When it comes to taste and health, berries have a fantastic reputation. Often labeled as a superfood, berries are among the healthiest and tastiest options to include in your diet for a kick-start to a healthy lifestyle. Delicious and nutritious at the same time, they have a tremendous list on health benefits of berries . They inhibit a required amount of vitamin C, fiber, and are an immensely antioxidant-rich food.
Berries inhibit a sour or sweet taste and are often used to preserve desserts and jams. Soft and round, berries are round shaped fruits mainly in red, purple, or blue color. They are so convenient to consume and have a dynamic taste, which makes it easy for you to include them in your diet. Let us take a look at the nutritional profile of berries to understand the reason behind the wild popularity of berries.
Nutritional Profile of Berries (per 100 grams)
Berries have an impressive nutritional profile.
| Calories | 61.9 |
| Protein | 5.9 |
| Fat | 6.7 |
| Carbohydrate | 49.3 |
| Vitamin A | 308 IU |
| Vitamin C | 30.2 grams |
| Calcium | 41.8 |
| Total fat | 0.7 grams |
| Cholesterol | 0 |
What Are the Healthiest Berries You Can Eat?
Berries are a house of nutrition and health. With many options to consume, here is making it easy for you to decide the top 8 healthiest berries which you can add to your diet for a healthy start.
1. Blueberries
Famous for being rich in Vitamin K, the benefits of blueberries include reducing stress, paving a way to a healthy heart, and lowering the risk of diabetes. People who consume blueberries have a vigorous brain activity than others who do not consume blueberries(1).
2. Raspberries
High in fiber content, raspberries usually get included in jams and desserts. Raspberries are known to reduce appetite by increasing a hormone called leptin, which makes you feel full. It tends to improve your body weight.
Black raspberries are good for the health of your heart and factually reduce blood pressure and cholesterol. Raspberries also have anti-inflammatory properties and tend to enhance your metabolism.
3. Goji Berries
A native of China, goji berries are high on zeaxanthin and Vitamin A which have incredible benefits for your eye health. People who consume one glass of goji berries every day tend to enhance their metabolism and reduce weight.
[Also Read: Benefits of Goji Berries]
4. Bilberries
Often consumed with blueberries, blueberries have their origin in Europe. Bilberries work on reducing chronic inflammation and improving the metabolic activity of the human body. Blueberries(2) are an excellent backup for your weight loss regime and work to replace lousy cholesterol with good cholesterol.
[Also Read: Bilberry Benefits for Health]
5. Strawberries
Most commonly consumed berries, the health benefits of strawberries include it being rich in Vitamin C. strawberries work wonders for a healthy heart and lower oxidative stress and blood cholesterol. They reduce blood sugar level in the body with an increase in insulin sensitivity.
6. Acai berries
A popular health food supplement, acai berries are antioxidant-rich food. Acai berry pulp reduces blood sugar and blood cholesterol. A study reveals that acai berries’ juice tends to reduce pain too.
[Also Read: Benefits of Acai Berry]
7. Cranberries
An extremely sour taste with an excellent nutritional profile, cranberries are a natural remedy for urinary tract infections. Drinking cranberry juice on a daily basis reduces the risk of encountering UTI. Many studies show that consumption of cranberry juice works to benefits heart health, prevents stomach infections, and reduces oxidative stress.
8. Grapes
You can consume grapes as raw fruit. It is an excellent source of antioxidants and grapes seed extracts maintain blood pressure and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes in patients. A regular diet of grape juice enhances brain activity and improves the mental health of a person.
What Are the Health Benefits of Berries?
1. The King of Antioxidants
Berries have a large number of antioxidants. These help in keeping the free radicals in control. Free radicals in excess can damage your cells. Antioxidants help in neutralizing these free radicals. Berries are helpful in reducing oxidative stress due to the presence of anthocyanins in them.
2. Wonders for Diabetics
Studies show that more than 50 % of the people in the United States have high blood sugar levels. If you are going through the same, berries are an extraordinarily convenient and healthy option. They improve insulin response in the body and control blood sugar levels. They help to increase insulin sensitivity and reduce the level of blood sugar in the body. Studies show that people who consume blueberries twice each day observed impressive results in insulin sensitivity than the people who did not.
3. Get High on Fiber
Berries are quite high in fiber content. The fiber content in the body reduces the speed of movement of food through the food pipe which leads to reduced hunger and induces a feeling of fullness. It reduces the calorie intake of the body and helps in easy weight management. What’s more is that fiber content absorbs many calories from your meals making a smaller number of calories mixing in your blood.
4. Extremely Nutritious
You can easily make out from the nutritional profile of berries that how much of nutritive value gets stored in it. They have a high amount of vitamin C along with substantial mineral content. One of the essential parts is that berries include a significant amount of important nutrition which leads to a health and prosperous body.
5. Inhibit Anti-Inflammatory Properties
For people who suffer from chronic inflammation, berries are an instant solution. Inflammation is caused in the body when your body tries to resist infection or defend itself from an injury. Modern lifestyle of people often leads to sustained and excessive inflammation due to high levels of stress, improper physical activity, and an unhealthy diet.
This type of inflammation can lead to the development of heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and many other serious diseases. Many studies have shown results that berries reduce the level of inflammation in the body.
6. Lower Cholesterol
Berries have appositive relation with your heart. Health benefits of strawberries and black raspberries have shown results of lowering cholesterol levels in the body and in people who suffer from obesity and metabolic syndrome. A study revealed that people who consumed a cold beverage made of strawberries for straight eight weeks experienced a drop of almost 11 percent of bad cholesterol.
7. Healthy Glow for Your Skin
Berries have excellent benefits for your skin health. They reduce the symptoms of skin aging inculding wrinkles and fine lines. One of the major causes of skin aging is the excess of free radicals in the body. Due to the high content of antioxidants in berries, they are amazingly helpful in controlling the number of free radicals in the body. Antioxidants in berries also protect the skin from sun damage by blocking the enzyme production in the surface of the skin.
8. Combat Cancer Cells
Berries have a high content of ellagic acid, resveratrol, and anthocyanins and are rich in antioxidants. These antioxidants reduce the risk of cancer (3). Studies done on human body suggest that berries help in protecting the body against cancer of mouth, colon, breast, and esophagus. A test-tube study indicated that strawberries have protective and robust effects on cancer cells in the liver.
9. Diet Flexible
No matter whether you are on a ketogenic diet or a low-carb diet, you can add berries to all types of diets. They have less than 5 grams of digestive carbs. For people who are on a weight loss regime, you can add berries with their low calorific value easily in your diet. Berries are an ideal food to be included in desserts, meals, or snacks.
You can generously add them to your vegetarian, vegan, paleo, and Mediterranean diets. Wild and organic berries are generally available in many parts of the world with ease. Even if it is not the season of berries, you can buy frozen berries from the market. The only people who should not try them are the ones who are allergic to fibers or require a low-fiber content diet due to disorders indigestion.
10. Keep Your Arteries Healthy
In addition to reducing cholesterol levels in the body, berries have an enormous amount of health benefits. One of the significant functions of berries in improving your health is enhancing the activity of your arteries. Berries show massive results in improving the endothelial function of in the human body which suffer from metabolic syndrome or are smokers.
Research showed that people who consumed a glass of strawberry smoothie daily showed remarkable improvements in the heart health of adults and reduced the risk of heart disease by 12 percent.
11. Brownie Points for the Taste
Berries are a motivation to switch to a healthy diet. Along with being super delicious, berries can be enjoyed both alone and in a few healthy recipes. Add your favorite wonderful dessert or a healthful snack, use a single type of berry or a mixture of few, berries are unimaginably delicious.
For breakfast, you can switch to a berry jam. Another way is to add berries to your salad. For an elegant dessert, you can add berries with whipped cream to enhance your dessert along with a few crunched nuts. Do you want to know a few recipes for berries? Read on to learn a few easy and quick berries’ recipes for a healthy diet.
Recipes With Berries
Strawberry Cookies
Ingredients:
- ½ cup of Salted butter, frozen
- ¼ cup of Granulated sugar
- 2 and ½ cups of Self-rising flour
- 1 cup of chilled Heavy whipped cream
- ¼ teaspoon of Baking powder
- Two tablespoons of Salted butter melted
- 1 cup of fresh chopped strawberries
- Honey (optional)
Procedure:
- Preheat an oven at 475 degrees Fahrenheit
- Line with parchment paper, a rimmed baking sheet
- Grate the butter
- Toss sugar, flour, being powder, and grated butter in a bowl
- Chill the mix for about 10 minutes
- Add heavy cream to the mixture and stir
- Add strawberries and stir until the dough is flaky and loose
- Knead for about five times
- Using a rolling pin, roll it in round shapes
- Roll the dough so that it makes 1 inch of thickness
- Bake the dough rolls in the preheated ovens
- Serve with melted salted butter brushing and a dressing of honey
Basil and Orange Macerated Cherries
Ingredients:
- 1 pound of Fresh cherries
- Two tablespoons of Orange juice
- One tablespoon of Orange zest
- One tablespoon of Chopped fresh basil
- Ricotta cheese
- Pinch of Kosher salt
- Two tablespoons of Dark brown sugar
Procedure:
- Cut the cherries in half crosswise
- Place half cute cherries and a few whole cherries in a large bowl
- Add orange zest along with orange juice, fresh basil, dark brown sugar, and kosher salt to the cherries
- Toss them together
- Cover it and let it chill for an hour in the refrigerator
- Remove from the fridge and let it stay for 10 minutes
- Take it out in a plate and dress with a spoon of ricotta cheese
- Consume immediately
Berries are an extremely healthy and delicious option to include in your diet. You can easily add them to your routine. By inducing them in your regular regime, your way to a healthy lifestyle is good to go.
Give way to the healthiest food in your diet and discover the surprising results it brings to your health and nutrition, plus enjoy the delightful taste of the berries as well.
FAQs
1. Which Is the Healthiest Berry?
Blueberries and raspberries have the highest health effects.
2. I Am Allergic to Strawberries. Does That Make Me Allergic to All Types of Berries?
No, this may not be the case. However, before you consume berries, you may want to consult a doctor.
3. Does Blueberry Smoothie Have the Same Benefits of Raw Berries?
Yes, the extract of berries will benefit the same. However, adding a lot of sugar to it may not help to get the benefits of blueberry for weight loss and diabetes.
