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The provocative allure, the fragile charm, the rich concentration of nutrients. All these spell the one of the most important antioxidant foods – berries. Berries are full of fibers, minerals and vitamins. They are also loaded with healing antioxidants, which of course make them excellent food sources of antioxidants.
There are several kinds of berries, as you well know, and each kind has a different concentration of antioxidants. In some recent studies, purple berries (such as Elderberry and black currant) are considered as the richest antioxidant foods. However, raspberries, cranberries, blueberries, and blackberries are also good antioxidant foods that are rich in proanthocyanidins which help prevent cancer and heart disease.
Both wild and cultivated blueberries especially have been heralded for their high antioxidant content. In fact, three of the top five antioxidant-rich foods studied were beans. Still, the wild blueberry occupies the second to the top spot. One cup of wild blueberry contains 13427 antioxidant capacity per serving size.
"We’ve always known that all blueberries are healthy and nutritious, but now there’s no longer any doubt that wild blueberries have more antioxidant activity than their cultivated cousins," said John Sauve of the Wild Blueberry Association of North America (WBANA).
According to Sauve, a team led by Dr. Wilhelmina Kalt, Ph.D., of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Kentville, Nova Scotia, had previously investigated the differences between wild blueberries and cultivated blueberries determining that wild blueberries are consistently higher in anthocyanins, total phenolics, and antioxidant capacity.
"Nova Scotia’s work coupled with USDA’s new findings, clearly show a difference between types of blueberries with wild blueberries emerging as a power fruit," said Sauve.
According to Susan Davis, MS, RD, Nutrition Advisor to the Wild Blueberry Association of North America, research into antioxidant activity often shows that color is a strong indicator of phytonutrient activity. This means that the more colorful the fruits and vegetables are, the higher they are ranked in terms of overall antioxidant potential.
Davis also noted that anthocyanin, the deep blue-purple pigment in foods like wild blueberries is a potent phytonutrient that acts as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory.
"On-going research into the health effects of plant-based compounds is going to dominate research for years to come. We’re only just beginning to understand how fruit and vegetable compounds work together in the body to prevent disease. For wild blueberries, this means more investigation into potential effects in the areas of aging, cancer prevention, heart health, vision health, and urinary tract health," Davis added.
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