One in five people will develop cancer at least once in their lifetime. Despite the many therapies and treatments available, millions of people still die from the disease. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 10 million people died from cancer in 2022 alone. Claims that you can protect yourself from cancer by eating certain foods are also spreading. DW's fact-checking team looked into one particularly popular claim.
Claim: A Twitter user says that you can protect yourself from cancer by eating raspberries and figs. A video on the subject is also being shared, which has been viewed over three million times.
Fact check: False.
In the video, American author and nutritionist Patrick Quillin claims that black raspberries are a "real cure" and prevent cancer. The clip is part of a documentary series called "The Truth About Cancer - A Global Investigation". Among other things, the series presents "natural cures" for cancer, and pharmaceutical companies are criticized and accused of being greedy for money. In the excerpt shared on social media, Quillin claims that black raspberries in particular are rich in anthocyanins and antioxidants, which ensure that cancer cells will self-destruct.
Do black raspberries kill cancer cells?
"There are many different secondary plant substances in fruits, vegetables and salads that are beneficial", explains Jutta Hübner, professor of oncology at the University of Jena. However, it is extremely wrong to claim that individual foods can categorically prevent cancer. However, scientific studies on humans are lacking.
Studies that are only conducted in the laboratory and in which, for example, certain artificial concentrations of ingredients can be used, as well as animal studies, show that raspberries have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. However, these studies cannot be simply related to the human body, says Hübner. "We have different metabolisms and different excretory systems", she explains. First, a specific, tolerable dose of the individual active ingredients must be found. In addition, it is very difficult to conduct such studies on humans, since they must last ten to twenty years, during which people cannot eat only a certain type of fruit. And that is precisely the problem: in a study lasting several years, people will also eat other foods - in which case it will not be possible to make a clear analysis of whether the consumption of raspberries or other foods has an impact on the development of cancer."
Figs against cancer?
In the same video, Quillin also talks about the miraculous effect of figs against cancer. A review of a total of 27 studies shows that figs have the potential to at least prevent cancer or be used in cancer therapy. However, there is the same challenge here as with black raspberries when it comes to human studies.
According to a 2021 laboratory study, fig latex may suppress breast cancer, for example - but there is also a lack of human studies. "There are no foods that definitively protect against cancer", Maxine Lenza, health manager at the Cancer Research UK, told DW. The overall diet is much more important than individual foods or ingredients.
Cancer risk can be reduced
The German Cancer Aid Organization recommends, for example, the advice of the German Nutrition Society: according to it, a healthy diet includes three-quarters of products of plant origin and one-quarter of products of animal origin.
"Other steps that people can take to reduce the risk of cancer are: not smoking, drinking less alcohol and protecting themselves from the sun," says Lenza. Hübner adds that sports and physical activity can prevent cancer, but it is important to emphasize: "It is impossible to prevent cancer completely. You can only try to reduce the risk, but in reality you can't completely avoid it."
And who is Dr. Quillin?
We also paid special attention to Patrick Quillin, who is spreading the claims in the video. In the video he is called "doctor", but our research showed that he is not a doctor, but has studied nutrition and has a doctorate in philosophy. So "doctor" Quillin has no medical education or experience and has never studied the causes of cancer.
For years, Quillin has been regularly posting cancer-related nutrition advice on his social media accounts, which are followed by several thousand people. He has also published numerous books on the subject since the 1990s. Patrick Quillin did not respond to our inquiry about his claim that cancer can be prevented by eating certain foods.
Author: Catherine Wesolowski