Nutritional benefits of blueberries
October 25, 2009 by admin
Filed under Restaurants
If one were to advertise a medicine that could retard aging, enhance brain function, improve eyesight, lower cholesterol and blood-lipid levels, and even induce apoptosis in cancer cells, it would sound like Hadacol or snake-oil. The common blueberry contains compounds – resveratrol, pterostilbene, piceatannol, and anthocyanins (1) – which are indicated by recent research to do just that.
Native to eastern North America, the blueberry (Vaccinium Sect. Cyanococcus) is now also cultivated in Australia and New Zealand. The Native Americans were the first to eat it, fresh or dried, no doubt as much out of necessity as because they are delicious. It is one of the few culinary fruits native to its range, and a one-cup serving contains 6% of the US RDA of vitamin C (2). In a part of the world where pine-needle tea was drunk to ward off scurvy, blueberries were health-food even in pre-Columbian times.
Supplementation of rat diets with blueberry extract was shown to reverse age-related neurological decline (3). The mechanism for this is still unknown, and there’s a chance that what applies to rats doesn’t apply to humans, but there’s reason to believe that blueberries have medicinal potential.
Modern science is still elucidating the effects of trace nutrients, concentrated largely in the blueberry’s peel, on human health. Much has been made lately of eating a “colorful diet”; the delphinidin anthocyanin pigments which protect the berry itself from ultraviolet radiation and oxidative stress have been shown to be potent antioxidants, absorbing oxygen radicals that would cause aging or carcinogenesis by damaging cellular proteins, lipids, and DNA (4).
Resveratrol, hypothesized to be a cause of the “French Paradox” that has European red-wine drinkers living long, healthy lives despite diets high in saturated fat, is also found in blueberries, at roughly ten percent of the level of grapes. Resveratrol has been shown to greatly increase both manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) expression and activity levels, thus stimulating a natural antioxidant function in cells (5). in vitro studies have shown that resveratrol may also interfere with carcinogenesis and induce apoptosis (programmed cell death) in certain cancers.
While blueberries may not have as much resveratrol as grapes or peanuts, they contain high levels of the related compounds pterostilbene and piceatannol. Piceatannol has been shown to block the activity of a tyrosine kinase necessary
Summer Ideas With Wine
So summer is here, and there is always a dilemma of what to drink on a hot summer’s day. Yes, a cold lager is refreshing, but sometimes it’s nice to have something different, and lager is a bit much fattening liquid. Wine is perfect for a summer’s day. In this article, we will cover some great summer wines, and also give you a few ideas of how to serve it to make it extra special.
The first thing that comes to mind when talking about wines to drink in the summer is Sauvignon Blanc. This crisp, dry wine is perfect for summer drinking, just make sure you chill it well to get the optimum out of it. When looking for a Sauvignon Blanc, look for one that comes from New Zealand, as this white wine offers something a little more special. These wines are the best types of wine created from this grape, and the most applauded ones are the ones from the Cloudy Bay or Marlborough areas of New Zealand.
But what if you’re not too keen on dry white wine?
There are some really good German sweet white wines which, when chilled, are refreshing and add something completely different to the norm.
Also, a Portuguese friend of mine keeps her red wine in the fridge too. She doesn’t like white wine, and swears by a chilled red wine instead, which is great in the Algarve, where the temperatures get quite high.
For those of us not quite ready to chill our red wine, there is a middle ground. There are some spectacular rosé wines on the market. These are fantastic with picnics and BBQs, and also great to just sit and drink with friends. There is something about the fruitiness of a rosé that makes you think of the summers past and the great times that you’ve had.
But there are plenty of other ways to enjoy white wine too. There is the traditional spritzer or shorle, where a white wine is mixed with soda or lemonade (depending on whether you like things to be a bit sweeter or not), and served with ice. This is an excellent cooling drink.
There is also the Spanish favourite Sangria, where red wine is put into a jug with fruit, some liqueur and some fruit juice or lemonade. This is the staple drink on the Costa Brava, and is best if left in the fridge for some time, to let the flavours mix together to ensure the perfect summer cooler.
In Germany, they make something called the Bowle (This is German for punch). This again involves fresh fruit, often strawberries or raspberries, which are then mixed with sparkling wine. The result is a fizzy, fruity treat, which will cool you down nicely. If you are feeling particularly adventurous, you can add a splash of brandy to the mixture to give it some extra fizz.
So whatever style of drinking you have, there is a summer solution for wine which will suit you.
