blueberries (pTerostilbene)
Wondering which fruit to put in your morning oatmeal or yogurt? Try blueberries.
You don’t need to be a PhD to know that blueberries are healthy. But why? We can answer that for you.
A big reason blueberries are so healthy is that they’re the proud home of a incredible phytochemical called pTerostilbene (tero-still-bean).[1] pTerostilbene acts like a superhero by working to fight off many “villains” that are harmful to not only nature, but ourselves. In nature, pTerostilbene's role is to protect plants (like blueberries) from parasites and insects. When in our body, pTerostilbene’s role as an antioxidant is to fight chronic inflammation which is the root cause of lifestyle diseases like Alzhiemer's and diabetes.[2]
How does it work? pTerostilbene is able to fight chronic inflammation by combatting "free radicals" which are the byproducts of our environment (things like pollution, stress, processed food) that create oxidative stress and fuel chronic inflammation.[3]
Let’s look at it another way. Think of free radicals as a bunch of rambunctious kids, think of oxidative stress as the pushing and shoving that happens when kids roughhouse, and think of chronic inflammation as the fine china that gets broken when kids roughhouse. pTerostilbene calms the hyper-active kids (free radicals) down so that they stop roughhousing (causing oxidative stress) and don’t break the fine china (spur chronic inflammation). We all have free radicals roughhousing within us, but through antioxidants like pTerostilbene we can protect our fine china.
Free radicals can be dangerous for much of the body, especially our brain. Free radicals can accelerate our brain's aging process because the inflammation they cause negatively affects neuro function. pTerostilbene works against this process by passing through the blood-brain-barrier, and directly relieving aging neurons from inflammation. This leads to improvements in signaling within the brain.[4]
Do we have proof? Oh yeah.
A six-year study of over 16,000 older individuals found that blueberries were linked to delays in mental aging by up to 2.5 years.[5] In another study, older adults with mild cognitive impairment consumed blueberry juice every day. After 12 weeks, they experienced improvements in several markers of brain function, including memory.[6]
Why is pTerostilbene so effective compared to other plant-based nutrients? Because study after study shows that pTerostilbene is well absorbed within the body (highly bioavailable). As a result, it is able to remain in our bodies long enough to reduce markers of chronic inflammation, like TNF-alpha, and therefore chronic inflammation itself.[7]
What is a “marker” of chronic inflammation? Or TNF-alpha ? Why should you even care? Great questions.
Think of a chronic inflammatory “marker” as a barnacle on a whale, wherever the whale goes the barnacle follows. Tracking inflammatory markers makes it easier to identify chronic inflammation. Those who consistently have elevated markers like TNF-alpha roaming around are likely experiencing chronic inflammation.
What exactly is TNF-alpha? It’s a messenger that white blood cells use to coordinate immune responses. TNF-alpha may not seem so bad because it's employed by the immune system, but TNF-alpha and inflammation more broadly become a problem when they stick around constantly (aka become chronic). A little bit of swelling around a cut is perfectly natural, but when TNF-alpha is hanging around all the time, bringing around chronic inflammation day-in-day-out; that’s when we start to see negative effects and eventually chronic conditions like arthritis.
Although chronic inflammation is bad, it's something we have the possibility to fight. Our lifestyle choices (i.e. our diets, exercise, sleep, and stress management) help dictate oxidative stress in our bodies, and as a result, the chronic inflammation we experience. With insights from some of the top doctors in the country, we at happy being® created an easy to enjoy drink utilizing active ingredients, like pTerostilbene, to help you deal with chronic inflammation.
We put about 962 cups of blueberries worth of pTerostilbene in each of our bottles so you can unlock the power of blueberries to a whole new level. You don’t need to stuff yourself with a million blueberries, just enjoy happy being®.
[1] A Review of Pterostilbene Antioxidant Activity and Disease Modification
[2] Age-Associated Chronic Diseases Require Age-Old Medicine: Role of Chronic Inflammation
[3] A Review of Pterostilbene Antioxidant Activity and Disease Modification
[4] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29168580/
[5] Dietary intakes of berries and flavonoids in relation to cognitive decline
[6] Blueberry Supplementation Improves Memory in Older Adults
[7] Resveratrol and pterostilbene: A comparative overview of their chemistry, biosynthesis, plant sources and pharmacological proper