Anthocyanins, healthy dyes
We Europeans usually eat only two or three colors of fruits and vegetables a day, often choosing from green, orange, yellow and red. We eat too little purple. While all colors are necessary to stay optimally healthy. What makes purple fruit so healthy?
Blueberries, blackberries, blackcurrants, red grapes and plums are full of natural blue-purple dyes, also known as anthocyanins. Miraculous health effects are attributed to these substances. Eat purple fruit especially ripe, then the anthocyanin content is at its highest.
Blueberry as a mnemonic
Blueberries owe their deep color to a good amount of anthocyanins. Scientists suspect that these substances have a beneficial effect on our brains and memory. Animal studies have shown that anthocyanins end up in the brain, precisely in the area of memory and learning. The higher the level there, the smarter the animals were and remained as they got older.
Blackberry for strong bones
You can buy them in mini containers at the ‘vegetable jeweler’, but in the wild you can pick buckets full for free. Do wash before eating. Some health experts even advise cooking blackberries and other wild forest fruits as well, for example by making jam from them. Wild fruits can be infected with tapeworm from fox faeces, although this infection is quite rare.
Just like blueberries, blackberries contain anthocyanins and many minerals. They are the richest in calcium of all fruits and also provide a lot of magnesium and iron. These minerals are necessary for the bones, muscles and blood. Of all fruits, blackberries also contain the most vitamin E, a substance that protects our body cells.
Plum lowers cholesterol
Fruit is a source of fiber anyway, but plums take the cake: they provide on average 30 percent more fiber than other fruit. Fiber is good for bowel function and bowel movements, but also for cholesterol levels.
Scientific research has also shown that prunes have a strong antioxidant effect, perhaps the strongest of all fruits. So on the plums, because antioxidants protect our body against all kinds of diseases.
Plums should be firm, but definitely not hard. Hard plums are unripe and do not ripen after. Keep them in a cool place outside the refrigerator: that is better for the taste, the smell and the ripening. Do not freeze prunes.
Blueberry lowers blood pressure
From blue to red and from black to blueberry: they all contain a lot of potassium. This substance has a blood pressure lowering effect. 200 grams of red berries per day can lead to a decrease in the upper pressure by 1 mm Hg, and in the lower pressure by 0.5 mm Hg. That’s about 10 percent of the blood pressure lowered by drugs.
Blueberries (not to be confused with bilberries) have been the subject of some two hundred scientific publications over the past decades. The conclusion from this: blueberries are beneficial for heart and blood vessels and for memory. The blue dye is said to promote blood flow in the heart and reduce calcium build-up in blood vessels. In addition, this dye would have a positive effect on the brain, allowing them to react faster and work more precisely.
New research shows that blueberries are also good for the line: they break down existing fat cells and prevent new ones from forming. Australian researchers also discovered that athletes recover faster from exertion if they eat blueberries. It is not yet clear why the fruits have this effect. Professor Steve Stannard, one of the researchers: “Probably it has to do with the high content of anthocyanins, which help the natural antioxidant mechanisms in the body.”
Blueberries against aging
They are packed with antioxidants and flavonoids. That is why a daily portion of blueberries is indispensable for those who want to delay aging and prevent diseases. After all, the antioxidants make free radicals harmless, ie the aggressive molecules that arise during the metabolic processes in our body and that damage and destroy cells and cell structures.
And then the blue dye is also good for the heart and blood vessels. That dye is the same as that in blueberries, and therefore blueberries also ensure better blood circulation in the heart, less plaque in the blood vessels and brains that work faster and more precisely. Furthermore, blueberries promote collagen production (important for firm skin!) and protect against night blindness.
The darker in color the blueberries are, the more antioxidants they contain. This also applies to most fruits and vegetables: the more color, the more antioxidants. Berries and blackberries can be kept outside the refrigerator for only one day and refrigerated for up to three days. Do not wash the fruits, leave the crowns and stalks on, spread them out on a plate and do not cover them; this way you prevent mold formation. Wash the fruit under a gentle stream of water before eating it. After that, crowns and stems can be removed. You can freeze soft summer fruit just fine.
Sources):
- Plus Magazine
