The next time you toss a handful of berries into your morning smoothie, reach for freeze-dried instead of fresh or frozen. Science now indicates that freeze-dried berries, specifically black raspberries, inhibit cancer development by restoring hundreds of cancer-altering genes to their normal state.
"There are certain genes that play a role in the development of cancer, and while most cancer treatments only target one gene at a time, the berries have a 'genome-wide' effect, meaning they target many cancer-causing genes at once." says lead researcher Gary D. Stoner, professor of pathology, human nutrition, and medicine at Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Berries are about 90 percent water and freeze-drying them removes the water while leaving the structure intact. This concentrates the cancer-preventive compounds-vitamins, minerals, phenols, and phytosterols, about ten times, explains Stoner. He adds that fresh and frozen berries are probably protective as well, but we'd have to eat a lot more of them to get the same benefits. Also, keep in mind that some nutrients are lost when the fruit is heated or cooked, so it's best to eat your berries (freeze-dried or fresh) just as they are.
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