Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, goji berries and cranberries are rich in antioxidants and phytochemicals with the potential to limit the development and severity of some types of cancer.
What Does the Research Say?
Research is providing new evidence that berries are not only strong antioxidants, but affect the expression of a vast range of genes and molecular pathways associated with the development of cancer.
According to Gary Stoner, PhD, who has studied berries' potential link to cancer prevention for more than two decades, berries contain two particularly active classes of compounds that may make them tough anti-cancer contenders: anthocyanins, flavonoids that give berries their dark color, and ellagitannins, the source of the polyphenol ellagic acid.
Anthocyanins are probably the key cancer preventive agents in most berries because they are present in high concentrations.
Research with berries and cancer prevention often includes different berries, and there may be a lot of merit to mixing berry types.