“Blueberries are one of our body’s greatest allies. Their ability to eliminate free radicals protects us from every day exposure to various forms of pollution, including pesticides, sun exposure and heavy metals.” – J Wilson
NaturalNews ~ Just when you thought that the health benefits of blueberries couldn’t be any more plentiful, new research has found that freezing the superfood actually increases the berry’s nutritional content.
Graduate student Marin Plumb, a food science major at South Dakota State University, found that frozen blueberries are equally nutritious as fresh blueberries, even after six months of freezing.
Plumb’s experiment involved observing antioxidant levels in blueberries frozen for one, three and five months. After comparing the antioxidant content of frozen berries to fresh berries, she found no decrease in the nutritional value of the frozen berries.
In fact, Plumb noted that freezing actually increased the anthocyanin concentration.
“The ice crystals that form during freezing disrupt the structure of the plant tissue, making the anthocyanins more available,” Plumb explained.
Anthocyanins are a group of antioxidant compounds that provide various systems in the human body with protection.
Blueberries may be the world’s healthiest food
“Blueberries go head to head with strawberries and pomegranates in antioxidant capacity,” said Plumb’s research adviser, professor Basil Dalaly, who teaches a course on phytochemicals, the naturally occurring chemical compounds in fruits and vegetables.
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