Blueberries are very effective against breast cancer
HEALTH BENEFITS, NUTRITION FACTS AND RESEARCH
Health benefits of blueberries:
one of the highest antioxidant foods, anti-inflammatory, cardio-protective, blood-sugar regulating, cholesterol and blood pressure-lowering and promote healthy skin and bones and improve mental health
Blueberries are a source of:
vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin K, iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium, potassium, folate, fibre
blueberries and their cancer-fighting compounds :
Delphinidin (anthocyanin, plant pigment):
- may potentially suppress breast carcinogenesis
- shown to suppress cell proliferation and induce programmed cells death and autophagy in HER2 positive breast cancer cells
Kaempferol (flavonoid):
- inhibits the growth of breast cancer cells by destroying the cell cycle
- could also inhibit the absorption of lactic acid in MCF-7 breast cancer cells, leading to cancer cell death
- shown to inhibit migration and invasion of breast cancer cells and increase the apoptosis of breast cancer cells
- effectively inhibits the metastatic behaviour of breast cancer caused by endogenous oestrogen and exogenous heterologous compounds
- inhibits cell proliferation
Myricetin:
- shown to slow down breast cancer metastasis and the growth of triple-negative breast cancer cells
- potential breast cancer drug
Quercetin (FLAVONOID):
- suppresses the growth of breast cancer stem cells, their self-renewal and invasiveness
- shown to cause cellular death of cancer cell lines
- increases breast cancer cells chemosensitivity to Doxorubicin
- potential cancer drug due to its ability to target and destroy breast cancer stem cells
- interferes with the growth of ER-positive and ER-negative breast cancer cells
Ursolic acid:
- anti‑inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-apoptotic and anti-carcinogenic effects in several human breast cancer cells
- induces autophagy and apoptosis, and suppressing inflammatory responses
- shown to reverse the chemoresistance of breast cancer cells to Paclitaxel
- has the ability to inhibit breast cancer proliferation, angiogenesis and metastasis, arrest cell cycle, scavenge free radicals and regulate several anti-apoptotic and pro-apoptotic proteins
- suppresses the migration and metastasis of the MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell line
NOTES:
Fresh blueberries are recommended.
People who use Warfarin or other blood-thinners should consult their doctor before increasing their intake of blueberries, as the high vitamin K content can affect blood clotting.
