'Superfoods' showing promise as effective treatments for chronic disease
Local man with ALS attributes soy compound to disease reversal
It was a nightmare come true for Mike and April McDuff.
"The doctor told me that, you know, nothing else I could do about it," said Mike McDuff.
He had been diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. It's fast-moving and incurable. Just one year later, McDuff had a feeding tube and couldn't lift his hands.
"I went from 180 to 130 pounds.,pounds and I had no hope," said McDuff.
"I had his five children come to the house and basically celebrate Mike's life and say goodbye to him," said April McDuff. "I never dreamed that really at this point in time, a year later, that he'd even be still alive."
He's not only alive, but he's improving every day, according to the McDuffs, and the credit a component of soy beans called lunasin with his turnaround. Known by many as a superfood, it was discovered nearly 20 years ago by Dr. Alfredo Galvez, the chief science officer for Reliv International, a nutritional supplement company.
"It prevents the normal cells from becoming cancerous," said Galvez. "The University of Illinois found it was anti-inflammatory ... Purdue University and Indiana University have done experiments showing lunasin was improving the immune system."
Galvez said its laundry list of benefits are a result of epigenetics, science's latest buzz word.
It's the study of the epigenome, which could be thought of like a genetic light switch for your DNA: it turns unhealthy genes on or off, depending on your lifestyle choices.
"By treating the epigenome, then you can reverse those chronic diseases," said Galvez. "We're not advocating developing new drugs, we're just advocating optimum nutrition."
For McDuff, that means 10 lunasin capsules every day, along with other Reliv International nutritional products added to daily shakes, none of which are regulated by the FDA.
"I think we have to be careful. Is it bad for you? Probably not. But again we really don't know," said Dr. Caroline Apovian, the director of the Nutrition and Weight Management Center at Boston Medical Center.
For the McDuffs, Mike is all the proof they need that something as simple as lunasin can work.
"I started to swallow again. I gained weight. I gained 20 pounds," said McDuff.
He's gaining strength, too.
"Instead of getting worse and worse, he's getting better and better," said April McDuff.
"Food as medicine is here to stay," said Apovian. "What I hope will happen is before we really turn it out loose to the marketplace is that we study it, and we know what we're doing. And we know what its causing because we want to cause benefit and not harm."
No prescription is needed for lunasin, and it costs $80 for a 120-capsule bottle. For more information about lunasin, call 1-800-394-6041.