Berry Good for Your Heart
When it comes to products that both taste great and are good for your heart, it's hard to beat berries. Berries of all kinds are rich in antioxidants - substances found in certain foods that help fight cell damage.
They are best consumed in natural, whole foods, rather than in supplements, especially in colorful fruits and vegetables.
Berries are considered one of the most delicious and most versatile sources of these phytonutrients (plant chemical compounds). Different types of berries have slightly different qualities and amounts of these nutrients, so it’s great to mix them in your diet. Johnson says don't forget to eat berries in moderation because they contain sugar. Fresh or frozen is better than dried. Dried berries contain only 20 percent phytonutrients and more sugar.
Meet the best of berry crops:
blueberries
Although they contain more sugar than other berries (15 grams per cup, compared to 5 grams for raspberries), this easily detectable berry contains many different types of phytonutrients.
Tips for buying and storing: when they are in season (from June to August), buy enough to freeze for later; adding vitamin C powder first will keep them fresh even longer. Store fresh berries in a clear part of your refrigerator and do not rinse until ready to use.
Dietary recommendations: Put processed blueberry-flavored snacks and eat them whole. Try adding a handful to the smoothie for sweetness.
Blackberry
They are as if underestimated. They are also among the berries with the highest content of antioxidants and fiber, and they are less grown than blueberries, which means that what we eat today is closer to fruits that once existed in the wild.
Tips for buying and storing: Like most berries, blackberries are seasonal in late spring and summer. Keep them in the refrigerator, but not crispy, and eat for several days.
Nutrition tips: check the farmers' markets for close relatives of the blackberry - loganberry, hawthorn and puppet. You can also buy these berries frozen and thaw them in the microwave to add to porridge or on top of yogurt.
Strawberry
Their bright red color helps you “eat the rainbow” - an easy way to ensure that you will consume a rich variety of nutrients.
Tips for buying and storing. Since strawberries are ranked 4th on the Dirty Dozen list of an environmental working group high in pesticides, I recommend using organics. “Washing the berries does not help, because the pesticide is in the soil and grows in the berry itself, which also does not have a protective peel,” she explains. Look for berries that are red throughout - not white - they have more antioxidants and a better taste.
Dietary recommendations: try chopping them into green salads.
Other wonderful berries
Raspberries: These familiar favorites taste surprisingly sweet for low sugar berries (5 grams per cup).
Cranberries: many women know that they help prevent urinary tract infections; they are also berries with the lowest sugar content (4 grams per cup). Eat them whole, and not in the form of juice, in which there is all sugar (and often more), there is no fiber and half phytonutrients.
Golden berries: their yellow-gold color means they contain a slightly different nutritional package - and they make the berry salad look great!
They are best consumed in natural, whole foods, rather than in supplements, especially in colorful fruits and vegetables.
Berries are considered one of the most delicious and most versatile sources of these phytonutrients (plant chemical compounds). Different types of berries have slightly different qualities and amounts of these nutrients, so it’s great to mix them in your diet. Johnson says don't forget to eat berries in moderation because they contain sugar. Fresh or frozen is better than dried. Dried berries contain only 20 percent phytonutrients and more sugar.
Meet the best of berry crops:
blueberries
Although they contain more sugar than other berries (15 grams per cup, compared to 5 grams for raspberries), this easily detectable berry contains many different types of phytonutrients.
Tips for buying and storing: when they are in season (from June to August), buy enough to freeze for later; adding vitamin C powder first will keep them fresh even longer. Store fresh berries in a clear part of your refrigerator and do not rinse until ready to use.
Dietary recommendations: Put processed blueberry-flavored snacks and eat them whole. Try adding a handful to the smoothie for sweetness.
Blackberry
They are as if underestimated. They are also among the berries with the highest content of antioxidants and fiber, and they are less grown than blueberries, which means that what we eat today is closer to fruits that once existed in the wild.
Tips for buying and storing: Like most berries, blackberries are seasonal in late spring and summer. Keep them in the refrigerator, but not crispy, and eat for several days.
Nutrition tips: check the farmers' markets for close relatives of the blackberry - loganberry, hawthorn and puppet. You can also buy these berries frozen and thaw them in the microwave to add to porridge or on top of yogurt.
Strawberry
Their bright red color helps you “eat the rainbow” - an easy way to ensure that you will consume a rich variety of nutrients.
Tips for buying and storing. Since strawberries are ranked 4th on the Dirty Dozen list of an environmental working group high in pesticides, I recommend using organics. “Washing the berries does not help, because the pesticide is in the soil and grows in the berry itself, which also does not have a protective peel,” she explains. Look for berries that are red throughout - not white - they have more antioxidants and a better taste.
Dietary recommendations: try chopping them into green salads.
Other wonderful berries
Raspberries: These familiar favorites taste surprisingly sweet for low sugar berries (5 grams per cup).
Cranberries: many women know that they help prevent urinary tract infections; they are also berries with the lowest sugar content (4 grams per cup). Eat them whole, and not in the form of juice, in which there is all sugar (and often more), there is no fiber and half phytonutrients.
Golden berries: their yellow-gold color means they contain a slightly different nutritional package - and they make the berry salad look great!