Blueberries - The Ultimate Fruit

[Tham]

Blueberries extend lifespan in roundworms.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1413581


Blueberries protect against damage from heart attack, prevents
post-heart attack congestive heart failure and cardiomyopathy
(heart enlargement).

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2693933

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/19936253


Blueberries improve senile memory loss, fight Alzheimer's, Parkinson's.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2891857

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2850944


" ..... whole BB (blueberry) and combined PAC (proanthocyanidin)
fraction showed greater protective effects against the stressors than
the more fractionated polyphenolic components. "

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3079309/?tool=pubmed


Short-term blueberry-enriched diet prevents and reverses object
recognition memory loss in aging rats.

" ..... a considerable degree of age-related object memory decline can
be prevented and reversed by brief maintenance on blueberry diets. "

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/21168307


Grape Juice, Berries, and Walnuts Affect Brain Aging and Behavior.

" ..... berries, Concord grapes, and walnuts may increase “health span”
and enhance cognitive and motor function in aging. "

http://jn.nutrition.org/content/139/9/1813S.long


Blueberries protect the kidneys.

" Long-term feeding of BB-enriched diet lowered blood pressure, preserved
renal hemodynamics, and improved redox status in kidneys of hypertensive
rats and concomitantly demonstrated the potential to delay or attenuate
development of hypertension-induced renal injury .... "

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/21949690

[LMei]

I knew about this for sometime after watching Oprah. Problem is blueberries are extremely expensive to get in Malaysia even the frozen ones!

[Tham]

I knew about this for sometime after watching Oprah. Problem is blueberries are extremely expensive to get in Malaysia even the frozen ones!



Eat blueberry jam - the St Dalfour and Steffi's Choice (silver jar) brands.
That's what I do.

Both not exactly cheap either, costs around RM 8 for a 280 gram jar.

But I think still cheaper than buying the fruits. If you spread say 28 grams
( one ounce ) on bread daily, a jar should last you 10 days.

St Dalfour is 50% fruit, Steffi's about 35 -40%. Both are sugarless.

The more common Steffi's type of 454 grams (one pound) has added sugar,
I think about 20 per cent. Fruit content about 35 per cent.
Be aware that their cap is very tightly closed, so you may want to ask
the supermarket people to open it for you before buying. I had to use
a screwdriver to prise mine open.

[Tham]

Potential to prevent/treat Parkinson's in addition to Alzheimer's.

In the above roundworm lifespan study, referenced to James Joseph's study :

" In particular, 8-week dietary supplementation with spinach, strawberry
or blueberry (BB) extracts was effective in reversing age-related deficits
in neuronal function and behavior in aged (19 month) F344 rats (Joseph
et al., 1999). However, only the BB-supplemented group exhibited improved
performance on tests of motor function. Specifically, the BB-supplemented
group displayed improved performance on two motor tests that rely on
balance and coordination, rod walking and the accelerating rotarod, while
none of the other supplemented groups differed from controls on these tasks. "


" ..... blueberry supplementation may be effective in reversing the deleterious
effects of aging on calcium homeostasis that have been reported previously "

" The blueberry-supplemented animals were the only group to show reversals
in motor behavioral deficits. It is well known that age-related decrements in
motor behavior involving alterations in balance and coordination as reflected
in the tests we have used in this experiment have been very resistant to
reversal. "



http://www.jneurosci.org/content/19/18/8114.long#aff-1

[Tham]

I was at Savemart in SS2, one of the usual supermarkets when I buy
my provisions, earlier tonight.

All the jars of Steffi's Choice and Steffi's Delight blueberry jam,
had been sold, except for one of Steffi's Delight ! They had been
there just one or two weeks ago, and had been lying around untouched
before that for weeks. The others- strawberry, marmalade,
blackcurrant, etc, were still plentiful.

I think the above can be attributed to this thread.

[Tham]

Berries: emerging impact on cardiovascular health.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3068482/


Anthocyanins and heart health.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/18209270/

http://www.iss.it/publ/anna/2007/4/434369.pdf