Blueberry Research

Blueberry research has become more and more popular because of the results it is getting.

Today, I had the opportunity to attend a lecture given by Dr. Steven Pratt, author of SuperFoods RX. He was a very dynamic and informative speaker.

He provided a lot of really great information. One of the things that he talked about which stood out to me was that the three most important foods are blueberries, spinach, and wild salmon. He said that if only these three foods were available, a person could still be very healthy.

In October, I attended a lecture given by Dr. Maureen McKenzie, CEO of DENALI Bio Technologies, LLC. She has dedicated her life to studying the natives of Alaska and the reasons for their lack of naturally occurring disease.

Dr. McKenzie was a wonderful speaker with a sincere passion for Alaska and wild Alaskan blueberry research. She discussed the inherent biodiversity (meaning there are several diverse naturally occurring places) in Alaska. She pointed out that there are 6 climate zones and 2 old-growth rain forests there. Alaska has no pollution and no industry. It is a clean environment, the “last great wilderness.”

Dr. Mckenzie stated that before western acculturation, there was a very low prevalance of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or cancer. Alaskan natives use medicinal foods (such as blueberries) as their staples. This is why Dr. McKenzie started a company based on the study and development of supplements based on wild Alaskan blueberries and other subsitence foods used by natives in Alaska.

The environment in Alaska is perfect for growing extremely nutritious blueberries. There are multiple extreme environmental stresses. Some of these are:

constant sunlight and damaging UV rays for 77 days of the year.

Defense against herbivore animals is necessary.

Temperatures that range from 95 degrees in the day to below freezing at night.

There are 17 species and subspecies of blueberries in Alaska

Denali BioTechnology is the company for which Dr. Mckenzie is the CEO. She stated that her company harvests blueberries with respect for the land, cultures and community needs of Alaskans.

They have a special system for processing blueberries called Refractance Window Technology. For more information about this special method, click here (page will open in a new window).

This method allows the blueberries to be used in supplements and saved for juice, etc. with out losing any nutrients. Only water is lost with this technology.

The blueberry juice I drink, Kyani Sunrise, uses the blueberries from Dr. McKenzies lab. Her lab has gotten a certificate of analysis from the US FDA. The blueberries she processes have been found to be pure of pesticides, herbicides, and heavy metals. There is a huge difference in chemical profiles from her processing and that of all other processed blueberries.

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