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BlueberriesBlueberries are sold fresh or processed as individually quick frozen (IQF) fruit, purée, juice, or dried or infused berries which in turn may be used in a variety of consumer goods such as jellies, jams, blueberry pies, muffins, snack foods, and cereals.
Blueberry jam is made from blueberries, sugar, water, and fruit pectin. Premium blueberry jam, usually made from wild blueberries, is common in Maine, Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia.
Blueberries have a diverse range of micronutrients, with notably high levels (relative to respective Dietary Reference Intakes) of the essential dietary mineral manganese, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin K and dietary fiber. One serving provides a relatively low glycemic load score of 4 out of 100 per day.
Nutrients and phytochemicals
Especially in wild species, blueberries contain anthocyanins, other antioxidant pigments and various phytochemicals possibly having a role in reducing risks of some diseases, including inflammation and certain cancers.
Research on the potential anti-disease effects of blueberries
Researchers have shown that blueberry anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins, resveratrol, flavonols, and tannins inhibit mechanisms of cancer cell development and inflammation in vitro. Similar to red grape, some blueberry species contain in their skins significant levels of resveratrol, a phytochemical.
Although most studies below were conducted using the highbush cultivar of blueberries (V. corymbosum), content of polyphenol antioxidants and anthocyanins in lowbush (wild) blueberries (V. angustifolium) exceeds values found in highbush species.
At a 2007 symposium on berry health benefits were reports showing consumption of blueberries (and similar berry fruits including cranberries) may alleviate the cognitive decline occurring in Alzheimer's disease and other conditions of aging.
A chemical isolated from blueberry leaves can block replication of the hepatitis C virus and might help to delay disease spread in infected individuals.
Feeding blueberries to animals lowers brain damage in experimental stroke. Research at Rutgers has also shown that blueberries may help prevent urinary tract infections.
Other animal studies found that blueberry consumption lowered cholesterol and total blood lipid levels, possibly affecting symptoms of heart disease. Additional research showed that blueberry consumption in rats altered glycosaminoglycans which are vascular cell components affecting control of blood pressure.
A study soon to be published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that supplementation with wild blueberry juice enhanced memory and learning in older adults, while reducing blood sugar and symptoms of depression.
GrapesFrench Paradox
Comparing diets among Western countries, researchers have discovered that although the French tend to eat higher levels of animal fat, surprisingly the incidence of heart disease remains low in France. This phenomenon has been termed the French Paradox, and is thought to occur from protective benefits of regularly consuming red wine. Apart from potential benefits of alcohol itself, including reduced platelet aggregation and vasodilation, polyphenols (e.g., resveratrol) mainly in the grape skin provide other suspected health benefits, such as:
* Alteration of molecular mechanisms in blood vessels, reducing susceptibility to vascular damage
* Decreased activity of angiotensin, a systemic hormone causing blood vessel constriction that would elevate blood pressure
* Increased production of the vasodilator hormone, nitric oxide (endothelium-derived relaxing factor)
Although adoption of wine consumption is not recommended by some health authorities, a significant volume of research indicates moderate consumption, such as one glass of red wine a day for women and two for men, may confer health benefits. Emerging evidence is that wine polyphenols like resveratrol provide physiological benefit whereas alcohol itself may have protective effects on the cardiovascular system.
Resveratrol
Grape phytochemicals such as resveratrol (a polyphenol antioxidant), have been positively linked to inhibiting any cancer, heart disease, degenerative nerve disease, viral infections and mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease.
Protection of the genome through antioxidant actions may be a general function of resveratrol. In laboratory studies, resveratrol bears a significant transcriptional overlap with the beneficial effects of calorie restriction in heart, skeletal muscle and brain. Both dietary interventions inhibit gene expression associated with heart and skeletal muscle aging, and prevent age-related heart failure.
Resveratrol is the subject of several human clinical trials, among which the most advanced is a one year dietary regimen in a Phase III study of elderly patients with Alzheimer's disease.
Synthesized by many plants, resveratrol apparently serves antifungal and other defensive properties. Dietary resveratrol has been shown to modulate the metabolism of lipids and to inhibit oxidation of low-density lipoproteins and aggregation of platelets.
Resveratrol is found in wide amounts among grape varieties, primarily in their skins and seeds which, in muscadine grapes, have about one hundred times higher concentration than pulp. Fresh grape skin contains about 50 to 100 micrograms of resveratrol per gram
Anthocyanins and other phenolics
Anthocyanins tend to be the main polyphenolics in purple grapes whereas flavan-3-ols (e.g., catechins) are the more abundant phenolic in white varieties. Total phenolic content, an index of dietary antioxidant strength, is higher in purple varieties due almost entirely to anthocyanin density in purple grape skin compared to absence of anthocyanins in white grape skin. It is these anthocyanins that are attracting the efforts of scientists to define their properties for human health. Phenolic content of grape skin varies with cultivar, soil composition, climate, geographic origin, and cultivation practices or exposure to diseases, such as fungal infections.
Red wine offers health benefits more so than white because many beneficial compounds are present in grape skin, and only red wine is fermented with skins. The amount of fermentation time a wine spends in contact with grape skins is an important determinant of its resveratrol content. Ordinary non-muscadine red wine contains between 0.2 and 5.8 mg/L, depending on the grape variety, because it is fermented with the skins, allowing the wine to absorb the resveratrol. By contrast, a white wine contains lower phenolic contents because it is fermented after removal of skins.
Wines produced from muscadine grapes may contain more than 40 mg/L, an exceptional phenolic content. In muscadine skins, ellagic acid, myricetin, quercetin, kaempferol, and trans-resveratrol are major phenolics. Contrary to previous results, ellagic acid and not resveratrol is the major phenolic in muscadine grapes.
The flavonols syringetin, syringetin 3-O-galactoside, laricitrin and laricitrin 3-O-galactoside are also found in purple grape but absent in white grape.
Seed constituents
Since the 1980s, biochemical and medical studies have demonstrated significant antioxidant properties of grape seed oligomeric proanthocyanidins. Together with tannins, polyphenols and polyunsaturated fatty acids, these seed constituents display inhibitory activities against several experimental disease models, including cancer, heart failure and other disorders of oxidative stress.
Grape seed oil from crushed seeds is used in cosmeceuticals and skincare products for many perceived health benefits. Grape seed oil is notable for its high contents of tocopherols (vitamin E), phytosterols, and polyunsaturated fatty acids such as linoleic acid, oleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid.
Concord grape juice
Commercial juice products from Concord grapes have been applied in medical research studies, showing potential benefits against the onset stage of cancer, platelet aggregation and other risk factors of atherosclerosis, loss of physical performance and mental acuity during aging and hypertension in humans.
NUTRITION FACTS
-Blueberries, raw-
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 239 kJ (57 kcal)
Carbohydrates 14.5 g
Dietary fiber 2.4 g
Fat 0.3 g
Protein 0.7 g
Vitamin A 54 IU
- lutein and zeaxanthin 80 μg
Thiamine (Vit. B1) 0.04 mg (3%)
Riboflavin (Vit. B2) 0.04 mg (3%)
Niacin (Vit. B3) 0.42 mg (3%)
Pantothenic acid (B5) 0.1 mg (2%)
Vitamin B6 0.1 mg (8%)
Folate (Vit. B9) 6 μg (2%)
Vitamin C 10 mg (17%)
Vitamin E 0.6 mg (4%)
Calcium 6 mg (1%)
Iron 0.3 mg (2%)
Magnesium 6 mg (2%)
Phosphorus 12 mg (2%)
Potassium 77 mg (2%)
Zinc 0.2 mg (2%)
manganese 0.3 mg 20%
vitamin K 19 mcg 24%
-Grapes, purple or green-
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 288 kJ (69 kcal)
Carbohydrates 18.1 g
Sugars 15.48 g
Dietary fiber 0.9 g
Fat 0.16 g
Protein 0.72 g
Thiamine (Vit. B1) 0.069 mg (5%)
Riboflavin (Vit. B2) 0.07 mg (5%)
Niacin (Vit. B3) 0.188 mg (1%)
Pantothenic acid (B5) 0.05 mg (1%)
Vitamin B6 0.086 mg (7%)
Folate (Vit. B9) 2 μg (1%)
Vitamin B12 0 μg (0%)
Vitamin C 10.8 mg (18%)
Vitamin K 22 μg (21%)
Calcium 10 mg (1%)
Iron 0.36 mg (3%)
Magnesium 7 mg (2%)
Manganese 0.071 mg (4%)
Phosphorus 20 mg (3%)
Potassium 191 mg (4%)
Sodium 3.02 mg (0%)
Zinc 0.07 mg (1%)
Personal Experience
I have amazing story for grapes, i guess you won't believe me. well at that time, when i was at my first year of college, i didn't enough time to eat breakfast, it seemed that there wasn't too much option to eat in the morning. So when i opened and checked the Refrigerator whether there's something to eat, and i knew it had to be fast, i found grapes and non-fat milk instead of bread or cereal. So i ate both of them, 5-10 grapes and a glass of milk. And realized, in the end of my first week eating both of them continuously every morning, my face was clear but still had oil, no active cyst and pustule, just a smooth complexion skin.
Now for the blueberry. I love that fruit so much. I usually found blueberry on my jam, my refrigerator and even my bread. so here's the story :
On a couple of weeks i found that my mother had bought lots fresh blueberries from the market. On that time, i rarely found any fruit in my house, so i gave a try to eat some of it. Well the result after continuously eating blueberries everyday, i realized , i still had zits or acne, but there wasn't any Inflammation. I almost didn't believe myself, There wasn't any red one cyst on my face !
The Question
I have shared one of my stories about grapes and blueberries. So could you share me about your experience about grapes or blueberries curing acne ? Is grapes or blueberries the cure for acne ?
Edited by blueberry~san, 17 October 2010 - 06:12 AM.
