2515: Are Blueberries a Superfood? by Beth Rush of EllyMcGuinness.com on Nutritional Value & Benefits

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[00:01:05] This is Optimal Health Daily Episode 2515, our blueberries a superfood by Beth Rush

[00:01:11] with ellymeganis.com and I'm Dr. Neal your host and narrator.

[00:01:16] Hey there welcome back to another edition of Optimal Health Daily. Thank you again as always

[00:01:21] so much for listening and for sharing this show with someone. One of the best ways to keep this

[00:01:26] show going is to do just that share this show with someone if you think somebody will like this content

[00:01:32] send it to them all right that's enough of that let's keep this intro nice and short and get

[00:01:36] right to another post and continue optimizing your life.

[00:01:44] Our blueberries a superfood by Beth Rush with ellymeganis.com

[00:01:49] From avocados to salmon superfoods and supplements have taken over modern food culture. The health

[00:01:56] claims are like something from a dream superfoods may prevent cancer improve your memory and help

[00:02:01] you manage your weight all berries are generally under the superfood umbrella but blueberries tend

[00:02:07] to stick out our blueberries a superfood based on their compounds and health benefits

[00:02:13] what are superfoods and are they real all foods provide nutrients in varying densities

[00:02:19] and varieties a leafy green salad bowl of rice a cup of blueberries and a bar of chocolate

[00:02:26] include necessary macronutrients vitamins minerals and more for healthy humans but not in equal value

[00:02:34] superfood is the category meant to highlight the most nutritious options on the market providing

[00:02:39] much of what you need to survive it usually refers to plants but there are exceptions these foods

[00:02:45] have well researched consistently beneficial properties including superfoods like blueberries in

[00:02:51] your diet is suspected to improve wellness and longevity they deliver rich sources of antioxidants

[00:02:57] like polyphenol flavonoids, phytochemicals vitamins minerals dietary fiber and mono and polyunsaturated

[00:03:06] fats the reality is superfoods do not genuinely exist in the way people perceive there is no single

[00:03:13] food that offers at all the term is not regulated in the US allowing companies to place the word

[00:03:19] superfood on powders and supplements without ramifications other nations like Japan have a similar

[00:03:27] concept called functional foods which the country does regulate where did the term superfood come

[00:03:34] from surprisingly the term did not come from dietitians or the food and drug administration or FDA

[00:03:41] it came from an advertising campaign during World War One making bananas the first classified superfood

[00:03:48] after convincing the public it was illness proof inexpensive and accessible for the ideal diet

[00:03:54] medical professionals began researching the claims validity eventually journals backed up this claim

[00:04:00] inciting curiosity about whether other foods could be as super as bananas why is it essential to know

[00:04:07] the superfood backstory this history is vital because it helps you contextualize your food journey

[00:04:14] food sellers are not health or dietary experts yet they widely publicize these claims

[00:04:20] it should invite reasonable skepticism before we jump out and buy what we need to grow our own

[00:04:25] blueberry bushes sometimes publications inflate headlines to increase food sales and misinformation

[00:04:32] spreads through various platforms like tiktok always fact check and ask professionals questions about

[00:04:39] what is and isn't true about what you eat relying too much on superfoods may lead to an unbalanced

[00:04:45] diet ask yourself if increasing nutrient consumption from a specific superfood is helpful for your

[00:04:52] lifestyle current diet and health circumstances it may be the best decision you've ever made or

[00:04:59] it may not be the right time so our blueberries considered superfood worth exploring in the same

[00:05:04] detail as bananas what are the nutritional facts of blueberries many health professionals include

[00:05:11] blueberries in their list of superfood recommendations alongside other berries the nutritional details

[00:05:17] make their healthfulness quite clear for 100 grams of raw blueberries you get 57 calories

[00:05:25] 84.2 grams of water 9.7 milligrams of vitamin C 15 grams of carbohydrates 2.4 grams of dietary

[00:05:34] fiber less than half a gram of fat 77 milligrams of potassium and other vitamins and minerals like

[00:05:42] vitamin K, manganese and phosphorus blueberries have even more going for them than this alone

[00:05:49] but their superfood designation mostly comes from their mind blowing amounts of antioxidants

[00:05:55] antioxidants are responsible for mitigating the impact of oxidative stress which is crucial

[00:06:00] for your metabolism and cells to stay healthy a well regarded 2004 study discovered that cultivated

[00:06:07] and wild blueberries can have anywhere between 9000 and 13000 total antioxidants in a cup

[00:06:14] this is one of the few circumstances where more usually means better blueberries claim to fame

[00:06:20] anthocyanins it's impossible to hone in on each of the thousands of antioxidants vitamins

[00:06:27] and minerals that make blueberries a superfood however anthocyanins are some of the most evidence

[00:06:33] backed players anthocyanin an antioxidant flavonoid is the first superfood ingredient in blueberries

[00:06:41] it's the pigment that gives blueberries their delightful color when ripe low and high-bush blueberries

[00:06:47] have a much higher anthocyanin concentration than other fruits our blueberries are superfood

[00:06:53] because of anthocyanins alone while they do result in consistent health benefits in research including

[00:06:59] a 25% reduced risk of coronary artery disease a 32% decreased risk of heart attack

[00:07:07] a lower risk of developing hypertension up to 10% reduced vascular stiffness

[00:07:13] a 13% reduced risk of cardiovascular disease a 23% risk reduction of prediabetes

[00:07:20] by increased insulin management improved cognitive function and a reduced risk of Parkinson's disease

[00:07:28] other vitamins and minerals complement anthocyanins benefits blueberries have more vitamin C than

[00:07:34] black currents cranberries and raspberries a serving of blueberries provides almost a quarter

[00:07:39] of most people's daily recommended consumption of vitamin C which is necessary for immune system

[00:07:45] support based on these facts are blueberries considered a superfood so are blueberries a superfood

[00:07:52] yes blueberries are it if there is a real superfood mainly when they tackle so many health risks

[00:07:58] they will not take care of your entire preventive healthcare regimen but making them a more consistent

[00:08:03] part of your recipe book wouldn't hurt the beauty of blueberries is there are little to no

[00:08:08] deterrence to eating as many as you want so long as it coincides with a macronutrient sensible

[00:08:14] nutritional diet the research on blueberries is overwhelming and diverse making one of the most

[00:08:20] well-known potent sources of antioxidants and nutrients in any food what else should you do to

[00:08:26] maximize the benefits of blueberries eat blueberries raw for maximum benefits cooking blueberries

[00:08:33] doesn't remove their superfood status but heat does reduce antioxidant potential this doesn't mean

[00:08:39] you should never cook them but raw is how to get the most bang for your buck also it's best to

[00:08:46] wash blueberries before consuming them attentive rinsing in filtered purified water is fine still

[00:08:53] soaking them in a lemon juice and baking soda mixture is even better for removing bacteria

[00:08:58] and residual pesticides if you buy non organic invisible health deterrence from chemical-based

[00:09:04] agriculture should not make you second guess if blueberries are considered a superfood how can

[00:09:10] you incorporate more blueberries into your diet you can always eat blueberries alone but if

[00:09:16] you're determined to make them a daily staple you can incorporate them in a smoothie or acai

[00:09:21] bowl for breakfast these are ideal opportunities to include other superfoods like chia seeds blueberries

[00:09:27] and oats also make a delicious breakfast bar or traditional oatmeal combo at lunch make a

[00:09:33] delicious vegetarian or vegan berry nut and cheese salad with your dressing of choice some more

[00:09:40] creative options include a blueberry infused salsa or topping your favorite animal protein or jack

[00:09:46] fruit with blueberries for dinner a blueberry infused sauce or compost is the way to dress everything

[00:09:53] from tenderloin to glazed tofu you could pair blueberries with white cheese onion and fresh herbs

[00:09:59] to make an irresistible flatbread throughout the day snacks of blueberries with Greek yogurt or

[00:10:05] cottage cheese are a way to sneak in dense protein the verdict are blueberries a superfood by now

[00:10:13] you understand the words superfood is not consistent worldwide regardless the question of are blueberries

[00:10:19] a superfood should not matter because their health benefits speak for themselves these berries are

[00:10:24] an easy delicious way to make your daily diet more comprehensive and wellness focused it's

[00:10:31] unknown if superfoods will eventually get universal standardization but blueberries will likely

[00:10:36] ascend to the top of the list if they do you just listen to the post titled are blueberries a superfood

[00:10:46] by Beth Rush with ellie McGinnis dot com and i'll be right back with my commentary dr. Niel here for

[00:10:53] my commentary let's say you and i decided right now that first the term superfood is a real thing

[00:11:00] again today's author Beth was clear by saying there is no agreed upon definition of superfood

[00:11:06] but let's go with it then after we agreed that superfoods were hypothetically a real thing

[00:11:12] you and i put our heads together and made a list of these so-called superfoods if we were to guess

[00:11:19] which foods most health experts would consider so-called superfoods what might that list look like

[00:11:26] well blueberries for sure ditto strawberries raspberries blackberries cherries well pretty much all the fruits

[00:11:35] let's see next vegetables those would make the list spinach kale romaine lettuce would count

[00:11:43] cabbage sweet potato tomato well pretty much all vegetables what about grains yeah pretty much

[00:11:51] all whole minimally processed grains are we starting to see a pattern here most plant-based foods

[00:11:58] that are minimally processed would probably fit into this so-called superfood category

[00:12:04] so let's make life simple and agree that we probably know which foods would make up this list

[00:12:10] and let's using that list try and consume at least five to nine combined servings of fruits and

[00:12:16] vegetables each day and let's make most of our carbohydrate sources whole grains and there you

[00:12:23] have it we've now created a superfood diet see nutrition doesn't have to be complicated

[00:12:29] all right that'll do it for today i hope you have a great rest of your day and i'll see you back

[00:12:34] here tomorrow for the friday q and a and we're your optimal life awaits