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Features

Berries benefit health

[SEPT. 12, 2002]  URBANA — For decades, mothers and grandmothers have said that drinking cranberry juice would help prevent urinary tract infections. Anecdotal evidence said that it worked, but why it worked and at what dosage, Grandma couldn’t say. Researchers finally know the answer.

A team of researchers working in labs across the continent have been studying a variety of medicinal properties of cranberries and blueberries and have found some remarkable answers to age-old mysteries about the health benefits from eating berries.

According to "the Berry Group" as they are often called, berries can protect against a wide variety of ailments, including urinary tract infections, cardiovascular disease, cancer, attention-deficit disorder and diabetes. Berries are also the No. 1 antidote for aging.

One member of the berry group at Rutgers, led by Amy Howell, has shown that the unique ability of cranberry and blueberry juices to combat urinary tract infections is not, as earlier suspected, an acidity effect, but an anti-adherence.

Mary Ann Lila, a plant scientist at the University of Illinois and a member of the berry group, explained, "The berries actually interfere with the bacterial-landing mechanism, preventing them from taking hold on the rough walls of the bladder and preventing colonization that can lead to infections. And, as a direct result of this conclusive research, for the first time, we are able to establish effective dosage recommendations for patients."

Interestingly, Lila’s lab recently discovered that the same berry components (called proanthocyanidins) responsible for the anti-adherence also have potent anti-carcinogenic properties. "Natural ingredients found in high concentrations in the berries are capable of inhibiting the initiation of carcinogenesis, as well as inhibiting tumor formation. It’s remarkable that the berries have exhibited such far-ranging and diverse roles in human health protection," Lila said.

The team has also begun referring to blueberries as "brainberries," due to another berry research project that looks at brain functions. Researchers Jim Joseph and Barbara Shukitt-Hale at Tufts in Boston fed blueberry chow to lab rats and found a slowing and actual reversal of age-related loss in cognitive as well as motor and neurological functions. Rat memory improved as measured by their ability to complete a maze.

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Diets rich in berries enhance dopamine release in the brain as well, which improves the brain cells’ ability to communicate. This brain function is reduced with age, but research has shown that eating blueberries can reverse the age-related decline in brain signals.

Lila cautions that the health benefits derived from eating berries may not be the same if taken as a dietary supplement from a bottle. "Dietary supplements are frequently produced and marketed based on one recognized bioactive component," said Lila. "They fail to look at the contribution of other components from the whole plant food."

There appears to be a relationship between all the components that make up a plant food. When one component is separated out, the maximum effect is not seen. "So, a dietary supplement containing only one isolated extract of a blueberry or cranberry," said Lila, "cannot be expected to provide full benefits and will not mimic the same results if someone were to eat the whole berry."

Finding whole, fresh blueberries in the local grocery store, however, can be tricky, particularly for areas where blueberries are not grown year-round. Lila has a couple of suggestions. "Convince your local grocery store to stock them. Or if they won’t, there are frozen blueberries available in most places. There are also sources for mail order blueberries that come packed in dry ice, which are often comparable or cheaper than fresh berries that you’d buy in a grocery store. For those of us in the Midwest who can’t always get fresh berries, the quick frozen mail order berries are a good alternative."

Lila said that canned blueberries are another option. Although the heating process for canning may take some of what she called "the good stuff" out of the berries, what’s left in the canned variety can be more easily absorbed into the body.

Funding for Lila’s research is provided by the National Institute for Health — National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine and the USDA Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems.

[U of I news release]

Health Matters

A monthly feature from  Logan County Health Department

The flu and you

[SEPT. 3, 2002]  As the fall weather approaches, flu season begins. Influenza is a serious and widespread illness that is the cause of as many as 4,000 deaths each year in Illinois. Influenza is caused by a virus that spreads from infected people to the nose or throat of others and can cause fever, cough, chills, sore throat, headache and muscle aches in people of any age. Influenza should not be confused with intestinal illness.

People considered at high risk should get a flu shot every year. The optimal time for these individuals to receive influenza vaccine is during October and November.

High-risk categories include:

•  People 65 years of age or older.

•  People with chronic medical conditions.

•  People with immune system problems.

•  Women who will be in the second or third trimester of pregnancy during flu season.

•  Children receiving long-term aspirin therapy.

•  Employees of nursing homes or other chronic care facilities.

•  Health-care workers.

•  Household contacts of people at increased risk for influenza-related complications.

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All others should begin their flu shots in November and later, for as long as vaccine is available.

Beginning in October, Logan County Health Department will have flu and pneumonia immunizations available at the Health Department, 109 Third St., and on the Rural Health Van.

Flu shots and pneumonia shots cost $16 each. Medicare will pay for flu and pneumonia shots; clients must bring their Medicare card with them. Medicaid will pay for only flu shots; clients must bring their Medicaid card with them.

Watch the newspapers for upcoming schedules of flu clinics or call Logan County Health Department at (217) 735-2317 for more information.

[News release]

Red Cross

West Nile Virus

West Nile virus links

LDN articles

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Federal websites

• CDC WNV home page

State websites

• State WNV website

• Protect your home against mosquitoes
• State surveillance site
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Honors & Awards

Announcements

The Rural Health Partnership has announced the schedule for its mobile health unit for 2002.

For more information on the mobile health unit schedule and services, contact Dayle Eldredge at (217) 732-2161, Ext. 409.

Community resource list

This family resource list to save and use is provided by the Healthy Communities Partnership and the Healthy Families Task Force, 732-2161, Ext. 409.         

(updated 2-15-02)

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