Berries Are Great – 9 Reasons To Eat Them!
I’ve noticed that out of most fruits we all try to give our little ones, berries seem to have the highest success rate in uptake from them. This is a good thing, since the nutritional benefits of eating berries are numerous.
These fruits have amazing flavours and colours and I wonder sometimes what I would do without them. Eat them fresh, put them in smoothies, add them to muffins, salads, chia pods, just to name a few things we can do with them.
The brilliant thing about berries is that they provide a lot of nutrients and also taste good too, so we are truly blessed!
So what is it that makes berries so nutritionally beneficial for us all?
Here are 9 reasons you should be consuming berries on a regular basis. Keep in mind that you need to source organic berries, because unfortunately berries tend to be some of the most sprayed fruits around, so if you are eating non-organic berries, then more than likely, you are eating toxic fruit.
Sometimes local growers may minimize their spraying, so if you go to a local growers market best to check with them first.
Here are the 9 reasons you need to add berries to your daily eating schedule:
- Loaded Up With Nutrients
They are all loaded up with vitamins, minerals and micronutrients, with all of the berry types containing similar amounts of vitamin C and being quite low in calories.
- High in Antioxidants
Berries are powerful antioxidants and that means they deal with free radicals (that can damage our cells and DNA) and help to reduce inflammation, that is triggered by oxidative stress and reduce the risk of disease.
- High Fibre Content
High fibre content is characteristic of berries and this includes soluble fibre. This means that food will move more slowly through the digestive tract leading to reduced hunger, because you are feeling full. Additionally, fibre in the diet will reduce the number of calories absorbed from mixed meals.
- Assists To Lower Cholesterol Levels
Berries are great for your heart!
This means that they will assist to lower the LDL (bad) cholesterol and improve your HDL (good) cholesterol.
Additionally, it seems that berries help the LDL cholesterol from becoming oxidized, potentially lowering the risk for heart disease.
- Berries May Assist With Better Skin
Because berries are very high in antioxidants and fight off free radicals, one of the sustained benefits can be a more healthy and better looking skin.
Studies suggest that the antioxidant, ellagic acid, seems to be responsible for blocking the enzymes that block the production of enzymes that break down collagen in sun damaged skin.
- Berries May Help To Protect Against Cancer
Studies performed on animals and humans suggest the berries may offer some protection against cancer of the colon, breast, mouth and esophagus. The studies showed a reduction in the markers associated with tumour growth.
- Eat Berries Even When On A Diet
People who may avoid fruit when on a strict diet because of high fructose (sugar) levels or because of calorie intake are generally able to snack on berries because of the low calorie count, lower sugar levels and amount of soluble fibre.
Please note that if you have issues with fibre, then these may be one thing to avoid.
- Keep Your Arteries Clean
The cells lining your blood vessel are called endothelial cells and these little guys primarily control blood pressure and stop blood from clotting. Inflammation can damage these guys and that inhibits the proper cell function (endothelial dysfunction), increasing the risk for heart disease.
- Go Great In Smoothies
The main fruit that goes into every smoothie that I make, is berries. Feel free to add a banana if you like with nut milk, some maca, carob, super greens powder, some mixed powdered mushrooms, some pea or hemp protein (or seeds) and coconut oil. Tastes great and is the perfect energy food to start the day!
So, there you go, apart from these really important benefits the plain simple truth is that organic berries taste really great!!! I can’t get enough of them in the summer months and luckily I can still access them frozen fresh in the winter months.
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