This Week's Health Goal: Try Some New Berries!

Everyone is always talking about how healthy berries are, but do you actually know why? Yes, they have antioxidants, but what does that mean? Listed below are some of the different berries you can try this week, as well as their strongest ingredient and what it does.

Berries!

Acai Berries: One of the most powerful antioxidants in acai berries is anthocyanin. Anthocyanin is found in many reddish-purple berries and is an excellent free radical scavenger. Free radicals cause wear and tear on the body and contribute to accelerated aging and poor health. The more antioxidants we consume, the less likely we are to have free radicals roaming around the body.

Blueberries: The potent antioxidant in blueberries is gallic acid. Not only is gallic acid a very effective antioxidant, but it also helps inhibit the growth of yeast and fights against viral infections.

Cranberries: One of the strongest ingredients in cranberries is quercetin.  Quercetin is a very powerful anti-inflammatory and possibly even better at controlling allergies. Also, some of the phytonutrients found in cranberries reduce the risk of bacteria sticking to the walls of the urinary tract and causing infection.

Goji Berries: Goji berries are known for their high amount of protein as well as their carotenoids, precursors to vitamin C. They can be extremely helpful to vegetarian diets due to their higher sources of protein and even some iron. However, these berries are also part of the nightshade family. If you have a problem with nightshades, then it's best to avoid them.

Gooseberries: These berries are extremely beneficial to heart and blood vessel heart. A compound in them, called corilagin, helps to lower LDL levels (sometimes referred to as the "bad cholesterl"). It also helps prevent LDL molecules from sticking to the sides of your blood vessels, preventing a build-up of plaque.

While these berries may contain different levels of phytonutrients, they are all beneficial to your health. So, have fun enjoying different berries this week and know that you're doing a great thing for your body!

yours in health, dr samantha boldt dc

This Week's Health Goal: Brush Your Teeth With Your Left Hand (Or Vice Versa)

Use your opposite hand!

55% of the population is said to be strongly right-handed, 3% is strongly left-handed, and the rest fall somewhere in between. No matter which hand you might prefer, you may not know that it is actually hooked up to the opposite side of the brain. When we work with our right hand, we stimulate the left side of the brain, and vice versa. It's easy to see that many of us rarely depend on one hand as much as the other. Therefore, one side of our brain is getting less activation than the other. This week's health goal is to practice brushing your teeth with the opposite hand. While you're at it, try throwing some other activities in there as well. Try using scissors, writing, cleaning, or anything else you can think of all while using the opposite hand and see how you do!

Why does this benefit you?

By using both hands, you actually help to connect the left and right side hemispheres of the brain. Experts say that people who use both hands increase the size of their corpus callosum by 9%. The corpus callosum is the part of the brain that connects the two hemispheres together. When practicing new movements, we can also increase and strengthen new and current neural pathways in the brain. It's good for our brain to continuously be challenged and learn new things. Let us know what activities you try this week with the opposite hand and have fun!

yours in health,

dr samantha boldt