Blueberry Leaf Tea is beneficial for the problem of high blood sugar - Sugar Diabetes. It is beneficial as a food for the pancreas, while helping the problems associated with kidneys and gallbladder. It helps rid the body of excessive sugar in the blood. It is a good astringent and helps relieve inflammation of the kidney, bladder and prostate.

Blueberry leaf can help to control diabetes. According to Dr. Andrew Weil, MD, "A surprising number of plants used in traditional medicine throughout the world show hypoglycemic activity-that is, they lower elevated blood sugar." And although insulin-dependent diabetics are "unlikely to get off insulin completely and should never attempt to do so, they may be able to reduce their insulin requirement through natural therapies and lifestyle modification."

An erect shrub with small pink or white flowers, Blueberry is native to North America and is now harvested throughout Europe. Tannins make up as much as 10% of blueberry leaves. The astringent nature of tannins probably accounts for the usefulness of blueberry leaf in treating diarrhea. The astringent effect may also be soothing for sore throats. The berries and leaves also contain anthocyanosides, which protect blood vessels. Bilberry, blueberry’s European cousin, is used primarily for maintaining blood vessels, particularly those in the eyes. Some preliminary evidence indicates that anthocyanosides may help people with diabetes, particularly if they have damage to the retina (retinopathy).

Grieve's classic 'A Modern Herbal': The leaves can be used in the same way as those of Uva Ursi. The fruits are astringent, and are especially valuable in diarrhea and dysentery, in the form of syrup. The ancients used them largely, and Dioscorides spoke highly of them. They are also used for discharges, and as antigalactagogues. A decoction of the leaves or bark of the root may be used as a local application to ulcers, and in ulceration of the mouth and throat. The fruit is helpful in scurvy and urinary complaints, and when bruised with the roots and steeped in gin has diuretic properties valuable in dropsy and gravel. A tea made of the leaves is also a remedy for diabetes if taken for a prolonged period.

Tufts Researchers Report Blueberries May Reduce Memory Loss and Reverse Loss of Coordination

Boston, Mass. — In the first major study on the effects of fruits and vegetables on reversing damage in nerve cells, a team of researchers from Tufts University and the USDA report that a diet rich in blueberry extract improved short term memory loss and reversed some loss of balance and coordination in aging rats.

In a study published in the September 15th issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, the Tufts/USDA scientists say rats that consumed an extract of blueberries, strawberries and spinach every day showed improvements in short-term memory. Only the blueberry extract improved balance and coordination. A previous study done earlier this year by the Tufts/USDA researchers demonstrated that when compared to other fruits or vegetables, blueberries have the highest amount of antioxidants. By consuming a supplement comparable to one cup of blueberries a day the rats, equivalent in age to 70 to 75-year-olds, were more coordinated.

"Motor behavior is one of the first things to decline as you age, " said Dr. James Joseph, the principal investigator of the study and a scientist at the Neuroscience Laboratory at Tufts University's USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging. "The improvements we saw in coordination and balance are really significant. In other studies, little else have reversed these deficits in motor function."

Some highlights of the study include: The rats that received the fruit and vegetable extracts learned faster than the other rats, and their motor skills also improved. In one of the tests, six-month-old rats could stay on a rod an average of 14 seconds. Older rats fell of after six seconds, but the blueberry-supplemented older rats could stay on for 10 seconds. This study is the first to show that fruits and vegetables actually reverse dysfunctions in behavior and nerve cells.

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Radical Healing: Integrating the World's Great Therapeutic Traditions to Create a New Transformative Medicine by Rudolph M. Ballentine.