Blueberry

NEUROLOGICAL EFFECTS OF BLUEBERRIES

Apparently, people cannot get enough of this delicious fruit. Whether they eat more of it because it is good for them or it just tastes good is anyone’s guess but now there is even more reason to try this small, blue marble: it brings about great advantages to our body especially in the cardiovascular, urinary, digestive and nervous systems. With this said, the quotation “good things come in small packages” certainly applies to this fruit.

Blueberries are perennial flowering plants in the genus Vaccinium section Cyanoccocus. There are three types of blueberries: highbush (Vaccinium corymbosum), lowbush (Vaccinium Angustifolium), and rabbit-eye (Vaccinium Virgatum). Among the three types, highbush blueberry is the most common commercially grown blueberry. Blueberries are round and slightly flattened in shape. They have a crown like structure on the bottom and a depressed ring on the top of the fruit where the stem is attached. They are small, smooth and soft, and the color ranges from light blue to dark blue, often with a grayish cast.

Over the past years, a record number of independent studies have confirmed the health effects of blueberries. Scientists tested blueberries against an array of common disorders and discovered significant results. The most impressive result was the ability of blueberries to undo some of the degenerative changes seen in aging neurons and to improve memory.

The central nervous system is particularly vulnerable to some of the toxic effects of oxidative stress, the cell damage caused by free radicals, which are closely related to oxidative damage in biological structures. Oxidative stress can lead to degenerative changes in brain regions such as the striatum, cerebellum, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex – regions responsible in part for motor function (e.g. balance, coordination) and cognitive ability (e.g. spatial learning, memory). Deficits in these areas make...