Five things you may not have known about the brain ("must miss" system)
Blueberries are a nutrient-rich food that is well known for its diverse health benefits, from cancer-fighting properties to maintaining insulin levels in diabetics.
New research suggests that eating a handful of wild blueberries can improve brain and heart health.
Researchers from the Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine at King's College London in the United Kingdom evaluated 61 healthy participants, men and women, aged 65 to 80. The participants received a daily drink of 26 grams of freeze-dried wild blueberry powder for 12 weeks, while the control group was given a matching placebo.
The blueberry drink was equivalent to 178 grams of whole blueberries, something around 75-80 blueberries.
Good for health. Blueberries (Photo: ShutterStock)
At the end of the study, the researchers found that the group that took the blueberry drink improved short-term memory and exhibited faster reaction times.
They were also found to be better at remembering word lists and switching between tasks.
Participants also showed improvements in systolic blood pressure and vascular function compared to the control group.
The researchers believe that the beneficial effects of blueberries were due to their blue pigments called anthocyanins.
They are a type of polyphenols found to be effective in increasing cardiovascular and cerebral blood flow.
These pigments are found in strawberries, raspberries, red grapes and purple vegetables.
Other foods containing anthocyanins are broccoli, pears and spices such as turmeric.
"There is evidence for the health benefits of other anthocyanin-rich foods, and there is no reason to think that they would not work as well as blueberries, as long as the amount of anthocyanins provided with such foods is sufficient, and that the anthocyanins. are bioaccessible and bioavailable," said Dr. Ana Rodriguez-Mateos, author First of the study
According to experts, the cardiac and cognitive benefits are not limited to wild blueberries, as previous studies have found similar benefits in other types of blueberries.
health
Nutrition and diet
Preventive nutrition
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