Study Shows Cheese Can Help Fight Cancer

A group of researchers from the University Of Michigan School Of Dentistry discovered a potential cancer killer in the most unlikely form of medicine: cheese. They have found out that the naturally occurring preservative nisin can destroy cancerous cells and can also help fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as the highly lethal Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA.

As posted in NY Daily News, nisin is a natural food preservative. it is a colorless, tasteless powder that is added to some foods and is found in brie, camembert and cheddar, as well as in other dairy products. University Of Michigan researchers said that after feeding rats with nisin milkshake for nine weeks destroyed 70 to 80 percent of neck and head tumor cells and extended their survival.

Dr. Yvonne Kapila, the head of the research, has been studying nisin in cancerous tumors and as an antimicrobial to fight mouth diseases. Kapila's group came up with positive results from less potent nisin, but the highly purified nisin ZP used in their recent study is twice as effective as the former.

As it turns out, nisin may be the answer we've been waiting for in the fight against cancer. As posted on Apex Tribune, nisin is doesn't only fight cancer, but it is also used as a sanitizer for lactating cows and several drugs. It helps fight mastitis and infections.

"The beauty of nisin is that it has a long history of use in the food industry," Kapila told Bioscience Technology. "And a great deal is known about how it works in bacteria." She said that the current findings and other published data support nisin's use to treat antibiotic resitant infections, periodontal disease, and cancer.

Nisin is usually found in food, but for it to be potent against cancer cells it should be taken in huge amount. Up to date no bacteria has ever been able to resist nisin.

Though no test have been conducted to a human and it may even take a few years to do so, the study of nisin can be leading to the right path.