health Archives - Wild Blueberries

The Seven Wild Ways to a Healthy Brain in 2024

‘Tis the season for mulling over your New Year’s resolutions and setting intentions for the year to come. As you head into the holiday season, perhaps you’re considering prioritizing personal health and wellness in 2024. But as you think about those resolutions, one important health and wellness goal that often gets overlooked is brain health. Not sure how to incorporate a brain healthy lifestyle into your everyday life? You’re in luck! Here are seven wild ways to a healthy brain that will help jump start your 2024.

Move Every Day: Exercise enhances blood flow to the brain, increases brain cell connections, and requires balance and spatial relation practice. Plus, the endorphins we get from exercise make us happy! Win win.

Stimulate Your Mind: Stay curious by reading, mastering a new skill, and challenging your brain every day. It’s always good to keep learning as we age and it keeps our minds sharp all the while.

Prioritize the ZzZzs: Brains need a reset each day, so don’t skip on the shut-eye. If you’re curious how much sleep you should be getting to give your brain the rest it needs and deserves, check out this resource from the Sleep Foundation.

Manage Your Health: Work with your doctor to stay on top of chronic conditions (e.g. high blood pressure or diabetes).

Be Social: Spending quality time with friends and family is good for your brain. This can be as simple as picking up the phone to catch up with a friend, or meeting up in person. Whatever you feel comfortable with!

Stress Less: Activities like yoga or meditation help reduce anxiety and improve mood and relaxation. Make these rituals a part of your routine for a happier, less stressful day.

Pick Brain-Healthy Foods: Make it easy by adding a healthy scoop of frozen wild blueberries to your morning regimen – it’s honestly the tastiest brain food you’ll find. With 2x the antioxidants and 33% more brain-healthy anthocyanins than ordinary blueberries, wild blues have been linked to brain health and cognitive performance for years. And now there’s growing evidence from numerous studies that suggests eating wild blueberries daily, no matter your age, may be a practical and effective part of a brain-healthy diet.

Need some inspiration for meals that incorporate brain-healthy wild blueberries? Check out our Cognition Kitchen Guide – it outlines the science, lifestyle tips, and of course delicious recipes. We also have an extensive recipe library that includes dozens of ways to incorporate wild blueberries into your family’s daily meals. From smoothies to entrees, we’ve got you covered.

No matter what the next year has in store, do your brain a favor and prioritize your noggin with these seven tips. Looking for more brain health information? Visit our website. Happy 2024!

What on Earth is an “Anthocyanin”?

If you’re an avid Wild Blueberry eater, chances are you’ve read or heard about how chock-full of antioxidants these tiny, potent berries are – but have you heard about their anthocyanins?

Pronounced “an-tho-sigh-a-nins”, these plant compounds are abundant in Wild Blueberries and give them their pretty purple-blue hue. A growing body of research suggests anthocyanins are beneficial to humans. But, before we dive into that, let’s explore what an anthocyanin really is and how to incorporate more of them into your family’s daily eating regimen.

Breaking Down the What, Where, Why, and How of Anthocyanins – and Why They’re Good for Us

What Anthocyanins Are

Anthocyanins, named for the Greek words for “flower” and “blue,” are part of the flavonoid group of plant compounds. Anthocyanins are antioxidants and are beneficial to the plants: they appear to protect them from the damage of ultraviolet light and other environmental stressors. Dietary antioxidants such as anthocyanins, have been found to have the ability to neutralize free radicals and help prevent cell damage. They are healthy for plants, and research indicates that including anthocyanin-rich foods in our diets is healthy for us, too.

Where They’re Found

We get anthocyanins from a variety of foods, and the easiest way to locate them is by color. As pigments, they’re easy to spot—unlike most other plant compounds. When you see red, purple or blue-hued fruits and vegetables, you know they contain anthocyanins. Berries and their juices contain the most anthocyanins, and Wild Blueberries, in particular, contain a wide range of anthocyanins, and have 33% more total anthocyanins than regular blueberries*. In fact, a study that examined the anthocyanin content of 24 foods found that Wild Blueberries provide significantly more total anthocyanins than other commonly consumed berries in the US including cultivated blueberries. Some other foods that contain anthocyanins include red cabbage, purple potatoes, purple cauliflower, elderberries, black currants, purple carrots, eggplant, red onions, plums, and figs.

*USDA/Food Data Central legacy analysis of 1 cup frozen wild blueberries vs. 1 cup raw blueberries. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/

Why They’re Good for Our Health

The role of anthocyanins in the human body is still an area of intense investigation, and we clearly don’t know everything there is to know about this large class of compounds. However, we do know that when we eat foods containing anthocyanins, they change form during the digestion process and are extensively modified by the body and also by microflora (bacteria) in the intestines. These modified compounds, generally referred to as metabolites, are plentiful and widely varied. Research indicates that anthocyanins exert their effects indirectly, via their metabolites. These effectsinclude reducing the risk of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes. They’re also believed to help protect against inflammation in humans, considered to be a leading factor in brain aging, Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. There is a growing body of research that points to anthocyanins being helpful for mood improvement, focus, and memory for kids, teens, and adults. You can dive further into the anthocyanin, brain health, and general health research for wild blueberries by visiting our website.

How You Can Incorporate Anthocyanins into Your Daily Routine?

It’s easy–just add a healthy scoop of Wild Blueberries to your diet every day. Frozen wild blueberries are available in your local grocery store’s freezer aisle – just look for the word “wild” on the package. For recipe inspiration visit our recipe library (add link). Here’s a favorite of ours that’s good for the whole family (even the kids)—Wild Blueberry Brain Boosting Morning Smoothie. Give it a try!

Need more recipe inspiration? Check out our website.

Keep Cool with Summer Sips: Sparkling Wild Blueberry Lemonade

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.

As Spring Emerges, Health It Up!

With Danielle Omar, Registered Dietitian, Nutrition Consultant, and Founder of foodconfidence.com

Danielle Omar was inspired by food at a young age. “My mother is from the Bay of Naples, in Southern Italy, and we were always surrounded with delicious, nutritious food when I was a kid,” recalls Danielle. At the age of 16, Danielle’s mother gave her the responsibility for preparing family dinners, and that’s when her creative spark turned to flame.

“I never opened a cookbook, I’d just open the refrigerator, see what was inside, and go from there,” recalls Danielle. Her mom might leave her a chicken as a starting point and Danielle would literally throw anything on that chicken – condiments, mustard, herbs, whatever. “I learned it was hard to mess it up,” she recalls. “And the more I experimented, the more my confidence grew.” That feeling of confidence is what inspired me to become a registered dietitian and start my blog, foodconfidence. I wanted to share my passion with others and help them in their journey to preparing and eating healthy, tasty meals.

Today, as author of a leading food blog, and with featured appearances on The Food Network, NBC and Fox, Danielle opens a cookbook fairly regularly (and shares a ton of great recipes on her popular blog) but her spirit of invention has not waned.

“I get really passionate about pumping up the nutritional value of standard recipes,” she says. “I’m also a vegetarian now, so I eat more vegetables than the average American.”

Here are some of Danielle’s suggestions to Health-Up a Recipe:

Add more fruit and veggies to your cheese and hors-d’oeuvre platters
When making tacos or quesadillas, try substituting that flour tortilla with a collard leaf
Add seeds to your salads
Instead of mayo or mustard, use hummus
Instead of tropical fruit, use berries, such as Wild Blueberries or raspberries
When making muffins or pancakes, substitute ground oats, flax seeds, shredded coconut or chia seeds for some of the flour
In baked goods, use applesauce instead of oil
In baked goods, substitute fruits like pureed banana, apple, or Wild Blueberries for traditional sweeteners (or a combination of them all)
Substitute standard noodles or white rice with quinoa
For Italian dishes that use pasta or spaghetti, use veggie pastas, penne or rotini, which are made with freshly pureed in-season vegetables
Always add more vegetables to your pasta meals to increase nutrition
Add dried fruit or frozen fresh Wild Blueberries instead of sugar to hot cereals like oatmeal
Stay away from sweetened yogurts. Use whole plain yogurt instead and sweeten with raisins, nuts and dried or frozen fruits
If a recipe calls for fruit, try substituting frozen Wild Blueberries – they are lower in sugar and have extensive health benefits
Try adding frozen Wild Blueberries to salad dressing recipes (check out Danielle’s recipe for Miso Salad Dressing we’ll be sharing next week!)

Danielle regularly shares her passion for food in the Wild Blueberry Blog. See her recent recipes and be on the look out for her new recipe for Wild Blueberry Miso Vinaigrette.

Mardi Gras King Cake

Wild Appetizers (for Super Bowl, but good any time of the year.)

Wild Blueberry Quesadillas with Rosemary & Jalapeno Jelly

Rehydrate + Refuel with this Post-Workout Recovery Smoothie

By Anne Mauney, MPH, RD

Like me, most of you are probably more than ready for spring. As a runner, I’ve certainly had my fill of ice and snow recently, and can’t wait until my early morning runs are filled with sunshine and clear, non-slippery sidewalks! Who else has been suffering through cold, dark runs in the name of training these past couple months?

Regardless of the weather, I often find that runs leave me craving something cool and refreshing. Wild Blueberries are among my favorite foods to enjoy post-workout, particularly in smoothie form, because they are delicious and packed with good nutrition to help speed up the recovery from my rigorous training routine.

Wild Blueberries are high in antioxidants like anthocyanins, which can improve muscle recovery time and prevent against disease-causing oxidative stress. You’ll find them in the freezer section of your grocery store; just be sure to look for “Wild Blueberries” on the label! Here’s a link to more information about where to find them.

A frozen Wild Blueberry packed smoothie is a great way to get in some nutrition in a fast, easy, and portable way after a hard workout. Refueling within 30 or so minutes is not only important to tame hunger throughout the rest of the day, but also because your muscles need nutrients to adequately repair themselves.

wild blueberry recovery smothie ingredients

There are at least five reasons why this recovery smoothie is perfect as your post-workout recovery drink:

Because it’s filled with antioxidant-packed frozen Wild Blueberries.
Because bananas and coconut water are both high in potassium, an electrolyte that helps rehydrate you after a hard sweat
Because the Chia seeds help your body stay hydrated, as they can absorb about 10 times their weight in water.
Because this smoothie is packed with anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids (thanks to the chia seeds and walnuts), which prevent muscle soreness and improve recovery.
And lastly, because Greek yogurt is high in protein, which is necessary for recovery so that your muscles can rebuild and strengthen after being worked out.

Try enjoying this after your next workout – let me know how you like it!

Wild Blueberry Recovery Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen Wild Blueberries
1 small banana
1 6-oz container plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 tablespoon walnuts
2/3 cup coconut water

Directions:

Blend all ingredients until smooth.

So there you have it: rehydrate and refuel, all in one glass. Here’s to an early spring and warmer running temperatures!

Until next month, my friends!

Anne Mauney is a Washington, D.C. based registered dietitian and the writer behind the food and fitness blog fANNEtastic food, which she started as a way to motivate others to lead happier, healthier lives through nutrition and exercise. Anne has a Masters of Public Health in Nutrition and owns a private practice where she helps clients to lose or maintain weight, feel healthier, and improve their relationships with food. Her fitness tips and recipes have been featured in The Huffington Post, Glamour, SHAPE, Fitness Magazine, Health Magazine, The Washington Post, and Woman’s Day. Check out her blog for easy healthy recipes, health tips, and more. You can also find her on Twitter @fANNEtasticfood, Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook.

Berries High in Anthocyanins May Help Reduce the Effects of a High Fat Diet

By Kit Broihier, MS, RD, LD

Nutrition Advisor for the Wild Blueberry Association of North America

Who hasn’t overindulged in high-fat, high-calorie fare at some time or another and then wished it could all be “taken back” somehow? Sorry, we don’t have a magic wand, super pill, or even a special food that will instantly “undo” dietary damage (though wouldn’t that be great?). Instead, scientists working in the areas of diabetes and metabolic syndrome are looking into the effects that certain foods have on various symptoms of obesity, including inflammation, resulting from increased fat mass. Wild Blueberries, and bilberries (a European “relative” of the Wild Blueberry) are among those foods that show promise in helping to diminish the effects of a fatty diet on risk factors associated with the metabolic syndrome.

In animals, as well as humans, overeating can lead to extra pounds, which may contribute to obesity-induced inflammation (sometimes collectively referred to as chronic, low-grade inflammation), hypertension, and insulin resistance—all of which are characteristics of the metabolic syndrome. A recently published, three-month study conducted in Finland with mice revealed that a high-fat diet that included bilberries helped ameliorate and prevent some of the metabolic problems the mice developed as they gained weight from the fatty diet. Specifically, the mice that ate a diet containing bilberries experienced decreased blood pressure, while those that received just the high-fat diet and no bilberries showed no such decrease. In addition, several other pro-inflammatory markers associated with low-grade inflammation were also positively impacted by the bilberry-containing diet.

So what does this have to do with Wild Blueberries? “The Maine Wild Blueberry and the European bilberry have many of the same characteristics, such as smaller size, more intense flavor, and both are higher in antioxidants than the cultivated blueberry,” says David Yarborough, PhD, Wild Blueberry Specialist and Professor of Horticulture at the University of Maine. And, although there have been a number of studies utilizing Wild Blueberry and bilberry extracts, there are fewer that use the whole fruit, like this one did. Using a whole food more accurately mimics how both animals and humans actually eat. One recent study that used whole Wild Blueberries, conducted by Dorothy Klimis-Zacas, PhD, at the University of Maine, used obese rats that exhibited all the typical characteristics of metabolic syndrome. She found that incorporating 1½ cups of Wild Blueberries into the diets of the rats daily for 8 weeks resulted in decreased obesity-induced inflammation and normalization of physiological characteristics of metabolic syndrome.

What’s behind these effects?

More studies need to be done to know for sure, but science points to the berries’ high level of anthocyanins (a powerful antioxidant plant chemical that’s responsible for the blue and red pigments in some fruits and vegetables) as a probable reason for these beneficial effects. According to Dr. Klimis-Zacas, “Anthocyanins may not only act as antioxidants but also as molecules that send signals that alter cell metabolic pathways.” However, both Wild Blueberries and bilberries contain many other phytochemicals that could also play roles in helping fight the damaging health effects of a high-fat fare.

Kit Broihier is a Registered and Licensed Dietitian and co-author of several cookbooks. She contributes regularly to a variety of national and regional publications and blogs. Previously on the editorial staff at Good Housekeeping magazine, she now own a food and nutrition consulting company and currently serves as a nutrition advisor to the Wild Blueberry Association of North America.

Wild Blueberries Making a Name for Themselves in China

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!