Blueberries – delicious and good for you: thanks to their anthocyanin content, eating them means loading up on precious antioxidants. Here are our tips for making the most of them, every day.
Berries, but also red cabbage, black grapes and red wine itself — in other words, all violet-bluish or dark red vegetables — are particularly rich in anthocyanins. Anthocyanins are phenolic pigments that, especially when consumed regularly and in good quantities as part of the daily diet, deliver their maximum in terms of beneficial properties: they improve vision, protect the vascular system, prevent fragile capillaries, and reduce the risk of developing heart disease and cancer.
Anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, refreshing, astringent, tonic, diuretic: the therapeutic actions of blueberries are numerous. Packed with vitamins A and C, citric and malic acid, myrtillin (a substance that makes them disinfectants of the digestive tract), phosphorus, calcium and manganese, these small fruits with their sweet and slightly tart flavour strengthen the capillaries of the legs and face and are excellent for combating eye fatigue.
According to scientists, the pigments that determine the colour of blueberries are responsible for inactivating the bacteria behind childhood diarrhoea and kidney infections in adults. Anthocyanins are also active in protecting vessels and arteries and are useful in the prevention of heart disease, arteriosclerosis and stroke. A well-known ability of these substances is to improve vision and the sensitivity of the retina: by acting on the capillaries of the retina, they improve the blood supply to light-sensitive cells and promote adaptation to darkness. The use of blueberries is indicated in all cases of retinal degeneration, including diabetic retinopathy. But blueberries perform best in the treatment of circulatory disorders such as varicose veins, haemorrhoids and capillary fragility. Research conducted by Ohio State University has shown that blueberries also possess important anti-tumour properties, due, once again, to the presence of anthocyanins. The scientific website of the BBC published the findings of the study, confirming the anti-cancer power of blueberries and explaining the mechanism of action of their pigments.
The blueberry with the greatest healing properties is the violet-bluish variety; the red blueberry is mainly diuretic and refreshing. The giant blueberry (the cultivated variety), twice the size of the wild variety, has the property of preventing bacteria from attaching to cells and effectively prevents urinary tract infections. Blueberry leaves contain substances that lower blood sugar levels; they are therefore hypoglycaemic and recommended for diabetics.
Fresh or dried, they can be just the right ingredient at breakfast, in a sweet oat flake porridge, in a fruit salad with lemon and honey, in yogurt, with ricotta and honey, as decoration on home-made cakes, in tarts, in omelettes.
In the kitchen they also pair well with certain main courses, as a contrasting, tangy side. For once, with blueberries we are in luck: the active compounds do not degrade so easily with heat, and we find them intact in juice and jams too, all the more so in those produced at low temperatures. Do, however, watch out for added sugar used as a preservative, which makes some blueberry-based products excessively high in calories.