Eating healthily is emphasized everywhere, and while that is all well and good, there is very little information about what a healthy diet looks like and what it is good for, as not every food is good for every person and not every condition will be helped by the same types of food. But if you are concerned about your cognitive function and your cardiovascular health there is one ingredient that you should really think about adding to your diet, and as a small plus, it is very tasty and it is good for your overall health.
The benefits of this particular food where discovered in a study conducted by King’s College London Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine in the United Kingdom and published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. They studied patients and gave them this ingredient and saw that there was a significant difference between before and after consumption. The ingredient in question? Wild blueberries
How wild blueberries help people improve their cognitive function and cardiovascular health
The study suggests that the brain-boosting effects of blueberries might come down to anthocyanins which are compounds in the polyphenol family that seem to support better blood flow in the brain and throughout the vascular system. That boost in circulation could be the reason behind improvements in things like memory and focus.
In the study, which followed the gold standard for research, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled setup, participants who consumed blueberries regularly started showing some impressive cognitive benefits. These were sharper executive function, quicker recall in short-term memory tasks, and speedier reaction times.
The trial involved 61 adults, all between the ages of 65 and 80, over a 12-week period. One group drank a daily beverage made with 26 grams of freeze-dried wild blueberry powder, which works out to roughly 178 grams of fresh berries or around 75 to 80 individual blueberries. The other group got a placebo that looked and tasted similar, but without the active compounds.
Those who were given the blueberry powder had a 3.59 mmHg of mercury in systolic blood pressure reduction and had better overall vascular function. They were also able to remember word lists better and performed better on tasks that required rapid switching between terms. The only metric that did not improve was delayed recall, bit still, the benefits seem to be very clear for something that takes little to no effort to add to your diet.
This is not the first time that blueberries have been studied for their benefits, and it is also not the first time that they have been found to be great for your overall health. Some of the most common benefits are better gut health and reduced inflammation, antioxidants that protect against heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and even some types of cancer and even satiety, which is important when trying to lose weight.
One cup of blueberries contains 25% of the daily requirement of vitamin C and 4 grams of dietary fiber, all with only 80 calories. They are also mainly made of water, so they are also hydrating and can help with feeling better in warmer climates (and they are delicious when frozen, always a plus).
Since they are also fruit, it is important to note that they must be consumed in moderation, especially for those who have diabetes or other health conditions that might require a specialized diet. Just because they have many benefits it does not mean that they are harmless to all. They can be great when mixed in with other foods that are not so healthy and nutritious, like pancakes or cereal, which also make them the perfect “addition food” as they do not detract from the goodness but they add to it thanks to their sweet taste.