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(NaturalNews) 30 years ago the famous Nobel laureate Linus Pauling said that vitamin C supplements can prevent cancer, a highly controversial statement at the time. Now a team of Johns Hopkins scientists have shown that vitamin C stops the growth of some tumors in mice. The Study The study was lead by Chi Dang, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine and oncology and Johns Hopkins Family Professor in Oncology Research. Their work is detailed in Cancer Cell, Volume 12, Issue 3, 230-238, 11 September, 2007. They found that the antioxidants' actual role may be to destabilize a tumor's ability to grow under conditions where there isn't enough oxygen to feed it. The conventional belief is that vitamin C helps prevent cancer growth by grabbing up volatile oxygen free radical molecules and preventing the damage they do to our DNA. "The potential anticancer benefits of antioxidants have been the driving force for many clinical and preclinical studies," Says Dang. "By uncovering the mechanism behind antioxidants, we are now better suited to maximize their therapeutic use."

Watercress supplementation in diet reduces lymphocyte DNA damage and alters blood antioxidant status in healthy adults. Gill CI, Haldar S, Boyd LA, Bennett R, Whiteford J, Butler M, Pearson JR, Bradbury I, Rowland IR. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Feb;85(2):504-10. PMID: 17284750

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have identified a gene that plays a critical regulatory role in the process of converting dietary carbohydrates to fat. In a new study, they disabled this gene in mice, which consequently had lower levels of body fat than their normal counterparts, despite being fed the equivalent of an all-you-can-eat pasta buffet. The authors of the study, to be published in the March 20 issue of the journal Cell, say the gene, called DNA-PK, could potentially play a role in the prevention of obesity related to the over-consumption of high-carbohydrate foods, such as pasta, rice, soda and sugary snacks.

Pomegranate juice is remarkably rich in antioxidants, such as soluble polyphenols, tannins, and anthocyanins, which scavenge free radicals and help prevent DNA damage that can lead to a number of serious health conditions. It is also believed to have antiatherosclerotic properties, as studies in Israel have shown that the fruit juice, taken daily, prevented the thickening of arteries and slowed down cholesterol oxidation by almost half (Clin Nutr. 2004 Jun;23(3):423-33).

Watercress was declared the latest super food yesterday for being packed with a higher than usual amount of nutrients found in vegetables. Research has shown that eating a packet of raw watercress a day, or a bowl full, for eight weeks increased the ability of cells to resist damage to their DNA, helping to protect against the cell changes that lead to cancer.