What Happens When You Freeze Your Blueberries

Without a doubt, one of the best fruits you can eat is blueberries. They are abundant in fiber, nutrients, and antioxidants. Not to mention that they taste great. What if freezing your blueberries helped them become even more nutritious? Find out more about the advantages of freezing blueberries for optimal health.

Health Benefits of Blueberries

Blueberries have so many health benefits that it is almost impossible to list them all. However, the health benefit that is most affected by the freezing process is the anthocyanin concentration in blueberries.

Anthocyanin is a naturally anti-inflammatory chemical that is also believed to have some anti-carcinogenic properties. After freezing, the amount of anthocyanin found in blueberries seems to be higher.

 

1. Better Motor Function

Older adults are at risk for losing some or all of their motor function as they age. However, eating frozen blueberries has been linked to improved motor function and a decreased risk of cognitive issues.

It is recommended that you start eating frozen blueberries as soon as possible to protect your body and brain as you age. The more you invest in your health now, the more it will pay off down the road.

 

2. Heart Health

Keeping your heart healthy is one of the best things you can do for your long-term health. That is one of the things that frozen blueberries do best. Consuming frozen blueberries lowers your risk of heart disease and strengthens the arteries in the vascular wall. As a result, you may enjoy a healthy and stable blood pressure.

 

3. Digestive Benefits

Keeping your digestion running smoothly is crucial in your overall health. Not only are blueberries an excellent source of fiber, which ensures that your digestive system runs regularly, the antioxidants in blueberries protect your digestive tract from damage.

Because of the digestive benefits that frozen blueberries have, you may enjoy a lower risk of colon cancer as you age.

 

4. Reduced Dementia Risk

Aging comes with all sorts of risks, including the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and different types of dementia. You can decrease your risk of neurological disease by eating frozen blueberries. This is due to the anthocyanin found in blueberries.

Anthocyanin improves your memory function, allowing you to more easily create and retrieve memories. In addition, it supports neuronal connections in the brain. The more neuronal connections you have when you reach old age, the more protected you are against cognitive issues.

 

5. Nervous System Protection

Regular consumption of frozen blueberries can support your nervous system and protect it from damage. This is essential, given how many toxins your body is exposed to every day. Frozen blueberries help your nerves stay healthy and strong, staving off many of the motor issues that may be caused by nervous system disorders.

Now that you know how healthy frozen blueberries are, you know exactly what you should do with the next batch of blueberries you get at the farmer’s market. All you have to do is lay the blueberries in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze them. Once they are frozen, you can remove them to a freezer bag.

 

How To Grow Unlimited Amounts Of Blueberries In Your Backyard

 

Blueberries are extremely healthy and tasty fruits, which can be consumed raw, added to pies, smoothies, or squeezed in your juice.

They offer numerous health benefits, including:

• They prevent blood cholesterol damage.
• They protect the function of the brain and prevent memory loss due to the high antioxidant content.
• They are rich in nutrients but low in calories, as a cup provides 3.6 grams of dietary fiber, 24% of your recommended daily allowance of Vitamin C and 36% of Vitamin K.
• They have been found to reduce blood pressure and lower cardiovascular risk factors. One study has shown that the daily intake of 50 grams of these fruits for 8 weeks led to a 4-6% drop in blood pressure.
• They are rich in antioxidants which prevent the signs of aging, damage to the DNA, and cancer.  A study has shown that the daily consumption of blueberry juice lowered the effect of DNA damage by 20%.

 

Growing an unlimited amount of blueberries in your backyard requires careful planning, proper care, and attention to the specific needs of blueberry plants. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you achieve a bountiful blueberry harvest.

Find The proper place 

Search for the perfect spot for your blueberry bush, as it needs a high-quality soil and a lot of sunlight. The sunlight will provide the needed conditions for photosynthesis, which is vital for its growth, and the soil will support this process.

If you have a large garden, the raised beds are perfect, as the water will run throughout the soil, giving the needed moisture. If you live in a flat, you should purchase a patio container.

 

Enough Space

This bush requires up to 6 feet of space to expand naturally. If you grow more bushes, they should be at 2.5 to 3 feet distance in between.

 

The Planting Process

In most world countries, it is best to plant the blueberry bush in fall or spring. Ruffle the roots with the hands, and put it in the soil, add more soil around them, and pat down the top soil layer. Then, water it well as it is shallow-rooted, and needs to be hydrated.

The soil should be well drained. The ideal soil for this bush is acidic, with 5.0 pH value.

 

Mulching

For best effects, use sawdust, but you can also use pine bark, rind mulch, acid trip or grass clipping. Apply 2-4 wreaths to preserve the moisture of the soil and prevent the growth of weeds.

Repeat this once a year, and remember not to use rinds or sawdust from cedar or redwood tree.

 

Pruning

When the bush starts to thrive, start pruning it on a regular basis, as it will allow the strongest branches to grow the most vigorously and it will support the healthy growth of the plant.

This will support the optimal growth of the blueberry bush and avoid over-fruiting, so the fruits will remain large. When they appear, detach most of the flower blooms.  The dead branches should be removed using a pair of scissors or small clippers.

 

When it comes to the pruning of the blueberry bush, remember to:

-Eliminate the low growths around the bottom of the bush, clean dead wood, chop away short or discolored branches, and clear a half or a third of the wood of it.

 

Soil Fertilization

You should always use organic fertilizers in order to prevent damage of the bushes. They also fertilize the plant for a longer time and are environment- friendly and non-toxic.

Pick the early spring season for fertilization, when the leaves are breaking from dormancy, and once more after the process of pruning.

If grown in this way, the bushes will live and produce for at least 4-5 decades. Furthermore, you can also try to plant at least two different varieties of the fruits for cross pollination to boost the yield.

These tips will be of great help if you want to grow your own blueberry bushes at home and enjoy the taste and all the health benefits of these amazing fruits.

5 Reasons Why You Should Freeze Your Blueberries

 

We are all aware of the many health benefits that fruit has for our bodies, but did you know that some fruits can be made even healthier by freezing them? Yes, it seems that the organic blueberries fit this description. The concentration of anthocyanin, which has anti-inflammatory properties that are good for the health of the brain, increases after the blueberries are frozen. The most recent studies indicate that anthocyanins also have anti-carcinogenic properties that have the potential to revolutionize the medical sector.

After you read this you may forget about fresh blueberries and from now on you will keep them in the freezer.

 

What does freezing do?

When you put the blueberries in the freezer (for a shorter or longer period of time) the low temperatures come deep to the tissue and make changes to the structure. These changes make the anthocyanin easier for absorbing.

The anthocyanin is actually responsible for the sharp, blue color the blueberries have. Although, the organic blueberries already have high nutritional content, you may still want to keep them in the freezer before eating them. Here are the 5 reasons why:

 

1. IMPROVING HEART HEALTH
Frozen blueberries can importantly lower the risk of heart illnesses. This is because they are rich in nutrients which regulate and relax the elasticity of the arteries in the vascular wall, keeping them healthy. Therefore, improvements will be noticed in the blood flow followed with healthier blood pressure.

 

2. REDUCED RISK OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE & OTHER FORMS OF DEMENTIA
If you want to protect your brain cells from damages and dying and if you also want to improve your memory you should start consuming berries more frequently. The anthocyanin helps you keep the encoding and retrieval processes more fluid, making it easier to recall information. The berries also improve the growth of the nerve cell and make the communication between the cells easier.

 

3. IMPROVED NERVOUS SYSTEM HEALTH
The blueberries are also rich in antioxidants which protect the brain from the toxin pollutions in everyday life. They act like safeguards around the nervous system with the main role to keep it healthy and strong for longer period of time.

 

4. IMPROVED MOTOR FUNCTION
A research has shown that older people (people in the age of 70 and more) who have suffered from impaired movements, behaved more functionally after they start eating frozen blueberries more often. Their cognitive ability has become to higher level, which showed better motor ability compared to other people on the same age.

 

5. IMPROVED DIGESTION
Besides being good  for the brain, the antioxidants from the blueberries also protect the digestive tract. Unfortunately some of the people develop colon cancer because of poor gastrointestinal health as result of insufficient intake of antioxidants. Add more frozen blueberries into your diet if you want to maintain healthy digestive tract.

The taste will be the same, but the benefits much more higher if you just grab the blueberries and put them in the freezer instead of the refrigerator. Wait no longer, freeze them and add them to your breakfast for healthy start of the day or enjoy it as a snack later in the day!