For most, January 1st beckons a fresh start, but sometimes achieving those “big” resolutions can be a little bit challenging. Whether it’s setting a healthy eating goal for yourself or finding ways to get the whole family invested in putting nourishing foods on the table, consider adding Wild Blueberries into your morning routine as an easy way to treat the body and your brain better. Here are three reasons why Wild Blueberries are a great addition to your daily diet, along with some recipe suggestions to help make this change a reality.
Nourish the Noggin with Wild Each Morning
There is a growing body of evidence that suggests people can reduce cognitive decline by adopting key lifestyle changes. One of those is eating a balanced diet that is low in fat and high in vegetable and fruit consumption. There is ample research that suggests Wild Blueberries may improve cognitive function for both young and old. So, prioritize your brain health in 2020 and feed it the tastiest brain food – Wild Blueberries. All you have to do is add a healthy scoop of frozen Wild Blueberries to whatever’s for breakfast to give the whole family a better start to the day. It’s never too early to eat for brain health and it’s recommended you do so for your entire lifespan. Nourish their noggins with this easy-to-make Wild Blueberry Oat Muffin recipe that can be made ahead so you have on hand a nutritious, delicious and convenient breakfast.
Make it a Fiber Filled Day
It’s reported that in 2018, only 5% of Americans got enough fiber in their diets. Well if you’re looking for a way to up your fiber intake, Wild Blueberries are a tasty way to do just that. The Wild Blueberry skin is an excellent source of fiber – because the berries are smaller you’re getting more skin (which equals more fiber) in every serving. Plus, according to the USDA’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans MyPlate, it’s important that half your plate consists of fruits and vegetables. Fill up on fiber and start your day off right with this Wild Blueberry Blast with Banana & Chia Seeds Smoothie.
Frozen for Your Convenience
Let’s face it, we’re all busy. And busy schedules mean that we’re constantly looking for options that make our lives easier. Enter: frozen Wild Blueberries. The great thing about frozen Wild Blueberries is that they are frozen with 24-hours of harvest, ensuring that taste and nutritional benefits locked in. The berry is picked locally in the U.S., frozen, and on its way to your table in less time that it takes ordinary berries to make the same journey from Chile, South America, and a variety of other places. When you pick wild it’s like eating a Wild Blueberry right out of the fields. Plus, frozen fruit is super convenient and accessible all year long, eliminating food waste. This weekend, treat yourself with these drool-worthy Wild Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes.
With 2020 right around the corner, help your family – and yourself – achieve realistic health goals. You can get a great start by adding Wild to your diet every day. Happy (almost) New Year!
Wild Blueberries are powerful with high levels of manganese, vitamin K, and fiber. Wild Blueberries also have one of the highest levels of antioxidants including anthocyanin. The word anthocyanin comes from the words anthos (flower) and kuanos (blue) and it gives fruits like Wild Blueberries, blackberries, eggplants, and cabbage the beautiful blue-purple hues that they hold. Besides the attractive aesthetics, anthocyanin is a powerful antioxidant that has proven health benefits.
What are anthocyanins?
Often found in roots, stems, and especially the plant leaves, anthocyanins are found in two forms. When a sugar is attached to the molecule, it is call anthocyanin however without the sugar molecule, it is called anthocyanidin5. There are three large classifications of anthocyanins that are grouped by their health benefits and how the antioxidant is metabolized and absorbed. In a study by Dr. Jim Fang at the University of Saskatchewan, he largely classified anthocyanins into one of three categories: pelagonidin, cyaniding/peonidin, or multiple anthocyanins group. In general, anthocyanin has been known to protect the plant from stressors like UV light, cold temperatures, and drought6. It is no wonder that antioxidants like anthocyanins are so powerful.
What do antioxidants do?
Antioxidants simply play a game of cops and robbers where the antioxidants are cops and the free radicals are robbers. Every day, the presence of cops (antioxidants) can keep the robbers (radicals) at bay to ensure peace in the city (your body). The more antioxidants you consume, the more protection your body will have from the free radicals that can cause the daily havoc to our bodies. In fact, there are multiple systematic research studies that associate high levels of anthocyanin consumption to lower incidences (new cases) of cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, and cancer. However, more research is needed to determine the recommended daily dose for anthocyanins.
And while consumers are increasingly aware of antioxidants like anthocyanins, the Produce for Better Health Foundation revealed in 2012 that only 3% of fruits and vegetables consumed were purple or blue5. Being familiar with some foods that are high in antioxidants can help us get the most nutritional bang with every bite. Antioxidant level in foods is measured by an Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity (ORAC) test. Elderberries lead the way, followed by Wild Blueberries, high bush blueberries, red cabbage, and purple carrots, which round out the top five anthocyanin-rich foods5.
What does research say about anthocyanins?
Cognitive Function. Whether you are age 5 or 95, research has shown that anthocyanins can improve cognitive function like memory and day-to-day mental functions. In a study conducted in the UK, Professor Claire Williams and her research team found children performed cognitive tasks better after consuming a Wild Blueberry drink than when they did not1. Similar findings have been presented to show the positive effects of anthocyanin consumption on the working memory of older adults3. Researchers suggest that anthocyanins have the potential to decrease inflammation therefore improving blood flow and increasing communication between cells in the brain7. Anthocyanin-rich foods categorized in the cyanidin and peonidin groups have a greater effect on decreasing inflammation.
Natural anti-inflammatory. Inflammation is a silent killer. Low-grade inflammation is one of the primary mechanisms that attribute to many chronic diseases like obesity and hypertension. While the inflammatory mechanism is complex and involves various components on the cellular level, research has shown that foods like berries, especially bilberries and Wild Blueberries, have anti-inflammatory effects. Inflammation is often exacerbated by diets that are high in fat. A study in Finland examined the effect of anti-inflammatory foods like bilberries and Wild Blueberries in rats while consuming a high fat diet2. The results showed that a high-fat diet combined with whole berries had a lower inflammatory response compared to rats consuming only a high-fat diet. In addition to anti-inflammatory effects, anthocyanin-rich foods have shown to increase insulin sensitivity.
Anti-diabetic. In a study examining the three different groups of anthocyanins the results showed that blueberries are able to induce insulin secretion4. Type 2 diabetics often experience insulin insensitivity and a lower level of insulin is secreted with the consumption of glucose compared to non-diabetics. Consuming Wild Blueberries and red cabbage can be a part of the dietary recommendations to prevent and to manage diabetes, if not heart disease.
Happy Heart. In the United States, 90% of women possess at least one risk factor for heart disease. As one of the leading causes of death in women, it is beneficial for us to integrate preventive measures to curb the problem. In the Nurse’s Health Study I and II as well as the Women’s Health Study, researchers found that those who consumed the most anthocyanin-rich foods can reduce their risk for developing hypertension, coronary heart disease, and cardiovascular disease by 8% to 12%3. Examining the research subject’s intake, researchers found that these individuals consume anthocyanins mainly from blueberries and strawberries. The findings suggest that anthocyanins can decrease the stiffness of the arteries and therefore lower blood pressure and reduce the damage to blood vessels and heart, ultimately reducing the risk of heart disease.
There are many benefits to consuming a diet high in antioxidants. Instead of focusing on diets that are only anti-inflammatory, anti-aging, or anti-diabetic, we recommend increasing a diet high in anthocyanins. Not only will it add a beautiful color to your plate and turn your tongue to a pretty purple-blue color, it will provide a range of health benefits to help manage and prevent conditions and diseases like cognitive decline, inflammation, diabetes, and heart disease.
Mykkänen, O. T., Huotari, A., Herzig, K. H., Dunlop, T. W., Mykkänen, H., & Kirjavainen, P. V. (2014). Wild blueberries (Vaccinium myrtillus) alleviate inflammation and hypertension associated with developing obesity in mice fed with a high-fat diet.PloS one, 9(12), e114790.
Norberto, S., Silva, S., Meireles, M., Faria, A., Pintado, M., & Calhau, C. (2013). Blueberry anthocyanins in health promotion: A metabolic overview.Journal of Functional Foods, 5(4), 1518-1528.
Fang, J. (2015). Classification of fruits based on anthocyanin types and relevance to their health effects.Nutrition, 31(11), 1301-1306.
Thompson K, Pederick W, Santhakumar AB. Anthocyanins in obesity-associated thrombogenesis: a review of the potential mechanism of action. Food Funct. 2016;7(5):2169-2178.
The rising heat means it’s more important than ever to load up on fluids! In addition to keeping all of our cells healthy, staying adequately hydrated can support a healthy complexion, banish colds, and improve joint health. But guzzling water isn’t the only way to maintain hydration. Most fruits and vegetables are more than 90% water, making them an excellent way to stay refreshed in the heat. Check out these simple tips to optimize hydration this summer!
1) Load up on raw fruits and veggies. Since fruits and vegetables are made primarily of water, they’re an excellent way to boost your water intake without having to actually drink water. As an added bonus, fruits and veggies are low in sodium and high in potassium, an important electrolyte that helps regulate fluid balance in the body.
2) Spruce up your water routine. Jazz your H20 by adding fresh herbs like basil or mint paired with refreshing fruits and veggies like sliced lemon, strawberries, or cucumber. Try ditching the ice cubes and sweetening your water naturally with frozen watermelon cubes or Wild Blueberries!
3) Focus on electrolyte-rich foods. While we all get plenty of sodium in our diet, many of us don’t get enough potassium, which helps balance sodium and optimize hydration. Increase the flow of water into cells and tissues by stocking up on potassium-rich foods like, bananas, coconut water, potatoes, avocados, tomatoes, and Swiss chard.
This Sparkling Wild Blueberry Lemonade puts a twist on the old classic, with significantly less sugar than traditional lemonade plus the age-defying antioxidant benefits of Wild Blueberries. Coconut water adds not only a tropical twist, but also a potassium boost to help regulate fluid balance. Plus, since coconut water is naturally sweet, you won’t have to dump loads of sugar into this tasty treat to satisfy your sweet tooth.
When it comes to Wild Blueberry Research, one of the leading experts in Maine is Dr. Vivian Chi-Hua Wu. Dr. Wu is Professor of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Maine, where she directs the Pathogenic Microbiology Laboratory for research in microbiology, food safety and functional food.
Dr. Wu has conducted dozens of studies ranging from the antimicrobial properties of cranberries and Wild Blueberries, to Maine berries as natural preservatives, to how wild blueberries maintain gut health, and most recently, the antiviral properties of Wild Blueberries. Dr. Wu grew up in Taiwan, and one of her passions in life is introducing the people of China to the health benefits of the Wild Blueberry.
We spent a few days in Bar Harbor, Maine, getting to know Dr. Wu and her family and hearing about her fascinating research.
When did you first learn about Wild Blueberries?
I knew about blueberries in general when I was growing up in Taiwan, but I truly came to understand the differences between cultivated and Wild Blueberries in 2003, when I started my research in Maine.
Do you think Wild Blueberries have superior qualities as a food?
Yes, of course! Wild Blueberries have amazing health properties, which make them a rare and special fruit. They are one of the superfruits – with natural phytochemicals such as anthocyanin – and they have higher antioxidant capacity per serving compared to many other fruits. All of these benefits can help you maintain a healthy lifestyle. This is important for everyone.
Do you think there is growing interest in China and around the world in Wild Blueberries?
Yes, very much. The Chinese people are really coming to know blueberries, and for me there is great value in teaching them to recognize the difference between the wild and the cultivated berry. This includes the health benefits and application, but also the wild heritage and the fact that they have been growing in this region of the world for more than 10,000 years.
Why do you think Wild Blueberries are becoming more popular in China?
Since 2009, I have been working with the Wild Blueberry Association of North America to conduct promotional tours in China where we introduce Chinese chefs and food service buyers to the attributes of Wild Blueberries. People in China are now starting to understand the superior health benefits that Wild Blueberries can offer. As healthy foods become more and more important to the Chinese and to people around the world, Wild Blueberries are definitely going to engage people’s interest.
What’s driving the interest in healthy foods in China ?
When a society changes from poor to rich, then food is no longer just for satisfying hunger. This phenomenon is happening in China. The Chinese care more and more about eating to maintain health.
You have been studying the effects Wild Blueberries can have in fighting viruses like Norovirus? What can you share about your research?
We have found that the wild lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) has antiviral properties. There is evidence that the phytochemicals in Wild Blueberries can even work against Norovirus. The results are very promising and we hope to share them in a publication very soon.
We enjoyed meeting your 3-year-old son in Bar Harbor. Does he like Wild Blueberries?
Wild Blueberries are my son’s favorite fruit among all others. If he has a choice, he would go with food products containing wild blueberries. I use very simple ways to serve Wild Blueberries to my son. I add frozen Wild Blueberries into whole milk and let him eat them every morning for breakfast. I also mix frozen Wild Blueberries with plain yogurt or oatmeal. He loves them!
It’s back-to-school season and that means packing lunches, again! For many parents, packing the lunchbox can send the heart into nervous palpitations. But for registered dietitian Liz Weiss, it’s an art form. After reading her lunchbox ideas, your anxiety will magically transform into inspiration.
Liz Weiss, RD
Liz is an award-winning broadcast journalist, cookbook author, and radio show host who started Meal Makeover Moms’ Kitchen, a leading blog for parents in search of better ways to feed their family a super-nutritious diet. She’s also the co-author of two great books: No Whine with Dinner: 150 Healthy, Kid-Tested Recipes from The Meal Makeover Moms and The Moms’ Guide to Meal Makeovers: Improving the Way Your Family Eats, One Meal at a Time and she recently released a mobile recipe app called, Meal Makeovers. You can read more about Liz at http://mealmakeovermoms.com/ and you can download the Meal Makeover app here.
Meal Makeover Moms App
Here’s some of the wisdom Liz shared with us about packing lunches.
How do you get inspired with packing a good lunchbox? To get inspired I think about color, flavor, nutrition, and seasonality. I really like to include all of the senses – smell, sight, touch, and taste when thinking about the lunch box.
What has worked for you in the past? I have found that it’s really helpful to include my kids in the process. I do this by simply asking them: “What do you want for lunch?” The last thing we want –or I want as a dietitian – is to throw away food or for a child to not eat something because it’s not appealing. Plus, if they don’t eat what you packed for lunch they are getting no nutritional benefit. One of the most important ways to get children excited is to present the food in a kid-appealing way. For example if you’re going to slice up apples, put a little lemon on them so they don’t turn brown. Put grapes in a small container. Think about how you package your food. Use small containers and put a little utensil in there. Make it cute and playful. That’s why Bento Box Lunches are so appealing. Kids like to play, so it pays off to think about finger foods –something easy to pick up and bite into. Most young kids are either missing teeth or they have braces – and it’s important to be mindful and make sure they are physically able to eat the food you pack. For example, I would never send young kids to school with whole pieces of fruit like apples.
How important is it to be organized?
It’s very important. As moms we really relish our sleep. If you can get 5-10 extra minutes of sleep in the morning, wouldn’t you want that? Pack shelf-stable milk boxes in the fridge before going to bed. That way it will be cold in the morning and will help keep your kid’s lunch cold. If you’re packing sandwiches, wash and dry the lettuce leaves the night before, and have them in a bag ready to go. Cut up your veggies the night before – have bell peppers, carrots, and cucumbers ready with a small container of dip. Recently, I sent my son to school with pasta salad. I boiled the whole wheat pasta the night before and it was ready to go in the morning.
Can you provide a few simple ideas for recipes? There are lots of lunchbox recipes on my website. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Yogurt, granola and fruit cup— morning snack time at school is a perfect time to integrate some healthy options. I like to pack a small container of yogurt and pour some frozen wild blueberries over the top. Then I add a second container of granola to sprinkle on the top.
Pasta salad—I’m all about whole grains, so I start with a whole-wheat rotini. Then I add all-natural deli ham, feta cheese, diced bell peppers, zucchini ribbons, corn on the cob (leftover from last night’s dinner), and some Italian dressing. This is simple and delicious.
Kebabs — These are a favorite. I use cheese cubes, leftover chicken or deli meats like turkey or chicken. Then I add grapes, melon cubes or berries in between.
Chicken salad — Here’s an easy one. I use cubed chicken mixed with plain Greek yogurt, some low-fat mayonnaise. Then I add nuts, dicedgrapes or apples, or diced avocado.
Quesadillas – These are a hit for lunch and offer a nice change of scenery from the standard lunch. I heat the tortilla and then I add beans, veggies, cheese, and BBQ sauce and wrap these hot in foil.
What are some common lunchbox mistakes? Packing too much food is a common mistake. Kids have about 20 minutes to eat so I encourage parents to pack the right amount of food for their child and prepare it in bite-sized pieces. Be sure to observe what comes back in the lunch box – this can be very telling. A lot of parents tend to focus on refined carbs because they are easy– they will pack a bagel with cream cheese, a juice box, and a bag of chips. The challenge when packing a bagel/juice box/bag of chips is that it lacks color and nutrition, so focus on a rainbow of colors instead!
What is the trick to keeping it healthy? Make sure you have fresh fruit and a veggie in your lunch box. Some parents consider juice to be a fruit serving, but it’s best to think about fresh, frozen, or dried fruit as a true serving. Don’t forget about snacks. I view snacks as a mini-meal. Snack time is an opportunity to weave in ingredients that are missing in the diet. If they are not getting veggies or fruit in the morning, make sure they’re an option as a snack. One of my favorite snacks is my Mini Blueberry Cornmeal Muffins.
7. What are some of the worst lunch boxes you’ve seen?
I’ve seen a morning snack of Hawaiian punch and chips. I’ve also seen Gatorade and chocolate chip cookies. These “snacks” bring calories and sugar to the diet, but not much more. Remember that kids are small, and it doesn’t take much to fill their stomachs – so every bite should be packed with nutrition – think nutrient rich and the colors of the rainbow. Every time you pack that lunchbox ask yourself: “What is this ingredient doing for my child?”
What are favorite things to pack for your kids’ lunches? What’s the worst lunch box you’ve ever seen?
A recent study into the effects of an extract found in blueberries provided good news this month about a certain type of cancer. The research showed promise in the treatment of bladder cancer, demonstrating the compound’s anti-cancer activity in the cells.
Previous research into this powerful fruit has already demonstrated potential in cancer treatment and prevention. Research has shown that blueberries inhibited the growth of Triple Negative Breast Cancer, a particularly aggressive and hard to treat form of breast tumor, and other research shows compounds in wild blueberries may be effective inhibitors of both the initiation and promotion stages of cancer. This latest research was conducted by a professor from National Cheng Kung University in southern Taiwan, and it indicated that a substance extracted from blueberries can induce the death of bladder cancer cells and may be effective for chemotherapy-resistant bladder cancer.
What’s also interesting about this study is the extract Professor Wang Ying-jan used: it’s pterostilbene. The word may sound familiar – it’s a compound found most commonly in blueberries, and it’s becoming more and more important in the world of nutrition research. Its unique health benefits once again show the blueberry – particularly the wild blueberries with its potency of concentrated compounds – has more secrets under its deep blue skin.
Pterostilbene: A Promising Compound
Pterostilbene is an antioxidant found specifically in blueberries and red-skinned grapes. It is similar to resveratrol, the popular compound present in wine and known for its anti-aging properties, but it’s not as well known – yet. (And, despite its presence in grapes, it isn’t found in wine.) It’s one of many “stilbenes” a type of organic compound that is makes up food’s chemistry.
According to Professor Wang who conducted the bladder cancer study, pterostilbene also has antioxidant and antiseptic features that exhibit anticancer activity, and it has the potential to lower blood fat levels. We already know the powerful effect antioxidants have on the body. They help our bodies protect against disease and age-related health risks by decreasing inflammation and fighting free radicals that cause diseases of aging. Research is in the beginning stages for this exciting new antioxidant compound but it is thought to have a preventative effect on cancer and cognitive decline, effectively slowing cellular aging. It also shows promise for type 2 diabetes by slowing sugar surges and regulating the secretion of insulin. (You can find this study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.) And, early studies indicate a benefit in preventing high cholesterol and heart disease.
Blueberries & Pterostilbene
The best news about this compound is its accessible delivery system. Pterostilbene is most commonly known for its presence in blueberries, in particular the more potent wild blueberry, and also in grapes and peanuts. It is marketed as a supplement; however, the most dependable way to get the benefits of nutritional compounds remains to eat it in its natural form in food.
If you are intrigued by the unique benefits of pterostilbene, your best approach is to increase your intake of wild blueberries: they are a leader in antioxidants, and the smaller berry with its high skin-to-pulp ratio (where the antioxidants are found) has the highest antioxidant capacity compared to 20 of the most common fruits. At least ½ cup every day provides an exciting, delicious way to boost your health in a promising variety of important ways.
More than any other topic, ORAC measurements have grabbed the attention of our readers over the last few months. Why the interest in ORAC? As part of our Made Simple Series, we are revisiting this nutritional buzzword to see what makes it worth knowing about by answering your ORAC questions as simply as possible.
What’s in this post:
ORAC Basics
Why High ORAC Scores = Health Benefits
Four Steps to Using ORAC to Better Your Health
1. ORAC Basics
What: ORAC is the nutritional measurement developed and used to evaluate the antioxidant benefit of food. The acronyms stands for or Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity, which refers to how much radical oxygen a food can absorb – that is, its effect on combating damaging free radicals.
Why: The ORAC scale offers the general public a tool that can be used to choose the most powerful foods for health and disease prevention. It also allows for easy comparison of foods to see which food is best when it comes to antioxidant power.
The Buzz: ORAC isn’t a marketing ploy. It was developed by USDA researchers at Tufts University as a way to for consumers to understand antioxidant capacity of foods more clearly. It replaces vague terms like “high in antioxidants” or “superfood” as a reliable way to ensure that foods making antioxidant claims are telling it like it is.
2. Why High ORAC Scores = Health Benefits
What: ORAC is important because measuring antioxidant benefits helps us eat foods that prevent disease and help us live longer.
Why: Dietary antioxidants protect the body against unstable oxygen molecules by neutralizing free radicals. Free radicals are associated with:
cancer
heart disease
brain health & Alzheimer’s disease
inflammation – the chief offender when it comes to the effects of aging and disease
The Buzz: The effect of antioxidants on our health and wellness cannot be overemphasized. Research in the field of antioxidants continues, and according to Susan Davis, MS, RD, Nutrition Advisor to the Wild Blueberry Association it is “incredibly consequential for members of our community and the public at large.”
Step 2: Know the ORAC score of common or favorite foods, fruits, vegetables and juices. For example, about 23 grapes rates 739 on the ORAC scale; while about 70 blueberries comes in at 2,400.
Step 3: Understand serving size: While chocolate comes in at 13,120 ORAC, it’s for 100 grams of unsweetened cacao – an unrealistically high amount to be contained in a sweetened bar.
Step 4: Use the scores to make better decisions about the food you eat. Make ORAC scores part making grocery lists, planning meals, and eating snacks.
This startling statistic means that one in five people are experiencing significant health risks due to this condition. What is this insidious disease called metabolic syndrome, and why is it deserved of so much attention?
What is Metabolic Syndrome?
Once known in the medical community as “syndrome X” or “insulin resistance syndrome”, metabolic syndrome has the dubious distinction of becoming a recognized diagnosis in its own right. The syndrome poses such a significant health risk because it is really a cluster of conditions that work together to seriously degrade health and invite mortality. These conditions, occurring together, increase your risk of heat disease, stroke and diabetes and can lead to a diagnosis of metabolic syndrome:
Increased blood pressure: A blood pressure reading of higher than 120 / 80.
Elevated insulin levels: Insulin helps to regulate the amount of sugar in your body, and insulin resistance can elevate risk of disease.
Excess body fat around the waist: Obesity in general puts you at risk for disease, but having an “apple shape” – more fat around the middle – means elevated risk.
Abnormal cholesterol levels: that is, low HDL levels (your good cholesterol) and high LDLs (your bad).
Don’t these conditions alone have adverse health effects? You bet. High blood pressure increases your risk of serious disease, as does elevated insulin levels and high cholesterol. But the combination of these diseases can make your risk of disease skyrocket, leading to the very serious diagnosis of metabolic syndrome.
If you already know you have at least one of the conditions described above, it may be that you have others without being aware of it. Visiting a doctor to see if you should be checked for the others is a good idea. The diagnosis of metabolic syndrome isn’t great news, but knowing you have the disease can get your doctor on the case, put your level of risk in perspective, and make your need to make aggressive changes in your lifestyle a priority.
What’s the Connection to Metabolism?
You’ve heard people who are thin and seem to eat a lot described as having a “naturally high metabolism”. Most of us know metabolism has to do with our rate of burning calories, but our understanding stops there. What is “metabolism” really?
It’s true that our metabolism is affected by what we eat and our physical activity. But metabolism is the term used to refer to several processes that concern converting food and other substances into energy and other metabolic byproducts. It’s an important function because how our body uses food to maintain itself, repair damage, heal from injury, and aid in digestion and absorption of nutrients depends on the process of metabolism.
One of these metabolic processes includes how our body responds to insulin. Insulin controls the amount of sugar in our bloodstream. If we are insulin resistant, glucose cannot enter our cells as easily. Our body then responds by churning out more insulin and increasing the insulin level in our blood, which can lead to diabetes. It also interferes with how our kidneys work, leading to higher blood pressure.
Greater weight, especially around the middle, means a higher risk of insulin resistance, because fat interferes with the body’s ability to use insulin. High blood pressure and high cholesterol are the hallmark risk factors for many diseases and conditions, including type 2 diabetes. These conditions together create a perfect storm of damage when it comes to our metabolic processes.
Combating Metabolic Syndrome
If you are one of the “one of five” diagnosed with metabolic syndrome, aggressive lifestyle changes will likely be the Rx. While medication is often necessary for those with this diagnosis, changes in diet and exercise can delay or even prevent the development of serious health problems related to metabolic syndrome. If you are diagnosed with metabolic syndrome or you are at risk for this diagnosis because you have one of its component conditions, a three-prong attack is the path to prevention.
1-Medication
Many individuals with metabolic syndrome are treated for elevated blood pressure and insulin resistance with medication. Medication can be the first order of business for patients with hazardous levels; other patients may find that their doctor turns to medication if lifestyle changes are not having the desired effect. Also, doctors might recommend a daily aspirin to reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke.
2-Diet
Diet is truly at the heart of mitigating the symptoms of this disease. Many professionals recommend the Mediterranean diet for those at risk. This diet is rich in vegetables, whole grains and fish, and is rich in good fats like olive oil. It has become a popular dietary recommendation because unlike other diets, it can be enjoyable, isn’t overly restrictive, and as a result, it can be sustained over the long term – the key to any lifestyle change. And, according to industry sources, recent studies have shown that when compared to a low fat diet, people on the Mediterranean diet have a “greater decrease in body weight, and also had greater improvements in blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and other markers of heart disease — all of which are important in evaluating and treating metabolic syndrome.”
3-Exercise
Exercise completes the prevention triumvirate when it comes to metabolic syndrome. Studies indicate that simply decreasing fat (through liposuction, for instance, or divine intervention) won’t have the beneficial effects of actually moving to lose the weight. In fact, even those who lose no weight through exercise still benefit from it when it comes to this disease. There is a beneficial effect of exercise on blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and insulin sensitivity – the perfect combination of benefits for metabolic syndrome.
Antioxidants & Metabolic Syndrome
Recent discoveries attribute potential health benefits to antioxidants such as anthocyanin, anti-inflammatories and other natural compounds found in the deep blue pigment of fruits like our own wild blueberries. 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. You can read the research in the May 2009 issue of Phytomedicine.
Ongoing studies like Dr. Lila’s that are focused on metabolic syndrome can open the door to even better ways to hone in on prevention, and with luck, kick that 25% statistic into the single digits where it belongs.
You can learn more about metabolic syndrome at the American Heart Association. You’ll also find more about the risk factors and complications at the Mayo Clinic.
The more we know about antioxidants, the more we realize that a diet that provides plenty of them is an important defense against disease. However, these benefits may not hold for those taking supplements to get their antioxidants rather than relying on dietary antioxidants – those occurring naturally in foods like fruits and vegetables. According to a new study, supplements meant to provide protection against disease may actually increase health risks.
An Antioxidant Primer
Antioxidants are important because they wage the battle against “free radicals”. Free radicals are unstable oxygen molecules that cause cancer and heart disease. Aging itself has been determined to be an accumulation of “oxidative stress” which is the result of damage done by these free radical forms of oxygen. Dietary antioxidants – those found in fruits and vegetables – neutralize these free radicals and prevent the cell damage at the source of these diseases.
Antioxidants also protect against inflammation and are thought to be a leading factor in brain aging, Alzheimer’s disease and other diseases of aging. Scientists continue to study the potential benefits of antioxidants in brain health, urinary tract health, vision health, and heart health, in addition to cancer prevention. As scientists have come to understand the oxidative process in the body, they have also come to understand that those people who eat lots of fruits and vegetables, which provide these crucial antioxidants, tend to live longer and be healthier.
We talk about wild blueberries a lot at Wild About Health! because antioxidant amounts are notoriously high in deeply colored pigments of the skins of fruits and vegetables. That’s especially true of wild blueberries, because of their deep-blue skin and their high skin-to-pulp ratio. While the “antioxidant superfruit” moniker conjures otherworldly powers, they are grounded in a very natural potency that does battle against free radicals and the diseases caused by aging the best way we know how.
An Important Knowledge Gap
It stands to reason that in an effort to get the benefits of antioxidants we would turn to supplements. However, a recent study out of Cedar-Sinai in Los Angeles has called supplements into question. The report posits that high doses of antioxidant supplements, such as vitamins C and E, raise the risk of dangerous changes in human cells, and as a result, may actually increase the risk of cancer.
Researchers associated with the study assure us that taking a multivitamin is still OK, but caution that more does not mean better, and could mean worse. George Jetson may have been served his meal in pill form by his robotic maid, but such a lifestyle may contradict good health. In fact, it is in the comparison of natural nutrients and supplements where we reach a gap in our knowledge.
Antioxidants in a supplement simply do not have the same effect as those found naturally in fruits and vegetables. What’s more, the potential negative effects of high dosing that can occur in supplements are not replicated in foods. Something is missing – something happens with antioxidants occurring naturally in food that cannot be reproduced in a supplement. From the article in UK’s Telegraph:
“Yet if the value of antioxidant supplements is at best uncertain, the evidence for the life-prolonging benefits of a diet rich in fruit and vegetables seems clear. The challenge now is to explain why they work in this form but appear to fail as isolated key chemicals.”
While the study prompts questions about supplement dosing (when a dose becomes an overdose), other questions concern how nutrients in naturally occurring antioxidants work in combination with other chemicals enabling the positive effects. Is it a secret synchronicity provided by nature? Or is it simply that those who eat foods high in antioxidants, like fruits and veggies, do other things that are healthy too?
The Bottom Line
The bottom line is: there may be no short cut to good health. In a world rife with easy answers to health, this latest information reinforces the need to hold our natural sources of nutrients in the highest esteem while remaining informed about the consequences of those that come in a bottle. Foods, compared with supplements, come out on top. For now, George Jetson can keep his bite-sized meal – along with his flying car and robotic maid.
Just twenty years ago we would have been hard pressed to find information about the little substance called the polyphenol, even in the most arcane scientific literature. Now, thanks to chemical research and nutritional science, polyphenols are turning up everywhere. What accounts for polyphenols going mainstream? Many things. But one interesting thing is your skin.
Sunscreen for Your Insides
“We know that a third of skin-related nutrition relates to polyphenols,” Superfood doc Steven Pratt told the Wild Blueberry Health News last fall. “If you want to have healthy skin, you better eat blueberries. They play a bigger role in keeping skin wrinkle-free than any other food group.”
Dr. Pratt was referring to research that indicates that polyphenols play a major role in keeping the skin healthy. While piling on the sunscreen has been de rigueur since people began to understand the dangers of sun exposure, both for good health and for wrinkle prevention, Dr. Pratt suggests putting sunscreen on from inside out, with polyphenols. Polyphenols, found in foods like berries, appear to inhibit the production of inflammatory mediators, protecting the skin from wrinkles and from the signs of aging.
What’s the connection? Chronic inflammation at the cellular level is at the heart of many degenerative age-related diseases. In studies of rats fed polyphenols-rich blueberries, the concentration of several substances in the brain that can trigger an inflammatory response was significantly reduced. Polyphenols appeared to inhibit the production of these inflammatory mediators. That’s important for many health-related reasons, including maintaining healthy, youthful skin. You can read the research here.
Put Polyphenols in Your Life
In addition to serving as an internal sunscreen, polyphenols, because of their antioxidant properties, may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. In fact, polyphenols as regulators of carbon cycling have even been of interest to researchers for how they might affect global warming.
Berries are one of the major players in the role of polyphenols, hence Dr. Pratt’s reference to blueberries as a great source. High levels of polyphenols can generally be found in fruit skins, which is why the deep blue skin of blueberries, and the high skin-to-pulp ratio of wild blueberries in particular, puts this fruit at the top of the list. Other sources of polyphenols include tea, grapes, chocolate, and many fruits and vegetables.
The idea that we can protect our skin from within as well as from without should be considered groundbreaking for a society preoccupied with youth (Hands, please!). Health always works from the inside out, after all. Now that summer’s around the corner, you can pack in the polyphenols when you think of slapping on the sunscreen, knowing you are doing something truly beneficial for your skin.
