by Vic Shayne, PhD

Berries are very beneficial to your health. This food is so important that there’s actually a International Symposium on Berry Health Benefits.

BERRIES SHOULD BE ALONGSIDE FRUITS + VEGETABLES

It has long been established that fruits and vegetables should make up the bulk of the diet, but somehow the role of berries has been overlooked until very recently. More and more evidence continues to mount to show that when you add berries to your diet you are greatly enhancing your health as well as potential to ward off disease.

WHY ARE BERRIES SO GREAT FOR YOU?

Berries contain powerful antioxidants that protect cells from damage due to free radicals (oxygen robbing molecules). Free radicals come from toxins, heavy metals and other sources and can erode tissues, cause cancer and foment disease.

Loss of oxygen is also a natural process from digestion and normal metabolism (cellular functions). Because berries are antioxidants, they are instrumental in disease prevention and natural cures.  Antioxidants are credited with preventing coronary artery disease, some cancers, macular degeneration, Alzheimer’s disease, and some arthritis-related conditions.

Within the last decade or so scientists have shown that berries can offset the kinds of molecules that damage blood vessels that feed the heart, eyes and extremities. Thus, bilberries have been studied, as one example of berry power, to prevent debilitating eye diseases.

BERRIES and CANCER RESEARCH

One of the greatest areas of research is in cancer. Berries seem to show much promise in causing death of cancer cells.

“Strawberries may be the most effective of the five most commonly consumed berries at inducing cancer cell death, according to a recent study conducted at the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition. The center recently tested extracts of six berries — strawberries, raspberries, black raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and cranberries — to determine their ability to induce apoptosis, a process that enhances the death of cancer cells….Strawberries and other berries contain high levels of the phytochemicals that are believed to be responsible for the protective effects of diets high in fruits and vegetables against chronic illnesses such as cancer, inflammation, heart disease and neurodegenerative diseases.”1

One scientific report states, “Research suggests that the polyphenolic compounds found in berry fruits, such as blueberries and strawberries, may exert their beneficial effects either through their ability to lower oxidative stress and inflammation or directly by altering the signaling involved in neuronal communication, calcium buffering ability, neuroprotective stress shock proteins, plasticity, and stress signaling pathways. These interventions, in turn, may exert protection against age-related deficits in cognitive and motor function.”2

An overwhelming body of research has now firmly established that the dietary intake of berry fruits has a positive and profound impact on human health, performance, and disease. Berry fruits, which are commercially cultivated and commonly consumed in fresh and processed forms in North America, include blackberry (Rubus spp.), black raspberry (Rubus occidentalis), blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum), cranberry (i.e., the American cranberry, Vaccinium macrocarpon, distinct from the European cranberry, V. oxycoccus), red raspberry (Rubus idaeus) and strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa). Other berry fruits, which are lesser known but consumed in the traditional diets of North American tribal communities, include chokecherry (Prunus virginiana), highbush cranberry (Viburnum trilobum), serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia), and silver buffaloberry (Shepherdia argentea). In addition, berry fruits such as arctic bramble (Rubus articus), bilberries (Vaccinuim myrtillus; also known as bog whortleberries), black currant (Ribes nigrum), boysenberries (Rubus spp.), cloudberries (Rubus chamaemorus), crowberries (Empetrum nigrum, E. hermaphroditum), elderberries (Sambucus spp.), gooseberry (Ribes uva-crispa), lingonberries (Vaccinium vitis-idaea), loganberry (Rubus loganobaccus), marionberries (Rubus spp.), Rowan berries (Sorbus spp.), and sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides), are also popularly consumed in other parts of the world. Recently, there has also been a surge in the consumption of exotic “berry-type” fruits such as the pomegranate (Punica granatum), goji berries (Lycium barbarum; also known as wolfberry), mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana), the Brazilian açaí berry (Euterpe oleraceae), and the Chilean maqui berry (Aristotelia chilensis).3

Sources

1. “Strawberries most effective at inducing cancer cell death,” news-medical.net, Aug 05
2. J. Agric. Food Chem., 56 (3), 636–641, 2008. 10.1021/jf072505f
3. J. Agric. Food Chem., 56 (3), 627–629, 2008. 10.1021/jf071988k

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