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Healing Herb: Bilberry
Bilberry is a cousin of the American blueberry and cranberry, and closely resembles a huckleberry. It is a plant with bright green leaves and bell-shaped flowers that grows wild, primarily in northern Europe. Although the bilberry looks very much like a blueberry, its flesh ranges from a dark deep purple to crimson. The deep color of the bilberry's flesh is caused by anthocyanosides, which is the active property that makes it valuable to our health.
Bilberry's Healing Benefits
Bilberry was first studied for its effects on poor night vision. The berry is said to have helped improve the vision of British pilots during World War II, thus enabling them to fire with spot-on accuracy. They would eat bilberry jam on their toast. While we don't know how true this is, there still are many pilot and others who consume bilberry for their eyesight.
Modern science confirms that bilberries do present a range of health benefits to the human body, including improving one's vision. Bilberries contain a potent type of flavonoid antioxidant called anthocyanosides. This antioxidant has been shown to support the cardiovascular system and eye health.
The eyes have a high concentration of tiny capillaries that can be affected by inflammation, blood pressure, and other vascular disorders. Because bilberry is effective at helping reduce inflammation, and it has the ability to strengthen the capillaries, thin the blood, and stimulate the release of vasodilators, it is believed that the fruit can have a positive effect on eye health and eyesight in general. In fact, bilberry is one of the most popular over-the-counter drugs in Europe. This fruit and its extracts have marvelous anti-aging properties, and is becoming more important to the aging populations of the world.
At Herbs4You, we have two nutritional powder that contain bilberry: Blood Dirt and our NEW Wild Berry Powder.
For Your Health!
Amy Willis, Your Local Herbalist
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"He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and
HERBS for the service of man." Psalm 104:14
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