The Power of Freeze-Dried Powders

Dominic A. Brandy, MD • December 9, 2019

During the research for my book Beat Back Cancer Naturally I came across several articles that demonstrated an incredible “multiplying effect” of using freeze-dried fruit powders in the fight against cancer. Remember...most fruits and vegetables are 90-95% water; so when you use the process of freeze-drying, the water is extracted, but the thousands of cancer-fighting phytochemicals remain intact. In the study that I will discussing in this blog, 6 tablespoons of freeze-dried strawberry powder was the equivalent of eating 1.33 pounds of strawberries! That is a 10:1 ratio. The blueberry freeze-dried powder that I use actually has a ratio of 50:1. This is why I feel strongly that individuals battling cancer should include freeze-dried powders in their armamentarium.

Every morning I have an organic caf and decaf coffee and to each one I add strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, cacao, mangosteen, pomegranate, goji berry, cinnamon and acai berry freeze-dried powders. The addition of several different types of cancer-fighting powders creates a synergistic effect of the phytochemicals in these foods. In effect, I start off each day with a phyto-chemo infusion that is kicking myeloma’s butt! Later in the morning, I make a smoothie at which time I add addition powders like camu camu, noni fruit, pineapple and dragonfruit powder. Every freeze-dried powder that I use, I scientifically document its cancer-fighting ability in my book.

The article that really caught my attention was published in the Cancer Prevention Research Journal in 2011 and involved the use of freeze-dried strawberry powder for the treatment of patients with early cancer of the esophagus [1].

For those of you not familiar with esophageal cancer, it is one of the most deadly cancers, second to only pancreatic cancer. Most patients present with advanced, metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis. The prognosis for these cases is poor; only 1 in 5 survives more than 3 years after the initial diagnosis. The overall 5-year survival rate of esophageal cancer in the United States is only 13%, which is close to the observed rates in high-risk countries like China.

The researchers who performed the aforementioned study on actual patients was initiated secondary to an earlier study that they had performed on rats at which time they had discovered that freeze-dried strawberries and black raspberries inhibited cancer growth in rats with esophageal cancer [2]. The freeze-dried powders caused a potent anti-cancer expression of genes involved in:

* inflammation (needed for cancer proliferation)
* gene transcription (needed for cancer-cell division)
* angiogenesis (needed for cancer blood vessel formation)
* formation of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), c-Jun, and VEGF. These enzymes and factors induce inflammation and blood vessel growth needed for cancer to grow and spread.

Because of the fascinating results from their rat study and other published rodent studies on freeze-dried powders [3] [4] [5], the scientists organized a randomized phase II trial conducted to investigate the effects of freeze-dried strawberries in a cohort of adult individuals with early esophageal cancer in the Henan and Shandong provinces of China where the population is at the highest risk for esophageal cancer in the world. They assessed the effects of strawberries, which are the major berry grown in China, on the histologic grade of early cancerous lesions and on biomarkers of cell proliferation, inflammation, and gene transcription.

They randomly assigned 75 patients identified by endoscopy to have early esophageal cancer to receive freeze-dried strawberry powder at either 30 g/d (37 patients) or 60 g/d (38 patients) for 6 months; the powder was mixed with water. After 6 months, they assessed the changes in the microscopic grade of these lesions in a blinded fashion. The dose of 30 g/d (3 tablespoons or 1/8 cup), did not significantly affect histology or any other measured parameter. The dose of 60 g/d (6 tablespoons, 1/4 cup or the equivalent of 1.33 pounds of strawberries), however, reversed the early cancer in 80.6% of the 36 patients based on microscopic and endoscopic analysis. It totally obliterated the early cancer in 50%! The strawberry powder was well tolerated, with no toxic effects or serious adverse events.

The below photo shows an endoscopic evaluation of an early esophageal cancer with complete obliteration of the cancer after 6 months of 6 tablespoons/day of freeze-dried strawberry powder. Amazing stuff!!!

The next photo demonstrates the degree of Ki-67 activity. For those of you who are not familiar with Ki-67, it is a protein that is a marker for the degree of cellular proliferation. When Ki-67 activity is high, it is an indication of active cancer cell growth. As you can see...after 6 months the cancer cell proliferation Ki-67 marker was significantly reduced with the freeze-dried strawberry powder.
Remember that these individuals made no changes to their diet. It is my opinion if they would have been eating a whole food, plant-based diet their results would have been even more dramatic. The bottom line is that fruits and vegetable contain over 25,000 phytochemicals that have incredible anti-cancer-fighting activity. It is my strong opinion that cancer patients should eat a minimum of 12 plant servings per day. Individuals without cancer should hit The National Cancer Institute recommendation of 9 servings per day for the prevention of cancer. 

What is so marvelous about these organic, freeze-dried fruit powders is that they can be purchased cheaply on Amazon. It is my view that they really should be incorporated into the daily routine of all cancer patients. The powders that I personally use in my morning coffees and smoothie are all described in my book Beat Back Cancer Naturally where I go through the scientific literature explaining why I use what I use. As I previously alluded to, I use several different types of freeze-dried powders because of the synergy that occurs (2+2=7) when you combine phytonutrients. This will be the topic of my next blog.


REFERENCES
  1. Chen T et al. Randomized Phase II Trial of Lyophilized Strawberries in Patients with Dysplastic Precancerous Lesions of the Esophagus. Cancer Prev Res; 5(1); 41–50. 2011 AACR.
  2. Chen T et al. Chemopreventive properties of black raspberries in N-nitrosomethylbenzylamine- induced rat esophageal tumorigenesis: down-regulation of cyclooxygenase-2, inducible nitric oxide synthase, and c-Jun. Cancer Res 2006;66:2853–9.
  3. Carlton PS et al. Inhibition of N-nitrosomethylbenzylamine-induced tumorigenesis in the rat esophagus by dietary freeze-dried strawberries. Carcinogenesis 2001;22:441–6.
  4. Kresty LA et al. Chemoprevention of esophageal tumorigenesis by dietary administration of lyophilized black raspberries. Cancer Res. 2001 Aug 15;61(16):6112-9.
  5. Lala G et al. Anthocyanin-rich extracts inhibit multiple biomarkers of colon cancer in rats. Nutr Cancer. 2006;54(1):84-93. 

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