Some Health Benefits of Blueberries

Disclaimer/Disclosure:  I am not a medical doctor or nutrition, so I am not rendering medical advice.  Please seek advice on your health and nutrition concerns from a licensed healthcare professional.


Research suggests that regularly consuming blueberries can have some amazing health benefits. Blueberries are rich in antioxidants and phytochemicals that contribute to their benefits. Antioxidants function to lessen "free radical" damage to cells caused by environmental pollutants and chemicals. There other benefits to eating blueberries:

Blueberries are good for the eyes. They provide a good dose of antioxidants, which slow down degenerative eye-diseases, such as macular degeneration and glaucoma.

Blueberries may help to prevent hardening of the arteries, promote cardiovascular health, and reduce the risk of heart-attack. Blueberries contain compounds called anthocyanin, which gives blueberries their blue-purple color. The anthocyanin in blueberries may reduce plaque buildup in the arteries, which could lead to heart attack.

Eating blueberries at least once per week may lower the blood pressure. Blueberries contain an antioxidant called, pterostilbene. A study by the ChromaDex Corporation suggested that pterostilbene, significantly reduced blood pressure in adults, when administered in high doses.

Pterostilbene in blueberries may help to lower LDL cholesterol. Many of the studies regarding the effects on cholesterol were done on rats and not humans, though. Consuming blueberries alone might not be enough to lower cholesterol in humans.

Blueberries are good for the brain. Blueberries may help to improve memory and slow down age related brain disorders.

One antioxidant in blueberries may have properties which reduce urinary tract infections.

Free-radicals can cause damage to cellular DNA, which may lead to genetic mutation. Blueberries help to fight against cancer by lessening free-radical damage to cells from oxidation. They also contain other anti-cancer nutrients. One study suggests that postmenopausal women, who consume at least one serving of blueberries and peaches per week, had decreased risk of breast cancer.


They can help you to lose weight since they are high in fiber, low-calorie and low-fat compared to other foods. One cup of blueberries contains about 85 calories. The antioxidants in blueberries may lead to a decrease in visceral fat around the abdomen. This applies when blueberries are incorporated in a healthy, balanced diet.

Anthocyanin can improve insulin sensitivities in person with diabetes. This means that blueberries can help diabetics to control their blood glucose levels and manage their diabetes. They can also satisfy cravings for sugar.

It is better to consume blueberries, either fresh or frozen. Cooking blueberries tends to destroy the vitamins and antioxidant properties. Also, there was a study that suggests that consuming blueberries with milk will inhibit the effects of some antioxidants, called polyphenols in the blueberries.


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Sources:

"ChromaDex Corp. Clinical Study Shows Blueberry Antioxidant Lowers Blood Pressure in Adults"

Entertainment Close-up. Sept 27, 2012
https://chromadex.com/NewsEventDetail.aspx?Aid=665


"Blueberry Chemical May Lower Cholesterol"

Harvard Reviews of Health News. August 21, 2006

"Consuming berries could delay brain aging up to two and a half years." author D. Dye, Life Extension
 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Consuming+berries+could+delay+brain+aging+up+to+two+and+a+half+years.-a0300995684


"Berries may lower women’s heart attack risk"
 http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/berries-may-lower-womens-heart-attack-risk/

The Power of Your Thoughts and Your Words

Disclosure: This blog post contains affiliate links. If you decide to click on the links and make a purchase, I may receive a commission. This blog post reflects my honest opinion on the subject and products mentioned.


A very close family friend of mine passed away several months, ago. He was a genuinely nice guy, but he had many demons which he never conquered. I won't get into the specifics of his personal problems, since I want to protect privacy. I will say that I truly believe that his death was somewhat of a self-fulfilling prophecy. The last few years of his life, he struggled with depression and constantly stated that he wanted to just die and that he had nothing to live for.

When he would talk like that, it made me feel very sad for him and I didn't want to be around him very long. No matter how much me and others tried to encourage him and tell him to trust God, it wasn't enough. This man felt very defeated. He often said that no one loved him. The irony is that he left behind hundreds of people, mourning at his funeral, whom do love him. They thought enough of him to pay last respects and honor his memory.

It really haunted me to see this man, lifeless and laying in a casket, as his family wept and wailed. He had so much going for him. He had a lot of potential. Unfortunately, he did not see the value and purpose of his life. Apparently , he talked about and meditated constantly on his miseries and despair. I truly believe that the universe found a way to grant his wishes.

Thoughts become things. That's what Bob Proctor said in the movie, "The Secret". I recommend that people either buy the movie on Amazon.com, rent it or borrow it from the local library. The message in the movie is powerful and the main topic of the movie is The Law of Attraction. The LOA is complex, but a simplistic way of describing the LOA is this: . Your thoughts have a vibration and that vibration is sent out into the universe. What you focus on continually, is what you will attract and manifest in your life.

On the other end of the spectrum, is a woman who was able to leverage the power of her thoughts to her greatest advantage. Her name is Cynthia Stafford and in 2007 she won a California lottery for $112 million. In an interview, Ms. Stafford revealed that her back was up against the wall at one time in her life. She struggled financially to raise her brother's four children. She had taken the children in, because her brother was killed by a drunk driver and the children's mother was in no position to care for them. Ms. Stafford did not have a job and her home was slipping into foreclosure. Also, the state wanted to remove the children from her custody and she couldn't allow that to happen.

She began to meditate daily on winning the lottery. Ms. Stafford visualized herself, with the children living happily and she visualized herself winning the Mega Millions lottery in California for a specific amount of money. She practiced her meditation for several weeks. Eventually, she was able to manifest what she focused on through the LOA. She won $112 million, which was the exact amount that she meditated on. Ms. Stafford ultimately, split her lottery winnings with her father, and one of her brothers. It is a very heart-warming and beautiful testimony for how the LOA can work in people's lives.

If you want to learn more about the Law of Attraction, there are three books that I highly recommend. Some of them don't deal directly with LOA, but are closely related in the subject matter. They are:

"The Power of Positive Thinking" by Norman Vincent Peale

"The Power of The Subconcious Mind" by Joseph Murphy

"Think and Grow, Rich" by Napoleon Hill

These books contain life changing methods for changing your thinking patterns, using your brain more effectively, and living the life that you want. There are hundreds of other excellent books available on this topic. These three books are good a starting point, though.  Be very careful of your thoughts and your words.

Sources:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kboJcNQ_dWc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_lcvBfLLoQ



© Copyright 2014 Susan Broadbelt