Studies Prove Powerful Health Benefits of Wild Blueberries

On Friday, the trade association Wild Blueberry Association of North America announced that new research published in the current issue of the Journal of "Agricultural and Food Chemistry" demonstrates that wild blueberries have the highest cellular antioxidant activity of tested fruits, which included cranberries, apples, and red and green grapes.

Lead scientist Rui Hai Liu, Ph.D. used the cellular antioxidant activity (CAA) assay, which is a new technique developed by the Cornell University Department of Food Science, to determine the antioxidant activity of antioxidants, foods, and dietary supplements.

Dr. Liu's work builds upon current antioxidant research using the chemistry or test tube assays, like Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC).

"The CAA assay provides information regarding cellular levels of antioxidants," and is a definite advancement, said USDA scientist and developer of the ORAC test Ron Prior, Ph.D.

"This new approach is more biologically relevant as it accounts for uptake, metabolism, distribution, and activity of antioxidant compounds in cells versus solely looking at antioxidant value," says Liu.

Wild Blueberry Association Nutrition Advisor Susan Davis, M.S., R.D. advises consumers to choose colorful, all-natural foods such as wild blueberries that are high in concentrations of phytochemicals and antioxidants to help with weight management, reducing the risks of getting chronic diseases, and longevity.

One such food product that this writer consumes on a regular basis is Bolthouse Farms' "Blue Goodness" smoothie.

Blue Goodness is a 100% fruit blend of blueberries, blackberries, elderberries, apples, and bananas. The smoothie, which contains no added sugars but tastes sweet and delicious, is loaded with antioxidants, energizing fiber, and the B vitamins, as well as high levels of Vitamin E and Vitamin C.

In 2004, a study led by Agnes M. Rimando, Ph.D., of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Products Utilization Research Center in Oxford, Mississippi, concluded that blueberries contain high levels of pterostilbene, which is extremely effective at helping to reduce the body's levels of cholesterol and saturated fats as it interacts with the body's cells to "turn them on" to breaking down and metabolizing the artery-clogging compounds.

Similar to the resveratrol found in grapes and which is largely behind the health benefits that come from moderate consumption of red wine, pterostilbene has previously been found to also be effective at fighting cancer and diabetes.

In a previous ORAC study led by Jim Joseph, who is the director of the neuroscience laboratory in the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center blueberry extractions which were the equivalent of a human eating one cup of blueberries per day were fed to mice, and it was concluded based on tests of their motor skills that blueberries are effective at preventing the onset of mental diseases associated with advanced age.

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