Buckwheat Is Homegrown Protection Against Cancer And Blood Pressure

Buckwheat, or kasha, as the roasted form of the grain is called, is as American as corn, it's not very popular in this country anymore. But it is popular in Japan-and some researchers suspect that this may partially explain that country's remarkably low cancer rates.

Here we will discuss why Buckwheat Is Homegrown Protection Against Cancer And Blood Pressure?

Two - pronged protection

• Buckwheat contains a variety of compounds called flavonoids that have been shown in studies to help block the spread of cancer.

• Two compounds in particular, quercetin and rutin, are especially promising because they appear to thwart cancer in two ways. These substances make it difficult for cancer-promoting hormones to attach to healthy cells. They can literally stop cancers before they start. Should cancer-causing substances get into cells, these compounds may be able to reduce damage to DNA, the body's chemical blueprint for normal cell division.

Keeping blood flowing

• The rutin in buckwheat plays yet another protective role. Working in concert with other compounds, it helps prevent platelets-the components in blood that assist in clotting-from clumping together. By helping to keep blood fluid, buckwheat can play an important part in any heart-protection plan.

• There's another way in which the rutin in buckwheat can help keep blood flowing. It appears to shrink particles of the dangerous low-density lipoprotein (LDL.) cholesterol. This makes them less likely to stick to artery walls, further reducing the risk of heart attack or stroke. This could explain why the Yi people of China, who consume a high-buckwheat diet from an early age, have exceptionally low levels of total cholesterol. Better yet, their levels of LDL cholesterol are quite low, while levels of the good high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol remain high.

• Rutin has also been reported to stabilize blood vessels and check excessive fluid accumulation in the body. This may help lower blood pressure and with it the risk of heart disease.

• Research suggests that when flavonoids are combined with vitamin E, which is also found in buckwheat, the benefits are even more pronounced. Fat- soluble vitamin E can neutralize dangerous free radicals, harmful oxygen molecules that can damage cells, in the fatty portions of cells. Flavonoids, on the other hand, are water soluble; they attack free radicals in the watery parts of cells. That puts an antioxidant in both the watery and fatty portions of cells.