Cultural Competence in the Prevention and Treatment of Cancer: The Case of Blueberries in North America
Author(s)
Niobra Samuel-Peterson
Affiliation(s)
Department of Sociology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, USA.
Department of Sociology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, USA.
ABSTRACT
Berry and berry-type fruits have gained the title of “super fruits” in recent years due to their anti-disease promoting phytonutrients. While researchers have been hard at work isolating the mechanisms by which these bioactive chemicals influence the human body, scientists have largely ignored the influence of culture on the co-evolutionary relationship between berry fruits and humans. This paper explores the phytochemical makeup and cultural groundings of blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum). Cultural and spiritual connections of northeastern Native American groups such as the Ojibwe tribe with blueberries have influenced the survival of both species. Considering the poor consumption of fruits across the United States, this paper presents the thesis that effectively changing the dietary habits of a population requires a multi-faceted approach where scientific knowledge of the benefits of fruits in addition to the history and sociocultural meaning of various fruits are taken into account. Moreover, this paper discusses the importance of sociocultural backgrounds (specifically of fruits) as a platform for strengthening cultural competence in order to more effectively communicate knowledge concerning the use of fruits in the prevention and treatment of various cancers.
Cite this paper
Samuel-Peterson, N. (2013). Cultural Competence in the Prevention and Treatment of Cancer: The Case of Blueberries in North America. Advances in Anthropology, 3, 65-70. doi: 10.4236/aa.2013.32009.
Samuel-Peterson, N. (2013). Cultural Competence in the Prevention and Treatment of Cancer: The Case of Blueberries in North America. Advances in Anthropology, 3, 65-70. doi: 10.4236/aa.2013.32009.
References
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Plant polyphenols and oral health: Old phytochemicals for new fields. Current Medicinal Chemistry, 19, 1706-1720. doi:10.2174/092986712799945012 [43] Wood, M. (2011). Blueberries and your health: Scientists study nutrition secrets of popular fruit. Agricultural Research, 59, 9-13. [44] Wood, W. R. (2008). South Haven’s 45th national blueberry festival celebrates more than just berries. Kalamazoo, MI: Kalamazoo Ga zette. [45] Wu, X., Beecher, G. R., Holden, J. M., Haytowitz, D. B., Gebhardt, S. E., & Prior, R. L. (2004). Lipophilic and hydrophilic antioxidant capacities of common foods in the United States. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 52, 4026-4037. doi:10.1021/jf049696w
[1] American Association of Medical Colleges (2010). Cultural compe tence education for medical students. https://www.aamc.org/ [2] Beach, M. C., Price, E. G., Gary, T. L., Robinson, K. A., Gozu, A., Pa lacio, A., Smarth, C., Jenckes, M. W., Feuerstein, K. A., Bass, E. B., Powe, N. R., & Cooper, L. A. (2005). Cultural competency: A systematic review of health care provider educational interventions. Medical Care, 43, 356. doi:10.1097/01.mlr.0000156861.58905.96 [3] Beach, M. C., Gary, T. L., Price, E. G., Robinson, K., Gozu, A., Palacio, A., Smarth, C., Jenckes, M. W., Feuerstein, K. A., Bass, E. B., Powe, N. R., & Cooper, L. A. (2006). Improving health care quality for racial/ethnic minorities: A systematic review of the best evidence regarding provider and organization interventions. BMC Public Health, 6, 104. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-6-104 [4] Bianco, M. (1988). True blueberries are an all-American fruit. San Francisco, CA: The San Francisco Chronicle. [5] Brown, E. M., Gill, C. I. R., McDougall, G. J., & Stewart, D. (2012). Mechanisms underlying the anti-proliferative effects of berry com ponents in in vitro models of colon cancer. Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, 13, 200-209. doi:10.2174/138920112798868773 [6] Centers for Disease Control—Cancer Prevention and Control (CDC) (2012). http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/ [7] Collins, A. R., Azqueta, A., & Langie, S. A. S. (2012). Effects of micronutrients of DNA repair. European Journal of Nutrition, 51, 261 279. doi:10.1007/s00394-012-0318-4 [8] DeAngelis, M. (2011). Sand in my shoes/singing (the praises of) the blues/hammonton prepares to once again celebrate the blueberry and its farmers (p. B1). Atlantic, NJ: The Press of Atlantic City. [9] Goswami, S. K., & Das, D. K. (2009). Resveratrol and chemoprevention. Cancer Letters, 284, 1-6. doi:10.1016/j.canlet.2009.01.041 [10] Howell, A. B. (2009). Update on the health benefits of cranberry and blueberry. Acta Horticulturae, 810, 779-784. [11] Johston, S. (1959). Essentials of blueberry culture. East Lansing, MI: Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University Agricultural Experiment Station. [12] Kaplan, J. K. (2011). Blueberry growing comes to the national agricul tural library. Agricultural Research, 59, 14-16. [13] de Kok, T. M. C. M., van Breda, S. G. J., & Briede, J. J. (2012). Genomics-based identification of molecular mechanisms behind the cancer preventative action phytochemicals: Potential and challenges. Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, 13, 255-264. doi:10.2174/138920112798868601 [14] Mates, J. M., Segura, J. A., Alonso, F. J., & Marquez, J. (2011). Anti cancer antioxidant regulatory functions of phytochemicals. Current Medicinal Chemistry, 18, 2315-2338. doi:10.2174/092986711795656036 [15] Mahadevan, B., Mata, J. E., Albershardt, D. J., Stevens, J. F., Pereira, C. B., Rodriguez-Proteau, R., Baird, W. M. (2005). The effects of red raspberry extract on PAH transport across Calu-3 cell monolayer, an in-vitro cell model. International Journal of Cancer Prevention, 2, 129-141. [16] Meydani, M., & Hasan, S. T. (2010). Dietary polyphenols and obesity. Nutrients, 2, 737-751. doi:10.3390/nu2070737 [17] Moerman, D. E. (1998). Native american ethnobotany. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. [18] Native American Ethnobotany Database (NAED) (2012). http://herb.umd.umich.edu [19] Norrgard, C. (2009). From berries to orchards: Tracing the history of berrying and economic transformation among Lake Superior Ojibwe. The American Indian Quarterly, 33, 33-61. doi:10.1353/aiq.0.0035 [20] Pallas, L. A., Pegg, R. B., & Kerr, W. L. (2012). Quality factor, anti oxidant activity, and sensory properties of jet-tube dried rabbiteye blueberries. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, Published Online Wiley Library. doi:10.1002/jsfa.5985 [21] Parry, J., Su, L., Moore, J., Cheng, Z., Luther, M., Rao, J. N., Wang, J., & Yu, L. L. (2006). Chemical compositions, antioxidant capacities, and antiproliferative activities of selected fruit seed flours. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 54, 3773-3778. doi:10.1021/jf060325k [22] Pivonka, E., Seymour, J., McKenna, J., Baxter, S. D., & Williams, S. (2011). Development of the behaviorally focused fruits & veggies— More matters public health initiative. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 111, 1570-1577. doi:10.1016/j.jada.2011.07.001 [23] Puhala, B. (1987). It’s blueberry time in Grand Haven. Chicago, IL: Chicago-Sun Times. [24] Reagan, R. (1984). Remarks at a Reagan-Bush rally in Hammonton, New Jersey. Public Papers of Ronald Reagan: September 1984. http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1984/91984c.htm. [25] Reese, S. (1985). It takes dedication to grow Texas blueberries. Dallas, Tx: The Dallas Morning News. [26] Rendeiro, C., Guerreiro, J. D. T., Wiliams, C. M., & Spenser, J. P. E., (2012) 70th Anniversary Conference on “From plough through practice to policy”: Postgraduate symposium flavonoids as modulators of memory and learning: Molecular interactions resulting in behavioural effects. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 71, 246-262. doi:10.1017/S0029665112000146 [27] Seeram, N. P. (2008a). Berry fruits for cancer prevention: Current status and future prospects. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 56, 630-635. doi:10.1021/jf072504n [28] Seeram, N. P. (2008b). Symposium: Berry fruits: Compositional elements, biochemical activities, and the impact of their intake on human health performance, and disease. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 56, 627-629. doi:10.1021/jf071988k [29] Seeram, N. P. (2011). Emerging research supporting the positive effects of berries on human health and disease prevention. Journal of Agri cultural and Food Chemistry, 60, 5685-5686. doi:10.1021/jf203455z [30] Siegel, R., Naishadham, D., & Ahmedin, J. (2012). Cancer statistics, 2012. CA Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 62, 10-29. doi:10.3322/caac.20138 [31] Silver B. & Allen, M. (2012). Commodity of the quarter: Blueberries. Journal of Agricultural & Food Information, 13, 7-13. doi:10.1080/10496505.2012.639664 [32] Smith, H. (1932). Ethnobotany of the Ojibwe Indians. Bulletin of the Public Museum of Milwaukee, 4, 327-525. [33] Stables, G. J., Subar, A. F., Patterson, B. H., Dodd, K., Heimendinger, J., Van Duyn, M. A., & Nebeling, L. (2002). Changes in vegetable and fruit consumption and awareness among US adults: Results of the 1991 and 1997 5 a day for better health program surveys. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 102, 809-817. doi:10.1016/S0002-8223(02)90181-1 [34] Stan, S. D., Kar, S., Stoner, G. D., & Singh, S. V. (2008). Bioactive food components and cancer risk reduction. Journal of Cellular Bio chemistry, 104, 339-356. doi:10.1002/jcb.21623 [35] Stoner, G. D., & Seeram, N. P. (Eds). (2011). Berries and cancer prevention. New York: Springer. [36] Szajdek, A., & Borowska, E. J. (2008). Bioactive compounds and health-promoting properties of berry fruits: A review. Plant Foods and Human Nutrition, 63, 147-156. doi:10.1007/s11130-008-0097-5 [37] Thompson, J. (2005). The geographic mosaic of coevolution. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. [38] Tonge, P. (1980). For overseas visitors, blueberries were a hit. Boston, MA: The Christian Science Monitor. [39] Udenigwe, C. C., Ramprasath, V. R., Aluko, R. E., & Jones, P. J. H. (2008). Potential of resveratrol in anticancer and anti-inflammatory therapy. Nutrition Reviews, 66, 445-454. doi:10.1111/j.1753-4887.2008.00076.x [40] Umezawa, T. (2003). Diversity in lignin biosynthesis. Phytochemistry Reviews, 2, 371-390. doi:10.1146/annurev.arplant.54.031902.134938 [41] United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) (2012). http://www.ars.usda.gov [42] Varoni, E. M., Lodi, G., Sardella, A., Carrassi, A., & Iriti, M. (2012). Plant polyphenols and oral health: Old phytochemicals for new fields. Current Medicinal Chemistry, 19, 1706-1720. doi:10.2174/092986712799945012 [43] Wood, M. (2011). Blueberries and your health: Scientists study nutrition secrets of popular fruit. Agricultural Research, 59, 9-13. [44] Wood, W. R. (2008). South Haven’s 45th national blueberry festival celebrates more than just berries. Kalamazoo, MI: Kalamazoo Ga zette. [45] Wu, X., Beecher, G. R., Holden, J. M., Haytowitz, D. B., Gebhardt, S. E., & Prior, R. L. (2004). Lipophilic and hydrophilic antioxidant capacities of common foods in the United States. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 52, 4026-4037. doi:10.1021/jf049696w