superfood blueberries

Blueberries are currently recognized as high-nutrient-dense berries in the nutritional community, but their exaggerated effects such as "anti-cancer, anti-aging, and whitening" are all marketing and processed products. Ordinary consumers do not need to pay extra costs for imported and organic blueberries that are overpriced. Affordable domestic fresh blueberries and frozen blueberries can achieve the same nutritional supplement effect.

I came across two very interesting extreme cases when I was doing food science popularization in the community a while ago. A young girl who had just started working spent nearly 1,000 yuan a month on imported blueberries. She said that eating five berries a day would lighten spots and fight aging. She spent most of her salary on "superfoods"； Another uncle squatted in the fruit section of the supermarket to educate people on science. He said that blueberries are just dyed grapes and have no other benefits except that they are expensive.

In fact, both sides are a bit biased. Let’s talk about real data first. In the current common antioxidant capacity measurement index ORAC (oxygen radical absorption capacity), the value of 100g of fresh blueberries is 9621, which is almost 3.4 times that of apples and 3 times that of grapes of the same weight. The unique anthocyanin components such as delphinidin and cyanidin have been confirmed by many clinical studies. Sufficient intake can indeed relieve visual fatigue caused by overuse of the eyes, and also has a positive effect on reducing the body’s chronic inflammation levels. Oh yes, there is a big premise here: you have to eat enough. The effective intake dose in clinical trials is 100-150g of fresh blueberries per day, which is almost half of a small box on the market. If you are like that little girl and only eat three or five blueberries a day, it is really no different from eating a grape. It has no use except stuffing between your teeth.

Of course, if you believe the merchant’s claim that “eating blueberries can fight cancer and reverse your age by ten years,” you will indeed be paying an IQ tax. At present, most of the research on the anti-cancer and anti-aging effects of blueberries remains at the stage of cell experiments and mouse experiments. There are no large-scale human clinical trials to test these effects. After all, the dosage of anthocyanins fed to mice in animal experiments would be equivalent to eating three or four kilograms of blueberries a day for humans. Who can eat so much without any trouble?

There was a lot of debate on the Internet before about "Are imported blueberries better than domestically produced blueberries?" Last year, when I was helping the community canteen to conduct ingredient inspections, I happened to test Yunnan open-air blueberries and Chilean imported blueberries with the same maturity. The anthocyanin content of the two was not much different. 3%. On the contrary, imported blueberries have been transported by sea for more than 20 days in the cold chain, and then stored in the warehouse for a week after landing. The VC content is nearly 40% less than that of freshly picked domestic blueberries. In terms of nutritional value, fresh domestic blueberries are actually better. When I buy them myself, I rarely come across those that have an organic label and sell for 50 or 60 yuan per box. When in season, small fruit blueberries from Yunnan and Liaoning cost 10 yuan per box. The white frost on the surface is very intact. Wash them clean and eat them directly. The sweetness and sourness are just right. They are much more delicious than imported products that have been stored for more than half a month. If it's not in season, I'll stock up on frozen blueberries that cost more than ten yuan a pound. They're convenient for making milkshakes and mixing with yogurt in the morning. In addition to losing some VC during the freezing process, the anthocyanins are basically not lost, and the price/performance ratio is incredible.

Oh, yes, there are also many people who rub the white frost on the surface of blueberries hard when washing them, saying that it is pesticide residue and is really unnecessary. That layer of white frost is the oleanolic acid and sugar alcohol substances secreted by the blueberries themselves. The fresher the blueberry, the more complete the white frost is. It is a natural protective layer. Just use running water to wash away the dust when rinsing. It would be a pity to rub it off. An old friend with diabetes asked me before if I couldn't touch any blueberries. In fact, that's not true. The glycemic index of blueberries is only 53, which is a medium-low GI food. If you eat less than 100g each time, the blood sugar fluctuations are smaller than eating a small bowl of rice. My old friend with diabetes now eats a dozen blueberries with meals. He measured his post-meal blood sugar and found it to be very stable.

In fact, to put it bluntly, there is no real "super food". It is just a little higher in nutrient density than ordinary fruits. It cannot be used as medicine, and there is no need to hold it on the altar. Buying a box for more than ten yuan can not only satisfy your cravings, but also supplement some anthocyanins. It is much more cost-effective than drinking a cup of milk tea with half a cup of sugar. Isn't that enough?