Delicious and healthy blueberries are not so common in nature, so many happy owners of country plots and summer cottages grow it on their own. Of course, you can buy it, but in stores it is often obscenely expensive. Alas, in any case, you can enjoy fresh blueberries only for a very limited time, since it grows only in summer, and in hotter regions, where people harvest two or three crops annually, it takes root very poorly. So don’t miss the opportunity to enjoy it the next time you get a chance.
Interesting facts about Blueberries
- This plant looks like a small myrtle, so its specific name myrtillus is a diminutive of myrtus – “myrtle”.
- Like many other berries, after washing, it quickly deteriorates, so blueberries should be washed immediately before eating, and not beforehand.
- Scientists have found that blueberries can powerfully counteract aging and rejuvenate the body. After seeing the results, the research leader himself started eating blueberries for breakfast.
- In the first years, the blueberry bush produces few berries, but they are larger than later.
- Blueberries can be used as a natural dye.
- In height, blueberry bushes can reach 0.5 meters, but in the north, in the tundra, its dwarf variety grows only 2-3 centimeters high.
- Eating blueberries frequently can help prevent Alzheimer’s, according to recent research. It is useful to introduce it into your diet for everyone whose activities are related to mental work.
- Blueberries enhance visual acuity, improving blood supply to the retina of the eyes, reduce the amount of sugar in the blood, increase the acidity of gastric juice, improve digestion, metabolism (interesting facts about human organs).
- Many blueberry-flavored prepared foods do not actually contain real berries.
- Blueberry seeds are not digested by mammals. This is how the plant reproduces – the birds eat the berries, and then spread the seeds along with the droppings throughout the area.
- Both the berries themselves and blueberry leaves are widely used in folk medicine. It is believed that eating it helps prevent many eye diseases.
- Also, blueberry artists previously made purple and magenta paints.
- Blueberry tree, growing in the southeastern United States, takes the form of a small tree and reaches a height of 9 meters (interesting facts about plants of forest zones).
- An important feature of blueberries is that most of the beneficial properties are preserved during cooking.
- The coloring agent of blueberries, anthocyanin, changes color depending on the acidity. In an acidic environment, the color becomes redder, and in an alkaline environment, it turns blue.
- Most blueberries in the world are grown in the US state of Maine.
- Blueberries are useful for those who suffer from rheumatism, gout and who have kidney stones, as blueberries help to remove salts from the body.
- The birthplace of blueberries, from where they began their spread around the world, is still unknown.
- Combining blueberries with fermented milk products is of great importance: since this berry significantly lowers blood sugar levels, by itself it is unable to provide a feeling of fullness, even when consumed in large quantities.
- An inhabitant of the forests of China, blueberry bracts and Japanese blueberries produce bright red berries, and Indian racemose blueberries produce white (interesting facts about China).
- Blueberries don’t always grow in soil. Birds that feed on bayberry blueberries carry its seeds onto tree branches, where its young plants initially appear. Its roots, hanging from the branch and lengthening, gradually reach the soil and begin to receive nutrients from it. Such roots often reach five meters in length.