Alternative Health Blog

It might not be on your harvest table this Thanksgiving, but a purple tomato could well be part of new dish in some future November. British researchers have discovered a hybrid purple tomato grown to contain the same phytonutrients found in dark-pigment berries can help prevent cancer and promote overall health.

The recent study, published this fall in the peer-review journal, Nature Biotechnology, is an example of the plus of genetically modified foods. What scientists found in lab rats is the purple tomato can halt cancer cells from growing and spreading, even in mice otherwise prone to develop cancer.

The study focused on anthocyanins, the same antioxidant substances found in blackberries and black currants that have been shown to not only lower risk of cancer, but also heart disease and some neurological disorders.

While some skeptics might say, let nature guide, others contend that even with all of the positive news about blackberries and blueberries, many people don’t consume those fruits—or neglect to buy frozen varieties in non-growing season. Tomatoes, in contrast, are a staple of the American diet, especially for pasta sauces and salsas.

What the British researchers did is genetically alter the pigment of snapdragon flowers to help cultivate a tomato with purplish fruit that bears a burst of anthocyanins.

The Brit researchers did caution that trials in humans are years from completion. So, for now, keep serving up those cancer fighters broccoli and cauliflower for your Thanksgiving table.

And enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday, from us here at the Alternative Health Blog to you. Expressing gratitude for the people and emotional prosperity in our lives might just be the be the best health strategy of all. Life is as good as we choose to make it.

Bob Condor blogs for Alternative Health Journal every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday (except Thanksgiving, when he flips to Wednesday), Friday and Saturday.