The Four Horsemen of Aging

are Inflammation, Oxidation, Glycation (sugar), and Stress. Allowed to run free in your bodies, these horsemen will bring on an endless list of disease and misery to your life.

Proper diet - and not that crap the FDA trots out - and exercise are excellent ways to slow the horsemen's gallop to a hobbled walk. A "proper diet" is low in sugar, which then limits both glycation, and inflammation. It is also high in fiber and anti-oxidants, which limits inflammation, glycation, and very importantly oxidation.

There is, "abundant evidence suggest(ing) that oxidant stress is a major cause of many diseases, including aging, cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's disease, and other neurodegenerative disorders."

Wouldn't it be nice if there were a delicious, natural way to help prevent the oxidative damage of "free radicals?" Free radicals, by the way, whose production is stimulated by... Guess what? Yes. Sugar.

Enter the humble, and appropriately named Blueberry. They may be small, but blueberries are Seal Team 6 when it comes to antioxidant firepower. Blueberries have more proanthocyanidins and especially anthocyanidins  -considered nature's strongest antioxdidant - than any other natural food and that includes green tea.

That alone should be enough to have your fridge stocked with blueberries, but wait, there's more.  As it turns out, supressing free radicals is just one of blueberries' healthful benefits. According to this study and others cited in it :

"Consumption of blueberries may alleviate the cognitive decline occurring in Alzheimer's disease and other conditions of aging. Blueberries also help maintain healthy blood flow via several mechanisms including healthy low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation, normal platelet aggregation, and maintenance of endothelial function."

An entire cup of blueberries has 85 calories, nearly 4 grams of dietary fiber, and only 15 grams of sugar.  Feel free to add any of the dark chocolate from the Easter post.  They go great together!

Main Reference - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3274736/