I popped another blueberry in my mouth and listened intently to the speaker. This was, after all, the "Berry Health Benefits Symposium," a gathering of respected researchers from around the world who came to report their findings on the health impact of eating blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, cranberries - all kinds of berries.
These colorful fruits pack powerful compounds that help protect the body from what neuroscientist Jim Joseph of Tufts University Human Research Center on Aging calls "the evil Gemini twins" - inflammation and oxidative stress. These processes damage cells and are now known to lead to the development of chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer.
Heart disease, for example, is now considered a "pro-inflammatory" state, as is obesity, according to Britt Burton-Freeman, PhD, obesity and metabolic disease researcher at the Illinois Institute of Technology. She reported how a high-fat meal creates an "inflammatory response" in the body (as measured by markers in the blood called C-reactive proteins). And how something as simple as adding 2 / 3 cup sliced strawberries to the meal helped block this response.
"Time and again," she said, "we continue to find substances in fruits and vegetables that work as powerful anti-inflammatory agents."
Oxidative stress is a bad boy, too. "Just look in the mirror," Dr. Joseph told us. "Wrinkles and skin damage are signs of oxidative stress."
His research shows that people who eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables are healthier as they age. "Compounds in these foods quench the fires of inflammation and prevent or reverse some age-related processes."
Will antioxidant compounds in berries make you young again?
"No ... but they help."
One of Joseph's studies showed that the addition of blueberry juice (up to about 10 ounces a day for 12 weeks) improved memory scores in people diagnosed with "mild cognitive impairment" - what he jokingly referred to as "CRS"(Can't Remember ... Stuff.)
Some components in berries fight off infections. Cranberries, for example, contain proanthocyanidins that help prevent urinary tract infections by keeping bacteria from sticking to the walls of the bladder. These same substances have also been found to help reduce the risk for stomach ulcers caused by H. pylori bacteria, reported research scientist Amy Howell of Rutgers University.
How much? Howell's research shows benefits with 1 or 2 cups of cranberry juice a day. ("Light" cranberry juice was just as effective.) One cup (8 ounces) of cranberry juice is equivalent in antibacterial action to 1 ounce (about <SUP>1</SUP>/<SUB>2</SUB> cup) dried cranberries.
I piled a few more berries onto my plate and took these notes:
-Eat more color. Berries get their color from pigments called "anthocyanins." These are potent antioxidants that can improve brain function and protect against cancer and heart disease.
-Eat a variety. It's not just one particular compound in berries that imparts a powerful impact on health and longevity, said Ron Prior, a Ph.D biochemist from Cornell University. Each berry has a different profile of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory compounds. It's the synergy between them that probably confers the greatest benefits to our health.
-Eat the whole fruit. Berries are unique packages of nutrients and other compounds that nourish and protect the body from everyday cellular distress. Therefore the whole fruit is better than any one individual ingredient.
-Eat berries often. Most of the research has shown beneficial health effects when people eat <SUP>1</SUP>/<SUB>2</SUB> to 1 cup of fresh or frozen fruit or juice a day.
Berry good.
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(Barbara Quinn is a registered dietitian and diabetes educator at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula. E-mail her at bquinn@chomp.org.)
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