Promising Health Benefits of Wild Blueberries Include Anti-aging, Cancer Prevention, Heart & Vision Health
Recent discoveries attribute potential health benefits to antioxidants such as anthocyanin, anti-inflammatories and other natural compounds found in the deep blue pigment of Wild Blueberries. Ongoing studies are focused on:
Antioxidant Activity
Cellular Antioxidant Activity New research shows that Wild Blueberries have the highest cellular antioxidant activity of selected fruits tested. Lead scientist Rui Hai Liu, Ph.D. used the cellular antioxidant activity (CAA) assay — a new assay developed by the Cornell University Department of Food Science — to determine antioxidant activity of antioxidants, foods, and dietary supplements. Wild Blueberries outperformed two dozen commonly consumed fruits like pomegranates, strawberries, cultivated blueberries, cranberries, apples and red grapes. Antioxidant have been linked with anti-aging, anti-cancer and heart-health benefits.
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 2008; 56(18): 8418-8426
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 2007; 55(22): 8896-8907
Fighting Oxidative Stress USDA scientists recently concluded that eating Wild Blueberries and other antioxidant-rich foods at every meal helps prevent oxidative stress. This study advances antioxidant research by moving beyond the measurement of antioxidants in foods to actual examination of the performance of specific fruits against oxidative stress in the body. Oxidative stress is linked to chronic diseases and aging.
Journal of the American College of Nutrition. 2007; 26(2): 170-181
Total Antioxidant Activity According to USDA research findings, Wild Blueberries are highest in antioxidant capacity per serving, compared with more than 20 other fruits. Using a lab testing procedure called Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC), USDA researcher Ronald Prior, Ph.D., showed that a one-cup serving of Wild Blueberries had more antioxidant capacity than a serving of cranberries, strawberries, plums, raspberries and even cultivated blueberries. Antioxidants have been linked with anti-aging, anti-cancer and heart-health benefits.
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 2004; 52:4026-4037
Healthy Aging
James Joseph, Ph.D., and his team at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging in Boston report that a diet of blueberries may improve motor skills and reverse the short-term memory loss that comes with aging and age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s. USDA animal trials showed improved navigational skills after a two-month diet of blueberry extract. Although other fruits and vegetables were studied, only blueberries were effective in improving motor skills.
Nutritional Neuroscience. 2003; 6: 153-162
Journal of Neuroscience. 1999; 19(18): 8114-8121
Anti-Inflammatory Benefits
Dr. James Joseph, Ph. D., from the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging has been studying the anti-inflammatory potential of the polyphenols in blueberries, since chronic inflammation at the cellular level is at the heart of many degenerative age-related diseases. When rats with neuronal lesions were fed a blueberry-supplemented diet, not only did they perform better in cognitive tests, the concentration of several substances in the brain that can trigger an inflammatory response was significantly reduced. The polyphenols in blueberries appear to inhibit the production of these inflammatory mediators.
Nutritional Neuroscience. 2008; 11(4): 172-182
Cancer Prevention
Studies conducted by Mary Ann Lila, Ph.D., Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, indicate that compounds in Wild Blueberries may be effective inhibitors of both the initiation and promotion stages of cancer.
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 2004; 52(21): 6433-6442;
Journal of Food Science. 2000; 65(2)
Urinary Tract Health
At the Rutgers University Blueberry Cranberry Research Center, Amy Howell, Ph.D., showed that blueberries, like cranberries, contain compounds that prevent the bacteria responsible for urinary tract infections from attaching to the bladder wall.
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 52(21): 6433-6442;
New England Journal of Medicine. 1998; 339(15)
Protection Against Stroke
Animal trials conducted by Marva Sweeney Nixon and her team at the University of Prince Edward Island, PEI, Canada, indicate that consumption of Wild Blueberries confers protection to the brain against damage from ischemic stroke.
Nutritional Neuroscience. 2002; 5(6): 427-431
Heart Health
A blueberry-enriched diet may protect the heart muscle from damage according to scientists at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University and the National Institute on Aging. In this study blueberries appear to act as both an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent in animal models.
PLoS ONE. June 18 2009; 4(6):e5954
New research shows that blueberries may support cardiovascular health. A research team at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada led by Wilhelmina Kalt, Ph.D., found that blueberry supplementation reduced plasma cholesterol levels.
British Journal of Nutrition. 2008; 100(1): 70-78
Blueberries may reduce the build up of so called "bad" cholesterol that contributes to cardiovascular disease and stroke, according to scientists at the University of California at Davis. Antioxidants are believed to be the active component.
USDA Agricultural Research Service. July 2004; Food Navigator. August 2004
New research by Dorothy Klimis-Zacas, Ph.D., and her team at the University of Maine, Orono, concludes that a diet of Wild Blueberries may reduce risk from cardiovascular disease (CVD). These findings suggest that the consumption of Wild Blueberries could help regulate blood pressure and combat atherosclerosis. Studies show that Wild Blueberries have the potential to decrease the vulnerability of heart blood vessels to oxidative stress and inflammation in animal models. This builds on previous work by the Klimis-Zacas team, which demonstrated the positive effect of a Wild Blueberry-based diet on animal-model blood vessel function.
Journal of Medicinal Food, 2009; Feb; 12 (1): 21-8
Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, 2009, Jan 19.
Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, 2006 17(2): 109-116
Journal of Medicinal Food, 2005 Mar; 8(1): 8-13
Vision Health
Research around the world has indicated that the anthocyanin content in blueberries may improve night vision and prevent tired eyes. Several European studies documented the relationship between bilberries, a European cousin of blueberries, and improved eyesight. Japanese researchers showed that blueberries helped ease eye fatigue.
New & Promising
New area currently being explored includes:
- Metabolic Syndrome
A combination of medical disorders including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, abdominal obesity, and impaired glucose tolerance, metabolic syndrome is responsible for increased risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Working with Wild Blueberry fruit compounds known as anthocyanins, Mary Ann Lila, Ph.D., from North Carolina State University, Plants for Human Health Institute led a team of researchers that demonstrated that blueberry phytochemicals helped alleviate hyperglycemia in rodent models, a condition associated with diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
Phytomedicine, 2009 May; 16(5): 406-15
