free radicals tagged posts

In fruit flies, antioxidants reverse tumor-related cardiac dysfunction. A new study in animal models shows that the presence of a cancer tumor alone can lead to cardiac damage, and suggests the culprits are molecules are free radicals interacting with specific cells in the heart.

Tumors in mice and fruit flies led to varying degrees of cardiac dysfunction – particularly a decrease in the heart’s blood-pumping capabilities.

Adding specific types of antioxidants to food consumed by fruit flies with tumors reversed the damage to their hearts – a finding suggesting that harm caused by free radicals was the likely link between cancer and cardiac dysfunction.

“Cancer becomes a systemic disease...

As far as healthy foods go, berries make the top of the list. They contain potent antioxidants, which decrease or reverse the effects of free radicals. Unsurprisingly, the benefits of berries are extoled in one study after another. It is usually the exotic Goji, Acerola or Acai berries that make the headlines as Superfoods, but for the health-savvy European consumer the native homegrown species could be even more alluring.The research suggests that black raspberries grown in Central Europe show greater health benefits than their better known cousins – raspberries or blackberries.

A group of researchers led by Anna Małgorzata Kostecka-Gugała measured the content of phenolics and anthocyanins in black raspberries, red raspberries and blackberries, assessing their antioxidant potential ...

Bilirubin – Wikipedia

Mildly elevated levels of a bile pigment bilirubin may provide natural protection from heart attacks and help to stave off cardiovascular disease. The study shows that when hearts are infused with bilirubin following a heart attack, the pigment reduces damage and improves heart function during recovery.

“This is a very important finding as very few drugs are able to be administered following a heart attack to improve heart function,” says Dr Bulmer. “Generally, if it is a small heart attack people can survive. However there is a 20% mortality rate from heart attack, with approximately 50,000 heart attack sufferers each year in Australia.

“Generally, bilirubin was just associated with people having jaundice; however we have now shown that mildly elevated bilirubin is a...