SuperFood - Blueberries

Now here is a SuperFood that you can take to the bank! Native to the North American landscape, blueberries are truly an All-American food.

For many years nutritionists and researchers ignored the tiny blueberry because of its relatively low vitamin C content. However, what these people did not know was that the healthful benefits of blueberries stem mainly from their incredibly high levels of antioxidant phytonutrients.

Phytonutrients are non-vitamin, non-mineral components of food that have significant healthful benefits. There are literally thousands of different types of phytonutrients, and each phytonutrient is unique in both its physical characteristics and its function. Research has shown that phytonutrients help the body cells communicate with each other more efficiently, prevent mutations at the cellular level, prevent the proliferation of cancer cells, and there is still much more that we are learning about the powers of phytonutrients everyday.

Blueberries are so rich in phytonutrients that even though they are not filled with the antioxidant vitamins C and E, they still provide as much antioxidant protection to the body as 1,733 IU of vitamin E and more than 1200 milligrams of vitamin C.

Blueberries and Your Brain

The research that really put blueberries on the map brought exciting news that this fruit seemed to slow and even reverse many of the degenerative diseases that are associated with the aging of the brain, including dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. This is important information, considering that by the year 2050 over 30% of the American population will be over the age of 65.

Research done on aging rats has produced intriguing results, as these rats, when fed the human equivalent of 1 cup of blueberries per day, showed improvements in both balance and coordination. These improvements are due to better cell communication in the brain cells of these rats. Because blueberries are rich in phytonutrients, especially polyphenols and flavonoids, these findings should come as no surprise. Recall that phytonutrients have been shown to improve the efficiency that our body’s cells communicate with each other.

By helping our brain cells communicate more efficiently, blueberries are actually helping to halt the progression of the degenerative diseases that are associated with the aging of the brain. This is because the primary reason that humans develop age related degenerative brain diseases, such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, is because as we age our brain cells become less and less effective at communicating with each other, as the signals that these cells send out to the neighboring cells weakens over time. When these signals become too weak to allow effective communication between cells, neurological pathways are lost and brain function is thus diminished.

Blueberries and Cancer

New and exciting research has now linked the consumption of blueberries (as part of a regular diet) with the prevention of cancer. Once again it is the high phytonutrient content of blueberries that is responsible for this health benefit. In this case, the major phytonutrient responsible for producing this effect is ellagic acid. Ellagic acid, is also found in high quantities within other berries, including:
• Black and red raspberries
• Blackberries
• Marionberries
• Boysenberries

This phytonutrient tends to be located in the seeds of these berries, making the afore mentioned berries three to nine times more potent sources of ellagic acid than other good sources, such as strawberries, walnuts, and pecans. Various studies on ellagic acid have demonstrated that people who consume foods that are high in ellagic acid are three times less likely to develop cancer when compared to those who consume very little or no dietary ellagic acid.

Healthy Tips

Here are some healthy tips that you can use when buying and preparing blueberries:
• Keep dried blueberries on hand, as they are a great addition to oatmeal. Add them in the last minute of cooking
• Frozen blueberries are great for mixing into yogurt, pancakes, muffins, and smoothies
• When buying blueberry juice or any other juice at the grocery store, make sure that it is 100% juice. This label can usually be found right above the nutritional facts
• To reduce your caloric intake from the consumption of juice, mix one-half 100% fruit juice with one-half seltzer for a delightful sparkling fruit juice beverage

Here is a delicious summer treat for kids of all ages:
Frozen Yogurt Blueberry PopsMAKES 12 POPSYou will need:
• 12 paper or foil baking cups, 2 1/2-inch size
• Zest and juices of 1 small lemon
• 2 cups plain nonfat yogurt
• ¼ to ½ cup sugar
• 1 pint blueberries
• 12 Popsicle sticks

Line twelve 2 ½ inch muffin pan cups with fluted paper baking cups. In a bowl, blend the lemon zest, lemon juice, yogurt, and sugar until smooth. Stir in the blueberries. Divide the mixture among the paper-lined muffin pan cups. Freeze for 1 ½ hours, or until almost firm; insert a Popsicle stick in the middle of each pop. Freeze until firm, about 2 hours. For longer storage in the freezer, cover with plastic wrap. To serve, peel off the paper liners from the pops; let stand at room temperature 4 to 6 minutes to soften slightly for easier eating.

Source: www.superfoodsrx.com