As you may know or have read in one of my superfoods articles, berries are very good for your health. But which are the best berries and how exactly do they benefit your health?
Why are berries so good for you?
Berries are very high in antioxidants and are part of the antioxidants superfoods.Antioxidants help fight skin damage and diseases like cancer. However, not all berries are created equally and the potential benefits depend on the quantity and quality you consume.
Blueberries
The benefits of blueberries are quite impressive:
- Blueberries are full of antioxidants and also contain micronutrients and fibre.
- They can help overweight men and women be less sensitive to insuline
- They help lower blood pressure
- Blueberries have an anti-inflammatory effect
- They may help protect memory
- The resveratrol present in blueberries helps prevent macular degenration (a retina disease)
- Blueberries can help prevent bladder infections, as it prevents bacteria from attaching to the ladder wall (don’t eat berries while you already having a bladder infection though, as that will aggravate the symptoms)
Raspberries
The benefits of respberries include:
- High provider of fibre
- Full of other nutrients and vitamins like phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, potassium, vitamin C, and vitamin K (good for bone building), several B vitamins like folic acid
- High level of ellagic acid which is a powerful antioxidant
- They also have a reputation as a nutural treatment of arthritis
Cranberries
- Cranberries are an excellent source of vitamin C and fabre
- They are also high in copper and manganese
- Cranberries also help prevent urinary infections as it prevents the e coli baciteria from clinging to the urinary tract wall
- They have also shown to help with dental plague
- Cranberries can help prevent H. pylori bacteria to live in the the stomach
- They also reduce the growth of breast, prostate and colon tumour cells
Strawberries
- Strawberries are full of vitamin C and K
- They also contain lots of dietary fibre, flavonoids and ellagic acid
- Additional nutrients are magnesium, calcium and potassium
- Contain antioxidants
- Shown to reduce cardiovascular risk factors
- May improve bad colesterol levels
Acai berries
- Full of antioxidants
- Also contains essential fatty acids and fibre
- Other nutriients include iron and calcium fibre
Although you get most of the benefits from fresh Acai berries, an alternative way to consume them is in the form of powder (2 tablespoons will provide you with your daily antioxidants needs; sprinkle it over your morning musli) or as a supplement.
Conclusion
Clearly there are a lot of benefits to eating berries and I’m make plans already to add more to my diet.
While taking berries like cranberries be sure to buy unsweetened berries. It is best to buy organic fresh berries. Please note that bottled cranberry drinks are usually full of sugar. Strawberries are the most heavily sprayed berries so only buy organic strawberries.
The perfect berry recipe to start your day
I have the perfect recipe for a delicious berry smoothie that can start off your day and will give you lots of energy in addition to all the health benefits mentioned above. To get the recipe, all you need to do is to subscribe to our newsletter and I will send it to you!
All the best,
