Compounds in cranberries may improve the effectiveness of platinum-based chemotherapy drugs that are used to fight ovarian cancer, according to a study led by Ajay P. Singh, Ph.D., and Nicholi Vorsa, Ph.D from Rutgers University.

The scientists showed that human ovarian cancer cells in cell culture studies were up to 6 times more sensitized to the drugs after the exposure to the cranberry compounds compared to cells that were not exposed. They treated the cells with a purified extract of commercially available cranberry drink (containing 27 percent pure juice), and then exposed the cells to the platinum drug paraplatin. Human studies are still needed, note the researchers.

The researchers believe that the active compounds are antioxidants called 'A-type' proanthocyanidins that are unique to cranberries. Based on other studies by other groups, the compounds appear to bind to and block certain tumor promoter proteins, making the cells more vulnerable to the platinum drugs.

Next steps includes isolating the active compounds and doing further studies, including studies in humans.

Calorie for calorie, leafy green vegetables like spinach with its delicate texture and jade green color provide more nutrients and vitamins than any other food. Spinach carotenoid combats cancer. Here is a healthy spinach salad good enough for any lunch main course.

Vicki's Spinach Salad with Fruit.
Fresh baby spinach leaves
1 carrot thinly sliced
1 celery stalk thinly sliced
1/2 red onion thinly sliced
1 cup grape tomatoes
1/2 cup craisins (dried cranberries)
1/2 cup chopped fresh apple
1/2 cup chopped fresh pear
1/2 cup slivered almonds
2 hard boiled eggs sliced
6 strips crispy cooked bacon crumbled

Vicki's Dijon Mustard Vinaigrette
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon freshly chopped chives

Toss all of the salad ingredients except the eggs in a large mixing bowl. Whisk together the ingredients for the salad dressing and drizzle over the salad and lightly toss again. Top with the sliced hard boiled eggs.

Summertime, watermelon, and the 4th of July all go hand and hand. This fruit seems to be a tradition in almost every back yard BBQ on this holiday. In July this fruit is abundant in every roadside fruit stand, farmers market and grocery store. Watermelon contains the phytochemical lycopene, one of our colorful disease preventing cartenoids that is most known for in tomatoes. That is why they are both red. Studies have shown that a cup and a half of watermelon contains about 9 to 13 milligrams of lycopene. On average, watermelon has about 40 percent more lycopene than raw tomatoes.

The vegetable Jicama has a crunchy texture like that of water chestnuts but with a sweet taste. It is easy to just peel, slice and serve raw. It is a good source of vitamin C as well as dietary fiber aiding in fighting colon cancer.

I like to use these two naturally sweet items in a nutritional salad packed with vitamins, taste, fiber and cancer fighting lycopene.  Here is my recipe.

Vicki's Watermelon & Jicama Salad
1 head Romain lettuce.
1 head radichio
4 tangerines peeled and segmented
1 piece jicama, peeled, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices about 2 inches long
1 watermelon   
1 pack feta cheese
1/4 cup dried cranberries 
1/4 cup toasted sunflower seeds

Vicki's Citrus Vinaigrette
4 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Whisk together all ingredients.

Tear lettuce and radichio apart rinse well and shake dry. Lightly tear apart into bite size pieces and place the leaves around on individual salad plates so that the texture and colors of the salad are mixed. Scoop out 5 to 6 balls of the watermelon with a melon baller and place onto the center of the salad plates. Then place wedges of the jicama and tangerines around the watermelon. Sprinkle with cranberries, feta cheese, and toasted sunflower seeds. Lightly drizzle with citrus vinaigrette and serve. Will serve 4 to 6 depending on how large you like your salads.

In the phenomenal bestseller Foods That Fight Cancer: Preventing Cancer Through Diet, written by Montreal biochemist Richard Beliveau with fellow scientist Denis Gingras, the authors refer to fruits and vegetables as a preventative non-toxic version of chemotherapy.

Originally published in French, the book has recently been translated into English. Based on scientific studies in food chemistry, the book's two main goals are to educate people about what cancer is -- and how to eat for cancer prevention.

Beliveau explains in layman's terms how cancer develops, how it takes years for cancer to develop, how tumors form spontaneously, and how most cancers remain insignificant. He says, "Preventing cancer is destroying these microtumors and blocking them from reaching a stage where they become clinically relevant." There are foods with the biochemical capacity to block some cancers. He wants the reader to realize that we cannot eat as badly as we do and expect medicine to come up with a miracle pill when something goes wrong.

Following is an excerpt of some of the information the reader will find in Foods That Fight Cancer: Preventing Cancer Through Diet: