Nutrition ⇒ Blueberries (anthocyanins) reverse brain ageing

[Macrobian]

Anthocyanidins derived from blueberries are capable of only crossing the blood-brain barrier and in addition they also localise in brain regions involved in learning and memory (such as the hippocampus). According to Shukkit-Hale 2019, the brain is particularly vulnerable to oxidative stress as it utilises 10% of the body’s oxygen at rest and up to 50% during mental activity. Therefore blueberries, which are a natural source of anthocyanins, seemed like a perfect candidate to study in relation to age-related cognitive decline.

The potential of polyphenols in blueberries to reverse age-related neurological and cognitive decline was tested in 1999 by Joseph et al.. The study on rats found that 18.6 g of dried aqueous blueberry extract per kilogram of diet effectively reversed a wide range of age-related deficits in behavioural and neuronal parameters including performance on the rod walking and Morris water maze tasks.

We know this effect applies to humans as well. According to a study by Devore et al. 2012 of over 16,000 participants, a greater intake of blueberries was significantly associated with a slower rate of cognitive decline, even after adjusting for potential socio-economic confounders.

Do you regularly consume blueberries or blueberry extracts/juices? Have you noticed any improvements in terms of cognition or your motor performance? I would be very much interested in reading about your experiences with the blueberry's polyphenols!

[Newage]

Just walked past the supermarket.
Blueberries $2 a container
A cheap way to participate in your own health and wellness trial..cheaper than a coffee.

[Macrobian]

Yes, it is certainly one of the cheapest anti-ageing dietary interventions!

[Drdavid]

Natural high potency foods are awesome!

[Elastob]

I love blueberries, always buy it with strawberries or other berries that I can find in the supermarkets. I eat it while watching a movie instead of smth awful like chips or some other salty snack. Feel really sad when it becomes more expensive due to the season outside. Thank God to find it now is not a problem, especially if you can afford to buy property in Barcelona https://tranio.com/spain/catalonia/barcelona/, where they sel blueberries in local supermarkets almost every season.

[Denis]

I started eating a cup of blueberries a day about 5 months ago. I cannot tell if diminished brain fog is a result of blueberries or other supplements I started 6 to 10 months ago. I do believe a healthy diet is very important. Frozen blueberries are less expensive and will get me through the off season.

[OzSport]

I'm not too much of a fan of blueberries, so I can't eat them straight out of the carton as easily as I can raspberries and strawberries. It's been awhile since I've had them but maybe it's time to start again in small doses.

I just tried to find some healthy blueberry recipes to incorporate them into my diet...some seem much better than others (I don't know about the blueberry beef burgers, though, lol... ):
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/249913 ... -ice-pops/
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/248774 ... f-burgers/
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/breakfast-muffins
https://www.driscolls.com/recipe/savory ... led-cheese
https://www.yummly.com/recipe/Summer-Gr ... ad-9036876

[topdog999]

Blueberries indeed are an incredible superfood.The amount needed in one's diet varies to get it's main ingredient-pterostilbene which is intensely studied for anti-neoplastic, anti-oxidant, anti-diabetic, cardiac function and other key metabolic cellular processes. It is chemically similar to resveratrol, having an methoxy group instead of a hydroxy group which studies are showing increase bioavailibility as the molecule becomes more lipophilic. Many studies are done with Alzheimers patients which claim blueberries improve cognitive function.Pterostilbene is a class of compounds called phytoalexins and is also a stilbenoid compound, which includes resveratrol. The bioavailability of pterostilbene is around 75-80 percent, compared to around 20-25percent for resveratrol. In other words, more pterostilbene is available to the body. Pterostilbene also has a half life that is seven times longer than that of resveratrol, meaning that it persists longer in the body: 105 minutes for pterostilbene versus 14 minutes for resveratrol. In addition, the level of cellular uptake for pterostilbene is between two and four times greater than that of resveratrol. In summary, pterostilbene is significantly more bioavailable; it’s more effective because it gets to the places it needs to go in the body.Resveratrol is found in red wines and is highest in concentration in muscadine grapes.


Below is link to one research article at NIH:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3649683/

[drkris69]

Wow great post Topdog, I eat a cup of blueberries every morning so that's good to know...

[CeeJayBee]

I think pretty much all bright berries have something extra special, particularly red and blue.

A special one that we've had in NA is Salal, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaultheria_shallon that is known for anti-inflammatory properties.