Native to North America, blueberries have been part of the human diet for more than 13,000 years, long before they were formally recognized for their health and anti-cancer effects. Blueberries are among the best foods you can eat, and I recommend eating them every day. I have created easy, healthy recipes using blueberries, plus non-dairy milk, ground flax seed, and other nutrient-dense, plant-rich foods, that give my patients a variety of ways to enjoy this wonderful fruit.
Since blueberries contain flavonoids and other specific phytochemicals that help protect against vascular instability, I instruct my diabetes and heart disease patients to eat fresh blueberries every day, and to eat frozen blueberries in the wintertime. In my book, “The End of Heart Disease,” I cite a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics that showed a 68 percent increase in blood nitric oxide levels among women who consumed blueberry powder daily for eight weeks. This is beneficial because nitric oxide relaxes and protects blood vessels.
