BLUEBERRY BENEFITS
Packed with vitamins and antioxidants, blueberry continues to top the charts as one of the best choices to
include in a healthy diet.
Beside, blueberry is a rich source of vitamin C and fiber; it also contains two
important compounds- anthocyanin and ellagic acid. Anthocyanin, a
flavonoid, offers a rich blue-purple color to blueberry and contribute its
antioxidant activities. In general, the darker the color of the fruit or vegetable,
the higher in flavonoids it is. While, ellagic acid has been shown to help lower
the risk of cancer. People always believe that blueberries have benefits on
wound healing,age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy,
varicose veins, hemorrhoids, chronic inflammation, Alzheimer's, heart
disease, arthritis and cancers.

What have researchers found about blueberries?

Diets rich in phenolic compounds may be associated with lower risks of
several chronic diseases including cancer. Researchers from University of
Georgia, Tifton extracted polyphenols from three blueberry cultivars,
Briteblue, Tifblue, and Powderblue and then separated the polyphenols into
phenolic acids, tannins, flavonols, and anthocyanins. They found all fractions
including the extract having antiproliferation activities and the anthocyanin
fractions had the greatest antiproliferation effect in a study using HT-29 and
Caco-2 cells. Anthocyanin fractions also resulted in 2-7 times increases in
DNA fragmentation, indicating the induction of apoptosis. [1]

Free radicals are involved in neurodegenerative disorders, such as ischemia
and aging. Treatment with diets enriched with blueberry has been shown to
reduce neurodegenerative changes in aged animals. Researchers from
National Institute on Drug Abuse further found that blueberries have
neuro-protective effects in focal ischemic brain including lowering the risk for
ischemia/reperfusion-induced apoptosis and cerebral infarction. [2]
Researchers from University of Prince Edward Island, Canada, found that
blueberry could decrease risk of ischemic stroke in a study of rats. [6]

Does fresh blueberry have more anti-oxidants than dehydrated or frozen
blueberry?

Measurement of the antioxidant activity of anthocyanin extracts from
blueberries showed there was no significant difference between fresh, dried,
and frozen blueberries. [3] However, cooking can destroy resveratrol, a
chemo-preventive compound. After 18 min of heating at 190 degrees C,
between 17 and 46% of the resveratrol had found to degrade in the various
Vaccinium species. Therefore, the resveratrol content of baked or
heat-processed blueberries or bilberries should be expected to be lower than
in the raw fruit. [4]

Is raw blueberry always safe?

Raw blueberry is safe in general. However, there was an outbreak of hepatitis
A associated with consumption of raw blueberries in New Zealand. The
presence of hepatitis A virus on the blueberry was confirmed by DNA
hybridization and sequencing of PCR products. [5]

What shall you do next?

Get down to the farmers market and pick up some berries. WASH THEM
WELL. Eat them fresh, cook them or freeze them for later - they retain all their
goodness whether frozen or cooked.

If you don't want to eat raw blueberry, you can consider this:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put blueberries into a baking dish and sprinkle
with lemon juice and rind and half the nutmeg. In a bowl, cream the butter with
the brown sugar. Stir in the oats and remaining nutmeg. Spread this over the
blueberries and bake until hot through and golden. If, you feel the calorie
content of this dessert is high for you, you may consider blueberry
supplements or extracts.

                                                     HOME

DO NOT COPY THIS ARTICLE TO OTHER WEBSITES OR BLOGS OR OTHER TYPES OF
PUBLICATIONS

REFERENCES:

[1] Cancer Cell Proliferation and Induce Apoptosis. J Agric Food Chem. 2005 Sep 7;53(18):7320-7329.
[2] Wang Y et al, Dietary supplementation with blueberries, spinach, or spirulina reduces ischemic brain
damage. Exp Neurol. 2005 May;193(1):75-84. [3] Lohachoompol V et al, The Change of Total
Anthocyanins in Blueberries and Their Antioxidant Effect After Drying and Freezing. J Biomed
Biotechnol. 2004;2004(5):248-252. [4] Lyons MM et al, Resveratrol in raw and baked blueberries and
bilberries. J Agric Food Chem. 2003 Sep 24;51(20):5867-70. [5] Calder L et al, An outbreak of hepatitis
A associated with consumption of raw blueberries. Epidemiol Infect. 2003 Aug;131(1):745-51. [6]
Sweeney MI et al, Feeding rats diets enriched in lowbush blueberries for six weeks decreases
ischemia-induced brain damage. Nutr Neurosci. 2002 Dec;5(6):427-31.

THIS ARTICLE IS FOR YOUR REFERENCE ONLY. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE, CONSULT
WITH YOUR DOCTOR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2008 zhion.