The bilberry plant not only sounds like the blueberry plant, but it also looks like a blueberry plant. It can be difficult to distinguish on the outside, but you can differentiate between the two based on the fleshy inside. Since blueberries are more accessible in grocery stores, you probably already know that a blueberry has a white inside. However, the bilberry has a dark inside. This pigmented inside is what gives the bilberry its medicinal properties.

History of its Use

Native Americans traditionally ate the fruit of the “big huckleberry,” and used its roots as a treatment for heart ailments and arthritis. The berry continued to gain popularity and by the 17th century a mixture of honey and bilberries, called “rob,” was being prescribed in England to treat diarrhea.

During World War II, pilots for the British Royal Air Force found that eating bilberry jam before a night mission improved their night vision. According to Nutritional Herbology, taking bilberry to improve night vision “…is so effective that a single dose is said to improve one’s night vision within hours.”[5]

Medicinal Properties & Uses

Since the night vision claims by the RAF pilots, extensive research in Europe has discovered that the fruit is high in bitter compounds, called flavonoids. It’s these flavonoids that are believed to help promote healthy brain and eye function. They also protect against heart disease, free radicals and inflammation.[6] The bitter compounds inhibit collagen destruction and are a standard ingredient in anti-aging remedies.

Consuming the berry also helps decrease capillary permeability. This makes the berry a common choice among the sufferers of varicose veins, poor circulation, macular degeneration and glaucoma.

The berry is sweet and tastes similar to a blueberry and is high in zinc, Vitamins C and A, phosphorus, manganese and iron.

The fruit is usually consumed encapsulated or added, as a powder, to smoothies. The dried berries can be made into a tea and administered as a treatment for diarrhea.

Have you come across a bilberry plant when out in the wilderness? Are there any other benefits it provides?

Article Source: Off The Grid News