Raspberries
Actually, Raspberries aren’t berries. Along with blackberries, they are aggragate fruits. Think of them as a tiny cluster of fruit, with a seed in each little bulb. They are members of the Rose family.
Cancer
As with most foods, raspberry cancer research is in its infancy. However, phytonutrients in raspberries have recently been shown to cause apoptosis in existing cancer cells. Indications are that this is through interaction with the p53 protein, which is classified as a tumor suppressor protein. Phytonutrients in raspberries also interact with the protein complex, nuclear factor kappa B (NFkB), witch causes pre-cancer cells to remain benign.
The latest and most advanced cancer study using raspberries I have been able find is at the Ohio State University’s College of Medicine. Study manager, Christine Sardo, said, “Acting together, the compounds in black raspberries slow the growth rate of pre-malignant cancerous cells, and they stimulate those cells to die, a process called apoptosis.” (1)
Sardo referenced a study at Ohio State University by Public Health professor Gary Stoner and his associates, and published in the March 1, 2006, issue of Cancer Research. Researchers fed rats a cancer-causing chemical three times a week for five weeks. They then fed half the rats diet consisting of ten percent black raspberries. The rats that ate black raspberries had about half as many oral, esophageal and colon cancers as the rats that did not eat berries. “The berries prevented the entire spectrum of tumors from being initiated and promoted,” Sardo said. (3)
Stoner surveyed fruits and vegetables and discovered that black raspberries contain more ellagic acid than any other fruit or vegetable he studied, including other berries. Black raspberries also contain many other nutrients that scientists believe fight cancer, including calcium, folic acid, fiber and anthocyanins.
The next step is human trials, which Sardo is currently conducting. She said, “We have an opportunity with berries to prevent or control carcinogenesis. It is a natural approach. It is a whole-foods approach.”
Diabetes
Raspberrys also help control blood sugar. They contain the flavonoid, tiliroside, which is found in many rose family plants. Tiliroside activates the hormone, adiponectin, which has direct anti-diabetic, anti-atherogenic and anti-inflammatory activities, and is the control for fat metabolism and insulin sensitivity.
Raspberries are high in ellagic acid, which has been shown to enhance insulin action and decrease insulin resistance. Ellagic acid also inhibits the enzyme, aldose reductase. This is the enzyme that produces protein-sugar products called Advanced Gycation End-Products (AGE). These end products cause the damage of small blood vessels that leads to the blindness, kidney damage, stroke and heart attacks and loss of limbs associated with both forms of diabetes.(5)
Another way raspberries help control blood sugar is by blocking the enzyme alpha-glucosidase, which is a starch-digesting enzyme. It increases the breadown of starches into sugars. This is the mechanisim that causes high levels of blood sugar after eating. By blocking this enzyme, raspberries may make it easier to manage blood sugar levels.
Additional Health Benefits
Because the tiny seed and the skin around each little bulb are fiber, Blackberries, Raspberries, and other segmented berries are extra rich in fiber, they help prevent disease of the digestive tract and help to control cholesterol. Blackberries also contain the flavonoid, rutin. Rutin is an anti-inflamatory that helps improve blood circulation and heart health, and the ellagic acid in segemented berries works to reduce blood pressure.
Another chemical in raspberries, gallic acid, is an anti-fungal and anti-viral antioxidant used to treat psoriasis and hemorrhoids. Vitamins A and C work together as antioxidants to help strengthen the immune system and fight free radicals.
Blackberries and Raspberries help prevent Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia and age-related decline.
Ooops! Sorry. I just couldn’t resist showing you this picture! I know it doesn’t help. But, if you eat all the other foods on this site most of the time, you might get away with it just once in a while.
Actually, this picture shows how great eating healthy can taste. Just use organic, frozen Greek yogurt instead of ice cream, and you can get away with it any time.
Refernces
(1) Wang LS, Arnold M, Huang YW, Sardo C, Seguin C, Martin E, Huang TH, Ried K, Schwartz S, Frankel W, Pearl D, Xu Y, Winston J 3rd, Yang GY, Stoner G. Modulation of genetic and epigenetic biomarkers of colorectal cancer in humans by black raspberries: a phase I pilot study. Clin Cancer Res. 2011 Feb 1;17(3):598-610. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-10-1260. Epub 2010 Dec 1.
(2) John A. Milner, Donato F.Romagnolo, Editors, Bioactive Compounds and Cancer Nutrition and Health 2010 ISBN: 978-1-60761-626-9 (Print) 978-1-60761-627-6 (Online)
(3) Tong Chen, Hyejeong Hwang, Miranda E. Rose, Ronald G. Nines, and Gary D. Stoner Chemopreventive Properties of Black Raspberries in N-Nitrosomethylbenzylamine-Induced Rat Esophageal Tumorigenesis: Down-regulation of Cyclooxygenase-2, Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase, and c-Jun Cancer Research, July 15, 2015, 75 (14)
(4) Riitta Törrönen, Marjukka Kolehmainen, Essi Sarkkinen7 Kaisa Poutanen, Hannu Mykkänen, and Leo Niskanen Berries Reduce Postprandial Insulin Responses to Wheat and Rye Breads in Healthy Women The Journal of Nutrtion, July 2015, 145 (7) © 2013 American Society for Nutrition.
(5) Dr. Joe Powers Raspberry Health Benefits Washington State University and the Washington Red Raspberry Commission, April 2007.