Blueberries are famous for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits. Anthocyanin, a polyphenol, is largely responsible for this. It's blueberry season over here, so I couldn't resist looking up the benefits while drinking my smoothie (recipe at the end).
Perform tasks faster, and with higher accuracy.
By drinking blueberry juice before a mental task, children increased their speed and accuracy by 10%.
Stay sharp as you age
A study testing the cognitive benefits of blueberries on older adults found that taking 30ml of concentrated blueberry juice daily for 12 weeks improved brain activation, working memory, and blood flow.
Another study on the ageing population found that blueberries improved learning and word recall, while reducing symptoms of depression and lowering glucose levels.
Reduce your chance of cancer
Blueberries could even help prevent cancer. One study found that consuming whole or juiced blueberries halved the rate of breast tumours. Of the tumours that were found, those who ate whole blueberries had smaller, less aggressive tumours, and lower levels of circulating oestrogen than the rest.
Granted, this study was performed on animals, not humans, so don't go hailing it as a miracle cure just yet. At the very least, they can be added to cancer patients' post-surgery recovery plan.
Recipe: Banana-blueberry green smoothie
Ingredients
2 bananas
1 frozen banana
1 cup blueberries
150g frozen spinach
1t vanilla extract
2.5 cups water
Method
- Add all ingredients to your blender.
- Blend until smooth.