THE MOSS REPORTS

When it comes to maintaining health and fitness, we are all accustomed to the 'no pain, no gain' philosophy. We don't expect to be able to make significant improvements in our health without depriving ourselves of something or pushing ourselves perhaps beyond what is immediately comfortable. How refreshing, therefore, to discover that simply by eating something totally delicious we can also significantly improve our health and help build a defensive shield against cancer.

This week I discuss some research that has demonstrated the extraordinary health benefits of berries, those colorful, delightful treats that are such an integral part of celebrating summer.

Constantly monitoring the scientific literature pertaining to the prevention and treatment of cancer is an essential part of my work. By keeping a watchful eye on the medical journals I am able to discern emerging research ideas and pass along to my readers the latest developments. It also enables me to keep the library of Moss Reports on more than 200 different cancer diagnoses updated.

Each Moss Report is an even-handed and thorough analysis of the available conventional and alternative treatments for a particular kind of cancer. The reports also discuss such topics as participation in clinical trials, how to change one's diet in order to maximize one's chances of recovery, and how to detect and avoid unsafe and unsound remedies.

If you would like to order a Moss Report for yourself or someone you love, you can do so from our website, www.cancerdecisions.com, or by calling Diane at 1-800-980-1234 (814-238-3367 from outside the US).

We look forward to helping you.

BERRIES AGAINST CANCER

In May, 2005, scientists at Louisiana State University showed that black raspberries contain antiangiogenic compounds that are capable of restraining tumor growth. Antiangiogenic compounds work by inhibiting the formation of new blood vessels, without which tumors cannot expand. The Baton Rouge researchers discovered that berries contain a "highly potent antiangiogenic fraction that accounts for only one percent of the fresh weight of whole black raspberries." The scientists consider it natural and potent enough to use clinically as a "promising complementary cancer therapy" (Liu 2005).

This is only the latest in a series of papers showing that berries of various kinds have potent anticancer activity. It points to the benefits that accrue from incorporating berries - especially fresh or flash-frozen - into one's daily diet.

An appreciation of berries goes back hundreds of year. "Doubtless God could have made a better berry," opined Dr. William Butler (1535-1618), "but doubtless God never did." The good doctor, who once ministered to King James I, was speaking of Fragraria virginiana, the American strawberry, then recently introduced into the Old World. Dr. Butler's appreciation of the freshly picked strawberry is easily understood. But I suspect that Dr. Butler had never tasted the low-bush blueberry or the American black raspberry. (The red raspberry was already cultivated in Europe in his day, but mainly for medicinal purposes.) If he had, he might have been tempted to modify his opinion.

Blackberries at ASCO

Berries convey enough pleasure to justify the cost and trouble of cultivation many times over. But I was excited to learn at this years' American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting that they also have important anticancer activity. In fact, scientists at Ohio State University have discovered that blackberries contain powerful antioxidants that, under laboratory conditions, at least, can retard cancer.

Black raspberries (Rubus occidentalis) have high levels of antioxidants, including the very valuable dark anthocyanin pigments that give the fruit its extraordinary color. The antioxidants these berries contain are capable of neutralizing the free radicals and carcinogens that daily assault our bodies. According to Gary Stoner, PhD, "The more antioxidant activity, the more potent the berry will be as a cancer inhibitor."

Dr. Stoner did some of the original research on ellagic acid, a dietary anticancer compound that was found to be abundant in berries. But he realized that there was more to the berry story than just this single compound. Using a freeze-dried berry preparation, he and his Buckeye colleagues have been able to show that black raspberries as well as strawberries, when added to the diets of rodents, can prevent carcinogen-induced esophageal cancer by 60 percent. In another experiment, a diet containing freeze-dried black raspberries was shown to reduce the incidence of cancer of the colon by up to 80 percent.

In addition, Chris Weghorst, PhD, also of OSU, has shown that black raspberries can inhibit cancer of the oral cavity. This could be especially good news to those who drink alcohol and smoke tobacco.

Dr. Stoner's group has also shown, experimentally, that black raspberry extracts down-regulate vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) - a key signaling molecule involved in angiogenesis. "We think we have identified the berry compounds that down-regulate this gene," he told me recently.

By contrast, the FDA-approved anticancer drug Avastin (bevacizumab) is among the new 'targeted' agents that targets the same VEGF molecule. But this synthetic drug may also cause adverse effects, including hypertension, thrombosis (blood clots), bleeding in the lungs, and perforation of the bowel. The drug also costs approximately US $4,000 per month. The New York Times recently bewailed the "huge expense" of new cancer drugs (Berenson 2005). By contrast, berries are not toxic, considerably less expensive and available without a prescription. A generous portion of blackberries costs about $1 per day.

Human clinical studies have already begun. In 2003, researchers conducted a small phase I trial to see how normal, healthy people would tolerate the high dietary levels of freeze-dried berries that would be needed in future trials. They next intend to study the preparation in people at high risk of esophageal cancer. People will consume the freeze-dried berries daily for six months. The berries are freeze-dried because they keep for three years that way.

According to Richard Funt, PhD, medical research indicates that fruits eaten as soon as possible after being picked are better than cooked products. Berries picked and left to sit around on a hot day will have their antioxidant levels decreased by up to 40 percent. "Eating fresh or fresh-frozen berries is likely to be most beneficial," he says.

"The National Cancer Institute recommends four to six servings of fruits and vegetables per day," said Dr. Stoner. "Based on what we've learned over the years, we suggest one of those servings should involve berries - strawberries or black raspberries, if possible." Loyal Mainers would of course put in a pitch for their native low-bush blueberries. A United States Department of Agriculture study, performed at Tufts University in the 1990s, has ranked Maine blueberries first among 40 fruits and vegetables for their antioxidant capacity.

In any case, we will let the economic and scientific champions of the various berries battle it out amongst themselves. To me, all berries are wonderful, part of the joy of summer. Indeed, since I am fortunate enough to raise my own raspberries, they provide a variety of pleasures the year round - pruning and pampering of the canes in winter, picking some of the tender leaves for raspberry leaf tea in spring, watching the fruit emerge in early summer, and then of course eating the berries in abundance for months afterwards.

I have only about 60 linear feet of plants - mostly red raspberries of four different varieties, a hardy golden berry plant or two, with some black raspberry plants mixed in for good measure. I grow these for eating fresh out of the garden or (on the rare occasions when they are not consumed right away) to freeze for later consumption. One of my relatives claims her share to make delicious raspberry preserves. As master of the berry patch, in the past I "taxed" her production for winter use. I rationalized that the good done by getting a dose of berry-borne antioxidants in the dead of winter outweighed the harm of table sugar (sucrose) consumption. It is a psychological boost in the long dreary seasons to have this essence of glorious summer on the table. However, lately I have become much stricter about not consuming refined carbohydrates, such as table sugar. Consequently, I intend to explore some recipes I have found on the Internet for sweetening berry preserves with stevia, a product derived from the south American plant, Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni.

Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has waged war on stevia as an "unsafe additive" for years, my reading of the literature is that stevia is a relatively safe substance. In fact, the science shows that, unlike sugar, stevia may have therapeutic benefits of its own, although research is in its early stages. One placebo-controlled clinical trial showed that stevioside, a natural glycoside isolated from stevia, can significantly lower both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. "No significant adverse effect was observed and quality of life assessment showed no deterioration" with long term stevoioside use," the Taiwanese authors concluded (Chan 2000).

A mainland Chinese clinical trial has also confirmed these results (Hsieh 2003). More recently, a Danish clinical study of diabetics found that "stevioside reduces postprandial blood glucose levels in type 2 diabetic patients, indicating beneficial effects on the glucose metabolism. Stevioside may be advantageous in the treatment of type 2 diabetes" (Gregerson 2004).

My point is that it is possible to enjoy the pleasures of berry preserves without sending your blood sugar levels through the roof or taking on the potential health risks of artificial sweeteners.

Pictured Above: Summer's bounty from Dr. Moss's garden

If you cannot see the photo, click on or go to:
http://www.cancerdecisions.com/images/berries1.jpg

Many commercial growers apply fertilizers, herbicides and a fungicide called lime sulfur in the early spring. In May, they apply more fungicide and insecticide to protect the growing plants. I myself avoid all such poisons. I mulch with straw and with pine needles, and I occasionally weed by hand. The canes are hardy and require little care. I originally set up a system of soaker hoses around the base of the plants, but rarely have to use them. The plants usually get by with whatever moisture nature provides. My pesticide-free regimen works for me. So far, beetles have done little damage to the crop. If you have a sunny spot in the backyard, say, or alongside your garage, you should consider putting in a dozen or two plants. They are not expensive and will literally be fruitful and multiply. Eating fresh berries all summer long is an incomparable treat.

NOTE: Thanks to Gary Stoner, PhD, for reviewing this article. All opinions expressed are my own.

For further information, see my book, Antioxidants Against Cancer (2000).

Also, there are recipes for stevia-sweetened jams on the Internet by clicking on or going to: http://www.medicine-plants.com/articles/163/

--Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D.

References:

Berenson, Alex. Cancer drugs offer hope, but at a huge expense. New York Times, July 12, 2005.

Casto BC, Kresty LA, Kraly CL, et al. Chemoprevention of oral cancer by black raspberries. Anticancer Res. 2002 Nov-Dec;22(6C):4005-15.

Chan P, Tomlinson B, Chen YJ, et al. A double-blind placebo-controlled study of the effectiveness and tolerability of oral stevioside in human hypertension. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2000;50:215-20.

Gregersen S, Jeppesen PB, Holst JJ, et al. Antihyperglycemic effects of stevioside in type 2 diabetic subjects. Metabolism. 2004;53:73-6.

Han C, Ding H, Casto B, et al. Inhibition of the growth of premalignant and malignant human oral cell lines by extracts and components of black raspberries. Nutr Cancer. 2005;51(2):207-17.

Hsieh MH, Chan P, Sue YM, et al. Efficacy and tolerability of oral stevioside in patients with mild essential hypertension: a two-year, randomized, placebo-controlled study. Clin Ther. 2003;25:2797-808.

Liu Z, Schwimer J, Liu D, et al. Black raspberry extract and fractions contain angiogenesis inhibitors. J Agric Food Chem. 2005 May 18;53(10):3909-3915.

Olsson ME, Gustavsson KE, Andersson S, et al. Inhibition of cancer cell proliferation in vitro by fruit and berry extracts and correlations with antioxidant levels. J Agric Food Chem. 2004 Dec 1;52(24):7264-71.

Stoner GD, Kresty LA, Carlton PS, et al. Isothiocyanates and freeze-dried strawberries as inhibitors of esophageal cancer. Toxicol Sci. 1999 Dec;52(2 Suppl):95-100.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER

The news and other items in this newsletter are intended for informational purposes only. Nothing in this newsletter is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice.

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