The Takeaway First

One should not take supplements to cure a disease as they generally do not do that by themselves. What the right supplement combination do is either protect against oxidative stress, reduce inflammation or strengthen immunity – at least that what they can often do. Modified Citrus Pectin (MCP) is one of those unknown ingredients found in dietary supplements with pretty good scientific research behind it. A recent study in a chemistry journal confirms that MCP and similar compounds had strong antiproliferative effects. So, while MCP or no other supplement cures cancer or any disease, I often recommend MCP in carefully designed formula.

What is Modified Citrus Pectin?

Citrus Pectin is a kind of complex sugar that is found in the rind and pith of citrus fruits, but it’s altered in a way that makes it more effective.

I know we have all learned to distrust food sources that “modify” their products genetically (i.e. Genetically Modified Organism (GMO)). So, when I recommend MCP to people in supplement form, they often raise an eyebrow.But the modification that citrus pectin undergoes differs completely from the suspicious kind that we avoid incorn or soy. Instead of a genetic modification, it is modified chemically. Pectin is found in fruits as a fiber. In this state, it’s difficult for the digestive tract to take it in, and this makes the molecule useless. To maximize the positive effects of this long sugar chain, chemists break the molecule into smaller, more absorbable pieces. That’s the only change.

What does it do?

A substantial body of research has documented pectin’s ability to stifle unhealthy cells that break off from their source and threaten to harm the rest of the body. One article in particular from the latest issue of Carbohydrate Polymers reports that not only citrus pectin but several pectic extracts all had the ability to sabotage and stop the proliferation of damaged or unhealthy cells (Cobs-Rosas et al. 2015). Other, less recent articles describe similar results, as well as pectin’s tendency to slow or prevent unhealthy cell growth in the first place (Bergman et al. 2009). Talk about a powerful sugar chain! But these studies are only a few key examples from theresearch.

How and when do I use MCP?

One extra micronutrient in the diet usually doesn’t ever do much good, so I use MCP in conjunction with other important nutrients like Vitamin D3. I also use MCP in a finecombination of nutrients as part of an additional arsenal in an anti-cancer lifestyle protocol.

What should you do?

If you are battling cancer, understand that MCP or any other supplement is do not cure. But they can help as part of an aggressive lifestyle protocol. The MCP formula I use is THIS ONE which I formulated ( I disclose). This is the only MCP formula of a kind that I know of – MCP is typically found on its own without other ingredients.

References

Bergman, M., Djaldetti, M., Salman, H., & Bessler, H. (2010). Effect of citrus pectin on malignant cell proliferation. Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, 64(1), 44-47. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2009.03.004

Cobs-Rosas, M., Concha-Olmos, J., Weinstein-Oppenheimer, C., & Zúñiga-Hansen, M. E. (2015). Assessment of antiproliferative activity of pectic substances obtained by different extraction methods from rapeseed cake on cancer cell lines. Carbohydrate Polymers, 117(0), 923-932. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2014.10.027

Glinsky, V. V., & Raz, A. (2009). Modified citrus pectin anti-metastatic properties: one bullet, multiple targets. Carbohydrate Research, 344(14), 1788-1791. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.carres.2008.08.038