Yesterday, a friend sent me a link to “This Miracle Drink Prevents The Spread of Cancer”, which was posted on a website called ‘Natural Cures Not Medicine‘. They asked me for my ‘thoughts’ knowing that I enjoy looking at medical claims on non-medical websites. It would be easy to dismiss the story straight off without visiting the article, merely from the clues I have already given you. Indeed, I wrote a brief comment based upon first impressions. It looked something like this…
The website title is a bit of a giveaway. Any natural cure (such as aspirin, which is extracted from willow bark) that can be shown to work is now called medicine. Also, cancer is not a single thing. There are about 100 different cancers, and although they are all about abnormal cell growth, they are all different and need to be treated differently. It is extremely unlikely that a single remedy would be found to treat them all.
However, I agreed to read the article with an open mind!
The first statement is…
A completely natural drink prepared from just fresh fruit only has been shown to prevent the spread of cancer as well as displaying a range of other amazing health benefits. Read on for the details and the simple juice recipe.
The interesting bit is “has been shown to prevent”. The article continues…
Research by the Division of Toxicology and Cancer Risk Factors, at German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany(i) has shown that a simply prepared fresh juice with just four everyday ingredients can prevent the growth of cancer cells. This has led it to be dubbed a ‘magic potion’ and there is also a huge amount of anecdotal evidence of people who have been helped. Indeed Chinese herbalists have long been using this drink to treat a variety of cancers.
The so called miracle drink is a simple combination, ABC+Lemon : apple, beetroot, carrot, and lemon
See below for the recipe.
The little (i) guides you to a link to a scientific article published in October 2014. The article was a review of all the research to date on chemicals in apples (and only apples!) that might have anti-cancer properties. Scientific articles always start with an extract – this gives you a brief summary of what the entire article will say but without all of the methods and results. This is one of the sentences from the extract…
In brief, apple extracts and components, especially oligomeric procyanidins, have been shown to influence multiple mechanisms relevant for cancer prevention in IN VITRO studies.
You’ve got to love those oligomeric procyanidins! The really important bit is the bit they have put into capital letters, presumably for emphasis. In vitro means “in glass” so all of this research is looking at the effect of chemicals extracted from apples and then used against cancer causing agents in a test-tube. There is a huge difference between showing that a chemical has an effect in the laboratory and that eating, digesting and absorbing that chemical will have an effect in the body. The one does not automatically result in the other. Quite how the article cited backs up the claim that a blend of apple, beetroot, carrot and lemon fights cancer is a mystery – especially since it never mentions three of the four ingredients. If you Google “miracle juice drink” this combination gets a lot of attention. Also versions with potato instead of beetroot and with added ginger of course.
I love that the drink contains ‘just fresh fruit’ – that would include the well known fruit carrot and the other fruit salad favourite beetroot – but that may just be me being childish. The list of other conditions that this drink treats includes…
* Strengthens the immune system
* Helps treating stomach ulcers
* Improves eye health and vision
* Strengthens the lungs and regulates high blood pressure
* Improves the functioning of the colon
Fresh fruit and veg contain vitamins, minerals and fibre of course so they are good for the colon and provide necessary chemicals for other bodily processes. It is a bit of a leap to claim that increasing the dose increases the effect. Once the maximum usable level is achieved, any extra is probably just excreted.
Finally, the promised recipe is hysterical. I had anticipated something pretty exciting only to be hit with “take one carrot, one apple, one beetroot and one lemon, chop them and put them in a juicer” – genius!
Perhaps you take dietary supplements like vitamins or minerals. Do you know why you do it? Have you ever tried comparing how you feel taking them with periods of not taking them?
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