The Blueberry:

Blueberries are increasingly popular as more consumers reach for a fruit that is high in antioxidant content and long on taste. Antioxidants shield the body's cells from the plundering effects of free radicals. These rogue molecules corrupt healthy cells--a process that ultimately under lies cellular aging.
Blueberries are among the fruits and vegetables highest in antioxidant capacity, according to tests developed by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), says Ronald L. Prior, chemist with the Arkansas Children's Nutrition Center in Little Rock. "Our research on aging shows that blueberry supplementation at about 1 to 2 percent of the diet may reverse short-term memory loss and improve motor skills," says James A. Joseph, physiologist at the Jean Mayer U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston.
The blueberry's powerful nutritional punch is likely in its antioxidants in the form of both long-established vitamins and newly defined phytochemicals (plant substances). The berries are particularly well endowed with a series of phytochemicals called anthocyanins--the source of their blue, purple, and red pigments--and proanthocyanins. The blueberry is one of the few fruits that contain so wide a spectrum of anthocyanins, which fall within a phytochemical class called flavonoids. Another class, the carotenoids, creates the orange color of carrots and pumpkins.

The Raspberry:

Plump, juicy raspberries are a perennial summer favorite. But the sweet flavor is only one reason to indulge in the delicate fruit. Rich in vitamin C, folate, iron and potassium, raspberries also provide high amounts of insoluble fiber (thanks to all those little seeds) as well as respectable amounts of the soluble fiber pectin, which helps control cholesterol levels.  The fruit is a good source of ellagic acid and other cancer-fighting antioxidants. Since cooking does not destroy these compounds, raspberry jam may also be beneficial. But because the fruit tends to spoil quickly, freeze leftovers to use in cooking.

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