This post started out as a way to point out the recent "discovery" that the luteolin in celery and green peppers appears to be protective of the brain, regarding dementia due to inflammation, but there seems to be a much broader message here. Is it just my imagination, or is inflammation coming into the spotlight more and more as the basis of all serious bodily ills? The other thing I've noticed is that medical research is increasingly discovering, (though they don't seem to be willing to admit it, yet), that most, (maybe all), of the truly Draconian, incurable diseases, can be controlled or prevented by "medicine" that is already available - in the food we eat.
The article that inspired this post is this one:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,356865,00.html
Here is the abstract for the research report upon which that news article is based:
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstrac ... type=HWCIT
Notice that the abstract begins with this sentence:
The red emphasis is mine, of course. So, obviously, we, (on this board), have an interest in this phenomenon that goes far beyond the scope of the article. "Why green peppers?", I wondered - so I looked it up.Luteolin, a flavonoid found in high concentrations in celery and green pepper, has been shown to reduce production of proinflammatory mediators in LPS-stimulated macrophages, fibroblasts, and intestinal epithelial cells.
Well, it turns out that green peppers are simply immature peppers, and if you allow them to ripen, before harvesting them, they will turn red, yellow, orange, or purple, depending on the variety. One of the basic rules with nightshades, is to never, ever, eat the green parts of the plant, because they are toxic. This is true for all nightshades.
Green Peppers have a distinctive, and rather strong flavor, not at all like the sweet taste of mature fruit. There is a variety of green pepper that is still green in color when it's ripe, but this variety is almost never found in restaurants and/or grocery stores. The ones you encounter are red bell peppers that have been harvested before they are ripe, (IOW, while they are still in the green stage). Obviously, green, (toxic), peppers must have much more luteolin than red, (non-toxic), peppers.
Celery naturally contains a photoactive toxicant, that is, it contains a chemical that becomes toxic when it is exposed to sunlight. While not normally a serious problem, at sufficiently high levels, it can damage the human immune system. The most toxic type of celery is celery that has developed brownish patches, (since the brownish patches are evidence of deterioration due to a significant amount of exposure to the sun).
In response to an insect attack, celery can boost by up to 100 times, the amount of this chemical in its green flesh. That means that organically grown celery is inherently more dangerous than conventionally-grown celery, unfortunately.
Also, I note that many doctors advise patients with arthritis to avoid nightshades, because they can cause inflammation. This new research "suggests" that some nightshades, (green peppers, at least), are capable of preventing inflammation. So who's right? It's an ambiguous and confusing world, isn't it.
Tex
