Blueberries health benefits:
Cancer fighters, memory
boosters, and infection prevention
The list of blueberries health benefits gets longer every year, as more studies uncover the healing power of these good-tasting berries.
Here's a snapshot of some of the health benefits of eating blueberries:
- Blueberries have been shown to shrink cancerous tumors and prevent the development and growth of cancer.
- Researchers have shown that blueberries reverse memory loss, and also improve physical coordination and balance.
- Blueberries reduce cholesterol levels.
- Urinary tract infections can be prevented by blueberries.
- Blueberries are low in calories, high in fiber, vitamin C and antioxidants.
This list makes you want to eat more blueberries, doesn't it?
Read on for more details on research showing how blueberries can improve your health.
Blueberries health benefits - Cancer prevention food
The January 2009 issue of Antioxidants & Redox Signaling reported on an Ohio State University study that found blueberries shrunk the size of tumors and significantly improved survival rates in an animal research project. Mice with blood vessel tumors that were fed blueberry extract lived twice as long as mice that weren't given blueberries. In addition, the tumors in the mice fed blueberries were 60 percent smaller than the other group.
This type of tumor is the most common type affecting young children and occurs in about 3 percent of babies and children. The tumors usually cannot be operated on. Researchers said they plan to conduct human trials and some day use blueberries as a treatment for children with blood vessel tumors.
A compound in blueberries has also been found to prevent colon cancer, according to a 2007 study jointly conducted by scientists at Rutgers University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The study's lead researcher, Bandaru Reddy, PhD., said, "This study underscores the need to include more berries in the diet, especially blueberries."
In their study, colon cancer was induced in 18 rats and nine were fed a balanced diet plus the blueberry compound pterostilbene, and nine consumed a balanced diet with no pterostilbene. After eight weeks, the group eating the blueberry extract experienced 57 percent fewer pre-cancerous lesions in the colon compared to the other group.
And in 2005, researchers from the University of Illinios reported that the antioxidants called anthocyanins in wild blueberries prevent cancer from forming and stop them from proliferating. Published in the Journal of Food Science, the study tested the effects of blueberries on prostate and liver cancer cells. The lead scientist, Mary Ann Lila, Ph.D., reported that wild blueberres have have "cancer-fighting properties at all stages: initiation, promotion and proliferation. Wild blueberry compounds offer a multi-pronged attack against cancer."
Cancer prevention - that tops the list of blueberries health benefits. See our full list of 10 fruits that fight cancer.
One online source of wild blueberry supplements and dried wild blueberries is Traverse Bay Farms, which sends these products to you with no shipping charges and offers a money-back guarantee on its supplement. This is an easy way to enjoy blueberries health benefits when they are not in season.
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Blueberries health benefits - Improved brain function and memory, better motor skills
 A research team in England has found that blueberries can actually reverse age-related memory problems. In April 2008, scientists from the University of Reading and the Peninsula Medical School released the results of their study, in which they fed elderly rats a diet supplemented with blueberries for 12 weeks. After just three weeks on the blueberry-enhanced diet, the rats memory began improving and the improvements continued throughout the study. The research was published in Free Radical Biology and Medicine. The team has announced plans to expand their research testing diet on individuals with Alzheimers and other memory impairments.
An earlier study, conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and published in 1999 in the Journal of Neuroscience, found that eating blueberries improved the memory of 19-month-old rats (equivalent to a 65 or 70-year-old human). The researchers also tested strawberries and spinach. These foods also improved the animals' memory.
However, only blueberries also improved the coordination and balance of the elderly rats, and brought their performance back to the level of a young rat. According to the USDA, "A decline in motor skills starts at about 12 months for rats. By 19 months, the length of time rats can walk a narrow rod before losing balance normally drops from 13 to 5 seconds. After eating blueberry extract, the rats stayed on the rod for 11 seconds, on average."
Blueberries health benefits -
They lower cholesterol
In 2004, researchers with the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported results of an animal study showing that blueberries were more effective in lowering cholesterol levels than the cholesterol medication, ciprofibrate. All hamsters in the study were fed a high-cholesterol diet, and one group received blueberry skins and another received the drug. The blueberry group had cholesterol levels 37 percent lower than the control group while the ciprofibrate group's cholesterol levels were 17 percent lower than the control group. Authors of the study attributed the cholesterol-lowering effect to a compound in blueberries called pterostilbene, which caused liver cells to activate a response that leads to lower cholesterol.
Canadian researchers supplemented pigs diet with about 2 cups of blueberries a day and found the animals' LDL or bad cholesterol dropped 20 percent. The results of this research were published in the British Journal of Nutrition in 2008.
One of blueberries health benefits is lowering cholesterol. Click here to see other foods that lower cholesterol.
Prevention of urinary tract infections
Like cranberries, blueberries are helpful in preventing urinary tract infections. Research from Rutgers University showed that a compound in blueberries, called epicatechin, prevents the bacteria that causes urinary tract infections from attaching to the bladder wall. This research appeared in the October 2004 issue of Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Blueberries health benefits - Highly nutritious and just good for you
Besides all the specialized health benefits scientists have uncovered, blueberries are an all around good snack and condiment to cereal, yogurt and salads. One cup of blueberries is 82 calories, contains 16 percent of your daily fiber and 31 percent of your daily vitamin C needs. In addition, they are at the top of the list of foods containing age-defying antioxidants. And they taste good! 
Want to grow your own blueberries?
See 9 tips on planting and growing blueberry bushes.
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The information on this website is for informational purposes only and is not intended to replace medical advice or diagnose or treat any health condition. The statements on this site have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
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