A Brazilian palm berry sweeping the globe as a popular health food – though little research has been done on it – now may have its purported benefits better understood. In the first research involving people, the acai (ah-sigh-EE) berry has proven its ability to be absorbed in the human body when consumed both as […]
Pawpaw Shows Promise In Fighting Drug-Resistant Tumors
The pawpaw tree, which bears the largest fruit native to North America, may bear new fruit for scientists seeking ways to fight cancer. Purdue University researcher Jerry McLaughlin, working with doctoral student Nicholas Oberlies, has found compounds in the bark of the tree that have shown preliminary success in fighting some drug- resistant cancers. The […]
Eating dried fruit may be linked with better diet quality and health markers
Don’t be afraid to toss a handful of raisins or dried apples in your Thanksgiving stuffing this year — a new Penn State study has found that dried fruit may be connected with better health. The researchers found that people who ate dried fruit were generally healthier than those who did not, and on days […]
Research finds combo of plant nutrients kills breast cancer cells
A study led by Madhwa Raj, PhD, Research Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans and its Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center, has found that a super cocktail of six natural compounds in vegetables, fruits, spices and plant roots killed 100% of sample breast cancer cells without toxic side effects […]
Black raspberries show promise for reducing skin inflammation
Eating black raspberries might reduce inflammation associated with skin allergies, a new study indicates. In a study done with mice and published earlier this month in the journal Nutrients, researchers found that a diet high in black raspberries reduced inflammation from contact hypersensitivity — a condition that causes redness and inflammation in the skin. “A lot […]
How Cranberry Products Prevent Urinary Tract Infections
Chemicals present in cranberries—and not the acidity of cranberry juice, as previously thought—prevent infection-causing bacteria from attaching to the cells that line the urinary tract, as documented in a report published in Journal of Medicinal Food. Urinary tract infections (UTIs) burden the healthcare system with more than $2 billion in treatment costs each year and are […]
The Bitter Price of Tropical Fruits
Sweet, healthy and delicious, and inexpensive to boot, pineapples are one of the world’s most desired fruits. On average, the world eats more than 26,000 tons of pineapples each year. But hidden beneath their low-price tag lies an industry riddled with heavy pesticide use, water pollution, deforestation and the exploitation of farmworkers, who are forced […]
Japanese persimmons exported to the United States for the first time
After lifting the ban on the export of persimmons from Japan to the United States from October of last year, Fukuoka prefecture is now working on the production of persimmons for the US. The exportation of the Fukuoka-produced Taishu variety of persimmons to the US began in October. People were able to taste the sweet, […]
GMO Apples That Don’t Brown Hit US Stores
The first genetically modified apples to be sold in the U.S. will debut in select Midwestern stores. The fruit has been genetically modified such that its flesh won’t turn brown when exposed to air. A small amount of Arctic brand sliced and packaged Golden Delicious, produced by Okanagan Specialty Fruits of Summerland, B.C., will be […]
A Better Way To Wash Pesticides Off Apples
Polishing an apple with your shirt might remove some dust and dirt, but getting rid of pesticide residues could take a little more work. Researchers now report in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, that washing apples with a common household product — baking soda — could do the trick for residues on the surfaces […]