AML is a form of blood cancer which is most common in people over the age of 65. According to Cancer Research, around 8,600 people are diagnosed with leukemia each year, 2,600 of which are diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Around 90 per cent of people diagnosed with AML over the age of 65 die within the first five years.

A Canadian researcher, Professor Paul Spagnuolo of the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada has discovered and isolated a lipid (fat) compound from avocado that is effective against a type this type of leukemia that's a killer.

Only a handful of oncologists have recently realized and admitted that chemo is a failure unless it can isolate and target cancer stem cells. And this compound goes after cancer stem cells effectively.

The Waterloo Research and Its Ramifications

Spagnuolo explains, “The stem cell is really the cell that drives the disease. The stem cell is largely responsible for the disease developing and it’s the reason why so many patients with leukemia relapse. We’ve performed many rounds of testing to determine how this new drug works at a molecular level and confirmed that it targets stem cells selectively, leaving healthy cells unharmed.”

The Waterloo lab and Spagnuola have formed a partnership with the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine (CCRM) and filed a patent application for the use of the compound, named avocatin B, to treat AML.

CCRM’s mission is to create and sustain a global nexus for RM commercialization by unifying dynamic business leadership with high value innovative translational technology platforms based on demonstrated excellence in fundamental stem cell and biomaterial science.

In other words, if a clever independent researcher who isn't part of or hired by a pharmaceutical company comes up with a stem cell application or nutraceutical and doesn't have the financial wherewithal to advance the new discovery into the commercial realm and get FDA approval, they're there to help and get a piece of the action if there is money to be made.

Spagnuolo claims that avocatin B may have other applications within and outside of oncology as well.

“It’s an exciting time for our lab. With the help of CCRM we are now pursuing commercial partnership that would take avocatin B into clinical trials,” said Professor Spagnuolo. “Not only does avocatin B eliminate the source of AML, but its targeted, selective effects make it less toxic to the body, too.”

Other Avocado Cancer Research

Bully for the boys in the lab. But it will take years before their nutraceutical completes all the trials needed for FDA approval. Spagnuola said he preferred isolating then recreating the compound as a nutraceutical because merely extracting the avocatin B from avocados makes the final compound inconsistent and impossible to standardize.

And I may add more difficult to make big bucks too. But if you indulge in avocados enough, you will at least benefit from avocado's compounds that nip cancer cells in the bud. Researchers from Ohio State’s College of Pharmacy found the phytochemicals extracted from avocados increased the amount of active oxygen within the cancer cells before tumor formation.

Those cells cannot survive within an increased oxygen field. Cancer cells thrive on fermenting sugar without oxygen. Oxygenating them reduces their survival effectively and leads their demise as precancerous cell lines without harming healthy cells.

Other Reasons Why You Should Consume Avocados

It's important to understand that a body needs unprocessed fats, saturated and unsaturated. Omega 3 fatty acids are missing in the average western diet. And this missing fatty acid is behind lots of bad health and disease through chronic inflammation. It just so happens that avocados are high in both omega 3 and omega 6.

They are a rich source of non-toxic beneficial fats. The notion that avocados are fattening is false. Processed sugars and high fructose corn syrups in processed foods create obesity, along with cooked starches, pasteurized dairy, and factory farm meats.

Unlike cooked meats, which are difficult to digest and absorb its high protein content, avocados have predigested protein. The sun creates a process of breaking the protein into easily digested amino acids while the avocados are ripening in their trees.

Thus the avocado provides all 18 essential amino acids needed by a body to create complete protein. Proteins represented by amino acids are easier to digest.

Avocados are bursting with enzymes and rich in minerals, including the usually deficient master mineral magnesium, which is involved in over 300 metabolic functions of the body. Avocados help the body develop glutathione, the important master anti-oxidant that can be replenished by the liver.

Vitamins A, much of the B complex, K, E and C are also very available in avocados. The nutrient order of importance is enzymes, minerals, and vitamins. Vitamins won't work without minerals, and neither minerals nor vitamins get into your cells without enzymes.

Green salads with sliced avocado topped with olive oil and vinegar is ideal for steady consumption. But a party or snack for taste and nutrition is guacamole!