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It’s a well-known fact that blueberries are a very rich in antioxidants, nutrients and vitamins. Adding them to your diet is a tasty way to get these important nutrients, as well as provide many other important health benefits. Now, there is new research coming out of Sweden that indicates blueberries can help fight off the negative effects of many intestinal diseases.

According to researchers from the Lund University Faculty of Engineering in Sweden, the fiber from blueberries can help alleviate and protect against intestinal inflammations, such as ulcerative colitis, crohn’s disease and irritable bowel syndrome. The benefits are even greater when blueberries are mixed with the beneficial bacteria found in probiotics, such as yogurt.

The researchers on the project tested many types of fiber, such as rye bran and oat bran, as well as testing them all with and without a mixture of beneficial bacteria. Blueberries are rich in polyphenols, which have an antimicrobial effect on your body.

When these polyphenols are combined with the beneficial bacteria found in probiotics, they help reduce inflamation-inducing bacteria in the intestinal tract, while simulatenously increasing the amount of healthy bacteria. This is the effect that is so beneficial for protecting and alleviating from inflammation in the intestinal tract.

The following quote is from Åsa Håkansson, researcher on the team:

“In recent years the research world has been realizing that our health is governed to a great extent by what happens in our large intestine. The probiotics (in our research) proved to have a protective effect on the liver, an organ that is often negatively impacted by intestinal inflammations.”

Camilla Bränning, another researcher on the team, added the following:

“A further explanation for the extremely positive effect of blueberries may be that the blueberry fibre are not degraded to such a high degree in the large intestine. This means that inflammation-inducing substances do not come into contact with the mucous lining of the intestine but are embedded in the fibre instead. Then these substances are transported out of body together with the faeces”

The Bottomline on this Study

Blueberries are healthy for you. We’ve known this for a very long time, but with this new research, if you suffer from an intestinal disorders, there is no better time to add blueberries to your diet than right now. If you’re not a fan of blueberries or are looking for a little diversity, there are many other healthy berries out there that you could easily add to your diet.

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Blueberries are one of the most popular and delicious fruits available. Their unique flavor and the healthy advantages it offers are aplenty which is why these are often used for lip smacking sweet fruit pies and jams. Personally, I love to use the blueberries I grow in yogurt and muffins. These can be eaten fresh and are also low in calories.

Blueberries are related to the huckleberries, the azaleas and the rhododendrons. These shrubs grow at least 7 to 8 feet in height and flourish in those areas that have the specific soil required. Most of the time, they require around 3-4 years to start bearing fruit, however this is not always true. There are many advantages to growing blueberries instead of buying them off the shelf. Not only do they taste fresher, but because they are locally-grown, they are better for the environment. All it needs is proper attention and care.

How To Grow Blueberries

Before growing blueberries at your home, you should consider the composition of the soil and the climate in which you live. Also, you can grow 2 or more varieties for the pollination. I have listed a few steps below that you can follow in growing blueberries.

• You need to contact the local store to know the variety you may need to pick before growing blueberries. Planting the blueberries bushes is quite a similar task to planting most shrubs. The variety of the bush matters, as some are quite drought resistant. This would suit a climate that is on the dry side.
• Once you have decided on the kind of blueberry you wish to grow, you need to select the appropriate location in your garden. The bushes require ample sunlight.
• You also need to check the pH level of the soil. This is because the soil used should be suitable for growing blueberries. The most favorable level for the blueberries is 4.5. The soil mixture should at least have an organic mixture of 5%. You can add leaves and manure to the soil.
• The time of the year also matters when you are growing blueberries. This needs to be planted in the spring or during the fall. This is because the soil tends to be more workable during this period. When you plant blueberry bushes, you also need to keep in mind that they should stand at least 4 feet apart. The lowbush varieties can be planted 1-3 feet apart.
• You also need to keep the depth of the mulch at 4″. This will help to retain the moisture for the weeds of the blueberry bushes and also prevent the growth of weeds.
• Adding the fertilizers is also important for growing blueberries. You can fertilize it in the late winter season or the early spring season. You can try an ammonium sulfate fertilizer at least twice in a year.
• Pruning the blueberry bushes may not be required for the initial few years. You may have to cut the oldest shoots so that it promotes the growth of a new shoot. You have to also remove the stalks that have dried up. Also, sometimes, you may need to take care that the branches are not over laden with fruits. You will need to prune the shoots so that they have the right amount of buds on them. There are certain people who believe in removing the flowers in the first year. This is because; it is firmly believed that this would help in the total development of the plant.

There are various categories of blueberries available, and within each category are many types of blueberries. These categories are as follows:

• Highbush Blueberries: These are the ones that are usually available in the local grocery store.
• Lowbush Blueberries: These are also known as the wild blueberries and generally do not grow beyond 18-inches of height.
• Half-high Blueberries: These can withstand heavy snowfall and are a hybrid combination of the two mentioned above.
• Rabbiteye Blueberries: These can face the full sun and are the tallest of the various kinds of blueberries available.

Growing Blueberries in Containers

Blueberries can be grown in containers as well. Due to their shallow root systems, these are suitable for growing in raised bed gardens or flower pots. Of course, it would be wise to plan ahead and grow your blueberry plant in a large pot. The larger the pot, the better chance you have at your plant bearing fruit for years to come. Once you have followed the steps above, the blueberry bush will require minimal care.

Related Articles

• 7 Healthy & Delicious Berries
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• Do You Know Which Foods are High in Antioxidants?

Article written by: K. Lad

While most diets are designed to deprive people of food they may crave, a new concept has been developed centered on the idea of eating just about whatever you want, within reason.

Billed as Your Final Diet, Dr. Abby Aronowitz has written a book under that title which not only encourages people to change their thinking on dieting, it suggests being a little overweight might be good.

Abby’s diet even has a list of “healthy” junk foods she encourages users of her diet to eat. These snacks include all natural treats such as Garden of Eatin’ Sesame Blues tortilla chips, Smart Food popcorn and Newman’s Own Organics Champion Chip Cookies. These healthy junk foods are higher in protein and fiber and have no artificial chemicals in their ingredients lists. She has said her research at Columbia University showed artificial sweeteners can actually increase appetite. She also suggests ways of using chocolate to suppress an appetite.

Those using Abby’s diet plan learn to manage sugar, carbs and fat intake rather than eliminating them. Dr. Aronowitz has said everybody craves those elements of their diet, and eliminating them only leads to diet failure. This, in turn, can lead to yo-yo dieting and a poor outlook about themselves.

In an interview, Aronowitz said the USDA recommends women should consume about 1,600 calories per day. She encourages her patients to multiply that by seven for a weekly total of about 11,000 calories. Then, her patients are told they can eat just about whatever they want within the 11,000 calories, especially if they eat all natural foods.

Changing the mind set is also important to her plan. Those using her suggestions will be encouraged to ignore pressure to become unrealistically thin, learn being thin doesn’t mean being sexy and become good role models for children to teach them about food selection and positive body image.

Fitness is important too, and not just for thin people. Aronowitz says even those listed as overweight benefit from being more fit.

Dr. Aronowitz believes increased health comes less from worrying about losing weight and more from accepting your actual size, eating better and working on your overall fitness level. This also improves your self-image.

Article from: www.abbysdietsuccess.com

There have been many recent studies circling around the debate of organic food, as many people have speculated that eating organic foods is not as healthy as they are advertised to be. Sales have doubled among organic food since the federal government began to deem foods as organic, which has therefore led to the increase of the products within many grocery stores among the nation. The fact that this trend has reached many urban city centers through venues like Whole Foods and other “trendy” grocery stores has led for an outcry that organic foods are equivalent to healthy eating overall.

Recently, people have jumped to the conclusion that food is better for you if you are organic. Eating “organic” has no guarantee of eating well or healthfully and as many healthcare professionals have discovered, the root to the unhealthy eating habits of Americans circle around their affinity for soda and sugary sweets. While organic food can be better for you in the long run, it is mostly because they are “real” ingredients, rather than those ingredients contained within many of the fatty foods we ingest every day. The health of many Americans may increase over time as we begin to shift away from a focus on fast-food meals and soda, instead focusing on this new form of organic food which contains little if any added preservatives. Additionally, producing organic food also aids the environment as much less land, water, and chemicals are used to produce this type of food and therefore less greenhouse gases are emitted.

Therefore, many debates have opened up as to whether eating organic has really been found to be better for you in the end. The decision to eat organic meals is one which slowly begins to edge out more calorie-ridden foods which may be the reason for the overall increase in healthy lifestyles after the switch, which actually has little to do with the manufacture of the food in general. However, since eating organically has become such a trend for 30-something-year old “yuppies”, it has since transpired to a whole new culture in which people are eating healthier and beginning to care about the stipulation that most Americans are overweight. By eating less of their favorite processed foods and drinks, instead looking to organic food as a switch in diet, it has been studied that more Americans will lose weight and concentrate on eating better in the long run. In the end, it is not organic food per say that has led to a healthier lifestyle, but the exclusion of food that has been processed in a different manner.

This post was contributed by Kelsey Allen, who writes about the organic food coupons. She welcomes your feedback at KelseyAllen1010 yahoo.com