You must be well aware of the fact that blueberries are amazingly delicious and are equally good for you. However, have you ever given it a thought that these blueberries may contain potential benefits as well? According to the researches, blueberries have amazing nutritional benefits. Apart from helping to delay the aging process, blueberries also help to lose weight and add to the beauty of your skin and hair.
Points To Remember About Blueberries:
- Although blueberries have no side effects, you must check with your doctor before adding them to your diet in case you are suffering from some underlying ailments.
- Blueberries also help to depreciate the blood sugar level in the individuals suffering from diabetes. Hence the consumption of blueberries helps to monitor the symptoms of hypoglycemia.
- Pregnant or breastfeeding women are advised to consume blueberries in limited amounts, as the consumption of blueberries in large amounts during pregnancy and lactation is not advisable.
5 Amazing Benefits Of Blueberries For Skin & Hair Health
In order to have a healthy skin, you need to maintain good health. It is a proven fact that the regular consumption of blueberries helps to treat numerous skin problems and its topical use helps to heal even the damaged or acne affected areas of the skin.
#1. Blueberries Help to Combat the Signs of Aging
The free radicals present in the skin leads to extensive skin damage and accelerate the aging process and leads to the formation of wrinkles, age spots, and dry skin. Even the appearance of spider and varicose veins can be viewed upon as signs of aging. They are basically the dilated blood vessels which come in contact with the skin and become visible. These veins may make the skin look splotchy along due to the presence of weak vessel walls. Delaying all these signs of aging is one of amazing benefit of blueberries for skin health.
How Blueberries Help In Preventing Aging?: The regular consumption of blueberries helps to decelerate the aging signs. Being rich in antioxidants, blueberries inhibit the oxidation of the various other molecules present in the body. Oxidation is the process in which a molecule loses its electrons thereby resulting in the production of free radicals. Hence blueberries help to damage and destroy the cells completely. These antioxidants prevent the free radicals from causing damage by reacting with them. One cup of wild blueberries contains around 13,427 antioxidants, which is inclusive of vitamin A and C along with flavonoids. Blueberries are also rich in phytochemicals and antioxidants which help to neutralize the free radicals thereby preventing them from causing further skin damage. Blueberries also help to add to the strength of the blood vessels and heal the broken capillaries of the skin and improve your skin health.
How Should You Use Blueberries For Better Skin Health? (H4)
Blueberries can be used in the place of chemical inclusive skin care products. You can prepare a toning mask with the help of blueberries, such that if you use it once a week you will witness significant reduction in the damage inflicted on your skin.
Ingredients Required: Steamed and crushed blueberries; three tablespoons of yoghurt.
Procedure: Blend in the crushed blueberries along with the yogurt and apply this mixture on your face and leave it for 20-30 minutes. Wash it off with warm water and then pat it dry.
With an increase in the age of your skin it will tend to get dry, wrinkly and will lose its elasticity. However, blueberries help to reverse the damage inflicted by the aging process. The yogurt present in the mixture helps to moisturize the skin, and the lactic acid content in the mixture helps to defoliate the dead skin cells and benefit your skin health.
#2. Blueberries Help to Treat Acne
People suffering from acne should definitely use blueberries as they help to make their skin free of blemishes and spots.
How Blueberries Help In Treating Acne: Blueberries are rich in salicylate, which is the salt form of salicylic acid. Salicylic acid is used to formulate the products which are used to treat acne. It helps to get rid of dead skin cells of the skin and helps to unclog the skin pores and fights against the bacteria thereby making it an essentially important product for the treatment of acne. In this way, one can make use of this amazing benefit of blueberries for skin health by getting rid of acne.
How Should You Use Blueberries to Treat Acne & for Better Skin Health? (H4)
Prepare a blueberry pack and apply it on the acne affected regions to combat against stubborn acne.
Ingredients Required: Mashed blueberries; One teaspoon of honey; Few drops of lemon juice.
Procedure: Formulate a mixture by mixing mashed blueberries along with the lemon juice and honey. Now apply this blueberry mask on your face and the acne affected areas and leave it on for at least 20 minutes. Now wash it off with lukewarm water to reveal a healthy and glowing skin. Apply this blueberry face pack at least once a week. It will help to reduce the formation of acne on your face and will also help you to get rid of the blemishes and spots. Moreover, this blueberry face pack also limits the presence of excess oil on your face.
Caution: Besides blueberry, lemon also helps to clarify the skin. However, this pack might make your face feel a bit dry hence it is advised to always use a moisturizer after applying this blueberry face pack. People consuming blueberries might even suffer from salicylate sensitivity. In such cases, intake of blueberries may result in side effects like gastrointestinal ailments or headaches.
#3. Blueberries Provides the Fibre Content to the Body
Fibre is an important part of a balanced diet. Being rich in fibre, blueberries besides helping to keep your digestive system good, also helps you to attain a healthy skin.
How blueberries benefit your health: The fibre in the blueberries helps your body to excrete yeast and fungus thereby preventing their excretion out through the skin which would have then resulted in the formation of acne and ashes.
#4. Blueberries Help Your Hair to Grow Longer
Being rich in proanthocyanidins and Vitamin B, blueberries help you to attain soft, lustrous, long and thick hair.
The Manner In Which Blueberries Benefit Your Hair Health: Our hair is made up of dead cells known as keratin. Our hair grows when these dead cells are expelled out by the hair follicles as a result of the formation of new cells. The hair growth process can be classified into three stages namely; growth or anagen, cessation or catagen, and rest or telogen. Being rich in chemicals like Proanthocyanidins, blueberries stimulate the growth of new hair by accelerating the hair growth process from telogen to anagen.
How To Use Blueberries To Stimulate Hair Growth?: Apply a hair mask in order to promote the growth of new hair.
Ingredients Required: A handful of blueberries; olive oil.
Procedure: Mix all the ingredients together to form a hair mask. Now apply this mask on your hair, mainly on the roots and leave it for 20 to 30 minutes and then slowly rinse it off with warm water.
Caution: Blueberry acts as a clarifying agent, and hence its excessive use might result in dryness of the hair. If your hair is dry right from the start, use only a small amount of blueberries. Moreover, add a small amount of honey to your blueberry hair mask to lock in the moisture of your hair.
#5. Blueberries Prevent Premature Greying of Hair
Preventing premature greying of hair is one of amazing benefits of blueberries for hair health. When the hair starts to lose its pigment, it starts to turn greyish. However, there exists no conclusive data stating how the process premature greying takes place in the humans. Factors like genes and Vitamin B12 deficiency are considered to be the main reasons behind hair greying.
How Blueberries Help In Halting The Greying Of Hair?: The deficiency of vitamin B12 leads to a medical condition known as pernicious anaemia. Greying of the hair is a symptom of this condition. However, this condition can be treated by supplying the required amount of vitamins to the body. Blueberries are a good source of Vitamin B12; hence the consumption of blueberries helps to reverse premature greying.
You can easily incorporate Blueberries in your diet. It is recommended to consume five parts of fruits and vegetables daily, out of which blueberries form one part. However, consume the blueberries after you have steamed them as steaming helps to boost the number of antioxidants present in the fruit. This fact is still subjected to research and there exists no conclusive reasoning behind it. Blueberries have a tart taste and hence they form an important ingredient in various dishes. However, cooking, boiling or baking of blueberries might result in loss of nutrients and hence you should avoid consuming them in such a manner. However, you can consume raw blueberries by incorporating them in smoothies, fruit toppings or even salad.
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