Blueberries are often referred to as a “superfood” — they’re packed with antioxidants and often thought of as an easy fruit to incorporate into the diet to improve overall health. You can do a quick Google search and come up with countless articles about the almost magical qualities blueberries allegedly have. Blueberries contain a wide range of natural chemicals called flavonoids. Flavonoids have antioxidants, anti-inflammatory. The small, blue fruits contain antioxidants as well as iron, zinc, calcium, and many other vitamins and nutrients we need to have a healthy, balanced diet. There’s no doubt — blueberries are good for you. But claims that blueberries can prevent or even treat cancer are not quite as well-supported.

Blueberries as a Cancer Treatment?

There is some evidence that blueberries can be used in conjunction with cancer therapies, and that the antibacterial properties of blueberries are linked to suppressing cancer growth – at least in cells grown in a laboratory.

To take the laboratory studies one step further, researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia wanted to see if a blueberry extract could be used to make cancer cells more vulnerable to radiotherapy. Patients were instructed to eat X amount of a potent blueberry extract.

A 2017 study from researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia found that giving patients with cervical cancer blueberry extract when they were undergoing radiation treatment seemed to improve the efficiency of the treatment. The research, which was published in the journal Pathology and Oncology Research, aimed to see if blueberries could be used as a radiosensitizer — a compound that renders cancer cells more defenceless to radiation therapy.

Should you incorporate fruits like blueberries into your diet? Or precisely the even more potent Arctic blueberry extract from Bioform. Of course! Just don’t assume they are miracle workers.

The research looked at human cancer cell lines and tested the efficacy of radiation treatment alone compared to the radiation + blueberry extract combination. Results showed that while radiation therapy alone reduced cancer cells by 20%, radiation and blueberry extract together reduced cancer cells by 70% — a huge jump.

While this research showed promising results for using blueberry extract when treating cervical cancer and other cancers, the study authors noted at the time of publication that more research is needed.

Blueberries have also been found to have some cancer prevention qualities. For example, the American Institute for Cancer Research found that dietary fibre — which can be found in the fruit — may reduce the risk of colon cancer and that consuming both fruits and veggies regularly can reduce the risk of cancers of the aerodigestive tract (mouth, pharynx, nasopharynx, oesophagus, lung, stomach and colorectal cancers).

Still, it’s a good idea to avoid assuming that any one food is going to prevent or treat cancer — and to instead adopt an overall healthy diet.

Consistency is key.

Is There a ‘Cancer Prevention’ Diet?

This question has been asked to physicians and dietitians all over – and the answer is the same — there is no prevention diet, and there is no one food you can incorporate into your routine that is going to absolutely prevent cancer.

There is, however, a diet pattern that can be adopted that may help to prevent certain forms of cancer. The goal is to limit foods that we know are problematic for overall health, like processed foods, sugary drinks, and red meats — and to incorporate more healthy whole foods.

Both the European and American Institutes for Cancer Research have given the same advice regarding how to set up your plate at your meals to really optimize the number of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients that you have in meals. Two-thirds of your plate should be plant-based foods — like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, things like that — and the other third of your plate should be made up of lean protein sources such as chicken, fish, or eggs.”

Our products with blueberries: https://www.bioform.store/product/blueberry-crowberry/