Independent studies confirm blueberries as the world's healthiest food

Blueberries just might be the world's healthiest food. Scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging stated that blueberries were one of the healthiest foods one could eat. They studied over 100 different kinds of food which included fruits, nuts, vegetables, dried fruits as well as herbs and spices. Specifically, they measured total antioxidant capacity of each food and blueberry was found to have the greatest amount of antioxidants of any fruit or vegetable.

Research indicates that blueberries are packed with unique antioxidants that help prevent radical damage. They contain pigments that enhance the effects of vitamin C, support capillary integrity and stabilize the collagen matrix which is the structural substance of all body tissues. Blueberry extracts also seem to inhibit LDL oxidation and reduce inflammation.

A study in the August 2005 issue of the Journal of Medicinal Food concluded that:

 "Whole wild blueberries may have implications in blood pressure regulation and could prove to have a therapeutic role in improving cardiovascular health."

A study reported in the April 2005 issue of Nutritional Neuroscience indicated that improvements in memory and learning may be enhanced. An analysis of the brains of rats fed blueberry for 8 to 10 weeks found that blueberry phytochemicals had crossed the blood-brain barrier and were found in regions of the brain related to memory and learning. Another study to substantiate that finding is found in the September 1999 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience. That particular study found that rats supplemented with blueberry showed reduced age-related declines in cognitive and brain function. Additional evidence also comes from scientists at Tufts University when in 2005 they found a mechanism whereby a diet supplemented with blueberries was able to reverse signs of neurological aging.

There are two main components that give blueberry it's potent antioxidant effects. Anthocyanins and pterostilbene have properties that go well beyond neutralizing free radicals such as maintaining DNA structure within cells. It has been found in studies with rats that brain damage related to aging can be minimized and in some cases even stopped. In fact the effects seen in these studies are closely related to the same positive effects seen in studies with calorie restriction which is also closely related to delaying the effects of aging.

It is important to note that wild blueberries show greater antioxidant potency that cultivated blueberries.

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