BERRY GOOD NEWS

Vaccinium

No doubt you've heard that blueberries are a "super food " shown to be effective in anti-aging, cancer prevention, heart and vision problems, urinary tract, stroke prevention, longevity, and stress.

A few days ago it was announced that the latest research at Ohio State University found that a blueberry extract fed to mice with blood vessel tumors shrunk the size of the tumors and improved survival rates. These tumors are the most common found in infants and can be disfiguring and in some threaten the health of the child.

And, the mice that ate the extract lived twice as long as those that didn't and had tumors 60 per cent smaller.

This is the first research providing evidence that blueberry extract limits tumor formation by inhibiting the blood vessels and certain pathways. Researchers hope to be able to feed blueberry juice to children with this kind of tumor because surgery is generally avoided because it could cause patients to bleed to death.

This research could have great implication in other cancers such as breast, melanoma, and ovarian and more research will be done on this treatment.

Among fruits I've always been partial to berries of all kinds . My father wouldn't allow me in the strawberry patch because I ate more than I picked. I'm definitely looking around for a space to plant a small blueberry bush ( or 2 -I think they need a pollinator ) this coming Spring.

It's also a good idea to add some blueberries to your morning cereal or as a healthy snack.