Ask Dr. Cheryl

Topics discussed in this episode:

• When we eat foods that heal today we are also investing in our future (0:57)
• Berries are Brain food - improve mental clarity, reduce brain fog, improve memory within 2-6 hours after eating them
• Other great brain foods (2:05)
• Fun facts about berries (2:33)
• Berries and blood pressure (3:39)
• Concern that berries are too sweet, but berries actually improve insulin sensitivity! (4:44)
• Berries as immune boosting support (5:39)
• Metabolic syndrome and risk factors (6:22)
• How to incorporate berries into daily meals (7:25)
• Are more than 1 cup of berries better? (9:27)
• Milk and yogurt may inhibit the benefits of berries (9:59)

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Transcript:

Welcome to the wellness table. I'm Dr. Cheryl Bothwell and on this show we are going to talk about nutrition, longevity and lots of other fun things. What is something that you think you could eat that could increase your memory by 40%? The truth is that when we think of managing symptoms we often reach for a pill or a processed quick fix. The problem is that that is like paying for our health on credit. We don't want to mortgage our future health by taking a shortcut to solve today's problem or symptom. We need to think about wellness in a whole new way knowing that when we eat foods that heal today, we're also investing in our future.

Today, I want to talk about a powerful prescription for memory and a host of other amazing outcomes. That's one cup of blueberries every day. Today we're going to do a deep dive into the proof of why science backs berries every time. Berries at their core are brain food. Berries have been shown in many studies to improve mental clarity, reduce brain fog, and improve memory within two to six hours after eating them. When you need to be at your peak performance physically or mentally, eat one cup of berries. When you have a big test to take, eat berries. Do you want to live younger, longer? Eat berries. Berries are so powerful. Research even shows that there's up to a 40% improvement in short term memory within four to six hours of eating berries. If you have a loved one with dementia, feed them berries every day. Research also shows improvement in short term memory even with some levels of dementia. Berries are considered one of the best foods for brain health. Other foods that make the list are foods high in omega-3 fatty acids like salmon, flaxseed, chia seeds, walnuts, and soybeans. Other foods like dark leafy vegetables also contribute key vitamins and minerals that the brain needs. Foods that are rich in antioxidants, anti inflammatory, and boost nitric oxide are all great brain foods, but nothing beats the power packed punch of berries. Here's some interesting facts about berries. Berries are one of the most studied foods and brain health in randomized controlled trials, because it's easy to take a blueberry, dry it, and create a powder that can be put in a pill. Berries are high in antioxidants and nutrients such as magnesium and potassium, which our brains need to function at its best, and they beat fatigue. Berries are rich in polyphenol antioxidants, which means these are compounds which boost nitric oxide production, they relax our arterial walls within one hour of consumption. When the arterial wall is relaxed, which by the way is what blood pressure medicine does, our systolic blood pressure lowers by 6%. And systolic is the top number in our blood pressure. That's the high number and our diastolic blood pressure lowers by 4% and D, that's down, that's the bottom number on our blood pressure. That's the hardest number to move. So when we can lower diastolic blood pressure, we know we've actually really relaxed our blood pressure at rest. So that's one of the most healing numbers to look at and the hardest number to move. So berries are moving diastolic blood pressure, which is the toughest one to move, and they're doing this all within one to two hours of eating these berries. And this is not pills. This is not a prescription. So berries really are a medicine, and a powerful medicine. Boosting our nitric oxide production and relaxing arterial walls also known as nature's Viagra, it increases libido. Thank you, berries. Berries also repair DNA because they contain the antioxidants that override free radicals. What are free radicals? Free radicals harm our body but the antioxidants and berries decrease these free radicals by 18% in just one hour of eating them. Berries are a fruit that has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity and improve blood sugar response to meals fueling the cells efficiently and fueling the cells effectively. So we can feel that energy. Improved insulin sensitivity also supports reaching a healthy body weight, decreasing waist circumference and abdominal fat. And what I want to say here about blueberries or all the berries is that the concern that if I eat berries, I'm going to have too much sugar. And so we never think about blueberries or berries and strawberries and blackberries, these sweet, delicious fruits that they're going to help insulin sensitivity. So that is something that really goes opposite for what we hear in our common language is we have to stay away from sweet if we have diabetes, or if we have to if we want to balance our blood sugar. So the exciting news is to see that berries actually improve insulin sensitivity, which debunks that entire concern. So I want you to feel comfortable eating berries to actually improve blood sugar balance. Berries also decrease inflammation and they lower cholesterol because of their soluble fiber content and they boost our immune system. This means that berries are going to help us fight our winter viruses, all these bugs that we're hit with and that we're wanting to have immune boosting support, we're back to berries again. So they're constantly pulling to the top as the winner for all optimal health.

Have I sold you on the power of berries yet? Let's take a little closer look at the latest research. A study looking at blueberries concluded that among all fruits, berries have shown substantial cardioprotective benefits due to their high polyphenol content. This study shows that blueberries may improve selected features of metabolic syndrome and related cardiovascular risk factors at achievable doses in our diet. And what's metabolic syndrome? When we look at metabolic syndrome, these are all the clinical risk factors that we're always concerned about that are plaguing our America, plaguing the globe, and that would include high cholesterol, waist circumference increasing. Is our waist circumference higher than it was when we were 20? We also look at high triglycerides, inflammation. These are all parts of metabolic risk factors that all lead to diabetes, heart disease, and we also include blood sugar in that starting to see some pre diabetes come into it. So that's what metabolic syndrome is about. So it's really a big deal. So when we see berries supporting all of the cardiovascular risk factors and these metabolic syndrome components and clinical risk factors, that's a lot of power in a little blueberry or in a berry. So that's a great study to look at and to reference and to see the power of that across the board for all of us. So what this means is we don't have to take blueberries and put it into a concentrated pill to get value from it. You can simply sprinkle blueberries on your oatmeal, your cereal, a salad, and even make them into a sweet, delicious dessert. Maybe not in your yogurt, but we'll get to that. Research was done at Harvard that follows more than 100,000 women for more than a decade and they found that those consuming this bright colored pigment called anthocyanins that are found in blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries, they had an 8% reduction in the risk of developing high blood pressure. And the group consuming the most berries every day, they were only eating six strawberries, or just 11 blueberries. That's only a 10th of a cup. This gives us more evidence that even just a little daily blueberry consumption would improve blood pressure. Anytime you can get a clinically significant improvement in a killer disease by just adding one single food to your diet, you know it's time to add it to your daily menu. That's why one of the first things our members learn is to start every day with blueberries in order to increase their score.

Do you know what your score is yet? Head to drcherylwellness.com today to find out. People with a score of 18 plus or more, we found they had beat their fatigue, they had more energy, their blood pressure was lowering, those that had an elevated waist circumference found a one inch drop in their waist circumference in just 10 days have a score of 18 plus or more. This is the magic pill prescription for optimal health. All of the metabolic risk factors that we talked about. This is where you'll find cholesterol were lowering, triglycerides were lowering. We also found a significant improvement in blood pressure and lowering inflammation. This means pain begins to decrease, so arthritis and inflammation. People were feeling less pain from arthritis, headaches, all of this within just 10 days with a score of 18 plus or more. So if you want more energy, and you want to be at your optimal health every day, this score of 18 plus out of 20. Shoot for the 20, that's the optimal, the most healthy you can be today.

One question that I'm often asked: is more berries better? What if I had twice the dose? The research that we've just talked about showed the benefits of one cup of blueberries. So one cup of blueberries is all you need to get these incredible results, but more, is it better? I recommend all the blueberries you want. You can absolutely not overdose on blueberries. So if you love blueberries, if you love all the berries, enjoy them at every meal, but just try to be sure you get at least one cup a day and then you'll get all the benefits and all the flavor and enjoyment as well. Dr. Greggor has recently highlighted some interesting studies that have shown inconsistent results with the benefits of blueberries on blood pressure reduction. The researchers of these studies concluded that the inconsistencies may be related to how the blueberries were eaten. For example, blueberry powder with water or blueberry powder mixed with yogurt, skim milk, or a full fat milk product all have different results. This can explain the inconsistencies with a strawberry or blueberry powder mixed in water, there was a nice peak in the phytonutrients and the bloodstream within an hour of consumption. However, when they added strawberries and cream, or mixing the same amount of berries with milk, showed less phytonutrients in the bloodstream after the meal. This suggests there's an inhibitory effect of milk on the berry pigments. When eating blueberries alone with water, the antioxidant power of your bloodstream shoots up within an hour and remains elevated for five hours. But if you added milk with the blueberries or yogurt, the berry pigments end up even less antioxidant capacity in the body than before we even ate the meal. So mixing blueberries with yogurt or milk may abolish the blood pressure lowering benefits of berries. Both skim milk and full fat milk appear to have a nutrient blocking involvement with dairy protein, but the full fat milk products there was twice the nutrient blocking effect on the berry pigments and antioxidant capacity compared to skim milk. So what does all this mean? It means that food combinations have a synergistic effect and they can have a nutrient boost effect or a nutrient blocking effect. And there is much more research to be done on this topic, and that's why I stick with eating whole plant foods that have been proven to have an optimal effect on health, rather than taking supplements.

Ready to increase memory? Don't run to the supplements, grab a handful of blueberries, try to eat one cup of berries every day and know that even as little as 12 berries daily has an impact on improving your health. Have you taken your score on drcherylwellness.com? You can get one point for eating blueberries every day. So not only would you earn a point on the score for eating berries, you're also going to feel the difference in your energy and brain fog in just an hour. And the benefit from proven effects on your long term health and longevity. Berries in all forms. They can be fresh, frozen, cooked or dried and have the same powerful berry pigment effect that will improve your overall health today. No more living on credit. This is the health investment that will pay off for a lifetime. There are many other incredible brain foods to highlight in future podcasts, but some of my favorites are dark leafy vegetables like kale, spinach, collards, and broccoli, along with omega-3 fatty acids and nuts. Some incredible ways to get one cup of berries in your day is a berry smoothie. Berries can be put over pancakes, blueberry jam with no added sugar on whole grain toast, and even try a blueberry and peanut butter sandwich for lunch on the go!

For full recipes and find out how you score head on over to drcherylwellness.com. Ready for personalized nutrition? Become a member today. See you on the inside. Thanks for coming to the table, where every week we're going to talk about nutrition, longevity, and what it means to be well. If you would like to have your specific questions answered, become a member today to get access to our weekly private podcast, Ask Dr. Cheryl, where we will get to talk about wellness together. I can't wait to see you on the inside.