Why do healthy cells change into unhealthy tumor cells?  Unfortunately science cannot yet answer that question.  However we do know that any nutrient capable of interfering with cell growth resulting in tumors would be of great interest and benefit to those with fibroids and other tumors.

Calcium D-glucarate is a botanical extract found in grapefruit, apples, oranges, broccoli and Brussels sprouts. Scientists are discovering that it appears to protect against cancer and other diseases via a different mechanism than antioxidants such as vitamin C, carotenoids, and folic acid. These vitamin antioxidants work by neutralizing toxic free radical damage in the body. There are however, other mechanisms by which the human body can detoxify itself. Glucuronidation is a detoxification process that occurs when toxins or carcinogens are combined with water-soluble substances, thus making them more easily removed from the body. D-glucarate has been shown to support this vital process by inhibiting an enzyme called beta-glucuronidase. When levels of this enzyme become elevated, it reverses the glucuronidation process and releases the toxins back into the bloodstream.

Elevated beta-glucuronidase activity is associated with an increased risk for various cancers, particularly hormone-dependent cancers such as breast, prostate, and colon cancers. Other potential clinical applications of oral Calcium-D-Glucarate include regulation of estrogen metabolism and as a lipid-lowering agent.  All these tissues receive protective effects using Calcium D-Glucarate.

The results of various animal studies on D-glucarate indicate that this plant extract may be effective in inhibiting cancer during the initiation, promotion and progression phases. The studies have demonstrated that D-glucarate suppressed beta-glucuronidase activity in the blood, liver, intestines, lungs, skin, and bladder. In studies on breast cancer in rats treated with D-glucarate, tumor growth and development were significantly reduced or inhibited. D-glucarate has also been shown to inhibit the growth of transplanted rat prostate tumor and reduce the levels of a tumor marker for prostate cancer. Calcium D Glucarate also lowers serum estrogen levels thus reducing the risk of estrogen related cancers.

Calcium D-Glucarate is known for:

• Lipid Lowering - Preliminary results in humans show D-Glucarate reduced total serum cholesterol up to 12 percent, LDL-cholesterol up to 28 percent, and triglycerides up to 43 percent. (1)

• Estrogen Removal - Calcium-D-Glucarate allows the body to excrete hormones such as estrogen before they can become reabsorbed. Large doses of Calcium-D-Glucarate have been shown to lower serum estrogen levels in rats by 23 percent.  Because many breast cancers are estrogen-dependent, Calcium-D-Glucarate's ability to affect estrogen and other hormone levels has led to Phase I clinical trials at several major cancer centers in the United States. Results of these studies are pending. (2)

• Tumor Prevention - Animal studies have shown positive results regarding the use of Calcium D-Glucarate for detoxifying carcinogens in the colon, skin, lung, breast, and liver.  Due to the encouraging results, breast cancer studies are currently being conducted by the National Cancer Institute at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Calcium D-Glucarate, Estrogen Metabolism, and Fibroids

Glucuronidation plays an active role in eliminating unhealthy levels of estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone.  Estrogen causes tissue to grow, such as breast tumors.  The good news is that excess estrogen can be removed through glucuronidation. Calcium D-Glucarate inhibits or stops beta-glucuronidase from freeing the estrogen for reabsorption. (2)  Estrogen is a major concern for women.  Too much, and women’s fibrosis conditions such as uterine fibroid tumors, fibrocystic breasts, and endometriosis develop.   

Consider supplementing Calcium D-Glucarate to keep the detoxification pathway moving forward.  This will limit the amount of free estrogen being reabsorbed, and preserves the amount of glucuronic acid available to detoxifying other problem toxins.

In Walaszek’s 1988 study, he found that supplementing with Calcium D-Glucarate can reduce both the number of estrogen receptor sites (which send hormone signals) by 48% as well as tumor growth in the breast.  (3)

How Calcium D-Glucarate Removes Toxins

Are we humans toxic?  Sounds like an outrageous question, but consider what the body has to accomplish with all the substances we pour into it.  Any substance which is not useful for energy, or building tissues is dumped by detoxification before it can harm the body.  Breathing polluted air, diet, and water all carry potential carcinogens, so although we bathed and scrubbed ourselves clean today, all of us can be toxic. 

The human body rids itself of toxins by a mechanism called detoxification.  During detoxification, a chemical binds to a carcinogen in order to eliminate it from the body. This is called conjugation.  Conjugation can be thought of as the packaging of dangerous toxins into water-soluble forms that are easy to remove from the body.

D-Glucarate helps eliminate toxins by conjugation.  Upon ingestion and exposure to the acidic environment of the stomach, Calcium-D-Glucarate is metabolized to form D-glucaric acid. D-glucaric acid is further metabolized in the gastrointestinal tract into other compounds.  When detoxification involves Calcium D-Glucarate, it is called Glucuronidation. When glucuronidation occurs, the active substance which binds to a toxin is called glucuronic acid.   A healthy system uses detoxifying enzymes to conjugate and bind carcinogens to glucuronic acid. This complex is then called a glucuronide complex.  These toxins can now be safely eliminated.

Normally, the glucuronide conjugate passes from the liver into the bile, then into the gut where the body gets rid of it. Sometimes, there are high levels of a bad enzyme called beta-glucuronidase, that rip the glucuronide conjugate off a toxin or estrogen hormone, which, put simply, allows toxins, carcinogens, tumor promoters, steroid hormones, and estrogen to remain in the body and potentially cause harm.  This enzyme reverses glucuronidation that gets rid of these carcinogens, so high levels of beta-glucuronidase is considered bad for you.

Did you know that when this bad enzyme rises, estrogen receptors also increase in number? This means more free estrogen can potentially cause breast tissue to grow and develop into tumors.  Studies indicate that Calcium D-Glucarate corrects this problem by inhibiting beta-glucuronidase so that glucuronidation is NOT reversed.

High levels of Calcium D-Glucarate inhibits beta-glucuronidase and has been shown to stop this enzyme in the blood, liver, intestines, skin, and lungs. Calcium D-Glucarate has been shown to slow the rate at which cancer cell divide and grow. (4)  Additionally it inhibits cancer during all three stage of the disease: initiation, promotion, and progression.

Animals  and humans have received protective effects from D-Glucarate and derivatives in cancers of the breast, lung colon, liver, bladder, skin, and prostate.  (5)

Calcium D-Glucarate is the perfect choice of those looking to lower their risk.

Suggested Further Reading

http://www.pdrhealth.com/drug_info/nmdrugprofiles/nutsupdrugs/dgl_0312.shtml

http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/DVH/HerbsWho/0,3923,4070%7CCalcium+D%252DGlucarate,00.html

http://www.jonbarron.org/newsletters/02/12-16-2002.php

http://www.anapsid.org/cnd/hormones/estrogen.html

Supplement Facts

Serving Size:  One (1) Capsule

Servings per Container:  90 Capsules

• Calcium D-Glucarate – 200 mg. - Daily Value not established
• Calcium (as calcium d-glucarate) – 25 mg. – 3 % Daily Value

Other ingredients: Hydroxy propyl methyl cellulose.   Contains NO added sugar, starch, salt, wheat, gluten, corn, coloring, dairy products, flavoring or preservatives.

Suggested Use:  One to three capsules daily, or as directed by your health care professional.  Because Calcium D-Glucarate is non-toxic, some consumers are taking four or more capsules per day for extra protection.

D-glucaric acid is a natural substance produced by our body in small amounts.  No toxic effects have been shown even at very high doses of 10 grams per day.

Caution:  Although there are no known drug interactions, many drugs (especially hormones) are metabolized in the liver by binding to glucuronic acid. It is therefore possible that taking Calcium D-Glucarate could increase the elimination of certain drugs or hormones from the body, thereby reducing their effectiveness. If you are taking any prescription medication, please consult your physician or pharmacist before taking Calcium D-Glucarate.

Manufactured by Vitamin Research Products.

Calcium D-Glucarate from Vitamin Research Products 90 Capsules - 200 mg. $19.00 - Discount Price ( Retail $24.95) Quantity 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Add to cart

References

1. Walaszek Z, Hanausek-Walaszek M, Adams AK, Sherman U. Cholesterol lowering effects of dietary D-Glucarate. FASEB 1991;5:A930.
   
2. Walaszek Z, Hanausek-Walaszek M, Minton J, Webb TE. Dietary Glucarate as anti-promoter of 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene-induced mammary tumorigenesis. Carcinogenesis 1986;7:1463-1466
   
3. Walaszek, Z., E. Flores. And A. K. Adams. 1988 Effect of dietary glucarate on estrogen receptors and growth of 7,12 dimethylbenz(a)anthracene-induced rat mammary carcinomas.  Breast Cancer Research and Treatment 12:128
   
4. (J National Cancer Inst, 1989;81:1820-3 and Bio Chem Pharmac, 1991;41 (10):1471-7)
   
5. Walaszek, Z. 1993.  Chemopreventive properties of D-Glucaric acid derivatives. Cancer Bulletin 45:453-7