Grace O Foundation to Fund CIRCL Research Award on Nutrition, Cancer and the Diseases of Aging

The Grace O Foundation has graciously pledged $300,000 to Cedars-Sinai CIRCL to create the Grace O Foundation CIRCL Award. This research award will provide for research on the role of nutrition and lifestyle in inflammation, cancer and the diseases of aging.

Previous research has shown that chronic inflammation is implicated in cancer, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, heart disease, and arthritis, in addition to various neurologic and gastrointestinal diseases. Because of the long-term nature of chronic inflammation, and its implication in symptoms such as high sugar levels, high blood pressure and high triglycerides, it’s not easily understood if chronic inflammation increases the risk of these diseases or if it is a result of them.

Currently, the most effective way of preventing conditions related to chronic inflammation is to adopt a “healthy” lifestyle: maintain a healthy weight, eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly and maximize sleep. As straightforward as this sounds, there is currently little consensus about what constitutes a healthy lifestyle and how various lifestyle habits impact inflammation, cancer and other diseases. Some would argue that herbicides, pesticides, fillers, additives, and stabilizers from highly processed foods and meats can all contribute to inflammation in the body and that inflammation is the root cause of many chronic health problems and disease. Others would add that being mindful of food consumption is essential to healing cancer and other chronic health conditions. More research is needed to understand the association between lifestyle, the mechanisms and processes associated with chronic inflammation, and how/when to best administer meaningful therapies for cancer and other diseases.

The Grace O Foundation CIRCL Award winners will explore answers to these questions and support the Foundation’s and FoodTrients.com’s missions to educate the world about the effects of nutritional therapies.

About the Grace O Foundation

The mission of the Grace O Foundation is to research, explore and report on the role of food/nutrients in wellness, aging, and longevity, and to promote healthy, sustainable food and nutrition efforts, as well as supporting nutrition education, culinary training, and food advocacy programs, specifically for an aging population. The Foundation’s work will also provide resources and charitable donations to food and wellness programs and those in need.

About Grace O

Over a span of 30 years, Grace O has built an impressive record of business achievement, community building, philanthropy, and community service in California. Guided by her spirit of entrepreneurship and building on a model of generosity learned from her family, Grace has spent a lifetime helping people heal through food and medicine. When she moved from the Philippines to the U.S. in 1992, she began her impressive corporate ascent from employee to owner and operator of a number of skilled nursing facilities in California.

In 2011, Grace combined her entrepreneurial skills, her passion for the culinary arts, and her commitment to health by launching a new culinary brand, FoodTrients®, along with a branded website and cookbooks, all dedicated to how nutrients in foods help prevent the diseases of aging. She is also the author of two other award- winning cookbooks—The Age GRACEfully Cookbook: The Power of FOODTRIENTS to Promote Health and Well-being for a Joyful and Sustainable Life and The Age Beautifully Cookbook: Easy and Exotic Longevity Secrets from Around the World. Her third cookbook, Anti- Aging Dishes from Around the World, was recently released by Skyhorse Publishing. All of her cookbooks are available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and all proceeds go to the Grace O Foundation’s research and nutrition programs.

Grace was recently knighted by Pope Francis for her community service. Dame Grace shares this honor with such great luminaries as G.K. Chesterton, Bob and Dolores Hope, and Eunice Kennedy Shriver.