Can Quercetin Combat Cancer?
Quercetin is a kind of plant pigment called a flavonoid and is found naturally in red wine, apples, onions, and other foods. The potential of flavonoids in general to produce health benefits has been studied, and quercetin is no exception; it’s sometimes used to treat the symptoms of prostatitis, and it’s being looked at for cancer prevention, allergies, glucose absorption in diabetics, childhood asthma, and the lung disease sarcoidosis. But what’s the evidence behind the most common claims?
The study published in the International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, looked at quercetin’s effects on endurance in healthy nonathletes. For seven days, 12 volunteers received either 500 mg of quercetin dissolved in Tang or a placebo. Their cycling performance was recorded, and then they repeated the experiment with the other substance, serving as their own control group. Quercetin supplementation was associated with a 13.2 percent increase in the amount of time subjects could ride before getting too tired to continue, as well as a nearly 4 percent increase in V02 max, a measure of aerobic fitness.
J. Mark Davis, director of the exercise biochemistry laboratory at the University of South Carolina’s department of exercise science and author of the new study, says quercetin may aid performance through its anti-inflammatory properties or because it increases the number and function of mitochondria, the energy-producing factories found in cells. It may also provide a caffeinelike boost to the central nervous system. Davis suspects quercetin is similar to resveratrol, another plant-derived chemical that’s gotten much attention for its beneficial effects in animal studies. (Results of the study will need to be replicated to be confirmed.)
Quercetin is also used to treat symptoms of prostatitis. Daniel Shoskes, a urologist at the Cleveland Clinic, began studying quercetin’s anti-inflammatory properties to protect donor kidneys against damage they incur during a transplant. He turned to it again when searching for an appropriate flavonoid to test against the inflammation of prostatitis, and his research, including a small randomized controlled trial, indicates it does indeed help the condition. (ConsumerLab.com, an independent lab that tests supplements, cites the 1999 study by Shoskes, saying the study suggests 500 mg of quercetin twice daily "may be helpful for chronic non-bacterial prostatitis.")
When it comes to cancer, quercetin has shown promise in test tubes, seeming to slow the growth of, or induce death in, cancer cells, but it’s far too soon to stock up on supplements in the hopes of preventing the disease. The American Cancer Society says that "while some early laboratory results appear promising, as of yet there is no reliable clinical evidence that quercetin can prevent or treat cancer in humans."
I currently drink one or two cans of Efusjon Dawn, containing the quercetin equivalent of 54 apples. It’s delicious! If you’d like to learn more about Efusjon Dawn, visit my Efusjon website.
* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
