Blueberries Just the FAQs
By: Dr. Paul Gross
Its hard to find a food category that has not been touched by the blueberry over the past three years. Bread, muffins, cookies, pies, granola bars, cereals, tea, yogurt, juices, ice cream and even chocolates now contain blueberries. The blueberry is simply plant foods most popular health-promoting superstar.
Lets have a look at the scientific and health foundations for this blueberry revolution by answering some of the questions often asked by the public.
How many species of blueberries are commonly available to the general consumer?
In Canada and the US, there are two main species: the wild blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium or lowbush blueberry), and the cultivated blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum or highbush blueberry). The wild blueberry is used for large commercial purposes including baking ingredients, and the cultivated blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum or highbush blueberry) is grown mainly for the fresh produce market.
How are these two species different?
The wild blueberry grows on knee-high bushes and is a smaller berry that remains about the size of a young pea. It is a darker blue than its cousin and tends to have blue pulp that remains firm even after freezing or baking. The cultivated blueberry grows on chest-high bushes (bred so that they are easy to pick) and is the size of a large marble with a green pulp. Some scientific assays have described the wild blueberry with richer contents of nutrients per gram, particularly the pigment antioxidants described below.
Where do blueberries grow?
Wild blueberries are commercially farmed in Ontario, Quebec, the Maritime Provinces (particularly Nova Scotia) and in Maine. Cultivated blueberries are typical fresh produce items in British Columbia and throughout the Mid-West, Northwest and Southern US.
What is it about blueberries that have caught consumers attention?
There is no other edible plant in nature with the blueberrys rich color of blue, making it unique for coloring foods as an additive. It has a special tangy, fruity taste that appeals to most people, especially children.
In 1996, a medical research paper entitled In vitro anticancer activity of fruit extracts from Vaccinium species was published by J. Bomser et al. (Planta Med. 1996 Jun; 62(3): 212-6). Since then, nearly 200 medical studies have been published on blueberries, with many showing profound anti-disease benefits in experimental animals. Preliminary research showing health benefits in humans is promising but not yet conclusive.
What are oxidants and antioxidants?
Moment by moment throughout the cells of our bodies, free radicals (i.e., oxidants or radical oxygen species) are continuously being generated by normal metabolism. Exposure to toxins in the environment, or irradiation, increases free radical production. Free radicals are unstable atoms having potential to damage cells and alter genes if not quickly neutralized.
Our bodies defend against oxidation through enzymes called dismutases, catalases, reductases and peroxidases. Also, our diet provides a host of chemicals serving antioxidant roles. These chemicals include: vitamins A, C and E; minerals like selenium, manganese and zinc; and pigments from the plant foods we eat.
What pigments are present in blueberries?
The rich color of blueberries comes from numerous chemicals of the phenolic super-family. A major subgroup of phenolics is the flavonoids that are densely populated in blueberries. One flavonoid class in particular the anthocyanins accounts for most of the blue pigmentation of blueberries.
Are anthocyanins good antioxidants?
Anthocyanins are excellent antioxidants. A general rule is that antioxidant strength of a pigment is proportional to its intensity of color. By that measure, blueberries (particularly wild blueberries) have rich anthocyanin content and excellent antioxidant quality.
Is there a way to measure antioxidant quality of a plant food and how well do blueberries perform?
Yes, a test called ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) is performed on a food sample in a test tube. Then, the strength of antioxidant is measure by how well it neutralizes free radicals.
Among some 50 plant foods tested by the US Department of Agriculture, blueberries had the highest ORAC as a group among other berries, fruits or vegetables.
Plants with pale skins and white pulps like pears and some apples have low ORAC, whereas dark fruit like blueberries, cranberries and blackberries have relatively high ORAC.
What does a high ORAC mean for health protection?
The answer to this question requires actual clinical research in humans (not yet performed) but the scientific evidence points to widespread protection against numerous diseases by having a diet rich in high-ORAC foods like blueberries.
What are some diseases that evolve from free radicals?
Growing scientific evidence shows that nearly every disease involves free radicals to some extent. Cancer, heart and vascular disease, diabetes, inflammation and neurological disorders all have strong components of oxidative stress. Premature aging and diseases of the elderly such as macular degeneration are thought to result from oxidative damage to cells as well.
Summary
With sensational potential health benefits, why not increase your daily intake of blueberries. Add them into your baking, sprinkle them on your cereal, or eat them right off the bush blueberries are the tastiest health food out there.
Reading
US National Library of Medicine, PubMed, http://pubmed.gov
Wild Blueberry Association of North America, http://wbana.org
Copyright 2006 Berry Health Inc.
Dr. Paul Gross is a scientist and expert on cardiovascular and brain physiology. A published researcher, Gross recently completed a book on the Chinese wolfberry and has begun another on antioxidant berries. Gross is founder of Berry Health Inc, a developer of nutritional, berry-based supplements. For more information, visit http://www.berrywiseonline.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dr._Paul_Gross
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