Today's task? Eat blueberries.

Blueberries are a personal favourite, and they happen to be in season. They have a lot going for them and if you want to start cultivating a healthy habitus, they provide an easy place to start. Without nerding-out (ok, maybe a little) on biochemistry, here's why:

Anthocyanin's are the blue-red pigments that give dark berries their colour. These pigments are at work to protect the fruit from oxidative damage from the sun, and to prevent them from breaking down. The result is that they're very high in antioxidants (one study estimates 20-50 times as powerful as vitamin C and E), which is what's responsible for many of the benefits listed below.

So here's what the blueberries will do for you:

1. Anti-aging, through it's antioxidant effects. It helps keep connective tissues strong and elastic.

2. Obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. A recent study compared rats fed high fat diets with or without blueberries for 3 months. The rats with the blueberries had less abdominal fat, lower cholesterol, lower triglycerides, and lower blood sugar and insulin levels than the ones eating the fat diet alone. The results were even better for rats on low fat diets and blueberries (no surprise there).

3. Preserve vision. The coloured pigments from fruits and veg help make up the part of our retina that is responsible for vision. Blueberries (and the like) have been shown to prevent age-related visual degeneration.

4. Brain function. Studies have shown that they can help improve memory and cognitive function. For you young ones out there, this (as many of these other benefits) is most effective if consumed regularly over the course of a lifetime rather than trying to play catch-up later in life.

5. Cancer prevention. Other compounds in the berries have cancer preventative and anti-cancer effects. I'll spare you the details.

6. Heart health. The combination of high fibre and antioxidants can help lower the bad cholesterol. They also enhance the quality of your blood vessels. It will make them stronger and more elastic through its' antioxidants; and can also help lower blood pressure.

7. Better elimination. And yes, I do mean dumps. 1 cup of blueberries contains about 15% of your daily intake of fibre. In addition to the number 2's, blueberries contain d-mannose, which is the same component responsible for the cranberry's effects on urinary tract infections. The d-mannose interferes with certain bacteria's ability to cling to the bladder and urinary tract wall. This helps prevent them from climbing up and infecting the bladder.

In conclusion, the kicker with blueberries (and why they're today's topic) is that they demonstrate an important concept - nutritional density. They have very high levels of nutrients, and yet are very low in calories. This is a concept we will likely revisit in the future.

Hope all is well,

B

For more information about this and other healthy foods, http://www.whfoods.com is a great resource.