Blueberries the Miracle Food or Not

I buy blueberries because all I have heard for years are blueberries are the miracle food, especially from my mom.  She tells me blueberries will help fight against high blood pressures and cancers and help with memory problems.

I don’t like blueberries.  Whether it is the taste or the texture, I do not eat them.  I do make sure my husband and daughter incorporate them into their diets but there is just something about them that makes me stay clear.  I will occasionally eat them in a smoothie or muffin when I can hide the actual flavor of the blueberry.  I do believe there are some health benefits to eating blueberries but they are just a small piece of a healthy diet and should not be looked at as the ultimate food.

But after reading articles this week, maybe I’ve underestimated the importance of blueberries.  Researchers have conducted numerous studies on animals that show blueberries may reduce the risks of cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol, osteoporosis and breast cancer.

Separate studies were done, primarily by researchers and scientists from the Arkansas Children’s Nutrition Center (ACNC), which linked the consumption of blueberries to a decrease in the probability of developing the different afflictions.  Adding blueberries to the normal everyday diets of animals was proven to be beneficial to the health of those animals.  In some cases, not only did the blueberries slow the health risk, they actually reversed the health risks.  And in one case, pregnant rats fed blueberries were more likely to have babies with healthier breast tissue, which is linked to decreasing chances of having breast cancer.  So the blueberries showed to have benefits not only for the individual, but for the offspring as well.

The bluish-purple color of a blueberry is a polyphenol and an antioxidant, which provides the benefit.  These antioxidants help protect the body against oxidative stress, which can lead to heart disease and cancer.

Stilbenes are other polyphenols found in blueberries.  These particular polyphenols have a drug-like effect as a cancer chemoprevention.  The chemoprevention may delay or prevent the reoccurrence of cancer.

However, in one study, animals that had diets consisting of 10 percent blueberries showed fewer health benefits than those animals eating a 5 percent blueberry diet.  For some reason, which wasn’t completely explained in my research, the effects of blueberries diminish at some point.  So there is no need to eat pints and pints of blueberries in one sitting.

I also question some of the claims about blueberries especially since most of the clinical trials have been done on animals.  I haven’t found many studies done directly on humans but these animals used in the research (hamsters, rats and mice) have similar traits and make-ups to humans.  But until studies are done to show the effects of blueberries directly on humans, it is a bit of a stretch to say humans will enjoy the same benefits the animals experienced.

Research shows that there are numerous benefits to eating blueberries but there are still questions that need to be answered about blueberries and the effects on humans.  While I will still encourage my family to eat blueberries, I won’t feel guilty passing up them up tomorrow morning.

Samples, E. (2010). Why Getting "the Blue" Can be Good for You. American Fitness, 28(July/August), 68-70. Retrieved June 13, 2013, from the EBSCOhost:Academic Search Premier database.

Sizer, F., & Whitney, E. (2013). Nutrition: concepts & controversies (13th ed, p. 64). Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Wood, M. (2011). Blueberries and Your Health: Scientists Study Nutrition Secrets of Popular Fruit. Agricultural Research,59(May), 9-13. Retrieved June 13, 2013, from the ebscohost database.