Bananas Are Being Used To Detect And CURE Cancer
Modern medicine has made breakthroughs from the most unlikely places. The discovery of penicillin in mold, for example, ranks right up there. Of course, it didn’t get used as an antibiotic until 12 years after it was discovered, but that’s how medical science goes sometimes.
And yet, for all the breakthroughs we’ve made, whether from unlikely sources or concentrated effort, many stubborn problems remain.
Cancer, obviously, has been the biggest, most protracted battle in medical history. Much has been done, but even more has yet to be done.
But one particular breakthrough shows some incredible promise, and it comes from an unusual source.
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#1 Around the home, bananas are always popular, whether they’re added into a meal or eaten on their own.
All the moms out there must recognize the power of bananas from the BRAT diet, as well. (BRAT meaning Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Toast)
#2 Now, scientists have found another amazing health benefit to bananas: they can help detect and cure skin cancer.
The magic happens with those little brown spots that break out all over a banana's skin as it ripens.
#3 Those spots are caused by an enzyme called tyrosinase.
Just by coincidence, that same enzyme appears on human skin and it shows up in noticeably larger amounts in people with melanoma.
#4 Just by coincidence, that same enzyme appears on human skin – and it shows up in noticeably larger amounts in people with melanoma.
Of course, they tested it on bananas first, before moving on to human skin.
The scanner alone could save countless lives, but that's only half the story.
#5 According to the American Cancer Society, detecting somebody’s melanoma at stage 1 gives them a 95% 10-year survival rate.
That rate falls to 43% if it reaches stage 3 the stage at which the cancer starts to spread around the body before being detected.
#6 This scanner can detect the tyrosinase in skin while eliminating painful biopsies.
The Skin Cancer Foundation estimates that more than 10,000 Americans will die of melanoma in 2016.
The next step for the scientists will be further developing their scanner to actually destroy cancer.
#7 The next step for the scientists will be further developing their scanner to actually destroy cancer.
"Our initial laboratory tests showed us that our device could be used to destroy the cells," said team leader Hubert Girault. So it's not just skin cancer biopsies that could be a thing of the past, but chemotherapy as well.
So bananas aren't just healthy treats they're life savers!
