I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz about blueberries lately. With only 80 calories per cup and virtually no fat, blueberries are a delicious way to receive a surplus of health benefits. Blueberries have been examined in all different kinds of nutrition studies. Results reveal that blueberries have a positive effect on everything from aging to cardiovascular disease. Recently, a researcher from Texas Woman’s University set out to examine whether blueberries could aid in overcoming one of the world’s greatest heath challenges: obesity.
Blueberries contain a high polyphenol content and Shiwani Moghe, a graduate student at TWU, wanted to see if using blueberry polyphenols could inhibit obesity at a molecular stage. Plant polyphenols have been shown to fight adipogenesis (the development of fat cells) and induce lipolysis (the breakdown of fat). The study was preformed in tissue cultures taken from mice. The highest dose of blueberry polyphenols yielded a 73 percent decrease in fat and the lowest dose showed a 27 percent decrease. Although these results show promise for blueberries to help reduce adipose tissue from forming in the body, there is much more research to be done to find an effective human dose and discover any adverse effects.
In the meantime, keep eating your blueberries. Blueberries’ antioxidant properties help neutralize free radicals, which are unstable molecules linked to the development of several diseases including cancer, cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s. Do you have any favorite blueberry recipes?
