Elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) is recognized as a risk factor for stroke and heart attack. Consumption of red wine is shown to reduce the risk from heart disease and improve longevity. CRP is created in the liver.

Scientists from the Research Institute of Public Health, Kuopio, Finland state that enterolactone (the major Lignan derived from Flaxseed) reduces the risk of stroke, heart attack, and cancer. Because of this prior research they checked the level of enterolactone in 1889 men aged 42 to 60 and followed them for over 12 years on average. The higher the level of enterolactone in the serum of these men the lower the risk of dying from coronary heart disease or from cardiovascular disease.

Dr Gary Stoner, professor of public health and researcher at the Comprehensive Cancer Center at Ohio State University states that ?Black raspberries are loaded with nutrients and phytochemicals that may prevent the development of cancer?. Dr Stoner should know, he has coauthored a number of studies demonstrating a powerful protective benefit from this tasty berry. In his most recent work which was presented this week at the American Chemical Society?s 233rd Annual Meeting and Exposition in Chicago, he has demonstrated a very powerful protective effect.

There is a great deal of debate about the use of supplements with antioxidant activity in conjunction with chemotherapy. Some argue that antioxidants soak up free radicals generated by ?some? chemotherapeutic drugs diminishing treatment efficacy.

Researchers from Rutgers University in collaboration with researchers from the USDA and Oklahoma State University gave a group of rats azoxymethane; a chemical that has a powerful ability to cause colon cancer in laboratory animals. The process resembles the onset of human colon cancer and the chemical is used to measure the protective effects of diets, drugs, and other agents. Immediately the rats were split into two groups; one received a balanced diet and the other received the same diet with the addition of the blueberry polyphenol Pterostilbene at 40 parts per million (a very small amount) for 8 weeks.