Move over blueberries, the REAL, healthy berries are in town. Huckleberries, lingonberries, gooseberries, currants, are all rare, possibly unheard of berries. However, they all have two very important factors in common. They are some of the most naturally healthy foods you can find and they can be found at Northwest Wild Foods. These wild berries can help prevent and cure some of the most notorious diseases affecting humans today including cancer, heart disease, glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetes. Although blueberries are healthy, these other berries actually blow them out of the water in antioxidant charts.Research studies have proven antioxidants to be an integral factor in human health. Antioxidants play an important role in helping people with health problems such as heart disease, glaucoma, macular degeneration, cancer, diabetes and aging to name a few. Thousands of natural chemicals make up antioxidants such as vitamin C, vitamin E and beta carotene. The ORAC (oxygen radical absorptance capacity) score has become the industry standard for comparing the antioxidant levels in foods. The greater the ORAC score, the greater potential health benefits of the food.Data compiled by the University of Alaska Fairbanks shows the great nutritional values Northwest Wild Foods berries provide for your health. When this data is compared to conventional farm raised blueberries that are marketed oh so heavily for health properties, wild berries blow them away. Researchers at the University concluded that any food with an ORAC score over 40 is extremely high and beneficial for health.
Various berries were tested in this study and ranking in the lowest was the red currant with a score of 23 followed closely by cultivated blueberries with a score of 24. Black currants follow with a 56, wild blueberries with a 61 and black raspberries with a 77. However the top berries two berries are the wild lingonberry and wild huckleberries. Lingonberries score on top of the charts with a 203 followed by the wild huckleberry at 111. Both berries dramatically higher levels of antioxidants than blueberries or acai berries.
Below are some interesting facts about the health benefits of wild huckleberries.
• One serving of wild huckleberries has more antioxidant power than any other fruit or vegetable except lingonberries, thus helping a person to fight against aging, cancer and health diseases.
• Wild Huckleberries aid the pancreas in digesting sugars and starches.
• Wild Huckleberries are high in iron and help in building blood.
• Wild Huckleberries are associated with lowering cholesterol; protecting against heart diseases, muscular degeneration, glaucoma, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, and peptic ulcers.
• Wild Huckleberries are a good source vitamin B, huckleberry supports and speeds up the metabolism rate, keeps skin and muscle tone healthy. They improve immune system function, promote cell growth and division and helps in preventing pancreatic cancer.
• Since it is high in vitamin C, huckleberries protect the body against immune deficiencies, cardiovascular diseases, prenatal health problems, and eye diseases.
• The huckleberry ensures proper functioning of nerve and muscle tissues, such as the heart and skeletal muscles, due to its high content of potassium.
• Clinical studies show that huckleberries promote eye health, especially with diabetics.
Considering the hype surrounding the health benefits of blueberries, this data is amazing. Northwest Wild Foods wild blue huckleberries actually have nearly five times the antioxidant capacity of blueberries and our lingonberries have over eight times the antioxidants of blueberries. Even our wild mountain blueberries have over double the antioxidants found in farmed blueberries. So next time you find yourself trying to eat healthy or feed your kids healthy foods, think about the possibilities. You would have to eat over five servings of blueberries to get the same antioxidant levels found in just one serving of blue huckleberries.