Reap the goodness of red fruit: sure, they look pretty and taste great. But did you know red fruit also protect you against serious health problems?

Natural Health, May-June, 2002 by Cheryl Redmond

Have You Heard Red Berries Help Your Memory?

Strawberries and raspberries, two delicate members of the rose family, share two powerful phytochemicals: anthocyanins and ellagic acid. The anthocyanins in berries protect your brain from age-related decline. James Joseph, Ph.D., and his colleagues at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston found that middle-aged rats fed a strawberry-rich diet performed tasks as well as teenage rats. Joseph and his team at first thought the anthocyanins were achieving their dramatic effect due to their antioxidant powers. But now they believe there's synergy among many of the compounds in the berries. The second phytochemical, ellagic acid, helps fight cancer in two ways: by protecting normal cells from damage and by helping cancer cells die. Strawberries are a terrific source of ellagic acid; raspberries have more.

Each fruit offers other beneficial components as well. Strawberries contain the antioxidant amino acid compound glutathione. And raspberries are a rich source of the cancer-fighting flavonoid quercetin.

Who Knew Watermelons Fight Cancer?

It may surprise you to see watermelons included in a group of disease-fighting fruit; after all, they're 92 percent water. But watermelons contain valuable nutrients. A cup provides a quarter of your daily requirement of vitamin C, plus vitamin A and potassium. Watermelons contain an amino acid called citrulline that has diuretic properties, good for people who retain water. Best of all, watermelons have 60 percent more of the antioxidant lycopene than raw tomatoes. Test tube studies show that lycopene can prevent cancer-cell growth and keep existing cancer cells from spreading. Researchers believe this powerful carotenoid is particularly effective against cancers of the breast, colon, and prostate.

Lycopene is a fat-soluble nutrient, which means that your body needs fat to use it. However, Penelope Perkins-Veazie, Ph.D., a plant physiologist with the USDA, speculates that the trace amounts of fat found in watermelon are sufficient to help you metabolize lycopene. More research is needed on this subject. In the meantime, have a slice of watermelon after a meal that includes some fat, or use watermelon in recipes that call for some fat.

Would You Like Some Great Recipes for Red Fruit?

Cranberry-Strawberry Kanten

SERVES 6

Orange, ginger, and cinnamon give this refreshing gelled dessert an unusual twist. You can find agar flakes, a seaweed-derived thickener, in natural food stores. Buy organic strawberries if possible, because conventional ones contain high levels of pesticide residues.