DrG's Medisense Feature Article

Blueberry Super-Food?
by Ann Gerhardt, MD
June 2014
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Berries are healthy.  They have remarkably healthy flavonoids and are rich in manganese, fiber, choline, copper and vitamins C and K.    As a fruit, they are relatively low in sugar, so they won’t aggravate your diabetes or destroy your weight.  Drying augments some of the beneficial effects, so you can eat healthful blueberries all year. 

Please make them a regular part of your diet.  How regular and how much? 

At a nutrition meeting I heard an investigator present data that nurses who eat one or more servings of blueberries per week experienced less mental decline in their 70’s.  Sounds good, but who buys and eats ½ cup of blueberries every week of the year?  The study asked nurses how often, on average, they ate blueberries, fresh, dried or frozen.  Since the nurses estimated their berry-popping frequency, we still don’t know how often is best for the brain.
 
Do blueberries deserve being called super-foods?  If that means nutritionally complete, the answer is no – They have virtually no protein or essential fatty acids, and minimal amounts of other vitamins and minerals.

Are they any better than, say, blackberries?  No, they have VERY similar nutritional content.   Other berries vary a bit more, but each has something to offer.  Notwithstanding Dr. Oz’s marketing raspberry ketones, there is no good data for his weight loss claims.   His own website hedges the praise by saying, “… can help in your weight-loss

efforts, especially when paired with regular exercise and a well-balanced diet of healthy and whole foods.”  Duh.

So eat all types of berries, dried, frozen and fresh, and enjoy.