How strawberries might fight cancer
We have known for a while that eating a diet rich in fresh fruit is associated with reduced risk of cancer. But why specifically?
Well, fruit is a decent source of energy and micronutrients, which are useful things. But they are also rich in a wide array of bioactive chemicals, which perform a bunch of physiological functions in plants. Flavonoids, for example, make flowers pretty and colorful, which can entice the attention of pollinating animals.
One of these flavonoids is called fisetin, and you will find it most abundantly in strawberries. It is one of several compounds that is responsible for the bright red pigment characteristic of the fruit. And research has recently revealed that fisetin, when consumed, can fight cancer.
To better understand why, let’s quickly go over how cancer typically works.
Cancer cells are like other tissues in the body: they need blood flow in order to grow. They can get a blood supply by triggering the creation of new blood vessels. This is a process called angiogenesis. Tumors release angiogenic factors — small molecules that cause blood vessels to be formed into the tumor. Blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the tumor, which enables it to get bigger.
Stopping this process can be a big challenge. Cancer cells are essentially deranged versions of normal cells, and it is very tricky to kill cancer cells without damaging healthy tissues. That’s why chemotherapy that is designed to disrupt rapid cell growth also tends to make hair fall out.
This is where fisetin seems to really shine. Fisetin can suppress angiogenic factors and prevent tumors from growing and spreading in the body. But best of all, it can selectively disrupt the signalling pathways commonly used by cancer cells — while leaving normal cells alone!
So I should probably throw out one caveat here: most of the studies that have revealed fisetin’s medical applications were done with cell cultures, or using lab rodents. Animals in such studies are often are given loads of freeze-dried strawberries to deliver a super high concentration of the flavonoid — and probably a bit more than the average strawberry lover would be able to stomach.
However, that doesn’t mean that these findings aren’t useful to us. It has been hypothesized that regular consumption of a diet rich in phytochemicals — including fisetin and hundreds of other such compounds — could control cancer angiogenesis over time in normal healthy people.
I find this to be pretty plausible. It sounds a bit odd, but every single one of us has cancer cells hanging around in our body — they just haven’t been able to build a supply line and become a serious problem. A steady intake of flavonoids seems like a smart strategy to keep cancer angiogenesis at bay for decades to come. And it should be pretty easy for us to implement, since strawberries and other fruits are cheap, easy to find, and free of side effects. Not to mention they can be pretty damn tasty.
REFERENCES
