Fall Is the Season for Wild Blueberries! It’s the perfect time to add this “powerhouse of health benefits” to your daily diet. In this edition of Wild Blueberry Health News, you will:
- Learn why blue is the color of a healthy diet, with insights from nutritionist Susan Davis, MS, RD
- Find out why baker Matt James is wild about Wild Blueberries
- Get the latest from the Wild Blueberry Health Summit
Plus, you’ll find a new fall recipe, new research results and more.
Thinking about the benefits of a new, healthier lifestyle? If you are like many people, you have cast a critical eye on your own health habits. Maybe you haven’t been putting your health first, or maybe you are concerned about the effects of aging or preventing disease. Making the decision to get on the right nutritional track is a great first step. But once you have made the decision, where do you start? According to Susan Davis, MS, RD, nutrition advisor for the Wild Blueberry Association of North America, the best way to get on track is to load your plate with color.
Among other dietary musts such as eating fish or whole grains, the importance of a diet full of fruits and vegetables is undeniable. While integrating all colors is important for getting a diet firmly on track, it is those “little blues” — tiny, delicious, Wild Blueberries — that are especially important. “It is just critical that we look at fruits and vegetables as one of the answers and get blue pigment in the diet,” said Davis in a recent interview for the Association. “It’s important to get all pigments in the diet, but the one we overlook most, I think, is blue.”
In a new video segment called “Getting on the Right Nutritional Track” featured at the Wild Blueberry Association of North America website, www.wildblueberries.com, Davis explains why the importance of the berry’s blue pigment cannot be underestimated.
Read more about the interview with nutritionist Susan Davis.
For many of its regular customers, nothing defines Standard Baking Co. better than the blueberry scone. “We’ve been doing blueberry-oat scones year round, whereas before they were just seasonal,” said owner Matt James. “They are local,” he said of their featured ingredient, the lowbush Wild Blueberry, “and people like that more and more.” For a Maine business, Wild Blueberries are a local celebrity; they are also a morning staple for those in search of something a little sweet for breakfast.
“People feel better about eating a blueberry scone than a sticky bun,” said James, who along with partner Alison Pray, run the Portland, Maine business known as “bread central” to their customers and the restaurants they supply.
To help explain why Wild Blueberries fit the Standard Bakery Co. profile so well, James answered some essential questions about the benefits of baking with Wild Blues, starting with the hunger-inducing end results.
Read the complete interview...
Scientists around the world are captivated by the health potential of Wild Blueberries. Research into this potent little blue fruit, grown wild in Maine and Canada, has already yielded important results in areas of disease and healthy aging. In August, fourteen of these renowned scientists from laboratories, universities, research centers, and hospitals from around the U.S. and Canada gathered in Bar Harbor, Maine for the 11th annual Wild Blueberry Research Summit to review and present compelling new research in the fields of neuroscience, aging, cardiovascular disease, cancer, eye health and other health-related areas. The resulting research has the potential to contribute to the Wild Blueberry’s fascinating role in brain health, cellular activity, and healthy aging.
Recent discoveries attribute potential health benefits of the Wild Blueberry to antioxidants such as anthocyanin, anti-inflammatories and other natural compounds found in their deep blue pigment. Wild Blueberries have the highest antioxidant capacity per serving compared with more than 20 other fruits, and they sit at the center of the attention-grabbing topics of disease prevention and age-related health risks. In addition to fighting oxidative stress, blueberries are now thought to have powerful anti-inflammatory properties.
Read more about the results of the Wild Blueberry Research Summit’s studies on brain health.
Blueberry Supplemented Diet Shows Promise in Lowering Cholesterol in Animal Trials
New York Times Magazine Features Maine’s Wild Blues
Blueberries Get Boost in Parade Magazine for Role as “Smart Food”
National Geographic Magazine Lists Blueberries As a Top Food
Spread the good news about Wild Blueberries!
