TWO BANANAS A DAY BOOST IMMUNITY, PROTECT AGAINST DISEASES AND ADULT ILLNESS (Part 1)
Recently, people have been talking about how bananas can inhibit cancer. The attention stems from the media’s focus on a presentation entitled, “The Effect of Bananas on Inhibiting Cancer,” by Prof. Masatoshi Yamazaki of the Teikyo University Department of Pharmacology at the meeting of the Japan Cancer Society. Prof. Yamazaki, who for many years had been studying vegetable and fruit substances which increase human resistance to disease, announced his finding that injections of banana juice have cancer-inhibiting effects. Further research this year has shown that ingesting bananas also brings beneficial effects. Banana extract increases resistance to disease and inhibits cancer.
Our immune system is our body’s inborn way of protecting itself. It protects our bodies from flu viruses and harmful disease-causing bacteria. When our immunity decreases, we not only become more likely to catch a cold, we become more susceptible to other diseases as well. Cancer is no exception. Prof. Yamazaki’s presentation described how eating banana allows its key effective components to increase the body’s immunity and offers hope for the prevention of cancer. The major points of Prof. Yamazaki’s presentation at the Japan Cancer Society is as follows:
1. Laboratory mice injected with banana juice (extracted by filtering the juice from mashed store-bought bananas) showed an increase in their macrophage counts. (Macrophages are cells which eat harmful bacteria.)
2. Malignant cells were transplanted to laboratory mice and allowed to grow into tumors. Some of the mice were administered a local injection of banana juice into their tumors; the others were fed feed made up of 30 percent bananas for one month. Prof. Yamazaki looked for changes in the tumors. In both cases, growth of the malignant tumors on the mice were inhibited.
3. A biological response modifier (or BRM)-like substance, the key component of bananas responsible for these benefits. was extracted using a 25 percent solution of ethanol and ammonium sulfate. BRM was confirmed to be heat, acids and alkaloids.
4. The molecular weight of BRM was determined to be between 1,000 and 10,000, using a special filter membrane which separates molecular particles according to size. Many medications currently administered to bolster our immunity have a molecular weight of under 1,000, while typical polysaccharides and proteins have molecular weights in the tens of thousands. This is why BRM is believed to be a totally different kind of substance.
To be continued
(Translated by Roy Mashima)
(The information provided should not be construed as medical advice or instruction. Consult your physician before attempting any new program. Readers who fail to consult appropriate health authorities assume the risk of developing serious medical conditions.)
