Berries Are Better Than Ever: Research

At the 4th Biennial Berry Health Benefits Symposium earlier this month, scientists from around the globe presented research finding that berries can be used to fight such age-related scourges as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and mental decline.

Nearly two dozen presentations at the Westlake Village, Calif.-based event covered topics ranging from the role berries play in alleviating oral health problems like gingivitis, to how polyhenolics can reverse brain aging.

A study led by Lynn Adams of Duarte, Calif.-based Beckman Research Institute demonstrated that blueberry juice inhibited proliferation in triple negative breast cancer cell cultures and lowered mobility of cancer cells, an crucial step in slowing metastasis. In another study, conducted by Harini Aiyer, of Washington’s Georgetown University School of Medicine, breast cancer tumors were reduced by as much 75 percent after rats were fed a diet featuring either blueberries or black raspberries. Further, an Oklahoma State University study by Arpita Basu found that strawberries, blueberries and low-calorie cranberry juice may help improve metabolic syndrome, a significant public health problem in the United States.

“Studies like these have great implications in terms of public health,” noted Gary Stoner of Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. “The bottom line is that research continues to show us that berries are one of the most protective foods in the world, and that we should not only continue to study their healing attributes, but [also] consume them on a regular basis.”

To view study abstracts from the three-day conference, visit www.berryhealth.org/news.html.

Presented by the Blodgett, Ore.-based National Berry Crops Initiative, the Berry Health Benefits Symposium is the only event solely dedicated to uniting worldwide researchers in the field of berries and human health, with the goal of making berry health research available to media, industry, academia and the public.