Ideberries.com - Blueberries are berries with blue to purple colors. If we see the fruits carefully, the colors are actually deep purple. The same shrubs of blueberries can also produce cranberries and huckleberries.
Th size of blueberry fruits is around 5-16 millimeters in diameter. The fruits have flared crown at the end. When the fruit comes, the color is green.
As the berries ripen, they change the color into blue-purple. Blueberry plants are divided into two: highbush and lowbush. The lowbush blueberry of the wild one is richer in antioxidants.
Blueberries are sweet and simply nutritious. The berries are low in calories. Therefore, blueberries will be a good diet for health and weight loss. Popular as a superfood, blueberry is incredibly good for our families. Blueberry tastes sweet and flexible to cook for various dishes.
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Most of the time, we do not like fruits that taste awfully despite the nutrition value. But blueberries can always be our favorite for the taste. Also, the nutritional value of blueberries make the fruits the best choices.
Blueberries are small, round, and delicious fruits that are not only tasty but also packed with nutrients. Here is a breakdown of the nutritional value of blueberries per 100 grams:
- Calories: 57
- Carbohydrates: 14 grams
- Dietary fiber: 2.4 grams
- Sugars: 9.96 grams
- Fat: 0.33 grams
- Protein: 0.74 grams
- Vitamin C: 9.7 milligrams (16% of the recommended daily intake)
- Vitamin K: 19.3 micrograms (24% of the recommended daily intake)
- Manganese: 0.336 milligrams (17% of the recommended daily intake)
Blueberries are also rich in antioxidants, particularly anthocyanins, which give them their vibrant blue color. Antioxidants help protect the body from oxidative stress caused by free radicals and may have various health benefits.
In addition to the nutrients listed above, blueberries contain small amounts of other vitamins and minerals such as vitamin E, vitamin B6, copper, and iron.
It's worth noting that the nutritional content may vary slightly depending on the variety and ripeness of the blueberries. Nonetheless, blueberries are generally considered a nutritious addition to a balanced diet, and their low calorie content makes them a great choice for those looking to manage their weight.
3 Most Crucial Nutritional Value of Blueberries
Here are the health benefits of blueberries that are proven by scientific research:
Blueberries are low in calories
It is one excellent factor why blueberries are good for weight loss diet. We all know that when applying a diet for burning fat, dieters are not allowed to consume various kinds of foods including fruits.
Fruits with high calories and sugar contents are forbidden. This is so because the idea of weight loss diet is to reduce the consumption of foods in high calories and sugar.
It is hard to find that kind of fruits. Dieters tend to find foods that are low in calories and satisfy the craving for the carb. Banana is often chosen. Yet, banana has a high level of the glycemic index.
That is also a bad choice for dieters. One good choice is avocado with low glycemic index, low calories, high fat, and low sugar. So, it will be good to find tasty fruits such as blueberries to support a diet method.
In the world of berries, blueberries are the superstar. One cup of blueberries contains 4 grams of fiber. The vitamin C is 24% and vitamin K is 36%.
The entire cup of blueberries contains only 85 calories while a piece of donut has 350 calories. The carbohydrate is not more than 15 grams.
The Antioxidants of Blueberries
The blueberries are the king of berries because of the antioxidant compounds. Antioxidants are the crucial substance that will fight against free radicals.
The unstable molecular structures that can damage cells and contribute aging appearance will be managed by antioxidants. Besides, the compounds are also important to fight against cancer.
Based on a scientific research, blueberries contain the highest antioxidants compared to all fruits and vegetables that people commonly have.
Antioxidants compounds in the precious blueberries are included in polyphenols family. It is flavonoids which have anthocyanins substance.
These anthocyanins are the extract that provides benefits for health. The nutritional value of blueberries is mainly derived from the essential anthocyanins.
DNA Damages will be cured by Blueberries
There are several causes of aging and cancer attacks. Many of the causes are the bad surrounding and polluted environment. Besides, junk foods and bad lifestyles can cause those things.
Also, bad habit and wrong drug consumption can also trigger aging and cancer. However, no cancer patients know the real cause of the cancers that they suffer from. Therefore, we can say that cancerous cells can grow because of almost any reasons. Besides, oxidative DNA damage is a natural part of life.
Therefore, we need to really care about our bodies, lifestyle, and healthy food consumption. We will need to add blueberries to our daily diet.
That will be helpful to slow down and reduce the bad impact of DNA damages in our bodies. The antioxidants in blueberries will be helpful to neutralize some of the free radicals can cause the damages.
Nutritional value of blueberries is unlimited. We can consume blueberries for protecting cholesterol in our blood from transforming into the bad type of cholesterol.
The low sugar in blueberries will also give a good control in our blood sugar. And blueberries may lower blood pressure as well.
The berries are simply superfood that helps people to live healthier and cure various health problems at the same time.
