Jam and jelly offers some protection form cancer, fruit and veg still best option

You know things are looking up when experts tell us jam and jelly just might help fight cancer.

According to new research from scientists at the Institute of Food Research in the UK, both jam and jelly contain the gelling agent pectin which they suggest blocks a key cancer progression pathway in the body.

Pectin is a natural fibre product found in both fruits and vegetables and is widely used in food processing but the new research has shown that under the right conditions it releases a molecular fragment with anti-cancer properties.

The fragment apparently binds to galectin 3 (gal3), a protein that influences all stages of cancer progression and this interference with the protein is thought to curb its ability to spur on cancer.

Professor Vic Morris, who led the study says the modified pectin used in jellies and jams was likely to produce the same anti-cancer effect as the very processes used by the food industry to modify pectin, would encourage the release of the fragment identified.

Professor Morris says jam would offer some protection but it is high in sugar and it might be better to source the same protection from the fibre in fruit and vegetables.

Pectin is found in everything from potato to plums and Professor Morris says the likely effect of the fibre meant there was no need for people to rely on so-called superfoods such as blueberries and spinach, which have been linked to a host of benefits - he says it is probably better to eat a wide range of fruit and vegetables.

The amount of pectin in fruit and vegetables varies - apples and oranges are particularly high - while and strawberries and grapes are low.

Professor Morris says people should be focusing on getting their 'five-a-day' intake.