Sometimes the superfoods that have the most healing potential are a little obscure or tough to find.
But then sometimes those superfoods are also the simplest and easily found in every grocery score.
Is that the case with berries?
Researchers from the Center for Human Nutrition at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine published a study suggesting a power of numerous types of berries to fight cancer.
Given the fact that epidemiological studies already indicate that a phytochemical-rich diet contributes to reducing the risk of certain cancers, it only makes sense to study some of the most colorful, phytochemical-rich foods there are.
Berries.
That is exactly what the team of researchers at UCLA set out to do, testing a number of different berry extracts against oral, breast, colon, and prostate tumor cell lines in vitro.
Their findings, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, indicated that all of the different berry extracts tested were successful at inhibiting cell proliferation in all the tumor cell lines.
In some cases, certain berry extracts were able to reduce cell proliferation by close to 90% when compared to control. (See image below.)
Additionally, the researchers tested the berry extracts’ ability to induce apoptosis (programmed cell death) in a particular colon cancer cell line, HT-29.
Their findings were just as impressive, with all extracts inducing apoptosis at a higher rate than the control, with the only exception being cranberry. Strawberry extract induced apoptosis at 2.8 times that of the control while black raspberry extract came in first at a whopping three-times greater! (See chart below.)
As this study was conducted in vitro, it is very important that further human studies are done to verify that these results can also be achieved in real life. If they can, these studies can provide us with guidance as to the proper dosage, form, and method of administering these berry compounds.
In the meantime, this is even further confirmation of the health-enhancing capability and potentially healing power of the superfoods found in nature. And perhaps some foods we thought were regular are even more super than we thought!
Thank you for being here today, and here’s to your health!
Do not consume anything written about on this website if you are allergic to it or if it contraindicates any medication or other substance you are taking. Please consult a physician before consuming anything.
Reference: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jf061750g
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