Healthy Berries and Other Nourishing Fruit

In addition to being a delicious, fresh-tasting treat, berries are one of the most naturally healthy foods that you can find. The variety of berries is so broad, you are sure to find one that suits your taste, and each berry has its own mix of beneficial effects for your health. Whether you prefer fresh berries or frozen ones, this list will tell you all about the amazing effects of the most popular berries that are available today.

Blueberries

As well as being sweet bright little cushions of delight, the blueberry is a rich source of both Vitamin K and Vitamin C. In fact, just one cup of these berries can provide you with almost a quarter of your daily allowance for both. The benefits are best when you eat blueberries raw, but you can also enjoy preserves or jams made from blueberries and enjoy a little of these vitamins.

Blackberries

Despite not being the pure black that the name suggests, blackberries are a welcome ingredient in jams and cobblers. They also pack a wallop with your daily recommended intake of vitamin C, with just one cup containing almost half of what you should take in every day. A great way to get these vitamins and the added benefits of wound regeneration, try adding some blackberry syrup to your breakfast.

Strawberries

Much like blueberries and blackberries, strawberries contain quite a bit of magnesium and vitamins K and C, but it also gives you a healthy dose of the essential potassium. While it is true that a strawberry does not have as much potassium as a banana, when eaten raw and fresh, it also has a high amount of dietary fiber.

Raspberries

What is better on a warm summer day than having some fresh raspberries to give you a fresh, cool feeling? It makes it even better when you realize that raspberries contain the strongest of antioxidants, ones like quercetin and gallic acid, both of which fight against cardiac issues and will help to naturally stop the spread of cancer. Raspberries are a common ingredient in tea, and raspberry tea has some incredible anti-inflammatory properties that can reduce general swelling and puffiness in the body.

Cherries

When you think of a berry, odds are that you don’t picture a cherry. Perfect, ripe, with glistening red skin, the cherry is packed with health benefits for you. If you prefer to eat them raw, with the skin, you can get a ton of the necessary dietary fiber that you need, and it naturally helps to protect you from heart disease. It is also a natural anti-inflammatory and has some pretty powerful antioxidant properties to boot.

Grapes

Whether you prefer them to be red, purple, or green, there is a grape that is perfect for you. From the taste—a fresh tart bite of the summer sun—to how they are prepared, you can find a grape that suits you perfectly. The biggest health benefit is how much dietary fiber that they can give to you. Just one cup of these luscious treats has over half of the dietary fiber that you need if eaten raw and with the skin on. Grapes can give you some benefits, but to reap the full reward, pick up some fresh ones next time you are in the market.

Cranberries

Everyone knows that cranberries are beneficial to your digestive tract, cleaning out your kidneys, and protecting you from urinary tract infections, but did you also know the cranberry has great effects on your smile? It is true, just a cup of cranberries per day will ward off gum disease and when joined with proper brushing and flossing, your smile can be the brightest it has ever been.

We all know that berries are a healthy, low-calorie treat that can help to satisfy our sweet tooth without being too indulgent, but did you think about the effects that berries can have on your overall health? By making some smart choices in your shopping and swapping out synthetic sugar-based treats for fruitier ones, you can get all these benefits and more.

Image by Luisella Planeta Leoni from Pixabay 

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