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Blueberries are a group of flowering plants
in the genus Vaccinium, sect. Cyanococcus.
The species are native to North America and eastern
Asia. They are shrubs varying in size from 10 cm tall
to 4 m tall; the smaller species are known as "lowbush
blueberries", and the larger species as "highbush
blueberries". The leaves can be either deciduous or
evergreen, ovate to lanceolate, and from 1-8 cm long
and 0.5-3.5 cm broad. The flowers are bell-shaped,
white, pale pink or red, sometimes tinged greenish.
The fruit is a berry 5-16 mm diameter with a flared
"crown" at the end; they are pale greenish at first,
then reddish-purple, and finally turn blue or dark
purple on ripening. They have a sweet taste when
mature, with variable acidity. The blueberry season
typically runs from May to October, peaking in July. Research suggests that pomegranate juice may be
effective against prostate cancer and osteoarthritis.
Health
Blueberries, especially wild species, contain
antioxidants which have been found to reduce the risks
of some cancers. Researchers in Prince Edward Island
have shown that the tannins in blueberries are very
active at lowering a protein involved in metastasis of
cancer, at least in isolated cells (Matchett and
others, 2005). At the 2004 International Conference on
Longevity, a group of researchers released details of
a study that suggests certain compounds found in
blueberries (and some similar fruits, including
cranberries) have a significant impact in reducing the
degradation of brain function, as in Alzheimer's
Disease and other conditions. Feeding blueberries to
animals lowers stroke damage (Sweeney). Research at
Rutgers
http://aesop.rutgers.edu/~bluecran/medicinalgeneralinfopage.htm]
has also shown that blueberries may help prevent
urinary tract infections.
Additional studies also
found that blueberries were better at lowering
cholesterol and lipid levels in the blood, which help
alleviate and even reverse signs and symptoms of heart
disease. Ciprofibrate was found to be inferior to the
blueberries in lowering cholesterol. The signs point
to pterostilbene, which signal cells to break down
lipids and cholesterol. All of these studies were
conducted using high bush, hybrid cultivars of
blueberries. A more recent study has tentatively found
that anti-oxidants may be higher in lowbush
blueberries than in highbush blueberries. The study is
flawed in that it does not specify which of the many
unique and diverse cultivars of high bush blueberries
were used for the comparison or even where the
blueberries were grown. The soil where the blueberries
were grown impacts the composition of the minerals
present.
140 grams of fresh blueberries contain 3 g of fiber.
Additionally blueberries are high in manganese Mn as
well as vitamin K and have a very low glycemic load
(3) in a single 155g serving, making it an ideal food
for diabetics.
Wikipedia contributors. Blueberry. Wikipedia, The
Free Encyclopedia. Available at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blueberry&oldid=113451402.
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Antioxidant Content:
8.23 mmol/100g
© 2002
The
American Society for Nutritional Sciences J. Nutr.
132:461-471, 2002
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