Aged Cheese, Mushrooms, Soy, Whole-Grains Would Likely Reduce Liver Cancer And Extend Lifespan

Spermidine-rich foods such as aged cheese, soy products, mushrooms, legumes, whole grains and corn would likely reduce the risk of liver cancer and boost longevity. These foods could prevent or delay liver cancer such as the liver fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.

The study was printed in the journal Cancer Research. It was led by researchers from Texas A&M University in College Station. The study indicates that spermidine, which is a polyamine compound that has at least two amino acids could heighten the lifespan of mice by 25 percent, according to Medical News Today.

Leyuan Liu, Ph.D., assistant professor at the Texas A&M Institute of Biosciences and Technology's Center for Translational Cancer Research and the co-author of the study, said that it is such as dramatic boosting of the longevity of animal models by as much as 25 percent. He further said that in humans, that would mean living to about 81 years old and the average American could live to be more than 100 years old.

In the study, the scientists gave an oral spermidine supplement to mice that were subject to having developed hepatocellular carcinoma or the liver fibrosis. The results showed that mice would less likely acquire HCC or liver fibrosis compared to those mice that did not consume the spermidine supplement. They were also found to have the longer life.

The researchers noted that there was an increased lifespan by as much as 25 percent for mice that had spermidine supplementation. Meanwhile, the mice that were given the spermidine supplement later in life had about 10 percent increase in longevity.

They also discovered that the uses of spermidine could be removed without the MAP1S, which is a protein that triggers autophagy. The researchers theorized then that the cancer-protective effects of the compound are down to the development of MAP1S. Meanwhile, Professor Liu said that it is still early and maybe one day this study will help in understanding any strategy on how to prolong lifespans and prevent or reverse hepatocellular carcinoma and liver fibrosis in humans, as noted by Science Daily.