Posted on 04/02/2023 7:08:48 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
New research has found that eating a handful of wild blueberries daily has health benefits, including lowered blood pressure, faster reaction time, and improved memory and brain cognition.
The study involved a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled trial of 61 healthy men and women aged 65 to 80, who drank a beverage made with 26 grams of freeze-dried wild blueberry powder (equivalent to about 178 grams of whole berries).
Over twelve weeks, researchers found that volunteers who consumed the berry powder in drinks experienced better memory and an improved accuracy on attention tasks, as well as lower blood pressure. Also during this period, after consuming berries the blood pressure of the test group was lower when compared to the placebo group, in addition to having an increased flow mediated dilation (FMD), which leads to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.
Dr. Ana Rodriguez-Mateos said, "This study is the first of its kind and the results suggest that a daily intake of wild blueberries could help lower people's risk of cardiovascular disease by lowering their blood pressure and improving blood vessel function.
"We think the blue pigments in blueberries, the anthocyanins, which are a type of polyphenols also present in other foods such as strawberries, raspberries, red grapes and purple vegetables, are behind these effects as increases in their metabolites were seen in the urine of the volunteers after 12 weeks consumption."
Professor Claire Williams said, "It's clear from this study that consuming wild blueberries is beneficial to cognitive function, as well as vascular health. The group who had the wild blueberry powder showed signs of better memory and greater mental flexibility when completing cognitive tasks. This is consistent with what we already know about the health benefits of anthocyanin-rich foods. It points to an important role of polyphenols in healthy aging."
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
This shows 12 weeks of 178 grams of frozen or fresh blueberries a day can reverse a sign of aging of our blood vessels.
178 grams is equal to 1.15 cups of wild blueberries and is 91 calories of goodness.
Not a fan of blueberries. Too bad. Just started my first canister of Super Beets for the BP.
Blueberries, garlic, and non-gmo cucumbers are beneficial to the body.
Eat them daily if you can.
Blueberries have pterostilbene which is like resveratrol that is bioavailable.
My rabbits love blueberries, maybe that’s why they are 11 and 13 years old and still going.
I take nattokinase and blueberries. Very effective.
Let us know if you see an improvement.
“”The study was funded by the Wild Blueberry Association of North America.””
Tell us what you want us to find in this study...
The excerpt mentions “Wild Blueberry Powder.” I Googled it and, sure enough, it’s a widely available supplement.
I wonder how to translate 1.15 cups of blueberries to a powder weight.
I was already hoping that these blueberry bushes would produce this year. I guess this ups the ante a bit. I like blueberries. Hoping for some home grown ones.
I’ve been eating the same amount of fresh farm raised blueberries each day for the past several years. I wonder if they have the same effect as wild ones?
How about raisins and vodka?
Good point. Who stands to benefit of the claim is believed?
For example, how about this?
“A case of Blatz Beer in your home means much to the young mother, and obviously baby participates in its benefits. The malt in the beer supplies nourishing qualities that are essential at this time and the hops act as an appetizing, stimulating tonic.” -Blatz Beer ad, 1916.
I have blueberry pancakes most weekends. My Labrador Retriever loves them, so there’s always one made for her.
A cup of wild blueberries takes the better part of 20 minutes to pick, in a REALLY good patch. Then there is the cleaning, washing, processing and canning.
An hours work easily for a marginal, debatable, “health benefit”, the vast majority of claims are disproven within 8 months.
That’s not an appealing construct to me. I love my wild blueberries, but to pick that many to benefit just my own immediate family means I am picking at least seven weeks for 7 hours per day, seven days a week.
That’s IF I can find a good patch that big.
File this one under “Yeah, not likely”.
Don W, Costco has frozen wild blueberries at just $3 a pound. You can get 2.55 servings of 178 grams from that, for a cost of $1.17 a day.
I question the available source of wild blueberries for a commercial endeavor with out being super labor intensive.
What qualifies as a wild blueberry?
Or does the product only need to be 0.01% wild blueberry to qualify the label?
I’m in. Gin-soaked raisins are supposed to be good for arthritis.
Terasa wants to know if you mean White Raisins?
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