Health Facts

The Miracle Berry That Keeps You Young

(Reprinted with permission from "Rodale Inc. - Prevention Magazine" 2001)

Want to stop aging, live longer, and keep your mind sharp? Make blueberries a habit!

If you add one food to your diet this season, make it blueberries. Calorie for calorie, luscious blueberries have recently emerged as the single most ferocious food in the supermarket at halting the forces that age you. Even the scientists who study blueberries are excited! Read on, and you will be too.

Radical Resistance
Every second of your life, your cells are bombarded by dangerous particles called free radicals. In a split second, they can alter your DNA in ways that cause cancer. Or change low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LOL, the bad cholesterol) so it sticks to artery walls. Or damage collagen and make skin wrinkle-prone. Over time, changes such as these accelerate your aging.

Fortunately, you can fight back. The trick is to load your diet with antioxidants--the natural zappers of free radicals--by eating lots of fruits and vegetables. And that's where the incredible blueberries come in. The amazing little blueberry has emerged as nature's number one source of antioxidants among fresh fruits and vegetables.

In tests at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston, blueberries beat out 39 other common fruits and vegetables -- even such heavyweights as kale, strawberries, spinach, and broccoli in antioxidant power. Much of that power comes from anthocyanins, the pigments that give blueberries their deep blue hue.

Blueberry Rx
So impressed is Ronald Prior, PhD head of the USDA Phytochemical Laboratory at Tufts and the scientist who discovered the secret power of blueberries, that he now recommends adding 1/2 cup of blueberries to your diet every day--a far cry from our current average intake of about 2 1/2 cups a year!

"With 1/2 cup of blueberries, you can just about double the amount of antioxidants most Americans get in one day. If you want to slow down the free radical aging process, blueberries are the leader of the pack," he says. "At our house, we always keep blueberries in the freezer."

However, Dr. Prior urges you not to choose only fruits and vegetables that are high in antioxidants. Tomatoes, for example, are fairly low in antioxidants but are a rich source of lycopene, which has been linked to lower rates of prostate cancer and heart disease. The best advice? Eat blueberries in addition to the fruits and vegetables you already eat, not to replace them.

Urinary Tract Relief
Just like their cousin the cranberry, blueberries contain compounds that can prevent urinary tract infections (UTIs), according to recent findings at the Rutgers Blueberry Cranberry Research Center in Chatsworth, NJ.

Called condensed tannins, the compounds can keep the bacteria responsible for UTIs from attaching to the wall of your bladder, says Rutgers scientist Amy B. Howell, PhD And yes, she eats blueberries. "In season, I eat a huge amount--maybe a pint a day."

How to Buy 'Em
Fresh blueberries are available year-round but are least expensive from May through September, when the supply comes from the US and Canada. Look for berries that are dark blue, with a frosty bloom. Store fresh blueberries in your refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, and wash them just before you use them; otherwise, they'll get mushy.

Loose-pack frozen blueberries are available year-round, and you can use them in any recipe that calls for fresh blueberries. Since they are prewashed, they can be used right from the package.