The Benefits of Blueberries

I never cared much for blueberries when I was little. It wasn’t until my teen and adult years that I finally acquired a taste for them, except, of course, blueberry pie, cake or ice cream. Those I liked pretty well even as a little kid. I don’t think I ever really had a problem liking those delicious delights. The problem was with “Fresh Blueberries”. I just plain didn’t much care for the just plain blueberry off the bush or in a bowl. Maybe it was the texture, I don’t know. I can no longer remember exactly why I didn’t like them. It must have been a “kid thing” because I soon outgrew it.

What I do remember is a comment I made about blueberries when I was maybe nine or ten years old. Mom had served each of us a dish of fresh blueberries as the fruit with our dinner and I stubbornly announced that I didn’t want them. I said, “I don’t like blueberries. They make my mouth shiver.” Everyone at the table laughed at me and no one let me forget that statement for many years thereafter. They still make my mouth shiver, shiver with excitement anticipating enjoying their wonderful flavor. Oh what a delightful treat is the blueberry.

When I was growing up, my parents had a rule, a hard and fast rule…You always had to at least try whatever food was on the table, that meant you had to eat at least three bites of whatever food was being served for you to eat and that included blueberries. In time I learned to enjoy them and I’m glad I did.

Blueberries, I discovered, are not only a wonderfully delicious fruit (According to the USDA, for us to be healthy we should eat at least 5 servings of fruit and vegetable a day) blueberries are also very good for you.

In this fast paced, eat on the run, junk food society we live in, a handful of blueberries eaten while you are running between meetings or other appointments might just help save your life. You can carry a cup of them around with you and just pop them in your mouth like jelly beans on your dash from point A to point B. They don’t have to be sliced, diced or cooked. You can eat them raw, in fact, raw is better for you… and what is more, they won’t melt in your hand either and they aren’t even messy unless you squeeze them. What is more, you can eat them skin, seed and all, no pits, now skin to discard of, no sticky or greasy mess on your fingers. These are just a few of their wonderful benefits aside from their nutrition factor.

Blueberries are one of the wonderful fruits you can buy in all seasons (or harvest on your own, in season) that will provide you with the high antioxidants needed to protect your body from the dangerous and damaging “free radicals” that are all around us in today’s society as well as helping to prevent and even possibly cure a variety of chronic diseases that now plague us int this world we live in.

One cup of fresh blueberries contain 14 mg of Vitamin C and 0.8 mg of Vitamin E that we need to consume daily for healthy body function. Blueberries are also said to aid in the slowing of the aging process our bodies go through and help in maintaining our mental alertness and capacity. (REF: Blueberries and Aging, USDA Human Nutrition Research Center) And you all know how we all dread the idea of growing “OLD”.

According to research I have recently read from a variety of sources, and they all say about the same thing, the humble blueberry is very, very good for you indeed, especially the fresh and unprocessed blueberry. Among the benefits the blueberry provides are:

1. They help to slow the aging process.
2. They help reduce cell damage that may lead to some forms of cancer.
3. They help prevent and even cure urinary tract infections.
4. They help clean our blood vessels, our arteries and veins.
5. They are proving to be beneficial to folks suffering with arthritis and fibroses myalgia.
6. They benefit the nervous system and may help to prevent mood swings.
7. They help you maintain good vision.
8. They are good for your complextion.
9. Help you stick to that “diet” and aid in weight control.

These are just a few of the benefits of the blueberry. Blueberries are good for you and they taste good too, just plain, straight off the bush or from the produce section of your local grocery store, not withstanding the delicious and tongue tantalizing treat the blueberry makes when it is done up in a pie, cake, cobbler or in ice cream or yogurt.

So, the next time you are on the run between meetings and are looking for something quick to eat, instead of grabbing that bag of salty, greasy chips or that package of cookies, or the candy bar, grab a handful of fresh blueberries. I think you’ll be glad you did. They are also very good for curing that “case of the munchies” that comes over you while you are sitting on the couch and glued to your TV.

There are a lot of good benefits to the humble blueberry. Isn’t it time you got acquainted with them?