Maintaining Youthful Cognitive Function with Blueberries

by Laurie Barclay, MD

Published scientific studies show that blueberries are packed with nutrients that not only improve cognitive function and delay neurological decline but also protect delicate brain structures against oxidative damage.

Rich in powerful polyphenol compounds, blueberries have been shown to uniquely protect the brain against noxious influences such as free radicals, radiation, inflammation, and excitotoxicity. Furthermore, blueberries may even reverse age-related deficits in cognitive and motor function. Scientists have noted that blueberry compounds are readily absorbed into the bloodstream, then cross into the brain where they influence regions involved in memory and motor function—suggesting therapeutic roles against Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

 In this report, we speak with some of the scientists at the forefront of this exciting area of research.

Herbal Remedies: Nature’s Medicine

How would you react if your doctor were to prescribe a poultice to treat your congestion? What if she handed you a mixture of leaves and bark for your fever? And instead of a prescription, she handed you a pouch of herbs to brew into a tea for your cough?

In the wild, animals use their instincts to seek out and eat healing herbs to help them when they are sick. Chimpanzees and bonobos chew a common grass called marshmallow root to settle an upset stomach. This possibly denotes the earliest form of herbal medicine.

Everything old is new again: Heirloom Vegies

Heirloom vegetables look amazing, taste better than your standard supermarket fare and are great for the environment

Bull's blood' beetroot. 'Slim Jim' eggplant. 'Turk's turban' pumpkin.

It's not a prerequisite for an heirloom vegetable to have a colourful name, but it does seem to go with the territory. For good reason, too: each heirloom vegie comes with a story.

Some cultivars are hundreds of years old, others have been passed down through multiple generations of the same family. Some are downright quirky.

Take the 'mortgage lifter' tomato, developed by a West Virginian mechanic known as Radiator Charlie in the 1940s.

Charlie crossed a couple of tomato varieties to produce a meaty specimen that was ideal for slicing and hamburgers.

It was a massive hit. People began purchasing Radiator Charlie's tomato seedlings for $1 per plant, and he used the proceeds to pay off his mortgage in just six years.

Grow and Store Your Own Food