I like blueberries, and so do most of the people who live on the planet.

We put blueberries in drinks, We make pies with blueberries inside, we put blueberries in smoothies, and if given the chance, a lot of us would eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Honestly, I don’t think that would be a bad idea (as long as you don’t eat too many) as they’re incredibly healthy.

Yes, blueberries are an incredible food which almost everyone in America has access to.

Known to be one of the most beneficial fruits from an antioxidant standpoint they get a big thumbs up from me as part of a healthy diet.

What you may not realize is blueberries have an incredible cousin that offers many of the same benefits… but with a few specific health benefits tied in.

This fruit is called bilberry.

Bilberries are related to blueberries (and cranberries) and look similar enough to blueberries that if you were to grab a basketful of them you may not know they weren’t blueberries.

One difference is they’re actually a bit darker than blueberries and that actually means they contain a slightly higher amount of an antioxidant called anthocyanins. Anthocyanins are polyphenolic components responsible for the blue/black color and are what express the true antioxidant content of this marvelous plant.

The good news, as you can probably guess, is that this antioxidant activity can help to support health in a variety of ways. And I’m about to show you how bilberry extract (one of the most concentrated forms of bilberry) can help to support a variety of factors of health.

5 Ways that Bilberry Can Help You Maintain Great Health

Like blueberries, bilberries can be enjoyed on a daily basis to help support great health.

Bilberries have a few use cases that are going to help deliver results that most plant-based supplements can’t.

Let me show you what bilberries are able to do for you:

1- Help to Support Vision: 

The anthocyanins in bilberry have been shown to help you see like you’re meant to at night. The way that it works is bilberry’s antioxidant quality can help to decrease vascular permeability and capillary fragility. Funnily enough, there are stories of British pilots flying during WW2 said they could actually see better at night after they ate bilberry jam.

There’s evidence to suggest that taking bilberry can help to keep your eyes from developing cataracts or experiencing macular degeneration (when used in combination with lutein).

 2 – May Help To Maintain Great Heart Health:

Antioxidants like anthocyanins are well known to enhance circulatory function.

Bilberry has enough clinical evidence behind it for circulation health that in Europe, medical professionals prefer it as one of their go-to natural solutions for helping maintain superior circulatory health.

In an animal study conducted by Slovenia’s researchers they discovered that bilberry extract increased blood flow and helped stabilize heart rhythm after heart attack in rats. Keep in mind, that’s for rats but we know that if you can keep your cardiovascular system healthy now it means your chances of having cardiovascular concerns in the future are reduced.

3 – Could Help Calm An Upset Stomach:

If you ever deal with an upset stomach then you know what comes with that; uncomfortable things like diarrhea…

Here’s how Dr. Axe describes it:

“Bilberry has been used in European medicine to treat diarrhea for many years. The fruit contains tannins, substances that act as both an anti-inflammatory and an astringent that helps with constricting and tightening tissues. By reducing intestinal inflammation, it is believed to help with reducing the symptoms of diarrhea.”

4 – May Help to Keep Blood Sugar Balanced:

As I’ve written about multiple times, blood sugar staying balanced is crucial to total health.

Like many other berries, bilberry has the power to help modulate your blood sugar response after a meal. There’s research to indicate that having bilberry after a sugary meal can help to reduce the body’s glucose response. Of course, I’d argue that you should try to avoid the high sugar meals in the first place, but things happen.

It’s nice knowing that having something like bilberry extract in place can help to keep you more insulin sensitive which lends itself to better health overall.

5 –  Can Keep Your Cholesterol Normal:

Another hallmark of great health is having normalized cholesterol levels. Thankfully you can take bilberry extract and expect that the anthocyanosides will do work to help keep blood vessels strong as well helping to keep LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) from oxidation. These two possibilities are helpful at helping reduce the risk factors that are associated with some of the leading cardiovascular issues you could encounter.

In fact, bilberry is likely one of the top-performing fruits in the world for cholesterol, even better than currants which is a well-respected fruit for helping influence cholesterol levels. A study reported that the total anthocyanin content in bilberries was four times higher in bilberries than in black currants, which indicates it might make a better choice for balancing cholesterol than currants (and other foods).

Bilberries Are Hard to Come By – Bilberry Extract Isn’t

Normally I’d recommend for you to eat bilberries so you can get the health benefits listed above. But, bilberries really aren’t something you can find readily in supermarkets or farmer’s markets.

So that’s what Bilberry extract in capsule form is.

A once-a-day serving will give you bilberry in its most concentrated form so that you can get to feeling awesome.

Life Extension, one of the preferred brands here at our clinic makes it. And it delivers MirtoSelect® European bilberry extract (fruit) [std. to 36% total anthocyanins].