The Primal Berry for Modern Man
Live longer and guarantee stellar bedroom performance by eating these frozen berries every day. Here's what you need to know.
If you want to extend your lifespan and healthspan, eat one or two cups of frozen wild blueberries daily.
That'll help you fight off chronic and age-related diseases, keep blood pressure in check, improve mental health and gut health, and even help you avoid erectile dysfunction. If eating that many wild blueberries seems daunting, take a supplement containing fresh-freeze-dried blueberry, like Biotest Superfood (Buy at Amazon).
But before we get into all of that, here's a quick story about how people make things worse by making them better.
Wild vs. Standard Blueberries
When you think blueberries, you're probably not picturing the real, natural variety. You're thinking of "human-curated" blueberries. Wild, primal blueberries are much healthier. Here's what sets them apart:
Wild Blueberries
Wild blueberries are natural bad-asses. They've existed for millennia, shaped by natural selection in harsh, rocky soils and cold climates. When a plant has to fight to survive, it develops defense mechanisms.
To protect against UV damage, wild blueberries produce more anthocyanins – pigments in their skin that act as natural sunscreens and antioxidants. Their anthocyanin levels reach 400–600 mg/100g, about double that of standard blueberries.
Harsh soils (low nutrients, acidic) and cold winters stress the plants, triggering a defense response: increased polyphenol production (flavonoids, phenolic acids). These compounds deter pests and pathogens while aiding survival.
Exposed to wind, frost, and insects, their thicker skin serves as armor. This also supports seed dispersal by birds, a survival strategy. Since anthocyanins and other antioxidants concentrate in the skin, wild blueberries' higher skin-to-flesh ratio boosts their potency. A Postharvest Biology and Technology study showed that wild skins have up to 30% more anthocyanins by weight than cultivated.
Wild blueberries are also smaller and denser, an evolutionary tweak to conserve water. This concentrates their nutrients.
Standard "Man-Made" Blueberries
Your typical grocery-store blueberry hasn't been gene-spliced or anything, but it has been messed with. Botanist Frederick Coville crossbred this lowbush plant with highbush plants around 1908. He selected for traits like larger size, sweeter flavor, and easier harvesting – traits not prioritized in nature.
However, tailoring these berries for mass consumption cut their anthocyanin and polyphenol content in half and slightly increased their sugar content. Today's blueberries are bigger but less nutrient-dense. No, they're not "bad" for you, just a watered-down version of the real thing.
Why Should I Care?
Polyphenols and anthocyanins (a polyphenol subset) contain bioactive properties with these benefits:
- Antioxidant Protection: Neutralizes free radicals, reducing oxidative stress linked to aging, cancer, and heart disease.
- Anti-Inflammatory Effects: Lowers inflammation markers (C-reactive protein), easing chronic conditions like arthritis or metabolic syndrome.
- Heart Health: Improves blood vessel function, lowers blood pressure, and reduces LDL cholesterol, cutting cardiovascular risk.
- Brain Boost: Enhances memory and cognitive function by protecting neurons and increasing brain blood flow; may slow age-related decline.
- Blood Sugar Control: Improves insulin sensitivity and regulates glucose.
- Vascular Support: Boosts nitric oxide production, improving circulation – potentially helping erectile function (ED).
- Gut Health: Acts as prebiotics, feeding beneficial gut bacteria and supporting digestion.
- Cancer Prevention: May inhibit tumor growth and cell damage.
Why Go with Frozen?
Freezing preserves the anthocyanin content of wild blueberries, which degrade with prolonged exposure to light, heat, or air. A study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that frozen blueberries retained nearly all their antioxidant capacity after months of storage. Fresh ones lost up to 20-30% within a week at room temp. The freezing process also locks in vitamins like C and polyphenols.
How Many Do I Have to Eat?
Most studies use a cup or two of wild blueberries daily, but double that if you're using regular blueberries. That's a lot, which is why researchers often blend them into smoothies or provide study participants with a powdered supplement. Fresh-freeze-dried wild blueberries are a major part of the Biotest Superfood (Buy at Amazon) formula. The freeze-drying process ensures that they retain all their potent bioactive properties.
You could also use a combination of Superfood and frozen wild blueberries in a daily protein shake, like this.
