Are you eating blueberries? If not you might want to reconsider this wonderful food that is so good for you.

The dye that is released from the blueberries' skin may well be the most valuable nutrient the fruit has to offer. The pigments in blueberries and also in red crops such as cherries, plums, and red cabbage are powerful antioxidants. They have been determined to be a much-heralded chemical warrior against heart disease and also cancer. Blueberries actually have the highest antioxidant capacity because of their large anthocyanin concentration.

Antioxidants in our food can save us from virtually everything. Most of our health misfortunes are due to the perversity of oxygen. Our cells are perpetually besieged by toxic forms of oxygen which have been proved to have fierce destructive powers. So far scientists have linked destructive oxygen reactions to at least sixty different chronic diseases, as well as to aging itself. Oxygen free radicals can attack DNA, the genetic material of cells, causing them to mutate, which is a step on the path to cancer.

One of the great revelations of the last few years, according to a massive and growing body of evidence, is that you may be able to eat your way out of this dilemma insofar as the boundaries of human life span and genetics allow. You can supply your cells with antioxidant food compounds that strike down, intercept and extinguish rampaging oxygen molecules and even repair some of their damage.

Blueberries are not only a powerful antioxidant but also have been proved to preserve vision. Blueberry extract, high in compounds called anthocyanosides, has been found in clinical studies to slow down visual loss.

A recent study was done in a Boston laboratory by putting one group of young rats on a blueberry-rich diet and another on regular chow. Then the scientist exposed both groups to 48 hours of concentrated oxygen, stirring up in two days the amount of free radical damage that normally takes 20 rat months, or 75 humans to accumulate. Brain cells in the chow group became less responsive to neurotransmitters associated with short-term memory. The brains of the blueberry stuffed rats did not change. He also found that the fruit prevented the kind of short-term memory loss that comes with aging. Blueberries actually stave off declines in brain cell's ability to send messages to one another.

There are types of blueberries and the most potent ones are Bilberries, as they have the virtuous pigment in their flesh as well as in their skin, thus they pack a greater anthocyanin wallop. Wild blueberries are also high on the list because they contain less water. All blueberries are very rich with antioxidants. If you don't have them available in your area fresh then purchase the frozen blueberries in the bag in your grocery.

Now if you add blueberries to your pancake mix or just put them on top of a stack of pancakes remember if you smoother them with the saturated fat of butter or a sugary syrup you'll not have a healthy breakfast. Try blending frozen blueberries into your shakes in your blender.