Benefits of Blueberries for Heart Disease

2022-06-06 • SEND FEEDBACK |
Related: atherosclerosis, cholesterol, health, nutrition, The Epoch Times

This is the season for fresh wonderful blueberries such as can be had at a local farmer’s market.

Blueberries are my #1 favorite fruit of all time. While most of them are marginal or outright crap much of the time (overly large and with little flavor), maybe they still have benefits even inthat case.

A good blueberry should be sweet with some tartness too.

I grew up on wild blueberries which are unrivalled. Along with the antills nearby and the aggressive ants that made picking them more than a chore.

Try Wyman’s frozen wild blueberries available in large bags at some stores. Freezing destroys the texture and degrades the flavor, but for smoothies and yogurt they are fine, and far superior to the overly large tasteless frozen kind.

The Epoch Times: Benefits of Blueberries for Heart Disease

2022-06-06, by Katabella Roberts

In this new review on the intake of berries and their brightly colored pigments, called anthocyanins, they note four out of five studies “suggest that increased…intake is significantly associated with a reduction in risk of” coronary heart disease, the number one killer of men and women, by between 12 and 32 percent. That lower range is from studies of older individuals, and the greater reduction of risk was noted in younger populations. So, perhaps the earlier we start eating berries, the better? And, maybe the more the better—a 47-percent drop in heart attack risk for those in the top 10 percent of berry consumption. It’s almost like one to one. For every 15 mg increase a day, a 17 percent drop in risk. So, how can you get 100 mg a day? By eating less than a half-cup of blueberries a day—my Daily Dozen recommendation for berry intake.

Why the drop in risk, though? What do berries have to do with the heart? There have been over 20 randomized, controlled trials putting berries to the test in more than 1,000 people, and berries were shown to help control bad cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugars, body weight, diabetes, and inflammation. Now, lots of plant foods can do this; is there something special about berries? Like cholesterol. All whole plant foods have fiber; fiber lowers cholesterol. But even blueberry tea can lower cholesterol, even in kids who are genetically predisposed to high cholesterol.

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WIND: are the health claims solid? Maybe, maybe not, but it’s a great excuse and a no-brainer to enjoy blueberries.

I don’t 'buy' the whole diet cholesterol hypothesis—one of the most pathetic of all time (constantly changing, never shown to be causal, disproven over and over, follow the money, reams of contrary evidence, etc). More likely, good food displacing processed food garbage that most people eat explains most everything. Because healthy inputs = healthy outputs .

A 47% relative risk reduction is better than a statin poisons, which tens of millions of people take. Statins are claimed to have a 25% relative risk reduction, meaning they’re a con job, and you harm thousands of people fors every life “saved” while the other 999/1000 have all sorts of side effects, including neurological problems, muscle damage, stroke, diabetes, etc. Get ride of the statin and eat a lot of blueberries! Consult your doctor first, who will almost certainly inform you that internet idiots like me are not trained mouthpieces regurgitating The Science medical doctors.