Red berries are good for your heart and health

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When it comes to our five a day, it's a case of the redder the better. American scientists have discovered a new group of 'superfoods' whose magic property is their colour.

The exciting new research shows that red, purple and blue-skinned fruits and vegetables contain powerful cancer-fighting properties.

So which red superfoods are the best for your health?

The discovery was made by a group of researchers at Ohio State University. They found that foods which were high in dark pigments contained anti-oxidants called anthocyanins. These compounds have been shown to help slow the development of cancer and in some cases kill cells off completely.

In a series of experiments, the team compared the effectiveness of a variety of dark-skinned berries and vegetables on cancer cells. Purple corn and chokeberries proved most effective, stopping growth of colon cancer and killing 20% of cells, while the more familiar radish slowed growth by anything up to 80%. Crucially, the compounds left healthy cells unharmed.

It has been known for a while about the benefits of antioxidants - now scientists are beginning to identify those which provide the greatest benefits.

The particular antioxidants found in these food types are not easily absorbed by the bloodstream. They travel through the body, where they are absorbed by the lower intestine. It is this process that makes them particularly effective in tackling gastro-intestinal cancers.

Henry Scowcroft of Cancer Research UK explains that "This research helps us understand exactly how the substances in fruit and vegetables protect us from bowel cancer. In the future, it could lead to the development of drugs that help prevent bowel cancer in people at high risk."

Many of the foods which achieved the best results in the experiments are fairly exotic: purple corn, black carrots and chokeberries are not at the top of everyone's shopping list.

So which fruit and vegetables should we be putting in our basket? Most dark-skinned produce will contain varying degrees of the important compounds and there are plenty available: blueberries, aubergines, red peppers, red cabbage, elderberries and red-skinned potatoes.

Scientists urge caution with the research in its early stages; loading up on beetroot and radishes might be a little premature.

The safest choice is to eat a wide range of fruit and vegetables of all colours and shades. Increasing your intake will reduce your risk of getting heart and lung disease, osteoporosis, blood pressure, strokes and certain types of cancer.

The list of 'super' or 'powerhouse' foods grows all the time. The significance of the Ohio research is that it has begun to identify exactly how some of the compounds present in fruit and vegetables react with the body.

Once identified, these agents can be isolated and used in medicine to target a host of cancers and other serious diseases.