Hops in beer ‘could treat bowel and liver cancer – killing off tumours’
The plant chemicals found in beer have been found to kill liver and bowel cancer cells dead
BEER doesn't only taste delicious, it may also help to tackle cancer, it has emerged.
Yep, the hops used to create your favourite pint has been found to kill liver and bowel cancer cells.
Hops is one of the four key ingredients of beer - along with malted barley, yeast an water.
It comes from the hop flower and is what gives your pint that bitter taste and tell-tale aroma.
Cancer-busting hopes
Twenty years ago, experts discovered that the hop flower contains a compound known as XN.
And it's that compound that could have cancer-busting properties, scientists believe.
Professor Adrian Gombart, the lead researcher, said: 'XN had been shown to inhibit proliferation of a variety of cancer cell lines.
"And in this study, we demonstrated XN's ability to halt cell growth and kill two liver cancer cell lines and two colon cancer cell lines.
"We tested liver and colon (bowel) cancer cell lines because oral consumption of XN and its derivatives can lead to high concentrations in the gut and liver."
Chemical known to tackle breast and ovarian tumours
XN is a type of phytoestrogen - a chemical found in plants that has been shown to help fight off hormonal cancers like breast and ovarian cancers.
You can find phytoestrogens in soya products, oats, sesame, flax seeds and barley.
What are the symptoms of liver cancer?
Liver cancer can be difficult to diagnose because symptoms are often vague and sometimes they only appear at an advanced stage.
If you experience any of the following, seek urgent medical advice:
- Yellowing skin and eyes
- Vomiting blood
- Black, tarry poo
- Pain or discomfort over the liver area (place your right hand over the lower right-hand side of your ribs and it will just about cover the area of your liver)
Other more common symptoms can also include:
- Fatigue (tiredness) and weakness
- A general feeling of poor health
- Loss of appetite
- Feeling sick (nausea) and vomiting
- Unexpected loss of weight
- Pain or discomfort over the liver area (place your right hand over the lower right hand side of your ribs and it will just about cover the area of your liver)
- Itchy skin
- Fine blood vessels visible on the skin in a radial pattern resembling the legs of a spider (known as spider naevi)
- Enlarged and tender liver (you may feel tender below your right ribs)
- Dark urine/grey pale stools (faeces)
- Loss of sex drive (libido)
For the first time, Professor Gombart and colleagues showed that derivatives of XN could inhibit cancer cells, and with more effectiveness.
In all the cancer cell lines tested, they stopped growth and killed off cells.
Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK but it's the second biggest cancer killer, claiming 16,000 lives a year.
That's why The Sun launched the No Time 2 Lose campaign last year, to help raise awareness of the disease.
While it's one of the biggest cancer killers, it can be cured if it's caught early enough.
Catch bowel cancer at stage 1 and a patient's chance of surviving five years or more is around 97 per cent.
But diagnose it at stage 4 - when the disease has already spread - and that chance plummets to just seven per cent.
The stats highlight just how important early diagnosis is and a one vital way to ensure you're diagnosed as early as possible is to learn the signs and symptoms - and see your GP if you notice any chances to your toilet habits.
Meanwhile, rates of liver cancer have tripled in the past 40 years with booze, smoking, and obesity to blame.
The British Liver Trust last year warned the disease has become one of the fastest causes of cancer death in the UK, with over 5,400 people dying from it every year.
Sixteen people are diagnosed with liver cancer every day and most cases are linked to alcohol, obesity and hepatitis infection.
And with two in three Brits now being overweight or obese, that's a real issue.
While hops may offer a potential solution, remember that beer is highly calorific and booze itself is linked to liver cancer - so don't use this as an excuse to get on the pints - leave it to the boffs to work out a safer treatment!
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