SS:  How about anticancer foods? We hear that pomegranate juice containg ellagic acid and that red wine contains resveratrol and polyphenols, which have all been shown to reduce cancer risk on top of other health benefits.  Should we drink theses two every day, and how much?
CP:  One thing is for sure: the antioxidants and phytonutrients in pomegranates and grape skins and seeds have been proven to have anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and cardiovascular-protective benefits.  However, I am afraid many people will be tempted to just go ahead and drink a lot of both.  Let’s say, for example, they drink one or two cups (eight to sixteen fluid ounces) or each every day, which contain about 37 to 73 grams of carbs.  That’s the same amount of sugar as two to four apples, or two to four slices of bread, or one or two bananas.  Well, that is not necessarily good if you already have too much sugar and/or carbohydrates in your diet.  On the other hand, everybody needs some specific amount of carbs from the richest sources of antioxidants and anticancer foods.  Let’s spend our carb allowance really wisely.  Same thing with lycopene, which has great data on cancer reduction, and it is found in tomatoes and watermelon, for example.  However, watermelon contains a lot of sugar that is absorbed fast because there is very little fiber in there.
            The alcohol from the wine may increase the risk of mouth and throat cancer, and some research suggests that it may increase the risk of breast cancer, but one glass per day may be okay for some people.  I know I cannot have a glass every day-my brain just does not function well after that-but I do want to resveratrol, so I take a supplement.
            Juices and alcohol may be especially problematic if you have them on an empty stomach.  Make sure you have a balanced meal of protein, vegetables, good fats, and moderate amounts of high-quality carbs, and then you may have a little wine and maybe two ounces of pomegranate juice or a slice of watermelon.  That way, the alcohol and/or the sugar will be absorbed very slowly through a full stomach, thus causing fewer problems.

SS:  How much resveratrol should one take in order to be protected against cancer?
CP:  We do not have a clear answer to that from human studies for prevention purposes, although I have heard some cancer studies are going on right now using 1 to 10 grams of it for people with active cancers.  Based on the longevity studies, anywhere from 200 to 1,000 milligrams may be very beneficial, yet likely safe.  We are making assumptions based on the thousands of studies done so far in vitro, in animals, and a few in humans.  Some of us do not want to wait for results from ten- to thirty-year-long human studies.  That is always the dilemma.
You should definitely supplement all antioxidants in a balanced way.  Just because I take resveratrol, this amazingly powerful antioxidant and genetic modulator, does not mean I will skip the other antioxidants.  If a fruit seems great, like pomegranate or grapes, that does not mean we just prioritize that.  A mix of them with a large variety of fruits and vegetables will be most protective overall.

SS:  So should we also take a pill with extracts of pomegranate, a grape’s active components, et cetera, in a supplement to get all the benefits?
CP:  That is hard to answer because we never know how the extract was processed and how the supplement was made.  If you trust the company that makes it to carefully control everything that goes in it, then you will definitely benefit, but I would do both.  I would take some supplements I trust, and then also some of the foods that contain them.
The more I learn, the more I realize how much we do not know about nature’s way of interacting with our bodies.  I can hardly keep up with all the developments, and I am doing this full-time.
Since it’s hard to get this variety of beneficial nutrients from a multitude of fruits every day, and they come with added sugar, fruit extract supplements may be a viable alternative.  I like Designs for Health Paleo Reds powder because it is an organic blend of eleven antioxidant fruits with additional vegetable extracts, elderberry, and enzymes, with very little sugar.  They also produce a matching blend or organic vegetable extracts powder called Paleo Greens.  The prefix “Paleo” refers to the Paleolitic nutrition model, which incorporated many fruits and vegetables.  They were the only source of carbohydrates that our bodies adapted to when we lived in a natural environment for millions of years.

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