Extraordinary Health Magazine EH Magazine VOl 32 | Page 34

On the Road

Funny enough, when trees are removed from part of the forest, it
actually encourages even greater growth for the wild blueberries.
That allowed easier access to harvest the cleared areas. Because
the forest is always in some state of transition between logging
and regrowth, it’s not conducive for farming. But small loaders
could easily access clearings and collect large hauls of ripe
blueberries. A cottage industry was born.
Wild Blueberries
Wild Blueberries – Foraging for Brain Health
By Jeffrey Brams
by Jeffrey Brams
Foraging for Brain Health
NON
GMO
Project
VERIFIED
nongmoproject.org
Those anthocyanidins are
so powerful that many
researchers have dubbed
the blueberry as the
“Brainberry.”
I landed in Quebec City and picked up my rental car. Once I got into
the car, my GPS said I’d be driving—due north—for a few hours.
Buckled into my rental with my coffee and a great book on Audible,
I set out for an adventure. I’d never been in the Arctic North of
Canada before. Filled with small mountains, lakes, pine forests and
a sky so expansive it reminded me of Montana, I found myself falling
in love on this drive. This countryside was spectacular.
It was almost November. The leaves had mostly fallen and the stands
of Pine trees were turning brown. Most of the farm land I passed was
harvested and being prepared for winter. My hotel, located in the small
town of Alma, was as close to my final destination as civilization would
take me, still an hour drive to go at dawn the next day.
Why go this far to find blueberries? After all, we grow plenty of them
throughout the Northeast, Wisconsin, even in the Pacific Northwest,
and we already work with a unique tribal grower in Alaska. Why
make this extraordinary effort?
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Why are wild blueberries so special? First, they are
brighter, deeper in color, and richer in flavor than their cultivated
cousins. That made them a prize for culinary and confectionary
use. But more important to our interests were the highly
concentrated phytonutrients that were deepening the wild
blueberries’ color and making it so tasty. Those anthocyanidins
are so powerful that many researchers have dubbed the blueberry
as the “Brainberry.” But wild as they grow, for Garden of Life®,
we needed the blueberries to also be Certified USDA Organic.
That’s why we had to come this far north to find just the right Wild
Organic Blueberries. Blueberries, particularly when they are
wild, are plagued by maggots and other insects that can destroy
the harvest. As a result, in lower, warmer regions, even the wild
blueberries are often sprayed with insecticides. Of course, this
treatment prevents them from being Certified Organic. However,
this close to Santa’s Workshop, the cold air creates a completely
inhospitable environment to these insect threats. No toxic sprays
are ever needed or used.
As I met our farmer, I was once again reminded how important
organic agriculture is to the future of farming. We talk a lot
around our office about the changing face for farmers. Children
are not following in their parent’s footsteps, pushing the average
age of conventional farmers well into the 50s. But our Wild
Organic Blueberry program, like so many of our organic farms,
is led by a young, third generation farmer who’s Masters in
Agronomy focused on organic practices. He has every intention
of raising his young son to follow in his footsteps.
We had been working for a couple of years with Dr. Perlmutter
to launch a new line of brain health formulas. The unique wild
blueberries from this Northern region of Quebec were being used
in clinical trials that we were following very carefully. Encouraged
by the results, we were working with the growers to scale up their
ability to supply our new formulas.
We know how to work with organic farmers.
We know how to safeguard against genetically
modified seeds and crops. But this was something
new. This is WILD and organic.
This region was settled by European immigrants whose primary
industry was timber. As they worked in the forests, they discovered
significant growth of wild blueberries in its underbrush. The loggers’
families would go into the forests and forage for the small, sweet and
delicious berries on weekends. A tradition was born.
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