Some smart reasons why you should add blueberries to your diet

Sweet and delicious, blueberries are tasty treats with several health benefits. Read on to learn more about the nutritious fruit and the health benefits they offer.

• Blueberries are naturally sweet and are best eaten raw, as cooking destroys their vitamin C. "Natural healers" also advocate eating 250 millilitres (one cup) of raw berries or drinking 250 to 500 millilitres (one to two cups) of unsweetened blueberry juice a day to prevent urinary tract infections, and research appears to support this advice.
• Blueberries are in the same family as cranberries, and both contain a substance that prevents bacteria from adhering to the bladder walls, where they can multiply. These berries also make urine more acidic, which helps destroy bacteria that invade the bladder and urethra.
• Eating large amounts of blueberries, however, can make stools appear dark and tarry; this is harmless but can be alarming, because it resembles intestinal bleeding.
• Blueberries provide antioxidant power; they contain anthocyanins, flavonoids that give the fruit their distinctive blue colour. These compounds are associated with numerous health benefits such as prevention of heart disease and cancer, and may even combat aging.
• Studies on animals show that blueberries help to prevent — and also reverse — age-related memory loss.
• The specific substance has not been identified, but scientists speculate that the antioxidant power of blueberries protects brain cells from free-radical harm.
• Like many fruits, blueberries are potential allergens in susceptible people. Common symptoms are itchy hives and swollen lips.

• Although they are sweet and tasty, blueberries are not especially high in nutrients; 125 millilitres (1/2 cup) provides 10 mg of vitamin C, 0.7 mg of iron and small amounts of potassium, folate and beta carotene.
• A 125 millilitres (1/2 cup) serving of raw blueberries has almost two mg of fibre, only 40 calories and important disease-fighting anthocyanins, so they're an ideal low-calorie dessert.
• Blueberries are an excellent source of dietary fibre and may protect against some intestinal upsets.
• Wild blueberries generally have a more intense flavour and colour than cultivated blueberries.

Blueberries are a delicious treat with incredible health benefits. Consider this guide and incorporate blueberries into your diet today!