Got the blues? Eat blueberries!
It’s happiness in the mouth!
The blueberry is a good accomplice of our health. It is amazing how many different benefits it provides to be enjoyed.
This small bluish berry conceals treasures of antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, hypolipidemic, vasoprotective and hypoglycemic properties.
Against urinary tract infection, digestive tract disorders, flatulence in particular, blueberries do not give their place either!
A weapon against free radicals
The free radicals generated by the regular activity of our system tend to partially damage the cells of our body over time. However, the consumption of antioxidants helps to slow down the process. Blueberries are among the fruits richest in antioxidants that help prevent diseases like cancer, cardiovascular disorders and infections.
This fruit is very rich in anthocyanin, a flavonoid with strong antioxidant action. These beneficial effects could contribute in particular to the slowing down of cognitive problems linked to aging.
Eagle eyes
Blueberries would be good friends of our eyes by preserving our ocular health, limiting the progression of certain aging eye diseases such as glaucoma, cataracts or myopia.
Rich in vitamins A, C, K, iron, potassium and manganese, blueberries could help in blood clotting while maintaining good bone health and the proper transport of oxygen to tissue cells and muscles. , without forgetting his hard work on the good condition of our immune system.
Good digestion
An excellent aid in digestion, blueberries are also low in calories, as they contain 85% water. Thanks to its good fiber content, it can act on the health of the intestinal flora by limiting constipation.
Research conducted at the University of Montreal has demonstrated antidiabetic properties of fermented wild blueberry juice. This could, among other things, prevent the development of diabetes.
Plus, these dear, high-value berries might even make us smile, it seems! Their high concentration of flavonoids would help increase blood flow to the brain and allow, it is said, better mood regulation!
Smile! You eat blueberries!
Blueberries in History
The history of the blueberry seems recent. This little fruit has been eaten for a few centuries, it is believed. The natives of North America knew of its properties. They prepared it raw, cooked or dried in the sun or preserved it in animal fat. They thus found there a good source of vitamins even in the harshest winter periods.
A good bowl of blueberries during a big snowstorm, isn’t that a nice breath of happiness?
Bilberry or blueberry?
Is it the same fruit?
Well no! There is a difference!
First, the blueberry is native to North America while the bilberry, its cousin, grows in French regions. Although these two different species belong to the same family of Ericaceae Vaccinium, the bilberry is much more difficult to grow than the blueberry, because it grows low to the ground mainly in forest areas. Wild blueberries correspond to the species of Vacciniums Angustifolium, that is to say blueberries with narrow leaves or wild blueberries, while the wild bilberry is on the side of the species of Vacciniums Myrtillus. Blueberries, berries larger than bilberries, grow in clusters in shrubs from one meter to 2.5 meters in height.
The wild bilberry, emblem of the Vosges mountains, is very dark blue, almost black and its almost red flesh and its tannin taste reveals a more pronounced bitterness than that of blueberries. The wild blueberry which grows in much smaller shrubs than the cultivated blueberry also has much smaller berries. The blueberry is more bluish and is now grown in different countries around the world: United States, Poland, Sweden, Australia, Germany, Peru, Chile and New Zealand.
SOURCES
https://www.rustica.fr/fruits-et-verger/bleuet-myrtille-cultivee,11714.html
https://jardinierparesseux.com/2017/03/18/un-bleuetier-remontant/
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleuet_(fruit)
https://thesoaproach.wordpress.com/2008/12/16/bleuet-vs-myrtille/
https://www.carnetnaturaliste.ca/2015/11/myrtille-et-bleuet.html
https://www.passeportsante.net/fr/Nutrition/EncyclopedieAliments/Fiche.aspx?doc=bleuet_nu