3 Things You Need to Know about Cranberries and Cancer

Cranberries, typically a fruit found in the winter season, can be frozen and consumed throughout the entire year. Cranberries are one of the best food-based cancer prevention agents that you can include in your diet, whether you consume them in juice or in their natural, whole form.

Cancer Fighters
Cranberries are an abundant source of proanthocyanidins, flavonoids, anthocyanins, and ellagic acid, plant chemicals that have been shown to interfere with the development of cancer.

In the Genes
The benefits of cranberries in the prevention of cancer is well documented–and for good reason. Think about what it takes for a tumor to grow and progress. Two factors are inflammation and new blood vessel formation (also called “angiogenesis”). The combination of plant chemicals and the synergy of nutrients within the cranberry provide anti-inflammatory benefits essential to preventing the progression of cancer. The cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) gene is associated with inflammation and is found in high concentrations within a tumor or precancerous lesion (such as a colorectal polyps). This gene is turned off, or “down-regulated,” by the components in cranberries. Turning down the expression of COX-2 is beneficial and has proven to be an important mechanism of cancer prevention. Also, it is important to inhibit genes associated with new blood vessel formation. One of these genes is called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). When it is expressed, it increases blood flow to the tumor, providing the nutrients and oxygen that the tumor needs to thrive and survive. Cranberries turn down the expression of this gene, thereby cutting off blood flow that the tumor requires to grow and progress.

Cranberry Nutrition Data
In a perfect world, it would be best to eat raw cranberries--with only 41 calories per handful (compared to 120 calories for a handful of sweetened, dried cranberries) and 25% of our daily requirement for vitamin C (the dried, sweetened variety has barely any vitamin C left after processing). These fiber-filled berries are perfect in their natural form. However, I don’t know many people who can eat raw cranberries or drink unsweetened juice. If you’ve tried them, you know that they are very tart and can be difficult to consume without some sweetener added. Healthy (and better tasting) options for consuming these cancer-fighting berries include adding sweetner or drinking cranberry juice cocktail fortified with vitamin C (providing over 170% of the daily requirement for Vitamin C).