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| Chlorella | Hiziki | Kelp | Spirulina | Nori |
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Nutrients from Kelp and Aquatic Plants can Boost Immunity
Aquatic plants like kelp, seaweed and algae can be incredibly useful in a number of ways, including the health benefits it offers as well as the effectiveness of seaweed-based cosmetic products. In addition to that, seaweed itself is a great source of necessary minerals, which makes it a good addition to any balanced diet.
Kelp is a type of seaweed that is abundant throughout most of the world, and it has numerous benefits. There are minerals, vitamins and proteins found in kelp that are necessary for health, including iron, magnesium and calcium. Additionally, a study done at UC Berkeley showed that adding kelp to a diet can help lower estradiol levels, a hormone that is linked to breast cancer in women. (Source: Innovations Report).
Many types of seaweed are similar in the benefits they offer through being included in a diet. Seaweed contains numerous nutrients that contribute to a healthy diet, including vitamin A, niacin, iodine, iron, zinc calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium, among many others. All of these vitamins and minerals contribute to the strength of the immune system.
These vitamins and minerals appear only in small amounts, and most need to be gained through eating more robust sources. However, taken as a supplement, seaweed can be very beneficial.
U-Fucoidan: Anti-Cancer Substance
Konbu (Laminaria ssp.) contains a substance that causes cancer cells to self-destruct. It has only been recently discovered in Japan that this substance is U-fucoidan, a complex polysaccharide, one among many polysaccharides found in konbu. In research in Japan, U-fucoidan administered to cancer cells in a laboratory dish were virtually wiped out within 72 hours. The process by which these cells withered away was self-induced, in that the DNA within each of the cancer cells was broken down by digestive enzymes contained in the cells themselves. This process is known by the technical term "apoptosis".
Although U-fucoidan is found in other seaweeds and plants, konbu is particularly rich in this substance. And, very importantly, in order to consume fucoidan in its pure and effective form, one has to eat konbu raw or dried without heating. It is interesting to note that Okinawa, Japan has the lowest cancer mortality rate in Japan where the people eat their konbu mostly, versus other parts of Japan where it is used mostly in cooking.
(Reference: Takara Shuzo Co., Ltd. Biomedical Group, Otsu, Shiga, Japan)
Modifilan contains nothing but the central vein of Laminaria which has been gently dried without heating, and without any chemical sprays or preservatives. Modifilan, unlike plain dried seaweed, contains a much higher percentage of complex polysaccharides or alginates (40%), in which the U-fucoidan is contained.
Alginate
Alginates are heteropolysaccharides made up of mannuronic and guluronic acids. Modifilan has 40-60% alginates. It is widely known that alginates from brown seaweed offer the best protection from radiation and environmental pollutants. Alginates bind with heavy metals such as lead, mercury and other; radioactive elements: strontium, barium, cesium etc. and are then excreted from the body. Alginates are non-toxic and are not reabsorbed into the rest of the body from the gastrointestinal tract. Alginates do not adversely effect the body’s ability to absorb calcium and other natural minerals.
Modifilan is a concentrated extract of the brown seaweed Laminaria japonica. This seaweed is gathered in the clean waters of the northwestern Pacific Ocean. Forty pounds of raw Laminaria japonica is needed to make just one pound of Modifilan. This unique patented technology "semidigests" the tough outerlayer of seaweed fibers exposing, concentrating and making much more bio-available the macro-and micronutrient-dense central vein of the Laminaria.
Although the nutritional and medicinal powers of seaweeds have been known for thousands of years the scientific basis of their health benefits has been established only recently.
One of the most impressive aspects of Modifilan that sets it apart from other types of seaweed products is its very high content of soluble polysaccharides like fucoidan, laminarin and alginate. The former compound is particularly rich in such simple sugars as glucuronic acid, mannose and fucose that give Laminaria its distinctive taste.
The ongoing research into fucoidan has conclusively demonstrated its ability to induce cancer cell apoptosis (programmed cell death) in leukemia, stomach and colon cancer cell lines. This biological data support epidemiological observations that Laminaria is an important factor contributing to the relatively low breast cancer rates reported in Japan.
The technology involved in processing Laminaria japonica preserves and at the same time concentrates this vulnerable thermolabile substance thus making Modifilan one of the richest sources of cancer-fighting fucoidan.
Another polysaccharide concentrated in Modifilan that may have anti-cancer properties is laminarin. It is known that tumor formation and growth require a highly charged extra-cellular matrix. Solid tumors provoke ongoing high-level fibrin leakage from surrounding capillaries. This fibrin clot gets invaded by various cells recruited by solid tumors including fibroblasts and endothelial cells. The former cells lay down a heavily charged matrix throughout the tumor and the later cells participate in tumor angiogenesis (vascularization). Angiogenesis is a prerequisite for tumor expansion and metastasis. It has been shown that laminarin sulfate and fucoidan inhibit the binding of basic fibroblast growth factor (BFGF) to an extra-cellular matrix leading to inhibition of fibrin clot invasion by tumor- recruited fibroblasts and endothelial cells suggesting a novel approach to tumor therapy based on blocking angiogenesis.
Cancer metastasis involves the tumor cell adhesion to host tissue basement membrane followed by tissue invasion facilitated by tumor cell surface and PA (urokinaze-type plasminogen activator) associated plasminogen activation. Fucoidan interferes with cancer cells metastasis (anti-metastatic activity) by inhibition of physical interaction between the tumor cells and basement membrane as well as suppression of the proteolytic cascade of plasminogen activation.
Interaction and organization of cells and tissue in general and tumor and host cells in particular may be mediated by the interactions between cell membrane polysaccharides and the corresponding protein receptor. Fucoidan, a sulfated fucopolysaccharide, inhibits the adhesion process (cell-cell interaction) by blocking lectin-like adhesion molecules (glycoproteins) on cell surfaces and therefore interfering with tumor cell colonization (metastasis).
Another mechanism of antiproliferative (anti-tumor) properties of fucoidan was shown in vitro and in vivo on a cell line derived from a nonsmall-cell human bronchopulmonary carcinoma (particularly chemoresistant tumor). Fucoidan exerted antiproliferative activity with a block observed in the G1 phase of the cell cycle.
It has also been demonstrated that fucoidan acts as a so-called activator of the reticulo-endothelial system, specifically as an enhancer of phagocytosis. This suggests another aspect of antitumor activity of fucoidan related to the activation of macrophage-mediated tumor cell killing.
There are also non-polysaccharide fractions from Laminaria that have been found to have a significant cancer-preventative anti-mutagenic (anti-DNA damage) activity against typical genotoxic substances.
Another promising use of the sulfated polysaccharides fucoidan and laminarin is in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease. Several mechanisms are involved: the inhibition of smooth muscle cell proliferation (monoclonal hyperplasia) which is an important step in atherogeneses; activation of enzymes involved in the beta-oxidation of fatty acids which can be useful in the prevention and treatment of hyperlipedemia. Laminarin has been shown to have a hypotensive effect. It also exhibits 30% of the anticoagulant activity of heparin.
All of these properties of sulfated polysaccharides make Modifilan clinically applicable in the prevention and treatment of coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, atherosclerosis, cancerogenesis and cancer metastasis.
Another extremely important area of Modifilan application is in the environmental medicine. Polysaccharide laminarin has been shown in four animal species (mice, guineapigs, dogs, and monkeys) to prevent acute radiation sickness and death (about LD90) when administered within 24 hours after radiation exposure. This research suggests that the brown seaweed Laminaria can be clinically useful in the treatment and prevention of the adverse effects of ionizing radiation.
The non-digestible polysaccharide alginate that comprises 50% of Modifilan's total dry weight has the unique ability of binding heavy metals and radioactive substances to its own molecules. As the alginate is non-digestible it is excreted from the body together with toxic compounds. This is particularly important for cadmium and mercury, as these metals are found at dangerously high levels in air, water and food. Alginate can also remove isotopes that have previously been absorbed by the human body from the environment. Even small amounts of radioactive pollution will expose surrounding cells to harmful radioactive emission. The way alginate facilitates the excretion of toxic substances that find their way into the body from the environment can be shown using, as an example, the elimination of radioactive strontium:
Sr 2+ (food)
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Sr 2+ (in GI tract) + alginate = strontium alginate feces
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Sr 2+ (blood)
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Sr 2+ (bones)
A percentage of Strontium molecules stored in the bone structure (or any other toxic substance stored in the tissue) is constantly released and is traveling with the blood stream. As the blood feeds the saliva and bile, part of the released strontium or other toxic metal ends up in the large intestine. Most of the liquid in the large intestine is reabsorbed by the body including the radioactive isotopes and heavy metals which are re-deposited back into the tissue. Alginate can break this process, as toxic substances are bound to the alginate molecules and released from the body with feces. Alginate binds to all heavy metals including lead, mercury, cadmium, cobalt, copper and radium.
Modifilan should be consumed over at least a four-month period to expedite removal of toxic substances stored in the body as a result of previous exposures.
Modifilan is an excellent bio-available source of organic iodine which is extremely helpful in treating thyroid disorders. Also in bio-available forms are the B vitamins, calcium, selenium, chromium, amino acids and many more trace elements. Clinical studies of Modifilan also show it can be effective in lowering cholesterol, triglyceride levels and high blood sugar, aiding digestion and elimination, strengthening hair and nails (including hair re-growth after radiation), and increasing energy.
Seaweed Found in Fiji May Help Fight Cancer, AIDS
A type of seaweed discovered in Fiji could someday be used to fight bacterial infections, cancer, or even AIDS, researchers report.
The red seaweed species (Callophycus serratus) is found on shallow coral reefs along the South Pacific island's coastline. Georgia Institute of Technology researchers studying the plant have recently identified ten new molecular compounds that might be developed for pharmaceutical use.
Chlorella
One of your most powerful weapons against cancer is chlorella -- a unicellular, green algae. In Prescription for Dietary Wellness, Phyllis A. Balch explains, "Chlorella…contains the highest chlorophyll level per ounce of any plant, as well as protein (nearly 58 percent), carbohydrates, all of the B vitamins, vitamins C and E, amino acids (including all nine essential ones), enzymes and rare trace minerals." Due to its dense and nutrient-rich nature, chlorellaoffers your body a two-fold attack against cancer. You can access these benefits by taking only one or two teaspoons of chlorella once or twice daily, according to Michael Tierra's Treating Cancer with Herbs.
Although Western medicine has largely ignored chlorella, Japanese scientists have been widely researching chlorella's benefits since the atomic bombings of Hiroshimaand Nagasaki. As Dr. Ralph W. Moss describes in Cancer Therapy, "Japanese scientists studied Chlorella pyrenoidosa as a biological response modifier … Since chlorella does not directly kill cancer cells, the scientists concluded that its effects were caused by boosting the immune response."
In one Japanese study, scientists placed lab mice on a chlorella regimen for ten days, then injected the mice with three types of cancer. According to Dr. Moss, over 70 percent of the chlorella-strengthened mice did not develop cancer, while all of the untreated mice died within 20 days. Research regarding chlorella's immune-boosting effect is not limited to animal studies. According to Herbal Medicine, Healing Cancer by Dr. Donald R. Yance, Jr., a Virginia-based study treated 15 glioblastoma patientswith powdered and liquid chlorella combined at times with standard chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. Although glioblastoma patients normally display a two-year survival rate of 10 percent, the 15 chlorella-treated patients exhibited a survival rate of 40 percent.
This is only one of the many successful studies linking chlorella to strengthened immune response, thus making chlorella a necessary component of effective and well-rounded cancer treatment. In Treating Cancer with Herbs, Michael Tierra, ND, writes, "I recommend chlorella to all cancer patientsregardless of any other green drink they might use … It is virtually a complete foodin itself. It acts as both a powerful nutrient and a detoxifying food."
In addition to strengthening the immune system's response to cancer cells, the mighty chlorella acts as a preventative measure against cancer by raising blood levels of the proteinalbumin. According to Earl Mindell's Supplement Bible, by Earl Mindell, RPh, PhD, "Numerous studies have documented that a low albumin level is a marker for serious illnesses such as cancer and heart disease. They point to test-tube studies confirming that raising albumin levels can both prevent cancerous changes and extend the life spanof human cells."
The experts speak on chlorella and cancer
Healing With Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford, page 194
Many reports have come from Japanese research studies that followed the nuclear catastrophe resulting from atomic bombs that were dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. In a report to the General Meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japanon an early study in animals, Ichimura (1973) reported that chlorella (8 grams daily) increased elimination of cadmium: threefold in feces and sevenfold in urine. Other researchers from Japan showed that chlorella helped detoxify uranium and lead (Horikoshi et al. 1979). chlorella has detoxificationpotential for similar compounds, such as dioxin and polychlorinated biphenyls. (PCBs are chemical compounds used in plastics, insulation, and flame retardants, with potential to cause cancer and liver damage.) Other research indicates that chlorella is useful in detoxification of high levels of mercury in the body caused by removal of mercury amalgam. Some dentists recommend chlorella to patients who are having mercury amalgams replaced (as well as to themselves and staff who can incur accidental exposurefrom day-to-day exposure to amalgam filling procedures) (O'Brien 2001).
Disease Prevention And Treatment by Life Extension Foundation, page 859
For cancer, aids, Epstein-Barr syndrome, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, tumors, Candida overgrowth, excessive mucus, edema, and other conditions associated with dampness, wild blue-green is generally the most useful. Individuals who are not particularly excessive will benefit from a moderate dosage of 1.5-2 grams. The upper dosage ranges of cereal grass, chlorella (excellent for disorders with immune malfunction), spirulina, and dunaliella are also beneficial additions (often spirulina and dunaliella are used together). One may choose the one or two most appropriate of these green foodsbased on their properties.
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Inhibiting the activity of the enzyme that attack the DNA sequence, significantly reduces the incidence of mutagenicity and reduces the onset of cancer. This research shows noncompetitive inhibition of carcinogenic enzymes by chlorophyll. Dietary inhibitors of mutagenesis and carcinogenesis are of interest because they may be used for human cancer prevention and treatment. Chlorophyll has demonstrated to be a carcinorgenesis inhibitor in the gut (idid). There is research that shows there is sufficient systemic chlorophyll distribution for these inhibitory mechanisms to be operative beyond the gut and in the whole animal. This study analyzed chemoprotection in benzo(a)pyrene-initiated mouse skin tumorigenesis ( Park, K.K., Surh, Y-J., Stewart, B.C., and Miller, J.A., 1994, Chemoprotective activities of chlorophyllin: Inhibition of mutagenicity and covalent binding of various ultimate carcinogens, Proc. Am. Assoc. Cancer Res., 35, 139). Oral administration of chlorophyll has been studied for the last 50 years. All of the research conducted by Dr. Bailey at OSU point to the necessity of high levels of oral ingestion of chlorophyll for the chemo-therapeutic effects of chlorophyll to be effective ( Dashwood, R.H., Breinholt, V., and Bailey, G.S., 1991, Chemopreventative properties of chlorophyllin: inhibition of aflatoxin-B- DNA binding in vivo and antimutagenic activity against AFB and two heterocyclic amines in the Salmonella mutagenicity assay, Carcinogenesis, 12, 939-942). A.F.A., Inc. believes that by increasing the purity of the oral therapeutic by the order of 3X by utilizing pure chlorophyll, the required dosage needed to be effective will be reduced. |
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