Originally published July 21 2005
Fruits and vegetables are revolutionary army against poor health
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Fruits and vegetables are like an army poised to battle disease, says Hara Estroff Marano in an eDiets.com article, because many of them contain phytonutrients that can prevent, treat and even sometimes cure diseases.
Many green grocery items contain goodies that can help ward off the diseases of aging, such as cancer and heart disease, and slow down the aging process itself.
All together, the findings suggest that relatively simple diet modifications can slow down the normal process of brain aging and memory impairment.
Fruits and vegetables get their bright colors courtesy of phytonutrients, or natural plant compounds.
Anthocyanin, the phytonutrient responsible for the blueberry's deep hue, is largely thought responsible for the fruit's protective powers.
In a one-two punch, anthocyanin acts to protect the brain in two ways--- as an antioxidant and as an anti-inflammatory agent.
A Tufts University study of more than 40 fruits and vegetables found that blueberries contain the highest concentration of anthocyanin, giving the fruit superior ability to clean up free radicals of oxygen.
These are highly reactive molecular fragments that, left to their own devices, undermine normal body processes by attacking cell membranes and the genetic material contained inside cells.
The damage they do is collectively known as oxidative stress, and it is now thought to cause cancer and other age-related diseases.
So far, most of the research on blueberries has been conducted on rats, but the results offer clear clues as to how the fruit can help humans.
A team of scientists led by Dr. James Joseph of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University has found that a diet rich in blueberries reverses age-related declines in balance and coordination.
Joseph is currently conducting studies with human subjects.
While the mechanism is not completely understood, the compounds in blueberries seem to reverse, or at least slow down, the damaging effects of aging on nerve cell function and behavior by reducing oxidative stress.
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