by William Paloon

BlueberriesThe World's

Healthie t Food

Over the past year, a record number of independent studieshave confirmed the health effects of blueberries. Scientiststested blueberries against an array of common disorders anddiscovered significant results.

Most impressive was the ability of blueberries to improvememory as well as undo some of the degenerative changesseen in aging neurons. One study showed that the effect ofblueberries in suppressing free radical and inflammatorydamage in the brain was analogous to long-term calorierestriction. These findings hint that blueberries might be ableto reverse certain aspects of brain aging!

Scientists at the u.s. Department of Agriculture's HumanNutrition Research Center on Aging proclaimed blueberriesto be one of the world's most healthful foods. The mediaresponded by publishing numerous reports attributing wide-ranging benefits to blueberries. »>

Researchers at the U.S. Departmentof Agriculture tested more than 100different kinds of food for total antiox-idant capacity per serving. The studyinclude 24, types of fruits, 23 types ofvegetables, 10 types of nuts, 4 types ofdried fruits, and 16 types of herbs andspices. Blueberries, both wild and cul-tivated, scored highest in total antiox-idant capacity per serving among allthe fruits, vegetables, spices, and I

herbs tested. 1

Packed with unique antioxidants,blueberries neutralize free radicaldamage to the collagen matrix oftissues that can lead to a host ofdegenerative disorders. The blue-redpigments found in blueberriesimprove the integrity of supportstructures in the skin, joints, andvascular system. Blueberry pigmentshave been shown to enhance theeffects ofvitarriin C, improve capillary Iintegrity, and stabilize the collagen Imatrix (the structural substance of Iall body tissues). These pigments 'work primarily by preventing freeradical and inflammatory damage.Recent studies, however, have identi-fied exciting new mechanisms bywhich blueberries guard our precioushealth.

Maintaining ArterialStructure

Blueberry extracts help maintainhealthy blood flow via several mech-anisms including inhibition of LDLoxidation, decreased platelet aggrega-tion and reduced inflammation.Blueberries also help maintainhealthy endothelial function by pre-serving nitric oxide bioavailablity.

The endothelium is a thin layer ofcells that lines the inner arterial wall.Aging and poor health habits resultsin endothelial cells becoming dys-functional, which leads to atheroscle-rosis. A study published in the August2005 issue of the Journal a/MedicinalFood shows that blueberries functionvia multiple mechanisms to protectagainst endothelial dysfunction.The scientists who conducted this.study stated that consumption' of

blueberries even in late life couldimprove endothelial function. Theconclusion of these scientists was:

"Whole wild blueberries may haveimplications in blood pressure regulationand could prove to have a therapeuticrole in improving cardiovascular health:"?

Improving Memory

Studies of human populations sug-gestthathighintakes offruits and veg-etables reduce the incidence ofdegenerative neurological disorders.

various brain regions important forlearning and memory. Most signifi-cantly' these scientists found thatgreater concentrations of blueberry inthe brain cortex correlated withenhanced cognitive performance.'

Hu cLsing Brain Aging

In a study published In theSeptember 1999 issue of the Journal0/ Neuroscience, rats supplementedwith blueberry starting at the age of 6months showed reduced age-relateddeclines in neuronal and cognitivefunction. When I9-month old ratswere supplemented with blueberry,the effect was a reversal of manyage-related deficits. The scientistsconcluded the study by stating anti ox-idant rich foods may be beneficial inreversing the course of neuronal andbehavioral aging.'

Move forward to year 2005, and sci-entists at Tufts University discovera specific mechanism by which blue-berries are able to reverse neurologicalaging. When cells are exposed to toxicstress factors such as free radicals orinflammatory inducers, a protectivemechanism involves the generationof heat shock proteins. Young organ-isms readily generate heat shock pro-teins to protect against free radicalsand other toxic agents, but older.organisms are unable to generatethese protective heat shock proteinsin sufficient quantity:

In a study published in the April2005 issue of Nutritional Neuro-science, these same scientists fedblueberry to rats for 8-10 weeks.Analysis of the brains of these ratsindicated that blueberry phytochem-icals had indeed crossed the blood-brain barrier and were found inregions of the brain responsible for 'memory and learning (e.g. the cere-bellum, cortex, hippocampus, and !,striatum) of the blueberry supple- -.--.:>11=mentedrats, but not the controls (thatdid not receive blueberry extract).

In a study published in the journalPharmacological Research (August2005), blueberry extract fed to rats for30 days resulted in improved learningon several cognitive performancetests. The researchers concluded thatblueberries may be beneficial in theprevention of age-related memorydeficits.'

Blueberrv Crosses /Blood-Brain Barrier

At the University of Barcelona-Spain, scientists have shown thatblueberryis effective in reversing age-related deficits in neuronal signalingand behavioral parameters. What wasunclear, however, is whether the .active constituents in blueberry actu-ally cross the blood-brain barrier.

These findings are the first to show 'that blueberry compounds cross theblood brain barrier and localize in

In a study published in the April2005 issue of Neurobiology Aging, sci-entists supplemented the diets ofyoung and old rats with blueberry. Agroup receiving no blueberry servedas the control. After 10 weeks, thebrains of these rats were subjected toan inflammatory challenge and theheat shock protein response wasmeasured. As expected, the brains ofyoung rats produced a strong heatshock protein response, while the oldrats made very little protective heatshock protein. The old rats supple-mented with blueberry, however, pro-duced as much heat shock protein asthe young rats. In this study; the blue-berry diet completely restored theheat shock protein response of oldrats to that ofyoung rats. This suggeststhat short-term blueberry interven-tion may result in protection againsta number of neurodegenerativeprocesses in the brain,"

Protecting AgainstBrain Ischemia

When blood flow is interrupted tothe brain (ischemia), significant andpermanent damage often results.Blueberries may significantly lessenthis damage, suggests a study pub-lished in the May 2005 issue of theJournal a/Experimental Neurology. Inthis study, rats fed diets enriched withblueberries, spinach, or spirulina suf-fered the loss of fewer brain cells andrecovered significantly more of their I

ability to move following an ischemic

event. The size of the area of the brainsdamaged by ischemia in the ratsreceiving the blueberry; spinach, orspirulina diets was significantly lessthan the control group.'

Improving AuditoryProcessing

Scientists explored whether a 2-month dietary supplementation ofblueberry extract could reverse orretard the age-related decline in tem-poral auditory processing speedobserved in the aged rat. As reportedin the August 2005 issue of Neuro-biology Aging, aged rats supplementedwith blueberry responded vigorously

to measurements in the primary audi-tory cortex of the brain compared tothe control group not receiving blue-berry. The improvement was so signif-icant that the aged rats fed blueberrywere very similar to younger rats. Thescientists concluded:

"These results suggest that age-relatedchanges in temporal processing speed inthe primary auditory cortex may bereversed by dietary supplementation ofblueberry phytochemicals/"

Enhancing Survival ofNeural Transplants

Transplantation ofneural tissue hasbeen explored as a potential therapyto replace dead or dying cells in thebrain, such as after brain injury orneurodegenerative disease. However,survival of transplanted tissue is poor,especially when the transplant recip-ient is of advanced age. Even middle-aged host animals exhibit poorsurvival after fetal hippocampustransplants.

In a study published in the journalCell Transplant (2005), when middleaged rats were supplemented withblueberry extract, hippocampal graftgrowth was significantly improved.

-----_._------------------'---------_ .._------_._--_._-_.-----and cellular organization of grafts wascomparable to that seen in tissuegrafted to young host animals. Thisstudy corroborates previous studiesthat have demonstrated improve-ment of neuronal deficits in aged ani-mals given a diet supplemented withblueberry extract,"

Inhibiting i\Jela tasis

Cancerous cells are able to grow andinvade surrounding tissue by secret-ing enzymes that breakdown the sur- !

rounding matrix that would otherwiseconfine them. A study published in :August 2005 in the Journal of:Nutritional Biochemistry showed that :blueberry flavonoids down-regulatethese structure-degrading enzymesthat enables cancerous cells to spreadand invade other tissues. \0

Controlling UndesirableCell Division

Healthy cell division involves regu-lated cell proliferation and normalprogrammed cell destruction (apop-tosis). In a study published in theSeptember 2005 issue of the Journalof Agriculture Food Chemistry, coloncancer cells that were growing and I

dividing abnormally were exposed to Iblueberry extract. The results showed ithat proliferation was impeded by i50% and factors necessary to induce I

i -apoptosis were activated. The scien- Ii

tists who conducted this study stated i

that blueberries may help reduce icolon cancer risk. 11

Summary

Blueberries have the highest antiox-idant capacity of all fruits and vegeta-bles. Recent studies, however, indicatethat blueberries possess multiple,diverse health benefits including ,maintaining and enhancing endothe-lial function, helping to prevent age-related memory and learning deficits,rejuvenating brain cell function, andhelping to prevent cancer.

Strong scientific evidence sho'f!sthat blueberries protect against themost prevalent age-related maladies.

Logically, liberal blueberry consump-tionis a critical strategy to obtain opti-mal benefit and protection againstage-related changes.

References

1. Wu X. Beecher GR. Holden 1M. et al.Lipophilic and hydrophilic antioxidantcapacities of common foods in the UnitedStates. J Agric Food Chem. 2004 Iun16;52(12):4026-3i.

2. Norton C. KaleaA. Harris P,et al. Wild blue-berry-rich diets affect the contractilemachinery of the vascular smooth musclein the Sprague- Dawley rat.] MedFood. 2005.8;(1):8-13.

3. Ramirez M:R.Izquierdo I. RasseiraMD. et al.Effect of lyophilized Vaccinium berries onmemory. anxiety and locomotion in adultrats. Pharmacol Res. 2005 Aug 9; [Epubahead of print].

4. Andres-Lacueva C. Shukitt-Hale B. Galli RL.etal.Anthocyaninsin aged blueberry-fed ratsare found centrally and may enhance mem-ory.Nutr Neurosci. 2005 Apr;8(2):1l1-20.

5. Joseph JA.Shukitt-Hale B. Denisva NA. et al.Reversals of age- related declines in neuronalsignal transduction. cognitive, ana motorbehavioral deficits with blueberry; spinach.or strawberry dietary supplementation. ].

Neurosci. 1999 Sep 15;19(18):8114-21.6. Galli RI. Bielinski DE Szprengiel A, et al.

Blueberry supplemented diet reverses age-related decline in hippocampal HSP70 neu-roprotection. Neurobiol Aging 2005 Apr 30;(Epub ahead of print)

7. WangY, ChangCF, Chou I, etal. Dietary sup-plementation with blueberries, spinach. orspirulina reduces ischemic brain damage.Exp Neurol. 2005 May;193(l):75·84.

8. de Rivera C. Shukitt-Hale B. Joseph JA.et al.The effects of antioxidants in the senescentauditory cortex. Neurobiol Aging 2005 Iun9;(E-pub ahead of print).

9. Willis., Bickford P,Zaman.Y, et al. Blueberryextract enhances survival of intraocular hip-pocampal transplants. Cell Transplant2005;14(4):213-23.

10. Matchett MD. Mackinnon SL. Sweeney MI.et al. Inhibition of matrix metallo proteinaseactivity in DU145 human prostate cancercells by flavonoids from lowbush blueberry(Vaccinium angustifolumi : possible rolesfor protein kinase C and mitogen-activatedprotein-kinase-mediated events. NutrBiochem. 2005 Aug 17 (Epub ahead of print).

11. YiW,FischerJ.KrewerG. etal. Phenolic com-pounds from blueberries can inhibit coloncancer cell proliferation and induce apop-tosis. J Agric Food Chem. 2005 Sep7;53(18):7320-9.

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