Salicylates

[Kasper]

I was thinking that some versions of the wai diet, may contain enough of salicylates to have aspirin like effects.
I don't know if this is desirable or not, but I just found out that aspirin has a role in autophagy:

Aspirin reduced mTOR signaling in CRC cells by inhibiting the mTOR effectors S6K1 and 4E-BP1. Aspirin changed nucleotide ratios and activated AMPK in CRC cells. mTOR was still inhibited by aspirin in CRC cells after siRNA knockdown of AMPK, indicating AMPK-dependent and AMPK-independent mechanisms of aspirin-induced inhibition of mTOR. Aspirin induced autophagy, a feature of mTOR inhibition. Aspirin and metformin (an activator of AMPK) increased inhibition of mTOR and Akt, as well as autophagy in CRC cells. Rectal mucosal samples from patients given aspirin had reduced phosphorylation of S6K1 and S6.C

[dime]

According to this oranges, grapes, avocados, dates, have very high salicylate content.

Also olive and coconut oil both have very high content.

[fred]

The salicylate content of foods is controversial.

In the forum of your link (http://salicylatesensitivity.com/forum/ ... e=1#Item_0), there is a reference to a paper (http://ajph.aphapublications.org/cgi/re ... 7/1124.pdf) that says :

"Ingester and Feinleibl suggested that an increase in salicylate intake (including intakes from foods) might have contributed to the decline in cardiovascular disease observed in the past several decades. However, the salicylate content of foods remains controversial. The authors cited the results of Swain et al.,2 who tested 333 foods and estimated that average salicylate levels in the
Western diet might range from 10 to 200 mg per person per day. However, Swain et al.'s results could not be confirmed in subse-quent studies that used validated biochemi-cal analytic techniques.3'4 In particular, Ven-ema et al.3 found much lower levels of nat-ural salicylates in vegetables and fruits and even in herbs and spices. Janssen et al.4 found very low urinary concentrations of salicylates in 17 volunteers from 14 coun-tries and 4 continents who consumed a vari-ety of self-selected diets. They concluded that the bioavailable salicylate contents of human diets were too low to affect cardio-vascular disease risk. For some subjects in the Janssen et al.
study, the estimated intakes of dietary sali-cylates based on the Swain et al. test results were 2-fold to 100-fold higher than urinary
concentrations, a valid indicator of salicylate intake. It appears that the assays of Swain et al. lacked specificity, and thus the salicylate
contents of foods were grossly overesti-mated. In testing the salicylate-cardiovascu-lar disease hypothesis using dietary data from existing cohort or case-control studies, a logical first step is to correctly quantify the amount of salicylates in various foods and
establish a food composition database for salicylates. However, given the test results of Janssen et al., the value of this effort is
questionable. Also, salicylates per se do not affect thromboxane B2 formation or platelet aggregation.5 It is acetylsalicylate that is
able to inactivate cyclo-oxygenase and sub-sequently affect cardiovascular risk. "

Anne Swain's PhD thesis titled "The Role of Natural Salicylates in Food Intolerance":
http://www.sswahs.nsw.gov.au/rpa/allerg ... Thesis.pdf

[dime]

As it seems salicylates are produced endogenously in the body too, so they may be important. Good to know that those references on the net are exagerated.

[Kasper]

Hm.. interesting I never thought about aspirin as something "natural".
It seems to be true that vegetarians (who probably eat much fruits and vegetables) have salicylic acids level matching those of patients taking low doses of aspirin.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 093330.htm
Scientists in the United Kingdom are reporting new evidence that humans can make their own salicylic acid (SA) — the material formed when aspirin breaks down in the body. SA, which is responsible for aspirin's renowned effects in relieving pain and inflammation, may be the first in a new class of bioregulators, according to a new study.
In the report, Gwendoline Baxter, Ph.D. and colleagues discuss how their past research revealed that SA exists in the blood of people who have not recently taken aspirin. Vegetarians had much higher levels, almost matching those in patients taking low doses of aspirin. Based on those findings, the researchers previously concluded that this endogenous SA came from the diet, since SA is a natural substance found in fruits and vegetables.
Now the group reports on studies of changes in SA levels in volunteers who took benzoic acid, a substance also found naturally in fruits and vegetables that the body could potentially use to make SA. Their goal was to determine whether the SA found in humans (and other animals) results solely from consumption of fruits and vegetables, or whether humans produce their own SA as a natural agent to fight inflammation and disease. The results reported in the study suggest that people do manufacture SA.
"It is, we suspect, increasingly likely that SA is a biopharmaceutical with a central, broadly defensive role in animals as well as plants," they state. "This simple organic chemical is, we propose, likely to become increasingly recognized as an animal bioregulator, perhaps in a class of its own.

[dime]

Yep. Most drugs are probably "natural", there would rarely be something that can not be found in nature. Drugs are just isolated and more concetrated.