Health benefits of Blueberries
Blueberries are a good source of fiber and vitamins C. Blueberries are fat free and, at about forty calories per half-cup serving, they are low in calories. Which each bite of these midnight blue pearls, your body gets a generous dose of good health.
Blueberries have a rich folkloric history as an herbal medicine. At one time, a tea made by steeping the roots of the blueberry bush was thought to calm women during childbirth. Native American credited blueberry juice and syrup as a cure for coughs. Scandinavian used fried blueberries to treat children with diarrhea.
Lately, blueberries have been called ‘Miracle Berries,’ ‘Super Food and ‘Fruit of The Year.’ That’s because scientific evidence emerging from labs all over the country tells that blueberries are potent little disease warrior. These blueberries are packed with powerful antioxidants called anthocyanins – the pigment that makes them blue – and other flavonoids, including condensed tannins. When compared with the antioxidants in dozen of other fruits and vegetables, those in blueberries have the greatest capacity to destroy unstable oxygen molecules called free radicals. Without antioxidants, free radicals careen around the body attacking cells and causing damage, then paves the way for cancer and heart disease. Antioxidants also may hamper the build-up of LDL – (low density lipoproteins) cholesterol and reduce the risk of blood clots that cause strokes.
Free radicals also cause brain cells to age more quickly, which can lead to memory loss as well as impaired balance and coordination. In animal studies that anthocyanins in blueberries might help the brain stay young and resist the slowdown typically associated with aging. They may even reverse short term memory loss.
The juicy orbs contain more than forty compounds, such as ellagic acid, thought to prevent cancer. Blueberries also may improve night vision and ward off molecular degeneration, a condition that can lead to blindness. In addition, researchers have found that blueberries, like cranberries, contain a substance called proanthocycanidin, or condensed tannin, that world to keep the urinary tract healthy and free of infection. Proanthocycanidins make harmful bacteria so slippery that they are swept out of the body in the urine before they can stick to the urethra or bladder and cause an infection.
Health benefits of Blueberries
