Fresh or frozen, who doesn’t love blueberries? I keep a bag of wild blueberries in my freezer at all times. We eat them in smoothies, atop pancakes and waffles, in muffins, with cereal and in a bowl with a spoon.
We love blueberries at our house. So it’s a good thing they are so good for us!
With just 80 calories per cup and very little fat, blueberries offer tons of nutritional benefits.
Vitamin C
One serving of blueberries, contains 14 mg of Vitamin C – nearly 25 percent of your daily requirement. Vitamin C helps maintain healthy gums and capillaries and promotes iron absorption, as well as a healthy immune system .
Fiber
On cup of blueberries contains 4 grams of dietary fiber. Research has shown that most of us don’t get enough fiber in our diets. Fiber is necessary to help keep you regular, your heart healthy and your cholesterol low. I can’t imagine anything I’d rather eat for extra fiber than delicious blueberries.
Glycemic Index
The glycemic index is a way of predicting how a food will affect blood sugar once it has been consumed and digested. Berries in general are known to have a low glycemic index. Blueberries are no exception.
Antioxidants
Blueberries repeatedly rank in the U.S. diet as having one of the highest antioxidant capacities among all fruits, vegetables, spices and seasonings. Antioxidants are essential to better health by helping to counter the free radicals that can damage cellular structures as well as DNA. There are years of research on the antioxidants in blueberries and their potential benefits for the nervous system and brain health. There is even evidence that blueberries can improve memory.
Be sure to buy organic blueberries, if at all possible. Frozen is fine. Organic blueberries not only do not have the common pesticides found on conventionally grown blueberries, it has also been discovered that they are higher in antioxidants.
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