The Acai Berry Is Wholesome Brain Fare
13 07 2009
Berries are exceedingly nutritious and they are especially useful for your brain healthiness. This includes all types of berries, in particular blueberries, cranberries, boysenberries, purple grapes, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries and the acai berry from Brazil. Most berries have a high antioxidant content but some are better than others. Most berries contain elevated amounts of a powerful antioxidant, which is actually the deep dark purplish pigment that gives the berries their brilliant colors.
Science has verified that berries shelter the brain from oxidative stress and inflammation both of which play a part dramatically to brain aging. Scientific research has shown that a diet high in the antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents found in berries lowers the risk of increasing age-related diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
Animal studies have shown that berry extracts improve memory. In a experiment on rats, the rats that were given the berry extracts did better in maze tests than the control grouping.
Another study gave rats a berry supplementation that was equivalent to one cup every day for two months in human consumption. After the time had elapsed it was found that the motor functions of coordination, balance and memory showed major improvement. The berries were also shown to be efficient in reversing motor behavior deficits.
Berries can also help augment the good cholesterol or HDL and cut inflammatory markers in the bloodstream. They thin the blood in an effect that is comparable to aspirin. Berries are good for both your brain and your cardiovascular and circulatory systems.
Of all the nourishing berries, one of the healthiest is the acai berry from the acai palm tree in the rainforest’s of Brazil. This little berry has one of the utmost antioxidant contents of any food found in nature. It is not feasible to find this berry in a fresh and unprocessed state outside of Brazil because this berry is tremendously delicate. However, you can still enjoy the benefits of it because you can find it in a processed form in juices, smoothie mixes, a array of powdered forms and extracts and even in a pill or capsule form. Just make sure that it is processed with a freeze-dried method to safeguard the nutrients.
Blueberries, cranberries and blackberries are also listed as some of the highest-ranking antioxidant foods. You can find these berries fresh in season just about anywhere and you can also get them in frozen form, which is very often just as nourishing as fresh, since the nutrients are locked in place during the freezing process.
Many of the difficulties of aging such as age-related dementia and Alzheimer’s disease can be prevented with the addition of beneficial and nutritious berries to your day by day eating habits.
