A naturally occurring compound found abundantly in wild blackcurrants, bilberries and lingonberries increases the body’s ability to prevent tumors, report researchers from the University of Eastern Finland. The color-producing pigments known as anthocyanins were found to increase the cancer-fighting ability of sirtuin 6, part of a class of enzymes that regulate the expression of genes that control the function of cells via key signaling pathways. Aging causes changes in the function of sirtuins, which in turn contributes to the development of several diseases.

Anthocyanins also color other berries, and earlier research from the UK University of East Anglia found that women eating blueberries and strawberries three or more times a week slashed their risk of heart attack by a third.

This article appears in the September 2018 issue of Natural Awakenings.