According to a recent report in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a daily dose of wild blueberry juice has been shown to improve the memory of older adults with age-related memory problems and those potentially at risk for dementia.
The study, conducted by scientists from the University of Cincinnati and the National Institutes of Health, showed that volunteers who drank the equivalent of 2-2 1/2 cups of blueberry juice once per day for 12 weeks showed significant improvement on learning and memory tests. No tests were done with blueberry pie, although I’m confident it would have been much more enjoyable for participants than blueberry juice. Of course they would have gotten much fatter in the 12 weeks. But they’d remember everything.
In the study, a control group drank a beverage without blueberry juice. Those drinking the beverage with blueberry juice rather than a placebo showed improvement over the time period, and better memory in general. The report said, “These preliminary memory findings are encouraging and suggest that consistent supplementation with blueberries may offer an approach to forestall or mitigate neurodegeneration.”
Bottom Line: Blueberries contain polyphenolic compounds, phytochemicals with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects which slow brain degeneration. Drink more blueberry juice. It can help prevent long-term memory problems, will help you be less forgetful, and is simply good for your brain.
Note: The study was also partly funded by the Wild Blueberry Association of North America, who would probably want more people to drink blueberry juice. And use blueberry jam instead of strawberry jam. And eat lots and lots of blueberry pie. I like blueberry pie. Best pie I’ve had in my entire life was a blueberry pie.
Ok – quick story…
It’s the autumn of 2008, and we’re camping in Bar Harbor, Maine. I see this woman slowly driving through the campground. People hurriedly approach her, and then leave with something seemingly important in their hands. At the behest of my five-year old son, we rush over to investigate.
Turns out she’s selling homemade pies from the back of her car. I’m not usually one to buy baked goods from strangers in beat-up old station wagons, but the smell – oh, the SMELL. There are only a few left, and they cost nine bucks, but I only have a five spot on me as I’m going for a bike ride with my son. Thanks anyway, maybe next time, I say. But, now get this… she gives it to me anyway, because she simply wants us to have pie!
So this kind-hearted pie-peddling woman hands her creation to me, and I give her my five. I balance the still-warm pie tin filled with all that is good in this world on one hand, and oh so carefully ride back to my wife and other son awaiting us at the campsite. Although it is time to throw some dogs on the grill and have dinner, this pie changes everything. We eat it, quickly. The whole thing, in one sitting. It is simply divine.
I wish I had taken a picture of that pie. And I almost wish there had been a good cup of coffee to accompany it. But making a pot of coffee and taking pictures both take time. And when you’re hungry, and there’s a fresh-baked Maine blueberry pie sitting in front of you, time is something you don’t have. So I devoured my portion of that pie and reverently washed it down with a Sam Adams Oktoberfest.
Homemade blueberry pie and a good beer with those you love. It really doesn’t get better than that.
The only picture... the afterglow
PS – She ended up driving by our campsite on the way out. I gave her another five. Keep the change…
Source: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Credits: Blueberry Photo
