Anthocyanin - Why Diabetics Should Eat A lot Of It

About a week ago, I posted a long article about why diabetics should choose blue corn chips over yellow corn chips and white corn chips. In that article, I reported that blue corn has a very powerful antioxidant of the flavonoid variety called anthocyanin (anthocyanidins when they are not coupled to a sugar). I want to discuss anthocyanin in more detail because I think it is something every diabetic should know about. Moreover, I think every diabetic should make sure to include lots of foods that contain high levels of this antioxidant in their diet as often as possible - this is one of the important steps to take to reverse diabetes.

As I reported in the previous article, anthocyanin works to strengthen the walls of small blood vessels in the body, especially the really tiny capillaries like the ones you find in the eyes and lower extremities. What I did not report last week is that gastro anthropologists now believe that human beings used to get FAR more anthocyanin in our diet than we do today. When humans were collecting their food from hunting and gathering food directly from the wild, we were eating much higher quantities of foods that contain anthocyanin. Wild berries are exceptionally high in in this miraculous antioxidant and it is thought we ate a lot of berries and other fruits that contain high quantities of anthocyanin. Probably one of the healthiest things you can do for yourself (and your family) is go out and pick some wild berries and eat until your heart's content (and save some for the winter too).

Besides anthocyanin, there are many other healthy reasons diabetics should consider picking wild berries. In fact, I posted an article about this last July called, "Why All Diabetics Should Go Berry Picking This Weekend." Of course, berry season is upon us again so I suggest you go out and get some of nature's most delicious "medicine" to eat fresh now and also stow away some in zip lock bags to throw into the freezer for later. Plus, have you checked out the prices of organic blackberries lately - almost $5 per pint. Don't get me wrong - I support local organic farmers whenever I can and I totally understand the reasons they have to charge more and I believe it is more than worth it to pay extra for organic, but there's also something very satisfying about gathering an expensive food from the wild for free - and knowing it's even healthier than cultivated organic food! Check with local nature groups, parks, and interpretive centers as you can often find free guided tours showing you how to find wild edible berries this time of year. Your local boy scout leaders are also usually really good sources for information on edible wild foods in your specific area.

Back to anthocyanin... one of the most common complication of diabetes is vessel damage and weakened circulation. It is the high blood sugar that causes this damage. It eats away the lining of the vessels, weakening the the smallest ones faster. Too much of this happening in the eyes can cause blindness, aka retinopathy (damage to the retina). There are also many small vessels in the feet and if they are damaged it is quite easy to get ulcers in the feet. Sometimes when there isn't enough blood circulation in the feet, it can lead to and amputation of the foot and the lower leg (they usually cut the leg just under the knee). This is devastating of course and I really urge all my fellow diabetics to eat plenty of foods that contain anthocyanin.

Okay, so... Which foods contain the most anthocyanin? Basically you are looking for dark blue, deep red, and purple food. Dark "bluish" berries are #1 on the list. Berries like blueberries (and the closely related bilberries found in Europe - YUM by the way), blackberries, etc... Now, edible red berries like raspberries and thimbleberries (excellent one to hunt in the wild because they never sell these in the store) also contain a good amount of anthocyanin. Blueberries are my personal favorite when I purchase them but nothing beats the variety you find out in nature - berries the stores don't even carry. In fact, wild berries even contain more variety of anthocyanin than cultivated berries. Eggplant, cherries (the darker the better), pomegranate, plums, dark grapes, red wine, blue corn, black beans, avocado, sweet potato, purple cabbage, beets, and even purple potatoes (which you can often find at a farmer's market) contain large quantities of anthocyanin. Organic varieties and heirlooms tend to have more anthocyanin.  Even wild tomatoes of long ago had significant quantities of anthocyanin. The dark pigment in black pepper is also due to anthocyanin.

Remember that if you want to reverse diabetes through natural means, you need information that you're not going to get at your doctor's office. While I'm glad you found this article that I've written, this is only one piece of the puzzle and you would benefit greatly from a comprehensive report that would detail all the information you need. From my research, this reverse diabetes report is the best one available. It describes the same natural techniques I have used to reverse my diabetes. I wish you all the best and I hope that you are successful at curing your diabetes like I did.