July is the National Blueberry Month

In celebration of the National Blueberry Month, adding blueberries as part of your breakfast is more than a nutritious way to start your day.  Blueberries contain iron, calcium magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, zinc, vitamin C, fiber and more.[1]

As blueberries contain fiber, and fiber helps with the sensation of fullness, this makes blueberries a sound choice for weight management.  Blueberries also contain compounds called anthocyanins.  Anthocyanins are phytochemicals with a very powerful antioxidant effects associated to several health benefits including anticancer and antidiabetic properties, heart health, and more.  Anthocyanins are also responsible for the deep-blue color.  In addition to the health benefits that blueberries provide, their use is growing in all kind of cosmetic products.

For children and adults it seems to be a challenge to eat more fruits and vegetables, but we can easily increase fruit consumption, in a delicious way, with blueberries.  Their versatility makes them the perfect snack, either fresh or frozen.  We can add a handful of blueberries to our morning cereal, or with low-fat yogurt and oatmeal for a simple and sweet smoothie. 

The nutritional value of any salad can be enhanced by adding blueberries. For a mid-afternoon snack, pair a small blueberry muffin with tea or coffee.  Now, that we know a little more about the health benefits of blueberries, let’s put in practice the above ideas from breakfast to dinner or just as a small snack.

By Araceli Vázquez, MS, RDN, LD

[1] United States Department of Agriculture. National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference Legacy Release, April 2018. http://ndb.nal.usda.gov.  Accessed July 6, 2018.