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Rising UK food prices makes enjoying health benefits of blueberries a challenge
Added: (Wed May 14 2008)
With the weekly shopping basket going up in price every week, enjoying a healthy diet rich in essential fruits is more of a challenge. For some people though, cutting out certain fruits such as blueberries could have a negative effect.
Along with the worry of rising prices, most weeks also come with exciting news of research discoveries pinpointing the health benefits of various foods. Unfortunately, it is many of these foods which may be classed as luxuries and the first to be cut out from the weekly shop.
Blueberries have been getting a lot of press over the last few years, including research results this month that indicate that incorporating blueberries in your diet will improve your memory and concentration (Dr. Jeremy Spencer of the Molecular Nutrition Department at the University of Reading).
Dr Spencer’s research is the latest in a list of discoveries that point to blueberries as being beneficial for a wide range of health issues:
“Impaired or failing memory as we get older is one of life's inconveniences, scientists have known of the potential health benefits of diets rich in fresh fruits for a long time. Our previous work had suggested that flavonoid compounds had some kind of effect on memory, but until now we had not known the potential mechanisms to account for this".
Jean Mayer of the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University USA has also conducted research indicating that blueberries boost brain power:
“Lab rats fed blueberry supplements equal to one cup daily in humans had an increased "birth rate" of brain cells in the region responsible for memory—the hippocampus—as compared to rats not fed the blueberry supplements. What's more, blueberry-supplemented rats did better in tests of their memory than did their counterparts. ”
More than the brain health though, blueberries have been shown to have an extremely high antioxidant content, essential for an all round healthy body and mind.
The antioxidant potential of a food or supplement is measured by the ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity). According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), blueberries, widely accepted as an antioxidant "superfood," have an ORAC value of 13,427 per serving. In comparison, a Granny Smith apple has an ORAC value of only 5,381.
Antioxidants are important as they help protect against ‘free radicals’. These ‘free radicals’ damage cell membranes and DNA through a process known as oxidative stress, and are blamed for initiating and speeding up the disease processes involved in heart disease and cancer.
Plus the potential health benefits of blueberries goes on:
Blueberries have been found to contain resveratrol, a potential anti-cancer agent, according to Agricultural Research Service scientists in the USA who made this discovery.
A compound in blueberries has been shown to act as effectively as a commercial drug used to reduce levels of the "bad" form of cholesterol in rodents.
Researchers at Rutgers University, New Jersey in the USA, have identified a natural chemical compound in blueberries that promotes the health of the urinary tract, reducing the risk of infection.
In Sweden, dried blueberries are used to treat childhood diarrhoea, which is sometimes linked to E.coli. This established practice is ascribed to the fact that anthocyanosides, a natural substance found in blueberries, is believed to be deadly to E. coli.
So how can the consumer take advantage of the improved health of having blueberries in their diet? One obvious answer is by taking blueberry extract supplements.
A recent trip to a local supermarket found that a small punnet of blueberries (one serving) cost £2.50. In comparison, a pure blueberry drink (not a watered down concentrate with added sweeteners), cost £4.29.
Now these may seem cheaper than a high potency blueberry extract supplement course costing £9.97 – but some quick work with a calculator proved that the supplements came out tops for value for money.
One serving of fresh blueberries, £2.50; one serving of blueberry juice, £1.56; one equivalent serving of blueberry extract supplements, 49 pence.
So without even considering the ease of taking supplements versus fresh fruit or juices, supplements may be the simplest way to save money and keep body and mind healthy.