« Why is elected-first Lady Michelle Obama’s style causing so many people to talk? | Main | Sass, Style and Substance reads for November 22nd »
Blueberries are a powerful antioxidant that can keep your brain young as you age!
November 22, 2008 - Follow me on Twitter
Welcome! If you're new to Beauty Match, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Don't miss a beauty beat by joining Beauty Match Insider. Thanks for visiting!
I found the following article from Newsmax.com. It’s a well known fact that blueberries are incredibly powerful antioxidants that are essential to good health. This little dark blue super food has been linked to a long list of health benefit, but Newsmax reminds us (pun intended) of how powerful and important blueberries are to maintain a fit brain as we age.
The article was published earlier this year, but the information is very relevant and it’s the kind of information that you need to know about aging well and also about how your brain ages.
This will only take you a few minutes to read, but this is a good reminder that eating blueberries and other antioxidant-rich foods just makes good sense!
To make this an easier read for you, I’ve added a few subtitles so you can quickly grab the information that’s most pertinent to you:
Blueberries reverse age-related memory problems – source Newsmax.com
If you are getting forgetful as you get older, then a research team from the University of Reading and the Peninsula Medical School in the South West of England may have good news for you. They have found that phytochemical-rich foods, such as blueberries, are effective at reversing age-related deficits in memory, according to a study soon to be published in the science journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine.
It can take as little as 12 weeks to make a difference:
The researchers working at the Schools of Food Biosciences and Psychology in Reading and the Institute of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences at the Peninsula Medical School in Exeter supplemented a regular diet with blueberries over a 12-week period, and found that improvements in spatial working memory tasks emerged within three weeks and continued throughout the period of the study.
Blueberries are a major source of flavonoids:
Blueberries are a major source of flavonoids, in particular anthocyanins and flavanols. Although the precise mechanisms by which these plant-derived molecules affect the brain are unknown, they have been shown to cross the blood brain barrier after dietary intake. It is believed that they exert their effects on learning and memory by enhancing existing neuronal (brain cell) connections, improving cellular communications and stimulating neuronal regeneration.
“Impaired or failing memory as we get older is one of life’s major inconveniences”
The enhancement of both short-term and long-term memory is controlled at the molecular level in neurons. The research team was able to show that the ability of flavonoids to induce memory improvements are mediated by the activation of signalling proteins via a specific pathway in the hippocampus, the part of the brain that controls learning and memory. “Impaired or failing memory as we get older is one of life’s major 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”.
Blueberries are good for you!
Dr. Whiteman added “This study not only adds science to the claim that eating blueberries are good for you, it also provides support to a diet-based approach that could potentially be used to increase memory capacity and performance in the future. Indeed, Dr. Spencer’s research team plans on extending these findings further by investigating the effects of diets rich in flavonoids on individuals suffering from cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease.”
Five tips to eating blueberries during the winter:
1) It’s not always possible to find fresh blueberries at this time of the year. It’s common for most of us living on the North Hemisphere to buy fruits from Argentina, Brazil and Chili during the winter because the seasons are reversed, but the fact they have to travel far mean they don’t ripen as long in the soil like blueberries that are grown locally. They don’t always taste as sweet as locally grown fruits, but these are a good substitute if you’re not too picky.
2) I ALWAYS have a bag of frozen (and often two or three) in my freezer. You can eat them year round and they are so practical for smoothies and coulis (fruit puree for desserts).
3) Jams are also a good source of blueberries during the winter months. You’ll want to read the labels and make sure that the blueberries are the first or second ingredient on the list because the lower the ingredient on the list … the less of it is found in the food you buy.
4) Juice mixes are now popping up more and more often with blueberries. I often buy a blueberry and pomegranate mix that is made without a trace of added sugar and it’s a delicious drink filled with the goodness of antioxidants.
5) Blueberry yogurt might not contain as much blueberries as you’ll find in a glass of juice of in jam, but this is still something that you don’t want to ignore. Just like the blueberry jam, you’ll want to make sure there isn’t a load of sugar or artificial sweetener in the brands you choose.
Here are some great resources to help you with your Nutrition and Diet choices as you age: Nutrition and Diet over 35
Photo of blueberries by Lisa Norwood
Photo of blueberries and other fruits by Matthew Levine’s
Photo of blueberry muffins by Jennie R. F
We want to know what you think. Do you agree? Or disagree? Leave us a comment!
Posted by Beauty Match on November 22, 2008 | Permalink
You might also like
Topics: Body & Mind Health, Diet Tips over 35 |
Deli.cious
Reddit
StumbleUpon
Digg ThisRelated Articles:
Post a comment
Note: If you haven't left a comment on the myBeautyMatch.com site before, you may need to be approved by our editorial team before your comment appears. Until then, it won't appear on the site. Thanks for your understanding.
Comments
