Unexpected Health Benefits Of Blueberries

We are blessed to live in a world rich with a variety of delicious fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds. Each plant-based food has its own unique flavor, scent and nutritional profile — made of health giving vitamins and phytochemicals (many of which act as antioxidants).

A well-known super food, and one of my favorite fruits, is the antioxidant powerhouse: the Blueberry. This fruit is a classic option for topping off your fruit bowl, sweetening muffins and filling perfect pies. (Check out this raw pie recipe!)

While they might be a bit pricy to find fresh at the market or grocer, blueberries are truly a worthwhile treat, especially when they are in season.



Blueberries are extremely high in health giving phytochemicals. And why is that so important? Because they’re good, good, good for you!

Many of the phytochemicals listed below provide anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits:
Anthocyanins (malvidins, delphinidins, pelargonidins, cyanidins, peonidins) 
Flavonols (kaempferol, quercetin, myricetin)
Resveratrol
Pterostilbene
Hydroxycinnamic acids (caffeic acids, ferulic acids, coumaric acids)
Hydroxybenzoic acids (coumaric acids)
Hydroxybenzoic acids (gallic acids, procatchuic acids)
And these are only some of the phytochemicals we’ve studied so far!

Along with all of these beautiful nutrients, blueberries are also a good source of vitamins including: 
Manganese
Vitamin K
Vitamin C


All of these vitamins and phytonutrients gives blueberries their wonderful smell, color, flavor AND health benefits!





Health benefits of blueberries:

- Eye health: Anthocyanin (one of the phytochemicals in blueberries) has been shown to protect the retina from damage.

- Cardiovascular health: Blueberries have been shown to improve blood fat balance (including reducing total overall cholesterol while raising HDL cholesterol (the good kind), and lowering triglycerides. In addition, they protect the blood vessels and certain blood components from oxygen damage.

- Blood Sugar Balance: Blueberries (along with many other berries) have been shown to have a favorable impact on blood sugar regulation.

- Cognitive Benefits: Studies have demonstrated (especially in elderly patients) that regular consumption of blueberries can improve cognitive function including memory, as well as potentially postponing other cognitive problems often associated with aging.

- Anti-Cancer Properties: Studies are beginning to suggest that blueberries may have many anti-cancer benefits, particularly breast cancer, colon cancer, esophageal cancer and cancer of the small intestine.

- Full body antioxidant protection and support: Blueberries not only benefit your eyes, cardiovascular system and cognitive abilities, they’re pretty much good for every system in the body! Every system that they have studied thus far in relation to blueberry consumption has benefited. This includes reducing damage to muscles after exercise, protection of the entire nervous system from oxygen damage, reducing the risk of neurodegenerative diseases and protecting the digestive tract from oxygen damage.

And that’s just some of what we’ve learned so far.

So along with all the other wonderful and delicious plant nutrients you enjoy on a daily basis, pick up some blueberries too!

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/health-benefits-of-blueberries.html?page=1

Exercise Is Protective Against Breast Cancer By Affecting Estrogen Metabolism

Exercise may lower a woman's risk of breast cancer by affecting the way her body breaks down estrogen, according to a new study in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.






Researchers from the University of Minnesota said that observational studies have long shown associations between lowered breast cancer risk and increased exercise, but we had little information as to why this may be the case. 

"Ours is the first study to show that aerobic exercise influences the way our bodies break down estrogens to produce more of the 'good' metabolites that lower breast cancer risk," study researcher Mindy S. Kurzer, Ph.D., a professor in the university's food science and nutrition department, said in a statement.

The study included 391 healthy premenopausal women who led sedentary lifestyles; 179 of them were put in a control group where they just kept living a sedentary lifestyle, while 212 were placed in an exercise group where they did 30 minutes of aerobic exercises (moderate to vigorous level, such as running on a treadmill or using the elliptical machine) five days a week for four months. Of all the women in the study, 78 percent of those from the exercise group and 86 percent of those from the control group completed the study.

Researchers took urine samples of the women for three days before the study began, in order to measure three estrogens and their metabolites (the product that remains after the estrogens are broken down). Researchers knew beforehand that a particular ratio of one kind of estrogen metabolite with another is linked with having a lower risk of breast cancer.

Indeed, researchers found that the women who were assigned to the exercise group experienced an increase in this protective estrogen metabolite ratio, while the ratio didn't change at all for those who remained sedentary.

ABC News previously reported on research published last year showing links between exercise and breast cancer risk; the news organization noted that the association may be because exercise decreases weight, and there is a lot of estrogen that arises from fat tissue. For more on that research, click over to ABC News.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/10/exercise-breast-cancer-estrogen-metabolism_n_3231134.html?utm_hp_ref=healthy-living#slide=806434