{"id":1812,"date":"2012-08-09T09:30:01","date_gmt":"2012-08-09T13:30:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/beyondgorgeous\/?p=1812"},"modified":"2012-08-09T09:30:01","modified_gmt":"2012-08-09T13:30:01","slug":"cancer-prevention-and-more-in-these-berries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondgorgeous\/2012\/08\/cancer-prevention-and-more-in-these-berries.html","title":{"rendered":"Cancer Prevention — And More — In These Berries"},"content":{"rendered":"

They grow like weeds in the brushy, wooded areas here in Oklahoma. You\u2019ll see them along the fences and in the underbrush, loaded with sweet, wild fruit.\u00a0 Blackberries grow wild and are free for the picking. \u00a0If you aren\u2019t in an area where blackberries grow wild, or if you don\u2019t want to brave the heat, thorns, and ticks to get them, you can find them now in the produce section of the grocery store. They taste sweet and delicious, but there are more reasons than the flavor to eat them.\u00a0 They are a healthy food that can help you get you farther along on your road to health and true beauty — beyond gorgeous.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Here are some of the things those sweet little berries can do for you:<\/p>\n

Cancer prevention<\/strong>: They pack a powerful protective punch against cancer, with four particular ingredients in their makeup.\u00a0 One is the anthocyanins, which give them their purple color (and stain your fingers and mouth when you are picking them.)\u00a0 Anthocyanins are powerful antioxidants which have been shown to reduce inflammation.\u00a0 They do their antioxidant work of destroying free radicals and preventing the harm they do to cells, which leads to cancer.\u00a0 One cup of berries also contain half of the daily recommended servings of the antioxidant vitamin C, which protects the immune system and may prevent some kinds of cancer.\u00a0 They also contain ellagic acid, which research shows has anti-cancer properties. Studies show that ellagic acid has impressive possibilities in preventing esophageal cancer. The polyphenols they contain in high levels also help prevent cancer.<\/p>\n

Healthy heart:<\/strong>\u00a0 Those same extremely high levels of antioxidants contribute to a healthy heart.\u00a0 They fight off the free radicals that damage cells and lead to heart damage.\u00a0 One cup of blackberries also contains more than thirty percent of the daily recommended amount of fiber, promoting healthy digestion and reducing the risk of heart disease.\u00a0 In fact, they are among the top fiber content plants of the world.<\/p>\n

Healthy skin<\/strong>:\u00a0 Blackberries protect your skin from damage from the sun. The ellagic acid that helps prevent cancer also helps repair skin with sun damage.\u00a0 The mass amount of vitamin C helps heals wounds and may even lessen the appearance of wrinkles, if the findings of several studies are borne out.\u00a0 Studies show that cyanidin-3-glucoside, another compound found in blackberries, prevents skin cancer by inhibiting tumors from growing and spreading.<\/p>\n

Eye health<\/strong>: All that vitamin C may reduce the chances of macular degeneration, a condition which causes vision to deteriorate and is the leading cause of blindness in people over 50.<\/p>\n

Women’s Health:\u00a0<\/strong> Phytoestrogens, naturally occurring plant estrogens, may help relieve the common symptoms of PMS like bloating, food cravings, and irritability.\u00a0 Blackberries are rich in phytoestrogens.<\/p>\n

Good digestion<\/strong>:\u00a0 They have more than 30% of the daily recommended amount of fiber, which speeds your digestion along.<\/p>\n

Blood sugar regulation<\/strong>:\u00a0 All that fiber also keeps your food from quickly digesting and turning into sugar in your bloodstream. You don\u2019t have a spike in your blood sugar and a corresponding insulin dump.\u00a0 Remember, insulin is the hormone that tells your body to store up fat, so you don\u2019t want to go there!<\/p>\n

Strong bones:<\/strong> \u00a0 Blackberries are a good source of vitamin K —\u00a0 36% of the daily recommended amount. This vitamin is important for clotting of blood and for absorption of calcium, which helps build good bones.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a lot of health benefits in a few little berries!\u00a0 They are another gift from God, who already knows exactly what we need, and has it all wrapped up for us in a sweet little package.<\/p>\n

Eating to live and living for Christ,<\/p>\n

Susan Jordan Brown<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

They grow like weeds in the brushy, wooded areas here in Oklahoma. You\u2019ll see them along the fences and in the underbrush, loaded with sweet, wild fruit.\u00a0 Blackberries grow wild and are free for the picking. \u00a0If you aren\u2019t in an area where blackberries grow wild, or if you don\u2019t want to brave the heat,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":423,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[546,547,510],"class_list":["post-1812","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-eating-plan","tag-blackberries","tag-cancer","tag-fruit"],"yoast_head":"\nCancer Prevention - And More - In These Berries - Beyond Gorgeous<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondgorgeous\/2012\/08\/cancer-prevention-and-more-in-these-berries.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cancer Prevention - And More - In These Berries - Beyond Gorgeous\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"They grow like weeds in the brushy, wooded areas here in Oklahoma. 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