Blueberries

Bursting with goodness, blueberries are the perfect healthy addition to breakfast cereals, smoothies and deserts. An 80g serving of blueberries counts as one portion of your 5-a-day (an 80g serving is 2 handfuls or 4 heaped tablespoons of blueberries)

• Blueberries are full to the brim with antioxidants, nutrients and vitamins.
• Blueberries are often labelled as a superfood, and eating them is one of the easiest ways to add nutrients to your diet and give your immune system a boost.
• They are one of the most nutrient dense berries with fibre, Vitamin C, Vitamin K and Manganese. They also have one of the highest levels of antioxidants, specifically anthocyanins.
• When blueberries have been frozen they still contain all of their antioxidant properties.
• Blueberries increase the brain’s production of feel-good dopamine, a natural neurotransmitter that makes you feel happy.
• In recent years there is has been a growing body of science that berries could help to offset cardiovascular diseases and help to preserve heart health. Also studies have shown that eating blueberries can help to improve mood and aspects of cognition.
• New research published in the European Journal of Nutrition has found that eating blueberries could have cognitive (brain) benefits for children.
• Blueberries can help us to age well as they rank as one of the best fruits for their antioxidant activity. The studies show that consuming blueberries has been linked to reducing oxidative stress, a process strongly linked to ageing related diseases (Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, cancer, cardiovascular disease, cataracts, hypertension).
• In children and young adults, blueberry studies have been shown to improve memory and executive function. Further studies into the benefits of blueberries have also observed improvements in cognitive control of mood, meaning that the well-known superfood could play a role in helping to manage anxiety and depression.

Nutritional Information

Varieties

British blueberries are available from June until September and the start of the season usually features the Duke variety. To guarantee local fruit can be supplied until late September, growers have planted special varieties for full flavour and a greater shelf life, which include:

• Duke
• Bluecrop Chandler
• Darrow
• Draper
• Liberty
• Ozark Blue
• Auror

Origin

Blueberries are grown as far north as North-East Scotland on the same latitude as the Gulf of Alaska. It’s the temperate climate created in Scotland by the Gulf Stream that allows this apparent miracle of nature, and means British blueberries are available until September. From then on, they will be from Argentina, Spain, South Africa and Chile: