Summer is here and with it comes Cyanococcus Vaccinium , otherwise known as the blueberry. These little fruits are nearly the most popular in the country, second only to the strawberry.
Fitting, since they are native to North America and have been used by Native American communities for food, medicine, and artistic purposes for thousands of years. In fact, marks the th anniversary of the first-ever commercial crop of blueberries in the United States, which was harvested in Whitesboro, NJ by farmer Elizabeth White and botanist Frederick Coville.
History aside, blueberries are considered to be one of the healthiest of fruits. Many people have already heard of the research about the high antioxidant content of blueberries, which means that these little fruits protect your body against free-radicals that contribute to aging and cancer. But how? Interestingly, the part of the berry responsible for all this goodness is in fact that beautiful blue color :.
Flavonoids include beta-carotene and related carotenoids, which are responsible for many of the yellows, oranges, reds, and greens in produce. All you have to do is eat them. According to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition back in May of , eating one cup of blueberries per day can help improve certain cardiovascular risk factors of individuals diagnosed with metabolic syndrome a condition in which multiple conditions may occur together, and increase your risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.
For the study, researchers asked a group of overweight and obese adults between 50 and 75 years old to either consume one cup of freeze-dried blueberry powder, one placebo that looked like a blueberry, or a mix that was half freeze-dried blueberry powder and half placebo once per day for six months, Sharecare. Oz and Dr. Michael Roizen told Sharecare. Flavonoids also referred to as polyphenols interact with the different proteins and enzymes in your brain, keeping your brain feeling young and fresh, they explain.
Got high cholesterol? Why not add a handful of blueberries to your morning cereal? According to an animal study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry back in , researchers led by a U. Yokoyama found that blueberries can reduce bad cholesterol LDL levels by 44 percent. Researchers believe that this is due to the fact that compounds in blueberries activate genes in the liver , and therefore aid in its proper functionality, according to Sharecare.
Just-Sweet-Enough Blueberry Crumble. Blueberry Banana Smoothie. While there is a large swath of evidence showing blueberries have extensive health benefits, The Atlantic's James Hamblin explains that the blueberry's "superfood" moniker began its life as a marketing tactic, similar to the way dark chocolate erroneously became known as a health food. And needless to say, the sugar and fat in a blueberry pie likely offsets any nutritional benefit anyway.
Numerous studies tout blueberries' health benefits. Perhaps the most commonly repeated benefit is that blueberries are high in antioxidants, which help to curb oxidative stress on the body. Other research has associated blueberries with improved cognitive function , mobility , blood pressure , cholesterol , and more. But Hamblin details how the extensive research backing blueberries' health benefits originated in a PR push to position blueberries as a so-called "superfood.
According to Hamblin, a marketing executive named John Sauve, who was the executive director of the Wild-Blueberry Association of North America from to , heard about a study that found dark-colored fruits were high in antioxidants, and that of those fruits, blueberries contained the highest levels. Suave told Hamblin though he didn't have a deep understanding of the findings, he "understood that [researchers] had found that blueberries produce the highest numbers [of antioxidants] on the chart.
As a marketer, if your product happens to come out first in something, you might want to look into it. From there, Suave and others in the blueberry industry began funding research into the fruit's health effects. Suave told Hamblin, "We took a shot and we invested in it and ended up creating a story with the positioning of blueberries and antioxidants. We built it right, we communicated it right, and we got remarkable PR coverage out of it.
Sign in. Back to Recipes Pumpkin recipes Butternut squash See more. Back to Recipes Chicken slow cooker Veggie slow cooker See more. Back to Recipes Cheesecakes Cookies See more. Back to Recipes Family meals One-pot recipes See more. Back to Recipes Quick and healthy Quick vegetarian See more. Back to Recipes Vegetable soups Healthy soups See more. Back to Recipes Chicken curry Pasta See more. Back to Recipes Smoothies Autumn drinks See more.
Back to Recipes Whole foods recipes Healthy dinners See more.
0コメント