By Caitlin Porter, Seacoast Eat Local intern
If you couldn’t tell, berry season is one of my favorite times of the year! I covered strawberries and raspberries in previous posts, and now we are rounding out the season with blueberries.
For me, local blueberries are one of the best parts of summer. There is so much more flavor in a blueberry grown/picked close to home rather than one that has travelled 1300+ miles. As if the taste wasn’t enough, blueberries are packed with nutrition and are even considered a “superfood!”
What is a superfood? A superfood is one that can fight off a variety of diseases including cancer, diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, and heart disease.
Blueberries are very high in antioxidants (meaning they fight cancer!) A good rule of thumb is more color a fruit has = more cancer-fighting antioxidants.
Blueberries are awesome at:
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Boosting brain health
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Fighting aging
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Fighting chronic diseases
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Fighting cancer
Blueberries are an amazing (and easy!) addition to many salads, smoothies, and snacks. If you can picture Victoria Beauregard from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory turning into a blueberry – that will be me come September.
Sources:
http://www.webmd.com/diet/superfoods-everyone-needs
http://www.superfoodsrx.com/healthyliving/blueberries-benefits/
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/287710.php
Image source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Vaccinium_corymbosum(01).jpg
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