Huge benefits of whey isolate for fighting cancer

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WHEY PROTEIN

Protein is the building block of life. Essential to a balanced diet

and strong muscles, both serious athletes and serious life

extensionists use protein to enhance their health and performance.

Because so much evidence supports the benefits of whey as a fitness,

strength and health enhancer, there should be every effort made to

find the best. And it is whey protein that is increasingly coming to

the public's attention as one of the most comprehensive forms of

protein available.

In fact, in many aspects, whey protein, which is often mixed into a

delicious shake, is even superior to soy.

Whey protein is a potent ally to the general immune system. The

protein in whey has been shown to dramatically raise glutathione

levels, which is an essential water-soluble antioxidant that protects

cells and serves to neutralize toxins such as peroxides, heavy

metals, carcinogens, and many others. In animal studies, whey protein

concentrate consistently raised glutathione levels beyond those of

any other protein studied, including soy (Bounous G. and Gold P.,

Clin. Invest. Med. 1991).

In fact, glutathione is so necessary to a healthy immune system that

it appears immunity itself can be modulated by glutathione levels

(nne K., Fidelus and Min Fu Tsan. Cellular Immunology, 1986).

Sufferers of diseases such as AIDS, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer's and

Parkinson's often exhibit reduced glutathione levels; however, a

small pilot study of HIV-positive men who ate whey protein found

dramatic increases in glutathione levels, with two out of the three

men reaching an ideal weight (Bounous G., Baruchel S., Faiutz J.,

Gold P., Clin. Invest. Med. 1992).

In its ability to enhance the immune system, whey protein also fights

infections. Animals fed whey protein showed increased response from

both the humoral and cellular immune systems to a variety of

challenges, such as salmonella and streptococcus pneumonia (Bounous

G., Konshavn P., Gold P. Clin. Invest. Med. 1988). Again, this effect

was not seen with other proteins.

Perhaps the most exciting potential of whey protein is its ability to

fight cancer. In vitro research has shown that the growth of breast

cancer cells is strongly inhibited when exposed to low concentrations

of whey protein (Baruchel S. and Vaiu G., Anti Cancer Research 1996).

Another recent clinical study showed a regression in some cancerous

tumors when patients were administered 30 grams per day of whey

protein powder (Kennedy R.S., Konok G.P., Bounous G., Baruchel S.,

Lee T.D., Anti Cancer Research 1995). Likewise, animals fed whey

protein before being subjected to dimethylhydrazine (DMH), a strong

cancer-causing agent, mounted a much more vigorous immune response

than animals fed any other type of protein. More importantly, any

resulting tumors were smaller and far fewer in number in the animals

fed whey protein (Bounous G., Clin. Invest. Med. 1988).

This study was confirmed by additional research showing that rats

subjected to DMH and fed whey protein showed fewer tumors and a

reduced pooled area of tumors. The researchers concluded that whey

protein offered " considerable protection to the host, " compared with

other proteins, including soy (McIntosh G.H., et al. Journal of

Nutrition 1995).

It is interesting to note that the concentration of glutathione in

tumor cells is often much higher than in surrounding normal cells,

meaning that cancer cells will respond differently to nutrients and

drugs that alter glutathione status. This discrepancy in glutathione

status between normal cells and cancer cells also makes it harder to

kill cancer cells with chemotherapy. Because the surrounding cells

have lower levels of glutathione to begin with, anything that further

suppresses glutathione puts normal healthy cells in danger long

before cancer cells are affected.

Instead, cancer patients need a compound that can target cancer cells

and deplete only their glutathione. Whey protein appears to be just

such a compound. When introduced in studies, cancer cells responded

to whey protein by losing glutathione, while normal cells actually

increased in glutathione and cellular growth (Baruchel S. and Vaiu

G., Anti Cancer Research 1996). No other protein reported the same

effect. Even the mechanism by which whey protein acts is not fully

understood. It appears that whey protein interferes with the cancer

cells' ability to regulate glutathione.

Whey protein is effective because of its abnormally high biological

value, which is a measure of the nitrogen retained for growth or

maintenance, expressed as a percentage of the nitrogen absorbed

(Renner E., 1983). Whey, with the highest biological value of any

protein, is absorbed, utilized and retained in the body better than

other proteins. This has caused athletes to make whey protein

concentrate a best-seller. In fact, one recent pilot study found whey

protein isolate corrected the immune suppression often seen in

athletes suffering from over-training syndrome (C.M. Colker, D.

Kalman, W.D. Brink, and L.G. Maharam. Med. Sci. in Sports in Exercise

1998)

Amd proteins with a high biological value are more tissue-sparing,

making whey protein concentrate a good choice for people suffering

from wasting diseases such as AIDS, cancer, and/or aging-related

muscle losses.

In addition, some animal research suggests whey can prevent

atherogenesis by preventing LDL cholesterol from oxidizing

(M.Kajikawa et al. Biochemica et Biophysica Acta 1994). A

complementary study found that whey may reduce LDL levels as well as

triglycerides (Zhang X. and Beynen A.C. Brit. J. of Nutri. 1993).

Whey also appears to have a direct in vitro effect on bone cell

growth. It was found to stimulate protein synthesis, DNA content, and

increased hydroxyproline contents of bone cells (Takada Y., Aoe S.,

Kumegawa M., Biochemical Research Communications 1996).

Coupled with the observation that animals fed whey protein powder had

stronger bones, researchers concluded, " These findings suggest that

whey protein contains active components that can activate osteoblast

cell proliferation and differentiation. Also these active components

can probably permeate or be absorbed by the intestines. We propose

the possibility that the active component in the whey protein plays

an important role in bone formation by activating osteoblasts. "

Finally, whey is a highly complex protein that is made up of many sub-

fractions, including beta-lactoglobulin, immuno-globulins, bovine

serum albumin (BSA), lactoperoxidases, lysozyme, lactoferrin and

others. Each of these subfractions has its own unique biological

properties and benefits.

Even a brief discussion of lactoferrin, for instance, illustrates the

many positive effects of this one sub-fraction. Lactoferrin is found

in tiny amounts in the human body, yet appears to be a first-line

immune system defense. It binds to iron so strongly that it inhibits

the growth of iron-dependent bacteria (Oram, J., Reiter, B. Biochem.

Biophys. Acta, 1968), and can block the growth of many pathogenic

bacteria and yeast (Bellamy W. et al., J. Appl. Bacteriol. 1992). Its

antimicrobial action may even improve antibiotics (Ellison, R.T.,

Infect. and Immun. 1988).

In the digestive tract, lactoferrin may help by stimulating

intestinal cell growth (Hagiwara, T., et al., Biosci. Biotech.

Biochem. 1995), and enhancing the growth of " good " intestinal

microflora (Petschow, B., et al., Pediat. Res. 1991). A strong

antioxidant, lactoferrin has positive immunomodulatory effects and

scavenges free iron, which prevents uncontrolled iron-based free

radical reactions (Eugine. P. et al., 1993) and protects certain

cells from lipid peroxidation (Gutteridge et al., 1981).

It would be wise to incorporate whey protein into a supplement

program just to receive the benefits of lactoferrin. But when these

positive influences are combined with whey protein's many other

strengths, including helping the immune system and fighting cancer,

it should become a valuable element of any program.