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Your Health
By Fern Walker
Wild Blueberries Pack a
Powerful Punch
Be good to your cells with antioxidant-rich wild blueberries
Growing up in rural Nova Scotia I had the great experience
of watching the growth of a relatively new
industry — that of the low-bush wild blueberry. In
the beginning of my family’s involvement,my father shipped
fresh, hand-picked berries to the Eastern Fruit Market in
Montreal. In 1941, he started experimenting to increase the
crop by burning off a small section of our family farm.At first
this was done by hand. My father ploughed a ridge around
the perimeter so the fire would be contained within the designated
area and then carried a container of water with an
attached hose on his back — “just in case.”
Clearing the land in this way returned new life to the
soil, replenishing it for new crops as well as ridding it of
weeds, insect larvae, thorny bushes and so on.The first year
after a burn only the vine grew as all the other vegetation
had a deeper root system and thereby took more time to
reappear, giving the blueberry vine a marvelous chance to
thrive. It received all the moisture and sunlight without the
“other competition.”
There were some bare patches,of course,but as the procedure
was repeated every second year, the vines filled the
space completely — and lo and behold soon a beautiful field
of blue would be all you could see!
As the producers were learning about new techniques
in growing and cleaning the fruit, marketing managers were
learning about quality freezing and storage.
Health benefits galore
Meanwhile, researchers were busy discovering all the
healthy components in these little blue gems. The vitamin
content was outstanding (see list in sidebar). As well, they
discovered a powerhouse of anthocyanins in wild blueberries
— these are antioxidants that help fight the free radicals
that can trigger cancer and heart problems. Research has
also taught us about other areas where blueberries help our
bodies. For example, the anthocyanin content protects our
July/August 2008 • 61 • Fifty-Five Plus Magazine