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hc8meifmdc|20005939267D|healthm_live|health_library|health_library_details|0xfdffa5ff8d0000001101000001000500
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Calcium D-glucarate is a chemical. It is similar to a naturally occurring chemical called glucaric acid. Glucaric acid is found in our bodies as well as in fruits and vegetables such as oranges, apples, brussels sprouts, broccoli, and cabbage. Calcium D-glucarate is made by combining glucaric acid with calcium to make supplements that people use for medicine.
Calcium D-glucarate is used for preventing breast, prostate, and colon cancer; and for removing cancer-causing agents, toxins, and steroid hormones from the body.
Calcium D-glucarate might lower estrogen levels, and this is thought to be helpful in treating some people with hormone-dependent cancers. There isn't enough evidence to support the use of calcium D-glucarate for preventing cancer in humans.
What is Calcium D-glucarate?
Calcium D-glucarate is the calcium salt of D-glucaric acid, a natural substance found in many fruits and vegetables. Calcium D-glucarate has been shown to inhibit beta-glucuronidase, an enzyme found in certain bacteria that reside in the gut. One of the key ways in which the body eliminates toxic chemicals as well as hormones such as estrogen is by attaching glucuronic acid to them in the liver and then excreting this complex in the bile. Beta-glucuronidase is a bacterial enzyme that uncouples (breaks) the bond between the excreted compound and glucuronic acid. When beta-glucuronidase breaks the bond, the hormone or toxic chemical that is released is available to be reabsorbed into the body instead of being excreted. An elevated beta-glucuronidase activity is associated with an increased risk for various cancers, particularly hormone-dependent cancers like breast, prostate, and colon cancers.
Where it is found?
Calcium D-Glucarate, the calcium salt of D-glucaric acid, is found naturally in the human body. Food sources of glucarate include broccoli, apples, Brussels sprouts, grapefruit, potatoes, oranges, lettuce, grapes and bean sprouts.
Benefits / uses
Estrogen Removal - Calcium-D-Glucarate allows the body to excrete used 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.
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.
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.
Breathing polluted air, diet, and water all carry potential carcinogens, so although we bathed and scrubbed ourselves clean today, all of us can still 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 easily removed 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 D-Glucarate, it is called Glucuronidation. When glucuronidation occurs, the active substance that 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. However, sometimes there are high levels of a bad enzyme called beta-glucuronidase that can rip the glucuronide conjugate off a toxin or estrogen hormone. This reverses the glucuronidation process and allows toxins, carcinogens, tumor promoters, steroid hormones, and estrogen to remain in the body where they can potentially cause harm to cells.
When there is a rise in the levels of beta-glucuronidase enzymes, estrogen receptors also increase in numbers. This means that re-circulated toxins and more free estrogen can occupy these receptor cites and can potentially cause breast and uterine 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. Simply put, toxins and estrogen bound for excretion stays bound, and the total toxin and estrogen load on the body is reduced.
Importance of Reducing Toxins and Excess Estrogen
Many of the toxic substances that we are exposed to are known as xenoestrogens and can increase levels of circulating estrogen in women and men. Therefore, an increase in toxins can raise the levels of estrogen that can disrupt hormonal balance in both sexes. One of the processes by which toxins and estrogenic compounds are metabolized, broken down, and eliminated is through the conjugation and glucuronidation processes, as mentioned above.
We now know that Calcium D-Glucarate helps to inhibit or stop the beta-glucuronidase enzyme that can interfere with the glucuronidation process. (2) When a used toxin or hormone, such as estrogen remains bound to its water-soluble bond it will be eliminated from the body rather than being re-circulated in the blood stream.
Too much estrogen is a major concern for women and can lead to a condition known as estrogen dominance, which is associated with a hormone related disorders. Therefore, reducing toxic exposure and maintaining healthy estrogen levels can help reduce the risk of symptoms associated with:
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Fibromyalgia |
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Uterine fibroid tumors |
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Fibrocystic breasts |
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Endometriosis |
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Premenstrual syndrome | |
In a 1988 study Z. Walaszek 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.
Fibromyalgia and Calcium D-Glucarate
Some health care professionals feel that there may be a connection between fibromyalgia and hormone imbalances. The cellular detoxifying benefits of Calcium D-Glucarate can help the body eliminate used hormones and toxins so they are not re-circulated into the bloodstream where they can cause problems related to fibromyalgia.
Doses
The appropriate dose of calcium D-glucarate depends on several factors such as the user's age, health, and several other conditions.
Possible Side effects / Precautions / Possible Interactions:
Interaction:
Alcohol interacts with CALCIUM D-GLUCARATE
The body breaks down calcium D-glucarate to get rid of it. Alcohol might increase how fast the body gets rid of calcium D-glucarate. By increasing how fast the body gets rid of calcium D-glucarate, alcohol might decrease the effectiveness of calcium D-glucarate.
Medications changed by the liver (Glucuronidated drugs) interacts with CALCIUM D-GLUCARATE
The body breaks down some medications to get rid of them. The liver helps break down these medications. Calcium D-glucarate might increase how quickly some medications are broken down by the liver. Taking calcium-D glucarate along with medications changed by the liver might decrease the effectiveness of these medications.
Some of these medications changed by the liver include acetaminophen (Tylenol, others), atorvastatin (Lipitor), diazepam (Valium), digoxin, entacapone (Comtan), estrogen, irinotecan (Camptosar), lamotrigine (Lamictal), lorazepam (Ativan), lovastatin (Mevacor), meprobamate, morphine, oxazepam (Serax), and others.
Kanamycin interacts with CALCIUM D-GLUCARATE
Kanamycin is an antibiotic. The body breaks down kanamycin to get rid of it. Calcium D-glucarate might increase how quickly the body gets rid of kanamycin. Taking calcium-D-glucarate along with kanamycin might decrease the effectiveness of kanamycin.
Special Precautions & Warnings:
Pregnancy and breast-feeding:
Not enough is known about the use of calcium D-glucarate during pregnancy and breast-feeding. Stay on the safe side and avoid use. |
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| References |
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Walaszek Z, Hanausek-Walaszek M, Adams AK, Sherman U. Cholesterol lowering effects of dietary D-Glucarate. FASEB 1991;5:A930. |
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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 |
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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 |
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(J National Cancer Inst, 1989;81:1820-3 and Bio Chem Pharmac, 1991;41 (10):1471-7) |
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Walaszek, Z. 1993. Chemopreventive properties of D-Glucaric acid derivatives. Cancer Bulletin 45:453-7 |
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Colborn, Theo. Our Stolen Future, New York: Dutton, 1996. |
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Curley, R.W., Jr., et al. (1994) Life Sciences 54(18): 1299-303. |
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Dwivedi, C. (1990) Biochemical Medicine & Metabolic Biology 43(2): 83-92. |
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Heerdt, A.S., et al. (1995) Israel Journal of Medical Sciences 31(2-3): 101-05. |
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Robbins, John. Reclaiming Our Health, Tiburon: HJ Kramer, 1996. |
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Walaszek, Z., et al. (1986) Carcinogenesis 7(9): 1463-6. | |
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