Recovering Women Wealth

Sober Women Managing Money & Mental Wealth

  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Home
  • FKA Ms. Fiology
  • About Me
    • Testimony
    • Mission Statement
    • Contact Me
  • Operating Procedures
  • Resources
    • Recovery Resources
    • Books I Recommend
      • Recovery & Self Growth Favs
      • Money Favs
      • Christian Favs
      • Non-Fiction Favs
      • Fiction Favs
    • Financial Resources
  • Public Speaking
  • Investment Policy Statement
  • Debt Freedom
  • Series
    • Brain Health
    • Inspiring Women in Recovery Interview Series
    • People are Basically…

This post may contain affiliate links to products I’ve used and recommend. If you click on the link and purchase the product, I am compensated (at no additional cost to you). 

View my full disclosure here.

Brain Health, part 7 – Blueberries Have Superpowers!!

August 26, 2019 By Deanna 2 Comments

Yes, you read that right, blueberries do have superpowers! And boy am I glad because I love, love, love blueberries.

Welcome back to part 7 in my brain health series where I explore holistic and scientifically tested ways to improve our brain health. I became particularly interested in brain health when I was first recovering from addiction and was concerned with the damage I caused. I was looking for hope and was encouraged when I learned that the brain has the amazing ability to health.

Ultimately, I find my hope in my faith in Christ. However, if I believe that God created everything than I also believe He created science. 😉

I find the human brain the most fascinating of the human organs and so I will continue to research and write on this topic. Furthermore, since the brain affects everything we do it’s a worthy study!  In my brain health series, I’ve been mainly reviewing two books (below). For this post, though, my inspiration came from an article from a local newspaper on the brain benefits of blueberries.

Local Gems

The Medina Gazette is a local paper that my parents subscribe to. Yes, they still get a real tangible newspaper delivered to their home. So many people read their news online these days but there is something nice about holding a paper in your hands. Anyway, my Mom shared this article, Berry Nice, by Phyllis Molnar with me. It was jammed packed full of the benefits of the blueberry. Are you tired of the puns yet?

Every year my family goes to a local blueberry farm and picks our own blueberries. We have blueberry pie, blueberry muffins, blueberry pancakes, smoothies with blueberries, and oh yeah, just plain blueberries. You cannot go wrong! Most of us freeze a bunch of them to get us through the winter. I knew that freezing blueberries did not destroy the nutrients and Molnar confirmed that.

Picking berries at a local farm is also a cost-effective way to store up on this power fruit. It’s really a win-win!

However, if you cannot pick your blueberries (or you are like me and run out of your summer frozen stock before next picking season), you can buy them in the frozen food section at your local grocery store. According to Molnar, it is best to buy ones labeled wild because they contain approximately 1 & 1/2 times the nutrients of conventional ones. Why is that? Well, most of the nutrients are in the skin and wild blueberries are smaller. That being said, it takes more wild blueberries to fill a cup.

Photo by Monika Grabkowska on Unsplash

Brain Health Benefits of Blueberries

Memory is one of the most wonderful things we can enjoy and no one wants to experience its decline. There have been studies at Tuff’s University where neuroscientists found that animals with cognitive decline regained memory, motor skills, and balance after eating blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and cranberries.

Furthermore, there have been numerous other studies showing memory improvement in animals after eating blueberries.

“The compounds in blueberries are thought to work by reducing inflammation of brain neurons, increasing blood flow to the brain and activating synaptic signaling between neurons in the brain. It appears that some anthocyanins actually pass through the blood-brain barrier and have a direct beneficial effect on the brain.” – Phyllis J. Molnar (Medina Gazette, August 6th, 2019)

Additionally, according to Life Extension Magazine blueberries enhance brain activity, improve brain blood flow, and improve working memory.

Brain Fuel & Healing

I love this guest post on Faithful Workouts by Bree Rossi (Master’s in Neuroscience from the U. of Iowa). Bree writes about the top 5 Brain Foods and not surprising, blueberries made the cut. It’s the antioxidants in the fabulously blue skin of the blueberry which not only gives our brains fuel but can aid in their healing.

Other Health Benefits of Blueberries

According to Molnar and other sources, there is a whole slew of health benefits from eating blueberries:

  • A reduction in inflammation overall
  • Increases the number of good bacteria in our guts
  • A decrease in heart risks
  • Inhibits cancer cell growth
  • Lowers blood pressure
  • Improves insulin sensitivity
  • Fight urinary tract infections
  • Weight control

Since I cannot link to Molnar’s article from the Medina Gazette, I’ve taken my best pictures of the piece:

Recipe

How could I do all this without giving you, at least one recipe involving blueberries?

Deanna’s Overnight Oats

Makes about 8 servings

  • 4 cups of oats (steel cut or old fashioned)
  • 3 & 1/2 cups of some kind of milk (almond milk, coconut milk, or organic grass-fed milk). My personal preference is Trader Joe’s Blueberry Lavender Flavored Almond Beverage

  • 2 tablespoons of chia seeds
  • 2-4 tablespoons of honey (not really necessary if you use Trader Joe’s Blueberry Lavender Flavored Almond Beverage because it’s sweetened)
  • 2 cups of blueberries
  • 2 bananas (hint: the ripper the bananas are the better they are for mashing)
  • Cinamon to taste (I rarely measure and just throw stuff in!)
  • Vanilla extract to taste (approximately 1 tablespoon)

Mash the bananas with a fork and then mix it with the oats, chia seeds, cinnamon, vanilla, and honey (if you are adding that). Finally, throw the blueberries into the mix.  Divide out the mixture into 6-8 mason jars (it depends upon how big you like your servings. Lastly, divvy up the milk into each jar.

Put lids on the jars, and the jars into the fridge overnight. Voila, you’ve got breakfast for the next week! All you need to do is take the lid off and pop it into microwave for a minute or two if you like your oatmeal warm.

So not only are you getting a brain boost but you are also saving on time and decision fatigue by doing this small amount of meal prep.

Closing Thoughts

Continually, I am reminded that the best foods for our brains grow on our lovely earth. What better way to support local agriculture than by going blueberry picking? You can enjoy the beauty of picking berries on a farm, start a new family tradition, save on grocery costs, and amazingly improve your brain health.

What’s not to like about this win-win-win-win-win situation?

Theme pic by Joanna Kosinska on Unsplash

 

Filed Under: Healthy Living Tagged With: Brain Health

Comments

  1. Gargi Roy says

    June 20, 2020 at 4:34 am

    The presence of several components in these Blueberries contribute to improving memory and reduces the risk of cognitive diseases. It is also helpful in reducing oxidative stress due to the presence of minerals such as calcium, potassium, and manganese in it

    Reply
    • Deanna says

      July 18, 2020 at 10:39 pm

      Thank you for adding that!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

About Me

My name is Deanna and I am happy to be on this redemptive path. I got sober from drug addiction/alcoholism in 2010 and returned to a faith in Christ. Additionally, I finished digging my way out of debt in 2017. Today, I’m learning to be a wise steward/investor of my resources while helping other women find their victories too. More about me.

Join my email list!

Subscribe to be notified of my latest posts via email.

Please wait...

Thank you for signing up!

Affiliate Link – Click Image

Affiliate Link – Click Image

As Featured On

Recent Posts

  • We Got Engaged During the Year to Forget!!!
  • My Biggest Lesson in 2020, We Need One Another!
  • Are you Ready for a Money Coach?

Categories

  • Blogging
  • Career Hacking
  • Financial Independence
  • Frugality
  • Healthy Living
  • Inspiration
  • Investing
  • Minimalism
  • Personal Finance
  • Stories of Recovery
  • Tax Efficiency
  • Travel Hacking
  • Tribute

Archives

  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018

Copyright © 2021 Recovering Women Wealth

We use cookies to ensure a good experience. If you continue to use this site, I will assume that you are happy with it. :)Ok