Cut Colon Cancer Risk with Blueberries

Adding blueberries to your diet may be a natural way to prevent colon cancer, according to researchers at Rutgers University, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In a study of 18 rats with colon cancer, those fed a diet supplemented with the blueberry compound pterostilbene had 57 percent fewer pre-cancerous lesions after eight weeks compared to the control group. Pterostilbene also inhibited genes involved in inflammation, which is thought to be a risk factor for colon cancer.

A past study has found that blueberries are beneficial; when blueberry skins were fed to animals, their cholesterol was lowered. It's thought that pterostilbene may prevent colon cancer by lowering lipids in your body.

Blueberries are rich in antioxidants called anthocyanins, and are a good source of ellagic acid, which in known to block metabolic pathways that may lead to cancer. There are 30 different blueberry species native to North America.

Clinical Cancer Research