Like other anti-oxidants, plant flavonoids (or
bioflavonoids) are important protectors against the
cellular damage and associated degenerative diseases caused
by free radicals. Flavonoids are also the compounds which
give fruits and vegetables their colour, and the juice and
skin of the bilberry, like that of cranberries and
elderberries, is particularly rich in a type known as
anthocyanidins, which impart their distinctive blue pigment.
Recently hailed by nutritionists as a "superfood", European
bilberries are close European relations of the American
blueberry and it is the distinctive blue anthocyanoside
pigment which is held responsible for its beneficial
effects.
The body's connective tissue, or collagen, depends heavily
on this type of flavonoid, which is also particularly
important in improving blood circulation, strengthening
capillary walls, and in facilitating the action of vitamin
C throughout the body.
The pigment is also believed to act as an anti-bacterial
agent, which is particularly effective in countering
intestinal problems, but it is from its effect on the
circulation that most of the benefits of bilberries are
derived.
Most famously, bilberries in the form of jam were used by
British Royal Air Force pilots during the Second World War
as a means of improving night vision. And this effect was
generally accepted during the 1960s and 1970s. More modern
research, however, is inclined to reject the evidence as
inconclusive, and does not accept the claims of nutritional
therapists that bilberry may also help alleviate everyday
shortsightedness or myopia. It has been suggested,
however, that anthocyanasides may help with the production
of essential enzymes within the eye, which by increasing
the output of energy may improve the general functioning of
the organ.
Bilberry's beneficial effects on the capillaries are also
held to improve the circulation of the blood within the
eyes. The central area of the eye's retina, the macula, is
made up of the light sensitive cells, the health of which
is essential to good vision. Behind these cells is a dense
mass of tiny capillaries which supply them with oxygenated
blood and essential nutrients. The maintenance of the
strength of these capillary walls is essential, and serious
problems with vision may arise if any weakening through
disease or oxidative degeneration leads to any leakage of
blood into the retina itself.
Diabetics are known to be particularly prone to these kind
of eye problems; and as well as possibly helping prevent
the diabetic retinopathy which may follow on this capillary
damage within the eyes, bilberries are also credited with
lowering the high blood sugar which may have contributed to
the problem in the first place. Bilberries' anti-oxidant
effect within the eyes is also a factor in combatting
cataracts and age related macular degeneration (AMD), a
major cause of blindness in older adults.
Bilberry supplements are readily available and often found
in combination with lutein and zeaxanthin, anti-oxidant
carotenoids which are also thought to have powerful
beneficial effects within the eyes, and particularly in
combatting the progressive loss of vision caused by AMD.
Needless to say opinions are strongly divided as to the
effectiveness of these preparations. The general opinion
of the medical and opthalmic professions may be summarised
as "case not proven", at best, but nutritional therapists
and alternative practitioners swear by them. Of course the
attitude of the opthalmic profession is not surprising
given its record of hostility to the work of such as Dr.
Bates in seeking alternatives to artificial methods of
correction (ie spectacles), and in its persistent rejection
of the compelling evidence in favour of more natural
methods.
And indeed there is an almost reflex tendency in orthodox
medicine which seems determined to meet anything which sits
outside the conventional "wisdom" with scepticism if not
outright hostility. Of course we should welcome rigorous
scientific enquiry and an insistence on the proper testing
of evidence as a safeguard against the more extravagant
claims of those interested only in selling products of
dubious value. But anecdotal evidence as well as direct
personal experience suggests that modern science doesn't
always get it right.
And when it comes to a food like bilberries there's really
no barrier to setting personal experience against the
abstract research. We're talking about an entirely natural
food stuff, with a long history of human use, which can be
obtained very inexpensively, and which can do no harm in
any quantities conceivably likely to be ingested. If the
claims made for bilberries as a super food and anti-oxidant
are even partly true the question must be: why wouldn't you
try it?
So although I normally I hate puns, this was one I couldn't
resist. In the case of adding bilberries to your diet, the
best approach may be, quite literally, to try it and see.
----------------------------------------------------
Steve Smith is a freelance copywriter specialising in
direct marketing and with a particular interest in health
products. Find out more at
http://www.sisyphuspublicationsonline.com/LiquidNutrition/In
formation.htm
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