A blueberry is a single berry from a heath shrub. They grow in clusters and range in size from a small pea to a marble. They are a deep colour ranging from dark blue, through maroon to purple black. There’s a waxy bloom of a whitish greyish colour that acts as a protective coat to the surface and the skin surrounds a semi-transparent flesh and some tiny seeds. The beauty of them as that you buy them ready to eat whole so you just pop them in your mouth or use in lots of recipes without any preparation required.
Inflammation is the cause of most chronic diseases and blueberries have a stupendous anti-inflammatory content and also have properties that are anti-ageing and mental deterioration inhibitors. They are also effective in skin maintenance.
Why are Blueberries a superfood?
It is now accepted that we need a good supply of anti-oxidants for health and to guard against heart disease, cancer, arthritis, asthma, cataracts, Alzheimer’s diseases and age-related neurological conditions. Blueberries also protect the urinary tract by preventing infectious bacteria from clinging to the walls and lining of the gut, urethra and bladder, thereby preventing cystitis. Blueberry juice added to cranberry juice is a favoured commercial product for this reason. Blueberries are classed as a superfood because in 100g there are more of these age-defying chemicals than in five servings of other fruit and vegetables.
Blueberries are high in Vitamins K and C and are a good source of soluble fibre. There’s also the compound pterostilbene which acts to protect the heart in the same way as drugs designed to lower cholesterol and there’s flavonoids which also reduce the risk of heart disease. Its flavonoids, anthocyanins and resveratrol are also believed to have anti-cancer properties by inhibiting the mechanisms that cause cancer cell formation.
The anti-inflammatory properties protect blood vessels from damage particularly from that caused by diabetes. This is essential for the health of the eye’s bloodstream.
As well as being brain food – 100g a day can stimulate brain cell growth as a well as improve balance and co-ordination - blueberries can be seen as a beauty product. Their polyphenols combat the effect of free radicals which cause wrinkles and also help the production of collagen which keeps skin supple. Skin care treatments are combining blueberries with other herbs to revitalise and hasten healing and initial research is also showing that blueberry extracts reduce scarring in wound and burn treatments.
As with most foods, the deeper the colour the richer the nutritional content and none of this nutrition is lost in freezing.
Try one of these fabulously healthy blueberry boosters.
Food Group: Fruit
Nutritional Values: Per 100g
- 57 Calories
- 0g Fat of which 9% is saturated
- 0 Trans fats
- 14g Carbohydrates
Nutrients:
- Vitamin K
- Vitamin C
- Manganese
- Potassium