al capacities as they aged.

Even more remarkable, rats which did not receive the blueberry extract until the age of nineteen months experienced a reversal of their age-related cognitive failure. The Tufts research seems to indicate that blueberries, and other foods with high concentrations of anti-oxidants, may be effective in turning back the clock on age-related mental deterioration.

And those benefits apparently don’t stop with preventing or reversing memo

Spain is not at the top of the list of countries known for their blueberry production. But thanks to the research done by scientists at the University of Barcelona on the benefits blueberries provide in the fight against age-related brain function deficits, Spanish growers are seriously engaged in increasing production of the dusky blue fruits.

In April of 2005, the Barcelona researchers published a study which showed that blueberries are not only loaded with brain-function improving phytonutrients; those same phytonutrients were permeating the blood-brain barrier in the rats to which blueberry extract had been fed.

Those rats, as a result, had the memory and learning centers of their brains awash in stimulating substances. The findings, presented in the April 2005 issue of Nutritional Neuro-science, said that the rats were given blueberry extract for between eight to ten weeks.

And four months later, the Barcelona scientists were back, this time in the August issue of Pharmacological Research. They tested old rats which had received blueberry extract for thirty days, and found their cognitive performance had improved. One of their conclusions was that blueberries may contain substances useful in preventing the memory failure which often accompanies aging in humans.

The findings of both studies were highly significant; the first, because earlier research had established that blueberries had substances effective in reversing the age-related decrease in the brain’s neuron-signaling capacity. But it was not known if those constituents actually penetrated the blood-brain barrier.

The second study was significant because it supported the findings of 1999 research done at Tufts University in Boston. The Tufts study showed that rats which had been fed blueberry extract from the age of six months had less severe declines in cognitive and neuronal capacities as they aged.

Even more remarkable, rats which did not receive the blueberry extract until the age of nineteen months experienced a reversal of their age-related cognitive failure. The Tufts research seems to indicate that blueberries, and other foods with high concentrations of anti-oxidants, may be effective in turning back the clock on age-related mental deterioration.

And those benefits apparently don’t stop with preventing or reversing memo

-function improving phytonutrients; those same phytonutrients were permeating the blood-brain barrier in the rats to which blueberry extract had been fed.

Those rats, as a result, had the memory and learning centers of their brains awash in stimulating substances. The findings, presented in the April 2005 issue of Nutritional Neuro-science, said that the rats were given blueberry extract for between eight to ten weeks.

And four months later, the Barcelona scientists were back, this time in the August issue of Pharmacological Research. They tested old rats which had received blueberry extract for thirty days, and found their cognitive performance had improved. One of their conclusions was that blueberries may contain substances useful in preventing the memory failure which often accompanies aging in humans.

The findings of both studies were highly significant; the first, because earlier research had established that blueberries had substances effective in reversing the age-related decrease in the brain’s neuron-signaling capacity. But it was not known if those constituents actually penetrated the blood-brain barrier.

The second study was significant because it supported the findings of 1999 research done at Tufts University in Boston. The Tufts study showed that rats which had been fed blueberry extract from the age of six months had less severe declines in cognitive and neuronal capacities as they aged.

Even more remarkable, rats which did not receive the blueberry extract until the age of nineteen months experienced a reversal of their age-related cognitive failure. The Tufts research seems to indicate that blueberries, and other foods with high concentrations of anti-oxidants, may be effective in turning back the clock on age-related mental deterioration.

And those benefits apparently don’t stop with preventing or reversing memo

entists were back, this time in the August issue of Pharmacological Research. They tested old rats which had received blueberry extract for thirty days, and found their cognitive performance had improved. One of their conclusions was that blueberries may contain substances useful in preventing the memory failure which often accompanies aging in humans.

The findings of both studies were highly significant; the first, because earlier research had established that blueberries had substances effective in reversing the age-related decrease in the brain’s neuron-signaling capacity. But it was not known if those constituents actually penetrated the blood-brain barrier.

The second study was significant because it supported the findings of 1999 research done at Tufts University in Boston. The Tufts study showed that rats which had been fed blueberry extract from the age of six months had less severe declines in cognitive and neuronal capacities as they aged.

Even more remarkable, rats which did not receive the blueberry extract until the age of nineteen months experienced a reversal of their age-related cognitive failure. The Tufts research seems to indicate that blueberries, and other foods with high concentrations of anti-oxidants, may be effective in turning back the clock on age-related mental deterioration.

And those benefits apparently don’t stop with preventing or reversing memo

ueberries had substances effective in reversing the age-related decrease in the brain’s neuron-signaling capacity. But it was not known if those constituents actually penetrated the blood-brain barrier.

The second study was significant because it supported the findings of 1999 research done at Tufts University in Boston. The Tufts study showed that rats which had been fed blueberry extract from the age of six months had less severe declines in cognitive and neuronal capacities as they aged.

Even more remarkable, rats which did not receive the blueberry extract until the age of nineteen months experienced a reversal of their age-related cognitive failure. The Tufts research seems to indicate that blueberries, and other foods with high concentrations of anti-oxidants, may be effective in turning back the clock on age-related mental deterioration.

And those benefits apparently don’t stop with preventing or reversing memo

al capacities as they aged.

Even more remarkable, rats which did not receive the blueberry extract until the age of nineteen months experienced a reversal of their age-related cognitive failure. The Tufts research seems to indicate that blueberries, and other foods with high concentrations of anti-oxidants, may be effective in turning back the clock on age-related mental deterioration.

And those benefits apparently don’t stop with preventing or reversing memory and cognitive loss. Blueberries, according to a May 2005 study in the Journal of Experimental Neurology>, may even reverse the effects of blood deprivation in the brain, like that experienced with strokes.

The study, performed by researchers at the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse and the University of South Florida Hospital, showed that rats on diets containing blueberries, spinach, or spirulina not only had significantly fewer brain cells, and smaller areas of their brains, damaged following a blood flow interruption; they also recovered a much greater capacity for movement.

Blueberries are rapidly establishing themselves as the nutritional “bluebloods” of the fruit and vegetable kingdom. Ongoing research into their nearly miraculous potential shows that they restore the speed with which old rats react to sounds, they help keep arteries relaxed under stress, reducing both the high blood pressure and the arteriosclerosis which can lead to strokes, and, as the aforementioned study shows, help reduce brain damage from strokes themselves.

Food for thought, indeed.