Antioxidant Foods

Archive for August, 2009

Bilberry is also called huckleberry, whortleberry, dyeberry, trackleberry, wineberry, and European blueberry. It is a member of the Ericaceae family. Bilberry is primarily grown in Europe and is comparable to the U.S. blueberry.  From a laymens view interested in nutritional aspects the plants are nearly identical. European Blueberry has been around a long time and much research has been done.

European Blueberry comes primarily from the wild and like the American Wild Blueberry this increases the nutritional value and the antioxidant power up to 50%.

European bilberry had a role in saving England during WWII.  Before each mission the RAF pilots ate bilberry because it improved their vision especially night vision and they were able to see the enemy before they could see the RAF pilots giving them a striking advantage. This is due to its high antioxidant content from anthocyanins. The eyes need these nutrients everyday to protect them against the environment like UV rays. Anthocyanins are a flavonoid that has a specific affinity for the eyes, especially the retina.

The majority of treatment recommendations for Europen Blueberry today focus on its most active constituent, anthocyanins. These flavonoids are considered to be highly potent antioxidants, effective in preventing oxidation, reducing capillary permeability, and inhibiting platelet aggregation. Anthocyanins have been applied for various vascular disorders, cardiovascular conditions, and opthamalogical conditions.

Eating the fruit or extracts has been shown to protect against age-related macular degeneration This condition is common in seniors over 50 years of age.  Macular degeneration is primarily due to oxidative damage from the sun.

Other health benefits are:

• high flavonoid content equals powerful antioxidants.
• It is useful in cardiovascular disease, namely, atherosclerosis
• Has been shown to reduce the oxidation of LDL cholesterol
• inhibits platelet aggregation
• Reduces formation of arterial plaques
• Bilberry may be helpful for cases of deep vein blood clots
• may be an effective treatment for certain types of cancers
• fruit shown to slow the growth of colon cancer cells