BAR HARBOR, Maine (November 13, 2003) - When it comes to naming their top-12 must-have foods, ADA nutritionists in a recent SELF magazine survey agreed they couldn't live without blueberries!

SELF asked a panel of nutritional experts - including Dr. Andrew Weil, author of Eating Well For Optimum Health, Sharon Tyler Herbst, author of The Food Lover's Companion, and 34 members of the American Dietetic Association (ADA) - to come up with a "dream team" of super foods that would give them "more energy for fewer calories - and a body built to last." Despite stiff competition from stellar fruits like kiwi, cranberry, orange and cantaloupe, blueberries were voted "best fruit" in the November 2003 published survey. Also on the list are such nutrition powerhouses as tomatoes (best salad topper), wheat bread (best whole grain), almonds (best snack), fish (best protein source) and green tea (best hot drink).

Wild Blueberries At ADA
According to Susan Davis, MS, RD, nutrition advisor to the Wild Blueberry Association of North American (WBANA), the release of the SELF survey coincided with this year's ADA Health and Nutrition Conference creating a lot of interest from dieticians and nutritionists from across America. "With all the advances in nutrition, the simple truth that fruits and vegetables are good for you is still gospel," said Davis. "In particular, getting your five to nine daily servings of colorful fruits and vegetables as recommended by 5 A Day The Color Way is essential. What's new and exciting, however, is all the emerging science around phytonutrients - the natural plant compounds that give fruits and vegetables their vibrant colors. For example, a high concentration of the phytonutrient anthocyanin is responsible for the intense blue color of Wild Blueberries. It may also be responsible for some of the many potential health benefits that interest scientists. Wild Blueberries are top of the list in terms of being a nutrition powerhouse and as a result should be eaten as part of a healthy, well-balanced diet every day."

The Breakfast Berries
How can consumers get a "daily dose" of Wild Blueberries into their diets? One word of advice from Susan Davis is breakfast. "Breakfast is the crucial meal of the day, and a great way to make it healthy is to start with 1/2 cup of Frozen Wild Blueberries. Frozen Wild Blueberries are easy, convenient, available year-round and, according to the FDA, every bit as healthy as fresh." She suggests using them right out of the freezer on cereal, in smoothies or as a topping for yogurt.

Nature's #1 Antioxidant Fruit™
According to James Joseph, Ph.D., of the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging in Boston, Massachusetts, and co-author of The Color Code, the phytochemicals in blue-purple foods like Wild Blueberries are antioxidants and anti-inflammatories. In USDA studies, blueberries emerged as number one in antioxidants compared with other fruits and vegetables. (Source: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 44:701-705; 3426-3431, 1996; 46: 2686-2693, 1998.) And, while all blueberries scored the highest in antioxidant capacity, new research shows that Wild Blueberries are even higher in antioxidants than cultivated. (Source:Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 49:4761-4767, 2001)

Antioxidants protect against oxidative cell damage that can lead to diseases such as Alzheimer's, cancer and heart disease, conditions also linked with chronic inflammation. The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of blue-purple foods like Wild Blueberries may have the potential to help fight these diseases.

WBANA
WBANA is an international trade association of growers and processors of Wild Blueberries from Maine, Atlantic Canada and Quebec, dedicated to bringing the Wild Blueberry health story and unique Wild Advantages to consumers worldwide.

SOURCE: Wild Blueberry Association of North America
CONTACTS: John Sauvé, Wild Blueberry Association of North America, (207) 288-2655 or Susan Till, SWARDLICK MARKETING GROUP, (207) 775-4100.
WEB SITE: www.wildblueberries.com