The Health Secrets of Berries
by Royane Real
by Royane Real
Long before winter comes, black bears in the forest spend all their time eating everything
they can sink their teeth into.
During the summer, bears eat and eat and eat, trying to get as fat as they possibly can,
and when the weather turns cold, they look for a place to curl up and then they sleep the
winter away.
Now, the habits of bears might not seem like something you should try to follow. After
all, doctors are always warning us humans that we shouldn’t overeat, and that we
shouldn’t spend all of our time lying around, doing nothing.
But there is one part of the black bear’s habits that you should actually try to imitate,
because it would be good for your health.
Black bears eat a lot of berries, of many different varieties, such as raspberries,
strawberries, and blueberries.
Berries contain natural sugars and wonderful flavors. Unlike many other foods that are
really good for you, but which don’t taste good, berries taste great.
And unlike many foods that taste great but which aren’t good for you, berries are among
the most health friendly foods you can eat.
It’s only been within the last decade that scientists have started to pay a lot of attention
to the health benefits of berries. And what researchers are learning about the health
benefits of berries has a lot of exciting potential for human diets.
One of the first major experiments on the health benefits of berries took place at Tufts
University about ten years ago.
Researchers were working with a group of aging rats. They fed them diets of various
foods to see what the effects would be. Among the foods they tested were strawberries,
blueberries, and spinach.
Now these rats were fairly old in terms of “rat years”. In fact, their age was equivalent to
humans about 70 years old.
The foods the scientists tested were all very high in beneficial antioxidants, so the
scientists wanted to see if any of these foods would boost the physical and mental
capabilities of these aging rats.
The researchers found that while several of these foods seemed to offer some
antioxidant protection, the rats that had been fed blueberries were the only ones that
actually improved in their abilities.
In fact, the rats which had been fed blueberries were able to perform like much younger
rats!
This was a very exciting find, and the scientists then wanted to find what it was in the
blueberries that produced this very beneficial effect.
It turns out that the chemicals responsible for making these aging rats act mentally
younger and perkier were the pigments in the skin of the blueberries.
The compounds that give ripe berries their beautiful colors are the very substances that
have such strong anti-oxidant powers. And antioxidants are compounds that help repair
some of the damage that happens to our body cells every day.
Scientists have discovered that the darker the berry, the more health benefits it has!
Eating two thirds of a cup of blueberries will give you as much anti-oxidant protection as
five servings of apples or squash.
The dark pigments in these berries seem to offer protection against cardiovascular
disease, degenerative eye disease such as cataracts, and may offer some help in
preventing some cancers, and bladder infections.
If the exciting results of the rat studies turn out to also hold true for humans, it may
mean that compounds in these dark berries may help protect brain cells from the
degenerative diseases of aging.
You can get this fantastic antioxidant protection whether you eat your berries fresh,
frozen, or dried.
You can eat berries raw, add them to your favorite cereals, or make a smoothie drink
with various berries, fruits, milk and yoghurt. Get creative and find ways to mix berries
into your favorite recipes.
In North America, blueberries are available fresh or frozen year round. If you can’t get
fresh berries, dried berries are also filled with very concentrated levels of the valuable
antioxidants.
If you live in a place where blueberries are not easily available, look for other fruits and
berries that have very dark red or dark purple colors.
Foods such as pomegranates, bilberries, cherries, black raspberries, saskatoons or
serviceberries also have high levels of these very beneficial dark pigments. These foods
offer benefits similar to the benefits of blueberries.
So, think about incorporating at least one habit of bears into your lifestyle – and make
berries a frequent part of your diet!
Article by: Royane Real
About the Author
This article was written by Royane Real, author of the upcoming book “How to Develop
an Age Proof Brain.” If you want to get life improving tips, subscribe to her free
newsletter at www.royanereal.com.
they can sink their teeth into.
During the summer, bears eat and eat and eat, trying to get as fat as they possibly can,
and when the weather turns cold, they look for a place to curl up and then they sleep the
winter away.
Now, the habits of bears might not seem like something you should try to follow. After
all, doctors are always warning us humans that we shouldn’t overeat, and that we
shouldn’t spend all of our time lying around, doing nothing.
But there is one part of the black bear’s habits that you should actually try to imitate,
because it would be good for your health.
Black bears eat a lot of berries, of many different varieties, such as raspberries,
strawberries, and blueberries.
Berries contain natural sugars and wonderful flavors. Unlike many other foods that are
really good for you, but which don’t taste good, berries taste great.
And unlike many foods that taste great but which aren’t good for you, berries are among
the most health friendly foods you can eat.
It’s only been within the last decade that scientists have started to pay a lot of attention
to the health benefits of berries. And what researchers are learning about the health
benefits of berries has a lot of exciting potential for human diets.
One of the first major experiments on the health benefits of berries took place at Tufts
University about ten years ago.
Researchers were working with a group of aging rats. They fed them diets of various
foods to see what the effects would be. Among the foods they tested were strawberries,
blueberries, and spinach.
Now these rats were fairly old in terms of “rat years”. In fact, their age was equivalent to
humans about 70 years old.
The foods the scientists tested were all very high in beneficial antioxidants, so the
scientists wanted to see if any of these foods would boost the physical and mental
capabilities of these aging rats.
The researchers found that while several of these foods seemed to offer some
antioxidant protection, the rats that had been fed blueberries were the only ones that
actually improved in their abilities.
In fact, the rats which had been fed blueberries were able to perform like much younger
rats!
This was a very exciting find, and the scientists then wanted to find what it was in the
blueberries that produced this very beneficial effect.
It turns out that the chemicals responsible for making these aging rats act mentally
younger and perkier were the pigments in the skin of the blueberries.
The compounds that give ripe berries their beautiful colors are the very substances that
have such strong anti-oxidant powers. And antioxidants are compounds that help repair
some of the damage that happens to our body cells every day.
Scientists have discovered that the darker the berry, the more health benefits it has!
Eating two thirds of a cup of blueberries will give you as much anti-oxidant protection as
five servings of apples or squash.
The dark pigments in these berries seem to offer protection against cardiovascular
disease, degenerative eye disease such as cataracts, and may offer some help in
preventing some cancers, and bladder infections.
If the exciting results of the rat studies turn out to also hold true for humans, it may
mean that compounds in these dark berries may help protect brain cells from the
degenerative diseases of aging.
You can get this fantastic antioxidant protection whether you eat your berries fresh,
frozen, or dried.
You can eat berries raw, add them to your favorite cereals, or make a smoothie drink
with various berries, fruits, milk and yoghurt. Get creative and find ways to mix berries
into your favorite recipes.
In North America, blueberries are available fresh or frozen year round. If you can’t get
fresh berries, dried berries are also filled with very concentrated levels of the valuable
antioxidants.
If you live in a place where blueberries are not easily available, look for other fruits and
berries that have very dark red or dark purple colors.
Foods such as pomegranates, bilberries, cherries, black raspberries, saskatoons or
serviceberries also have high levels of these very beneficial dark pigments. These foods
offer benefits similar to the benefits of blueberries.
So, think about incorporating at least one habit of bears into your lifestyle – and make
berries a frequent part of your diet!
Article by: Royane Real
About the Author
This article was written by Royane Real, author of the upcoming book “How to Develop
an Age Proof Brain.” If you want to get life improving tips, subscribe to her free
newsletter at www.royanereal.com.
| These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The content on this website is not intended to diagnose, cure, or prevent any disease. |
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