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By Jose Antonio, Ph.D.
"This new cancer-fighter
derived from fiber may also prove to be medicine for the new
millennium."
The Facts
- IP6 goes by the chemical
name inositol hexaphosphate.
- IP6 is basically a sugar
molecule with phosphate groups attached.
- IP6 has been shown to
inhibit various cancers in humans and animals.
- IP6 has been shown to be
an effective treatment for kidney stones, high cholesterol and
high blood lipids.
- Much of the scientific support for IP6
is derived from the research of noted scientists Abulkalam
Shamsuddin, M.D., of the University of Maryland School of
Medicine.
- Foods that contain significant amounts of
IP6 include: soybeans, rice, sesame, beans,
legumes, corn and cereals.
- IP6 will soon be
available over the counter.
- IP6 has no known toxic
effects.
This year, 564,800 Americans are expected to
die of cancer. Although this number is alarming, the good news is
that there are sound ways to prevent this nation's No. 2 killer.
And, a recent discovery suggests a new natural treatment is on the
horizon.
Research has long been espousing the
benefits of soy in fighting cancer. Only recently, however, are we
beginning to understand exactly why. Scientists have isolated a
laundry list of soy constituents that suppress carcinogenesis
including the Bowman-Birk inhibitor, beta sitosterol, and now,
inositol hexaphosphate (IP6) or phytic acid.
Currently, there are a growing number of
studies that support IP6's cancer-fighting properties.
Additionally, IP6 has been shown to have potent antioxidant
properties and to help treat kidney stones as well as high
cholesterol and lipid levels.
What is it, and How Does it Work?
IP6, a ubiquitous substance found in
virtually all mammals, is composed of the sugar inositol with six
phosphate groups attached to it.
It is also an important component of cereals
and legumes and may be the active ingredient in fiber that is
anti-carcinogenic. The typical American diet is low in dietary
fiber and relatively high in fat. It is not clear if the increased
incidence of cancer is due to high fat intake, low fiber or both.
Finland is one country in which the people tend to consume both a
high-fat and high-fiber diet, and the risk of dying from breast
cancer in Finnish women is lower than American women. Thus, it
would seem that eating lots of fiber may be critical to preventing
cancer.
What We Know Now
A study done by scientists at the University
of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore examined whether a
high-fiber diet reduced the amount of tumor cells in rats. Rats
were divided into five groups and fed a diet that contained 0
percent, 5 percent, 10 percent or 20 percent Kellogg's All-Bran
cereal; a fifth group received .4 percent IP6 in their drinking
water; and amount equal to 20 percent bran. After 29 weeks, they
found that in the 5 to 20 percent bran cereal groups, tumor
incidence decreased 11 to 17 percent. Oddly enough, the rats that
ate the least amount of bran had a lower tumor incidence than the
group that ate the most bran. So from this, researchers could at
least conclude that there was not a dose-response inhibition of
the high-bran diet. This means that we may not need to stuff
ourselves full of bran cereal in the morning in order to get the
health benefits.
But what if we drank the IP6? Rats that were
given IP6 in their water had an even lower incidence of tumor
formation. In fact, drinking IP6 seemed to work twice as well as
eating the high-bran foods.
IP6 has been introduced by mouth, by
injection directly into tumors, intramuscular injection,
intraperitoneal injection, etc. And regardless of how IP6 was
given, it consistently had the same effects, whether it was tested
on a colon-cancer model, a breast-cancer model, smooth-muscle
cells, skeletal muscle tumors, liver cancers, etc.
In addition to animal studies, there are
several human studies that have shown that IP6 inhibits growth of
human prostate cancer cells and adenocarcinoma. Scientists have
observed that cancer cells can revert back to normal cells in the
presence of IP6. It should be pointed out that most of the
research has been done with animals; in order for IP6 to gain
greater support by the medical community, more human trials are
needed.
One Scientist's Discovery
Abulkalam Shamsuddin, M.D., of the
University of Maryland School of Medicine, is one of the leading
authorities on IP6. He has an extensive scientific publication
record on the topic of IP6. He reports his findings in his book IP6--Nature's
Revolutionary Cancer Fighter (Kensington, 1998). According to
Shamsuddin, the best evidence for the role of IP6 in fighting
cancer is found in the comparison of cancer rates in Danish and
Finnish populations. The fiber consumption of the Danes in nearly
twice that of the Finns, yet the incidence of cancer in Danes is
twice that of the Finns. This discovery suggests that the quality
of fiber may be more important than the quantity of fiber
consumed. Shamsuddin says, "The Finns actually eat a lot of
porridge, which is where you have a lot of IP6... You see the
Danes eat a lot of Fiber, and that fiber does not have IP6."
Where Can I Get IP6?
Most IP6 is derived from cereals. Corn
apparently has the highest concentration of IP6 (~6 percent),
followed by sesame (5 percent), wheat (2 to 3 percent) and rice (2
percent).
As of this printing, IP6 should now be
available in pill or powder form. The advantage of taking a pill
over food is that not all IP6 is absorbed from food. For instance,
if you eat 100 gm of rice, not all of the 2 gm of IP6 present in
that rice will be absorbed.
Although Shamsuddin admits that more
research needs to be done before more specific dosage
recommendations are given, he does provide the following
guidelines. For prevention, a normal, healthy individual, should
take 1 to 2 gm daily. Individuals with greater risk for cancer
(due either to heredity predisposition or lifestyle factors),
should take 4 gm daily as a preventive measure. If you want to
make IP6 part of your treatment for cancer, take up to 8 gm daily
(dose depends on stage of cancer).
Editor's note: Individuals should seek
the guidance of their health-care practitioners in creating a
preventive/treatment plan for cancer.
Any Possible Toxicity?
According to Shamsuddin, "There are no
known harmful side effects of IP6." Suffice it to say that
moderation seems to work well for most things in life, and
certainly, IP6 is no different.
References
Shamsuddin, A.M. et al. "IP6: A Novel
Anti-Cancer Agent," Life Sciences, 1997; 61:343-54.
Vucenik, I. et al., "Comparison of Pure
Inositol Hexaphosphate and High-Bran Diet in the Prevention of
DMBA-Induced Rat Mammary arcinogenesis," Nutrition and
Cancer, 1997; 28:7-13.
**Statements contained herein
have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These
products are not intended to diagnose, treat and cure or prevent
disease. Always consult with your professional health care provider
before changing any medication.**
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