Health Benefits of Blueberries
Video by Dr. Anthony Vasile
Green Drink with Wild Blueberries
I spent a lot of my time growing up outside. An activity that I loved to do was forage for wild edibles. One of my absolute favorites was wild blueberries. They are usually a little smaller than conventional blueberries found at grocery stores but wild blueberries are extremely delicious and contain potent health benefits. While picking blueberries I always found myself looking over my shoulder for a black bear because it was not uncommon to see bear claw marks around where I was finding them. Sometimes I would walk away with gallons of wild blueberries and would freeze them for smoothies throughout the year.
I wanted to share a favorite smoothie recipe of mine that includes wild blueberries. If you can’t find wild blueberries regular ones will work just as well. As always, I want to dive into research to find the health benefits of a specific ingredient that I use. I found some great information about the health benefits blueberries have to offer.
“Fruits and leaves of samples contained several polyphenolic compounds, such as anthocyanins, and demonstrated high antioxidant capacity.”
“These results suggest that dietary intake of blueberry fruits and leaves or supplements may be protective against neurodegenerative disorders that include a neuroinflammatory component”
“Our study adds to the growing evidence demonstrating the neuroprotective effects of blueberries”
This study looked at the chemical compounds of blueberry fruits and leaves. It showed the powerful anti-inflammatory properties and there is even evidence that they can help slow neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinsons. So not only does adding blueberries to your green smoothie make it taste great but it helps keep us healthy. Eating well is just one of the ways to stay in a state of homeostasis. It is important to exercise daily, manage stress and keep the spine healthy with regular chiropractic adjustments.
Recipe-
- 1 handful organic super green mix or spinach (Fresh or Frozen)
- 1 cup organic frozen wild blueberries
- 3-4 mint leaves
- 1 cup coconut water
Reference-
Michelle Debnath-Canning, Scott Unruh, Poorva Vyas, Noriko Daneshtalab, Abir U. Igamberdiev, John T. Weber, Fruits and leaves from wild blueberry plants contain diverse polyphenols and decrease neuroinflammatory responses in microglia, Journal of Functional Foods, Volume 68, 2020