NuStart Women’s Breast Health Formula
NuStart Women’s Breast Health Formula
February 1999; Volume 1: 22-23
Label Information
"Stimulates the major cleansing pathways in the body and helps eliminate pollutants and other foreign elements"
"Patented calcium D-glucarate with soy"
"A portion of the NuStart proceeds goes to support cancer research" [a picture of a pink ribbon is next to this statement]
"Breast health is the number one concern of women. To date, quality nutritional supplements that address these concerns have been limited. NuStart’s Breast Health Formula contains the patented compound Glucarate, which has been shown to enhance the major cleansing pathways in the body. Glucarate nutritionally supports glucuronidation, the process by which the body rids itself of pollutants and foreign elements not conducive to breast health."
"Consult a physician before using if pregnant or nursing."
Suggested Use
As a dietary supplement, take two (2) capsules per day, preferably with a meal.
Supplement Facts
Amount % per serving daily value
Calcium (as Calcium D-Glucarate) 24 mg 2%
Selenium (as selenomethionine) 100 mcg 140% From SelenoMax)
Calcium D-Glucarate 200 mg *
Green Tea Extract 200 mg * (Camellia sinensis) (standardized to 48% polyphenols) (leaf)
Rosemary extract 200 mg * (Rosmarinus officialis) (standardized to 6% Rosemaric acid) (folia)
Soy extract 400 mg * (standardized to 3% isoflavones)
Citrus bioflavonoids 100 mg * (Citrus aurantium) (standardized to 25% bioflavonoids) (peel)
Boron Aspartate 3 mg *
*Daily value not established
Other ingredients: White rice powder
(NuStart Breast Health Formula is a trademark of Great American Nutrition®.) Great American Nutrition®, Salt Lake City, Utah 84104 (another fine brand of Weider Nutrition International )
Price: $13.49/60 capsules
Analysis of Ingredients
Calcium, 24 mg: This may be the amount of elemental calcium in the "Calcium D-Glucarate 200 mg" that appears further down on the label. This is not very clear; 24 mg is an infinitesimal dose, given that the RDI for women ranges from 800-1200 mg daily.
Selenium (as selenomethionine), 100 mcg: This is a safe supplemental dose of selenium.
Green tea extract (Camellia sinensis), 200 mg: This amounts to 96 mg polyphenols from tea. A cup of green tea contains 50-100 mg polyphenols1 so this is equivalent to a cup or two of tea.
Rosemary extract (Rosmarinus officinalis), 200 mg: A reasonable dose of rosemary would be difficult to calculate.
Soy extract (standardized to 3% isoflavones), 400 mg: This is equivalent to 12 mg isoflavones, a very low dose. In Asia, consumption of isoflavones ranges from 25-200 mg/d.2
Citrus bioflavonoids (Citrus aurantium), 100 mg: This is the bitter orange, also called Seville orange. Although bioflavonoids are important nutrients, doses have not been established.
Boron aspartate, 3 mg: This is a safe supplemental dose of boron; recommended doses have not been established.
Comments
This labeling—and the prominently displayed picture of the pink ribbon, symbol of the breast cancer movement—is clearly intended to imply that this formulation prevents breast cancer. There is scant evidence to support this claim with any of the ingredients in the listed doses.
The trumpeting of "patented calcium D-glucarate" to "nutritionally support glucuronidation" is apparently a reference to glucuronide conjugation, a biotransformation process that inactivates many drugs. It is not clear what the manufacturers are trying to claim here.
Although there is evidence supporting a link between intake of the antioxidant selenium and reduced risk of gastrointestinal, lung, and prostate cancers, data to date have not supported a role for selenium in reducing breast cancer risk.3
Epidemiologic studies on green tea are equivocal but there is some evidence to support a reduction in gastrointestinal (not breast) cancers among tea drinkers.4 Polyphenolic flavonoids in tea decrease the risk of lung, gastrointestinal, and skin cancers in animals; evidence of chemoprevention of mammary tumors is not conclusive. A recent study found that tea partially blocked the promotion of DMBA-induced mammary tumors in rats fed a high-fat diet.5 No consistent effect was seen in rats fed a normal diet. There are no clinical trials of green tea extract and breast (or any other) cancer risk.
Rosemary contains some interesting compounds, some of which have reduced chemically-induced mammary carcinogenesis in rats.6 There are no clinical trials of rosemary extract and breast (or any other) cancer risk. Both the botanical name, Rosmarinus officinalis L., and rosmarinic acid are misspelled on the label.
While a high intake of soy isoflavones reduces endogenous estrogen levels in premenopausal women (see Alternative Therapies in Women’s Health, January 1999, pp.12-14), this dose is too low to have any effect.
Some flavonoids in citrus may have cancer protective effects. However, it is the terpene D-limonene (found in citrus oils), not a bioflavonoid, for which there are animal data showing a beneficial effect on mammary cancers at a very high dietary intake.7 In any case there are no human data on D-limonene or citrus bioflavonoids and breast cancer risk. There is no evidence for an anticancer effect of boron.
Conclusion
Although this supplement does not claim specifically to prevent breast cancer, that is clearly implied on the label. Not one of its ingredients has been tested for treatment or prevention of breast cancer in a clinical trial. The manufacturers have apparently overinterpreted data about health benefits based on preliminary clues from animal research and epidemiological research.
References
1. Luo M, et al. Inhibition of LDL oxidation by green tea extract. Lancet 1997;349:360-361.
2. Knight DC, Eden JA. A review of the clinical effects of phytoestrogens. Obstet Gynecol 1996;87:897-904.
3. Giovannucci E. Selenium and risk of prostate cancer. Lancet 1998;352:755-756.
4. Dreosti IE. Bioactive ingredients: Antioxidants and polyphenols in tea. Nutr Rev 1996;54:S51-S58.
5. Rogers AE, et al. Black tea and mammary gland carcinogenesis by 7,12-DMBA in rats fed control or high fat diets. Carcinogenesis 1998;19:1269-1273.
6. Singletary K, et al. Inhibition by rosemary and carnosol of 7,12-DMBA-induced rat mammary tumorigenesis and in vivo DMBA-DNA adduct formation. Cancer Lett 1996;104:43-48.
7. Haag JD, et al. Limonene-induced regression of mammary carcinomas. Cancer Res 1992;52:4021-4026.
February 1999; Volume 1: 22-23Subscribe Now for Access
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