Blackberries

This article is part of a larger article titled "100+ Healthiest Foods On Planet Earth."  Read it here.

Autumn not only precedes winter, but it signals the start of blackberry season – those plump, purple, juicy fruits that burst in your mouth and taste divine in a crumble! It is not surprising that these wonderful fruits are popular both to eat and within health-conscious circles – they are literally bursting with wonderful health benefits that have been scientifically proven as fact.

Help Prevent Cell Damage And Lower Levels Of “Bad” Cholesterol. Oxidative stress occurs when there is an imbalance between the levels of free radicals and the ability of the body to hunt them down and destroy them. This results in cell damage which in the long term can lead to the development of serious diseases like heart disease and cancer. Blackberries have an inhibitory effect on the processes that cause oxidative stress to occur.

A study on hamsters found that blackberry nectar significantly reduces the levels of “bad” cholesterol whilst not affecting the levels of “good” cholesterol. The researchers also discovered that lipid peroxidation was greatly inhibited – lipid peroxidation is the process whereby free radicals steal electrons from lipids, which results in cell damage. Therefore this study supports the aforementioned one regarding the ability of blackberries to prevent cell damage from occurring.

Helps Prevent Problems Related to Obesity. Obesity not only causes problems for the skeleton and joints, it can often lead to inflammation of cells which in turn can cause problems like type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

A recent study has examined how beverages made from blackberry and blueberry juice might affect such inflammation from occurring. The results found that because of the high levels of anthocyanins that both types of berries contain, the juices had a significant impact in lowering the inflammation caused in relation to obesity.

Prevents Risk Of Cardiovascular Problems. Endothelial dysfunction is usually the catalyst for a number of cardiovascular-related problems such as high blood pressure and heart attacks; a compound called peroxynitrite can often be the cause of endothelial dysfunction. Thankfully, blackberries have been shown to scavenge and remove the harmful peroxynitrite.

The anthocyanin that gives blackberries their colouring – cyanidin-3-O-glucoside – is responsible for removing the peroxynitrite and protecting the endothelium. This anthocyanin is available naturally in a number of foods, but has been shown to account for around 80% of the total anthocyanins available in blackberries. This means that regular consumption of them can offer protection to and maintenance of cardiovascular health.