28 Feb Wild Blueberries: The Perfect Post-Festive Antioxidant Fruit
Chinese New Year is made simpler for many people this year – fewer visits, smaller gatherings, cheerless yusheng tossing, and home-based reunion meals. While the festive mood is gentler, it has not dampened our spirits in enjoying good food and bingeing on goodies.
As for all special occasions, we tend to overeat and feel unwell after resuming our daily routine. At best, we add a couple more inches to our waistline. At worst, we may experience indigestion and bloating. It is time to reboot our digestive system by eating more low-fructose fruits[1] and high-fibre vegetables such as wild blueberries.
Indigenous to Native America for over a century, wild blueberries first travelled from farm to table in 1916. Apart from the US, Canada is the second leading exporter and home to over 200 species of blueberries.
Benefits Of Wild Blueberries
Blueberries are excellent sources of dietary fibre that is helpful in promoting a healthy digestive tract and reducing symptoms of constipation and irritable bowel syndrome[2]. A serving of blueberries will help you to reach your recommended daily dietary fibre intake. By containing less fructose than fruits like apple and mango, berries help to prevent gastric gas and bloating – making it an ideal fruit for post-heavy meals.
Blueberries are also rich in a variety of antioxidant vitamins and minerals including manganese, vitamin C, and vitamin K. As you would know, vitamin C is an antioxidant vitamin that boosts your immunity. Increasing your intake of vitamin C can help to reduce the chances of you falling sick after this festive period. Manganese helps the body to digest proteins, carbohydrates and fats (cholesterol), playing a pivotal role in many chemical processes including metabolism.
Besides the high nutritional value, they are useful in enhancing insulin sensitivity and regulating blood sugar level[3]. If you have consumed high amounts of alcohol, sugary drinks and snacks during the past few weeks, consuming more blueberries can help to bring your body back to balance.
What Makes “Wild” Blueberries Special?
Wild blueberries (also known as lowbush) grow completely in the wild. It is said that farmers in Eastern Canada only harvest the blueberry fields once every two years[4], giving the crops enough time to regenerate and flourish. Most blueberries sold in supermarkets and grocery stores today are cultivated especially for harvesting (also known as highbush). The cultivated breeds tend to be larger in size than wild blueberries but pale in terms of quality.
Wild blueberries give a more intense berry flavour that is sweeter and tangier. More importantly, wild blueberries boast much more health-boosting benefits compared to cultivated breeds, one of which is the higher concentration of anthocyanins found in the skin. Anthocyanins are coloured pigments found in plants that exhibit antioxidant properties that include improving visual health, lowering the risks of cancer, obesity, diabetes and cognitive deterioration.[5]
While they pack plentiful health benefits, they are not easy to access and purchase. Unique Time Rejuvenate is an all-natural healthy beverage that contains wild blueberry extract amongst six other kinds of premium berries.
Packed full of antioxidant vitamin goodness, this delicious and healthy beverage can help boost your immunity while helping your body fight against diseases and premature signs of ageing.
As celebrations come to an end, reset and give your immunity a boost. Learn more about how you can purchase antioxidant supplements here.
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