Black Raspberries

Without a doubt black raspberries are good for you. They contain more antioxidants than most other fruits along with anthocyanin, ellagic acid, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium and many other nutrients. But let’s not get carried away!

The subject came up in one of those health stories on the news last week. The big announcement was that a new study indicates that eating black raspberries might reduce inflammation associated with skin allergies.

The story went on to say that in a study done with mice at Ohio State University and recently published in Nutrients “found that a diet high in black raspberries reduced inflammation from contact hypersensitivity.” They fed one set of mice a normal diet while another set had the equivalent of a daily serving of black raspberries added to their diets. After three weeks the ears of all the mice were exposed to an irritant “that caused contact hypersensitivity. Then, they measured the reductions in swelling, comparing the ears of each mouse.” It turned out that the swelling went down more quickly in the group of black raspberry eaters.

This is interesting and promising, but why does it make the news? Mice are not the same as people, or else drug companies could save a lot of time on human trials. They plainly state, as do most initial studies that it was “an early indication that those benefits might exist” and “more work needs to be done.” 

The health benefits of black raspberries are well known. Other studies both at OSU and elsewhere have shown promise in reducing inflammation associated with some types of cancer. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) published this paper on the benefits of the anti-inflammatory properties of freeze dried black raspberries on ulcerative colitis, a disease that can dramatically increase the risk of colon cancers. Again, the studies were done with mice, not people.

From another OSU press release three years ago: “The researchers have demonstrated the remarkable ability of black raspberries to reduce the development of tumors in animal models of cancer, including the oral cavity, esophagus, and colon.” At that point they were ready to start some limited human trials and were soliciting smokers to test whether giving them regular doses of a black raspberry-rich drink could “protect [them] from oral disease and lower the risk of oral cancer.”

They are clear in their conclusions however. This does not necessarily mean that black raspberries prevent cancer.. “A definitive human study to answer that question would take decades and be cost prohibitive. Instead, researchers will continue to evaluate the influence of berries on biomarkers of cancer in both animal models and short-term clinical trials.”

Of course that sounds too much like science and doesn’t prevent this website from boldly proclaiming: “Black raspberries are a cancer-fighting superfood,” while pushing copies of his book.

This is so typical. News organizations release as health news a preliminary study done with mice, as they cover the TV screen with stock footage of berries at the grocery store. It's an easy job; they don't have to do any work to get the story. Meanwhile, limited studies and early indications are misrepresented as definitive results and to promote the superfood du jour. (A few years ago açaí berries were the new superfood.)

All this hype comes around regularly because Americans tend to ignore the details (critical thinking) and look for the easy answers in the form of supplements and superfoods (discipline).