The #3 Cancer-healing food: Blueberries

#3 Cancer-Healing Food: Blueberries
Blueberries are a powerful anti-cancer superfruit mostly because of their antioxidant qualities. Plus, they are sweet but don’t spike blood sugar or create an acid-forming, sugary breeding ground in which cancer cells can grow. When tested among 20 fruits, guess which one ranked first for antioxidant capacity? Blueberries! The reason? Mainly their many phytochemicals.[i]

• Anthocyanins, catechins, quercetin, kaempferol, and other flavonoids (these are antibacterial)
  
•  Ellagitannins and ellagic acid
•  Pterostilbene and resveratrol

 
Also:

• Vitamins C and K
• Manganese
• Fiber.

 
Blueberries are definitely my berry of choice. They taste delicious and satisfy my sweet tooth without being sickly sweet. If you’re not as big a fan as me, closely following in antioxidant capacity are cranberry, blackberry, raspberry, strawberry, golden berries, and goji berries. Try one type, try all. Berries can help you introduce plenty of variety to your meals.

Studies show that blueberries protect the brain, prevent damage to our DNA, and inhibit cancer cell development.[ii] Basically, you can imagine that the blueberries you eat are little (beneficial) bombs that go off in your body and increase the pace of natural programmed cancer cell death (apoptosis).

The American Cancer Society writes: “Anthocyanidins, as well as other molecules present in blueberry, would slow the progression of cancer by blocking the development of blood vessels feeding the malignant cells. This antiangiogenic process deprives cancer cells of their supply of oxygen and nutrient molecules needed to reproduce, which makes it a powerful anticancer food.”[iii]

Blueberries have been proven to kill cancer cells and reduce tumor size—how cool is this! Where’s my bowl?
 
Blueberries Are Especially Good For . . .

• Breast cancer [iv]
• Colon cancer
• Bladder cancer
• Lung cancer
• Esophagus cancer
• Skin cancer
• Prostate cancer
• Leukemia
• Cervical cancer[v]

 
Doctrine of Signatures: The blueberry looks like the iris of an eye; therefore, it is believed that blueberries are especially good for eye health and to help circulate energy to the brain and eyes. These berries also look like the sphere shape of certain reproductive organs—breasts, ovaries, and testicles—so may be beneficial for conditions associated with those organs too.

Suggested “dosage”:

• If you have cancer, 1½ cups cancer per day—in one or two servings.

(This amount is based on findings from a Rutgers University animal study of pterostilbene extract, an antioxidant that comes from blueberry. The animals that ate blueberry extract reduced precancerous lesions in their colons by 57 percent more than animals that didn’t.)[vi]

• To prevent cancer, ½ cup per day, or every few days.

 
Cancer-Free with Food recipes with Blueberries

• The Big 3: Anti-inflammatory Blueberry Broccoli Sprouts Turmeric Juice
• Berry Green Juice
• Classic Green Smoothie
• Classic OJ Mixed-Berry Smoothie
• Acai Berry Smoothie
• Ultimate Superfood Smoothie
• Chocolate Nut Berry Smoothie
• Banana Berry Smoothie Bowl
• Liana’s Favorite Smoothie Bowl
• Fully Loaded Breakfast Cereal
• Blueberry Fruit Leather
• Blueberry Chia Seed Pudding

 
Other Ways to Incorporate Blueberries in Your Cancer-Healing Kitchen
Because blueberries are such as wonderful source of vitamin C, MD Anderson Cancer Center put them on its list of the top five foods to reduce cancer risk.[vii] Add blueberries wherever you can! Get creative with this. I add blueberries to juices, smoothies, cereal, and desserts. I’m fond of adding them to the Chocolate Block and the Gluten-Free Buckwheat Pancakes recipes.

• You may eat blueberries fresh, frozen, dried or powdered—all forms are good
• Eat blueberries as a stand-alone snack
• Freeze fresh blueberries for a frozen treat

I also offer a Cancer-Free Video Course and book bundle which you can purchase here!

Resources from Cancer-Free with Food book

[i]     “Anticancer Properties of Blueberries,” Cancer Effects (accessed June 30, 2018), http://www.cancereffects.com/Anticancer-Properties-of-Blueberries.html.

[ii]     S.A. Johnson and B.H. Arjmandi. “Evidence for Anti-cancer Properties of Blueberries: A Mini-Review,” Anticancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 13, no. 8 (October 2013), pp. 1142–8, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23387969.

[iii]    Delarno’s blog. “Blueberries Kill Cancer Cells and Reduce Tumor Size,” Cancer Survivors Network (posted October 12, 2015), https://csn.cancer.org/node/297330.

[iv]    A. Faria, D. Pestana, D. Teixeiria, et al. “Blueberry anthocyanins and pyruvic acid adducts: anticancer properties in breast cancer cell lines,” Phytotherapy Research, vol. 24, no. 12 (December 2010), pp. 1862-9, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20564502.

[v]     Kristoffer T. Davidson, Ziwen Zhu, Qian Bai, et al. “Blueberry as a Potential Radiosensitizer for Treating Cervical Cancer,” Pathology and Oncology Research (published online 2017), https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12253-017-0319-y. Also: Honor Whiteman. “How Blueberries Help to Kill Cancer Cells,” Medical News Today (January 3, 2018)

[vi]    Sylvia Booth Hubbard. “Blueberries: A Natural Weapon to Treat Alzheimer’s, Heart Disease, and Cancer,” Newsmax (posted Mach 29, 2016), https://www.newsmax.com/health/headline/blueberries-natural-weapon-treat/2016/03/29/id/721354.

[vii]   “Five Foods That Help Lower Your Cancer Risk,” M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (August 2016), https://www.mdanderson.org/publications/focused-on-health/August2016/foods-lower-cancerrisk.html.