Blueberries

Note: My wife used blueberries during her pregnancies in lieu of aspirin and pain medication during critical times when she couldn't take any for fear of impacting the baby.  I use them because they're tasty and yummy, but they also have strong anti-oxidant properties and are full of vitamins.  I thought I'd share some of this info with you. :)

The Buzz about Blueberries
http://health.msn.com/healthy-living/on-call-the-buzz-about-blueberries

Native to North America, blueberries have been popular here ever since our earliest days. Their flavor and color justify this popularity, but as people have become interested in the health benefits of "functional foods," blueberries have become as prized for their chemicals as their taste — and production has soared to over 200 million pounds a year.

Like other deeply colored fruits, blueberries are rich in anthocyanins and other natural pigments in the flavonoid family. The buzz about blueberries stems from the fact that these flavonoids are powerful antioxidants. According to one widely used testing method, blueberries pack three times more antioxidant power than spinach or oranges. And while antioxidants may be driving the blueberry craze, the fruit also scores well in terms of its traditional nutrients. A 100-gram (3½-ounce) portion of fresh blueberries is low in calories (56), fat (0.4 grams), and sodium (6 milligrams), but high in vitamin C (13 mg), vitamin A (100 international units), and fiber (2.7 grams).

Scientists can tell us a lot about the chemical composition of blueberries, but they can't say if these phytochemicals actually contribute to better health. And even if eating blueberries does prove beneficial, we're a long way from knowing what "dose" would be best.

For now, it's fair to say that blueberries look great on paper, and if they taste great on your cereal, don't rock the family breakfast boat. Above all, no one in your family should rely on a handful of blueberries to counteract unwise dietary choices. Instead, make blueberries and other deep-colored fruits and vegetables part of a balanced dietary pattern. For starters, you might look under your blueberries to be sure your breakfast cereal is high in fiber and potassium but low in sugar, sodium, and calories.

— Harvey B. Simon, M.D.
Editor, Harvard Men's Health Watch

Benefits of Blueberries

http://www.bewellbuzz.com/superfoods/the-benefits-of-blueberries-are-more-than-just-antioxidants/

Blueberries are packed with antioxidant power, but the benefits of blueberries are far more than just the plant chemicals you hear about so often. Blueberries fight disease on multiple levels, and are an underused tool of naturally good health.

Probably you have heard about cranberry juice as a tool for fighting bacterial infection of the urinary tract. Millions of cystitis sufferers are told to drink unsweetened cranberry juice to get rid of the E. coli and Proteus infestations that cause painful urination, abdominal cramps, and even bleeding.
Cranberry juice, as long as it isn’t doused with sugar, really works against common urinary tract infections. The problem is that it sometimes works a little too well. Aspirin-like compounds in cranberry juice trigger allergic reactions in the aspirin-sensitive, and cranberry extracts really aren’t safe in children under three. In fact, infants and toddlers have had to be hospitalized after treatment with cranberry juice extract.

Fortunately, blueberry juice and fresh blueberries also fight urinary tract infections, and they are safe for young children and for people who are sensitive to aspirin. One of the major benefits of blueberries is that they are tasty all by themselves, no sugar added because no sugar is needed, and they also fight the build of sticky biofilms left by infectious microorganisms in the urinary tract.
Blueberries are also beneficial for your brain. On a test tube level, blueberry antioxidants activate two brain-protective enzymes, catalase and superoxide dismutase. These are the enzymes that keep neurons from being “deactivated” after they are attacked by free radicals. Scientists at the Montreal Diabetes Research Center and the University of Montreal in Canada even believe that blueberry juice will be the source of treatments for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and age-related memory problems, and that eating blueberries confers similar benefits now.

There is no downside to eating blueberries, except that if you eat enough to make a black bear jealous, your digestive tract is going to slow down to handle all the pectin. Up to a quarter cup of delicious blueberries every day for kids and up to a whole cup of blueberries every day for adults offers all the benefits of blueberries in a delicious summer package–and you can enjoy all-fruit blueberry conserves and blueberry juice every day of the year.

— Robert Rister
Chemist, commentator, and formulator of natural products, cited as an authority on herbal medicine in publications such as the Journal of the American Medical Association and Natural Health, Robert Rister is the author or co-author of over twenty books on natural health, including the forthcoming Coconut Grove Diet