Is Blueberry Nutrition Cancer Prevention?

It’s an exciting time to be a blueberry fan. If you weren’t a big berry eater before reading this, it’s time you found out how beneficial these little blue gems can be.

New and exciting research now links the consumption of blueberries (as part of a regular diet) with the prevention of cancer. Once again, it is the high phytonutrient content of blueberries that is responsible for this health benefit. In this case, the major anti-cancer phytonutrient is ellagic acid. Ellagic acid, is also found in high quantities within other berries, including:

• Black and red raspberries
• Blackberries
• Marionberries
• Boysenberries

Ellagic acid tends to be located in the seeds of these berries, making the aforementioned berries three to nine times more potent sources of this powerful phytonutrient than other good sources, including strawberries, walnuts and pecans. Various studies on ellagic acid have demonstrated that people who consume foods high in ellagic acid are three times less likely to develop cancer when compared to those who consume very little or no dietary ellagic acid.

Remember: Blueberry nutrition is cancer prevention. Put it in your yogurt, cereal or oatmeal. Blend it into smoothies or just pop them in your mouth when you crave something sweet.