Purple Fruits Shown to Ward Off Alzheimer's, Multiple Sclerosis, and Parkinson's

Eating purple fruits such as blueberries and drinking green tea can help fight off diseases including Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson's, a report claims.

Research conducted by Prof. Douglas Kell, from the University of Manchester (UK), and published August 17, 2010 in the journal Archives of Toxicology, has found that the majority of debilitating illnesses are in part caused by poorly-bound iron which causes the production of dangerous toxins that can react with the components of living systems. These toxins, called hydroxyl radicals, cause degenerative diseases of many kinds in different areas of the body.

To protect the body from these dangerous varieties of poorly bound iron, it is crucial to take on nutrients, known as iron chelators, which can bind the iron tightly. Brightly-colored fruits and vegetables are excellent sources of chelators, as is green tea, with purple fruits considered to have the best chance of binding the iron effectively. However, despite contradictory reports, the widely publicized benefits of red wine seem to work in a different way, and have no similar benefits, Prof. Kell's article noted. This new study represents the first time the link has been made between so many different diseases and the presence of the wrong form of iron, and gives a crucial clue as to how to prevent them or at least slow them down.

Prof. Kell contends that the means by which poorly liganded iron accelerates the onset of devastating diseases reveals areas in which current, conventional thinking is flawed and can be hazardous. For instance, vitamin C is thought to be of great benefit to the body's ability to defend itself against toxins and diseases.

However, Prof. Kell, who is a professor of bioanalytical science at the University, indicates that excess vitamin C can in fact have the opposite effect to that intended if unliganded iron is present. Only when iron is suitably and safely bound (chelated) will vitamin C work effectively.

Prof. Kell concluded "Much of modern biology has been concerned with the role of different genes in human disease. The importance of iron may have been missed because there is no gene for iron as such. What I have highlighted in this work is therefore a crucial area for further investigation, as many simple predictions follow from my analysis. If true they might change greatly the means by which we seek to prevent and even cure such diseases.”

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