Vitamin P

What is Vitamin P, and can it help prevent cancer? Vitamin P was a term given to a group of super-healing plant substances from the 1930s to the 1950s. However, Vitamin P is not a vitamin at all. These plant substances are better known as flavonoids and can be found in thousands of plant species. They are continuously discovering sources for them and how they can be used to support healing, including various forms of cancer.

17th-century scientist Robert Boyle viewed them in terms of having the ability to provide pigmentation to plants, and referenced flavonoids or phytonutrients in the beginning. Later, in the 1930s, Nobel Prize-winning physiologist Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, who had also discovered vitamin C, gave flavonoids the term Vitamin P. They have so far discovered between 4,000 and 6,000 different kinds of flavonoids. They protect from pathogens such as fungi, pests, and bacteria as well as providing appealing color, flavor, and smell for plants.

These flavonoids are considered super-concentrated packets of nutrition for the human body and essential for the function of nearly every cell and organ. Flavonoids are crucial as they are essential to the absorption of Vitamin C and for the maintenance of bones and teeth. They are also powerful antioxidants that help the immune system.

Three of the flavonoids have been shown to pack a punch in healing cancer. Let’s first talk about Quercetin. Quercetin is often called the anti-cancer flavonoid and found in apples, onions, berries, and citrus fruits, along with other natural foods. Dr. Matthias Rath, pioneering cancer researcher and founder of the Matthias Rath Research Institute says that combining quercetin with green tea extract can provide extremely powerful healing cocktails.

The second flavonoid known as rutin is a healing partner to quercetin as they work hand in hand to protect sensory neurons. They both are strong antioxidants that can have an anti-inflammatory effect. Studies have been conducted for the reduction of painful inflammation that accompanies rheumatoid arthritis.

The third is call curcumin that has been the subject of over 3,500 documented researcher studies. This is the main substance in the Indian spice turmeric and has proven itself as a cancer-healing substance for many types of cancer.

You can also find flavonoids in many common foods as in cruciferous vegetables as broccoli, as well as in nuts, seeds, peppers, cacao, green tea and so on. Most of us are still deficient in these vital nutrients and most people still stick with the high sugar load and reliance on fast foods.

The reality is that we should eat a healing diet, follow a healing lifestyle that includes organic veggies and fruits, plenty of clean water, stress management techniques and includes moderate exercise. This should reap great benefits that these flavonoids have to offer and will reward us with energy and vibrant life for years to come. The choice seems to be in our own hands!

Dr Fredda Branyon