and airline pilots exposed to more cosmic rays at high altitudes, it appears that fruits and vegetables may decrease radiation-induced chromosome damage.



Which Fruit Fights Cancer Better?

The ability of eleven common fruits to suppress cancer cell growth in vitro was compared. Which was most effective—apples, bananas, cranberries, grapefruits, grapes, lemons, oranges, peaches, pears, pineapples, or strawberries?



The Safety of Tarragon

Longstanding concerns about certain isolated components of the spice tarragon have broadened into questions about the safety of even the leaves themselves.



Meat Fumes: Dietary Secondhand Smoke

The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the vapors released from cooking meat may be hazardous for fetal development, and increase the risk of cancer.



Prolonged Liver-Function Enhancement from Broccoli

The boost in detoxifying enzymes triggered by cruciferous vegetable consumption may last for weeks!



Cancer, Interrupted: Garlic and Flavonoids

Garlic and flavonoid phytonutrients found in fruits, vegetables, nuts, and grains appear to protect against DNA damage induced by mutagenic chemicals found in cooked meat.



Cancer, Interrupted: Green Tea

Using the cooked meat carcinogen PhIP to turn normal breast cells cancerous, researchers explore the use of green tea to interrupt this malignant transformation.



Heterocyclic Amines in Eggs, Cheese, & Creatine?

Even vegetarians could potentially be exposed to the carcinogens typically formed by cooking meat through eggs, cheese, creatine sports supplements, and cigarette smoke.



Reducing Cancer Risk in Meat-Eaters

Those who eat meat risk food poisoning from undercooked meat, but also exposure to cooked meat carcinogens in well-cooked meat. By boiling meat, non-vegetarians can mediate their risk of both.



PhIP: The Three-Strikes Breast Carcinogen

The cooked meat carcinogen PhIP—found in fried bacon, fish, and chicken—may not only trigger cancer and promote tumor growth, but also increase its metastatic potential, by increasing its invasiveness.



Estrogenic Cooked-Meat Carcinogens

DNA-damaging chemicals, formed when meat is cooked, stimulate breast cancer cells almost as much as pure estrogen, and can infiltrate the ducts where most breast cancers arise.



Ergothioneine: A New Vitamin?

If the antioxidant amino acid ergothioneine does indeed turn out to be an essential nutrient, what are the best dietary sources?



Eating Green to Prevent Cancer

Chlorophyll, the most ubiquitous plant pigment in the world, may protect our DNA against mutation by intercepting carcinogens.



The True Shelf Life of Cooking Oils

Cooking oil manufacturer “best-by” dates are put to the test by comparing the development of rancidity between almond oil, avocado oil, hazelnut oil, macadamia oil, grapeseed oil, rice bran oil, toasted sesame oil, and walnut oil.



Risk Associated with Iron Supplements

Iron is a double-edged sword. If we don’t absorb enough, we risk anemia; but if absorb too much, we may increase our risk of cancer, heart disease, and a number of inflammatory conditions. Because the human body has no mechanism to rid itself of excess iron, one should choose plant-based (non-heme) sources, over which our body has some control.



Plant-Based Diets and Cellular Stress Defenses

Measuring the effects of a plant-based diet on the expression of hundreds of different genes at a time, a research group found that an antioxidant-rich portfolio of plant foods such as berries, pomegranates, purple grapes, red cabbage, oregano, and walnuts was able to significantly modify the regulation of genes in the blood of volunteers.



Kiwifruit and DNA Repair

Plant-based diets help prevent cancer not only by blocking DNA damage, but by increasing our DNA repair enzymes’ ability to repair any damage that gets by our first line of antioxidant defense.



Antimutagenic Activity of Green vs. White Tea

The ability of green versus white tea to protect against in vitro DNA damage caused by a cooked chicken carcinogen (heterocyclic amine).



Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Purple Potatoes

Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory properties of white compared to yellow and purple potatoes. Purple potatoes may also help lower high blood pressure.



How Much Broccoli Is Too Much?

Four cups of broccoli sprouts a day may exceed the safe dose of the cruciferous phytonutrient sulforaphane.



DNA Protection from Broccoli

Eating broccoli appears to make DNA more resistant to damage.



Carcinogens in the Smell of Frying Bacon

Frying bacon outdoors decreases the concentration of airborne nitrosamine carcinogens.



When Nitrites Go Bad

Nitrites in processed meat form nitrosamines, a class of potent carcinogens found in cigarette smoke, which may explain why hot dog consumption has been associated with the two leading pediatric cancers, brain tumors and childhood leukemia.



Dragon’s Blood

The four most antioxidant-packed natural substances so far tested are cloves, amla (Indian gooseberries), triphala (a combination of amla, bibhitaki, and haritaki fruits), and dragon’s blood.



Is Potassium Sorbate Bad for You?

Is the preservative used to prevent mold growth in foods such as cheese, yogurt, wine, dried meat, pickles, apple cider, and many herbal dietary supplements harmful for humans?