I know that everyone is trying to find the next great thing in medicine that will let us all live forever and no one will ever get cancer again, but an interesting study from the University of Ohio (which was a study sponsored by the National Institute of Health) may have found that a cancer prevention has been right under our noses!!

What is the exciting cancer fighting news?
The study found that strawberries have the ability to prevent cancerous cell growth  when related to esophageal cancer, and eating freeze dried strawberries increases the cancer-fighting properties by 10 times!  Now, the esophagus is approximately 10 to 13 inches long and connects the throat to the stomach.  And, esophageal cancer is the third most common gastrointestinal cancer worldwide and the 6th leading cause of death from cancer, so this news is pretty big!

What’s the deal?
36 men and women with precancerous cells present in their esophageal tissue by biopsy, and they were given 60grams (2 ounces) or freeze dried strawberries every day for 6 months, and then were re-biopsied.  29 of the 36 participants had a decrease in precancerous cells after eating the strawberries compared to their earlier biopsy.  They used freeze-dried strawberries and find them more effective at fighting cancerous cells because the water is removed and it is just the concentrated components of the berries.

What increases the risk of esophageal cancer?
Alcohol use
Tobacco use
Diets low in fruits and Vegetables
Exposure to gases/fumes

Why is this so important?
Well, as I stated earlier, esophageal cancer is rather prevalent in todays society and anything that can help to ward off cancer is an amazing step for us as a human race.  But what’s better is that strawberries are a fruit that many people eat every single day, are easily found in cereals, frozen in the supermarket, fresh at farmers markets, and don’t interact with modern medicine (that we know of).  So you could be undergoing chemo treatments, and still have strawberries to prevent further growth of cells, as the current cells are being irradiated.

I LOVE that a readily available and relatively cheap fruit that is available year round in supermarkets all over the world have been studied and have been shown effective in reducing cancer cells.  This is not one of those claims that some rare fruit from some random area of the world, that is impossible to find, may help prevent cancer.  Obviously this study was small and it is being replicated in larger volumes now, but I thought it would be really important to get this information out to you guys, so that we can all add some strawberries to our diet!  They definitely can’t hurt (unless you are allergic!!)

So go out and get some strawberries!!

Yours in Good Health
B