There are several health benefits of eating berries such as blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries everyday.
Actually, berries are one of the healthiest fruits on the planet despite being sweet and attractive nature.
They contain the most essential nutrients required by our body.
The fact is, you might be eating berries due to their delicious nature not knowing their health benefits.
This article provides you with what you need to know about the health benefits of eating berries and why you need to eat blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries.
Types of berries
We have four different types of berries that are discussed in this articles, and this includes:
- Blueberries
- Strawberries
- Blackberries
- raspberries
These types of berries may have varying health benefits.
However, they are best for overall health conditions including preventing health complications.
The following are general health benefits of eating berries
Eating berries help fight off cancer
The first health benefits of eating berries are that barriers contain anticancer properties and are high in antioxidants.
Due to that, it helps boost the body immune system to protect you against certain cancer and other chronic illness.
A study conducted on patients given freeze-dried black raspberries shown that eating black raspberries minimizes tumor size and volume associated with oral cancer.
Furthermore, eating berries may help prevent liver cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, and esophagus cancer.
Consider eating berries for your own health benefits.
Eating berries reduce body inflammations
Berries contain anti-inflammatory properties that help the body against injuries and other infections.
A poor sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy dietary choice greatly affect our body inflammation.
For instance, physical inactivity, imbalance diet, drinking alcohol, and smoking reduces the immune system.
These can lead to chronic illnesses such as cancer, heart attack, stroke, diabetes, overweight, and obesity.
The presence of antioxidant in berries, help to eradicate the effect of chronic inflammation as compared to other natural food.
For that matter, always include berries in your diet.
Eating berries helps regulate cholesterol level
Another important health benefits of eating blueberries are the ability to regulate the amount of cholesterol level in the body.
As you well know that high cholesterol level is harmful to your health, by consuming enough berries may help lower the level of cholesterol.
For instance, obese or individuals with metabolic syndrome, eating black raspberries and strawberries are shown to lower LDL cholesterol level over time.
This helps reduce heart diseases.
Eating berries can help protect your skin
Free radicals are very harmful to your skin and can cause skin cancer, by eating berries you can get rid of free radicals.
Berries contain several antioxidants that help protect your skin against injuries.
The fact is, antioxidants may protect skin by preventing the release of certain enzymes that break down collagen in sun-damaged skin.
This helps reduce skin wrinkling.
What is collagen?
Collagen is a protein in the skins that enables the skin to stretch through a given elastic limit.
However, when the collagen is destroyed the skin becomes wrinkled and loses its turgidity.
Therefore, the skin can develop chronic illness caused by free radicals and other infections.
Note: The ellagic acid an antioxidant in berry may prevent skin wrinkling and aging, which are linked to free radicals.
Therefore, by including berries in your diet, helps protect the DNA against free radical damage
Eating berries may help reduce oxidative stress
Berries are loaded with antioxidants that help lower oxidative stress.
Oxidative stress is one of the dangerous stress that can cause other chronic illnesses such as heart attack, stroke, and blood pressure.
The truth is, a good number of research conducted on the effect of eating berries proves that the antioxidants in berries help in reducing oxidative stress.
This is an essential health benefits of eating berries.
Eating berries boost the immune system
The immune system helps the body to protect against injuries and infections.
Berry has anti-inflammatory, several antioxidants, and anticancer properties that help stabilize the immune system.
Therefore, eating berries may help improve the body immune system to safeguard against disease attack.
It is the main health benefits of eating blueberries.
A weak immune system may lead to chronic illnesses such as diabetes, blood pressure, stroke, obesity, hepatitis, cancer, and many others.
Berries may regulate blood sugar and insulin level
Eating berries is very essential as it helps regulate blood sugar and insulin level.
In that, eating berries may safeguard your cells against high blood sugar levels and regulates insulin sensitivity.
Furthermore, berries help reduce blood sugar and insulin response to high-carb meals in either healthy or insulin-resistant individuals.
Study reveals that people who consume blueberry smoothies twice in a week reduce blood sugar level and boost their insulin sensitivity than those who consumed berry-free smoothies.
Therefore, eating berries may improve both blood sugar and insulin response when included in smoothies.
Eating berries may help in weight loss
Berries contain high soluble fiber. Soluble fibers are very satisfying.
Fibers help reduce appetite and may prevent you from taking more calories.
In addition, soluble fibers help to slow down the digestion of food along the digestive tract.
This increases feelings of fullness and reduces hunger preventing often eating foods that might result in high calories intake.
The fact is, high calories intake may lead to unhealthy weight gain.
Therefore, the low net carb content in berries helps reduce the intake of calories.
Furthermore, excess fat deposits in the body are linked to cancer.
When you are trying to get rid of big belly bulges and prevent stomach cancer, then consider eating berries.
Berries contain essential minerals and vitamins
The body needs vitamin C and manganese for effective body health.
Happily, all are present in berries especially, strawberries and blackberries.
Some of the important minerals and vitamins present in berries include vitamin K1, copper, and folate, which are of the reference daily intake (RDI).
In addition, berries provide several essential nutrients despite being low in calories.
Eating berries may prevent diabetes
Despite being delicious, berries may help reduce the risk of developing diabetes.
It regulates blood sugar levels in the body therefore, high blood sugar levels can be minimized by drinking berry smoothie or eating berries twice in per week.
Diabetes is one of the chronic illnesses that is fatal and can lead to death.
Patients with diabetes are recommended to eat more berries to improve their survival.
Berries may prevent heart disease
Including berries in your diet may improve endothelial function thus, enhancing heart health.
It improves the functions of your arteries as well as, eradicates heart failure that can lead to heart disease.
For instance, healthy endothelial cells help regulate blood pressure and improve heart functions.
The fact is, too much inflammation might cause endothelial dysfunction, and this is linked to heart disease.
However, berries have anti-inflammatory properties that help fight off excessive inflammation.
Berries help prevent metabolic syndromes
This is another health benefits of eating berries. People with metabolic syndromes eat berries to improve their immune system and endothelial functions to fight off metabolic syndromes.
Especially, blueberries help to reduce metabolic syndromes as compared to placebo.
In addition, berries contain high anthocyanin content necessary for arteries’ functions.
Berries prevent blood pressure
Poor dietary choices such as eating processed foods, saturated fats, and trans fat may result in high blood pressure.
Importantly, eating berries help control blood pressure.
It increases the feelings of fullness therefore, including it in your meals can reduce the intake of saturated fats and trans fat.
This prevents the risk of developing high blood pressure.
Furthermore, berries regulate blood sugar and insulin level in the body that are linked to prevent blood pressure.
Eating berries may help prevent stroke
It helps improve arteries’ functions, endothelial functions, and heart health that prevent the risk of a stroke attack.
In addition, berries help keep blood from clotting and perform other important functions.
The antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties help in general body health including effective blood circulation.
Improves energy level and performance
Berries contain carbs, fiber, vitamins, and minerals that improve the energy level.
The presence of soluble fibers in berries slows down the movement of food molecules along the digestive tract, reducing hunger and increasing satiety.
These enable you to stay powerful and you can perform many duties before losing focus.
Health benefits of different types of berries
a) Benefits of eating blueberries
There are several health benefits of eating blueberries.
This is due to their powerful abundant antioxidants, especially anthocyanin, anti-inflammatory, and other phytonutrients that boost overall body functions.
It is considered to be a superfood by many people as they are nutrient-dense, low in calories, and high in fiber.
Studies show that blueberries contain a wide array of micronutrients and are a good source of vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin B6, folate, potassium, copper, and manganese.
There are two common types of blueberries
- Highbush blueberries
- Lowbush or “wild” blueberries
Here are some of the health benefits of eating blueberries
- The ability to reduce signs of aging
- May improve heart health
- Assist in controlling blood pressure and diabetes
- Lower the risk of cancer
- Blueberries can also help improve brain health
- promote weight loss, and soothe inflammation
- strengthen bones
- helps protect the skin or skincare
- lowers bad cholesterol level
The side effect of blueberries is that it can lead to blood thinning.
The vitamin K content may interfere with the blood thinning and result in blood clots, therefore, consult with your doctor in case you are taking blood-thinning medication (warfarin) or suffering from blood disorders (hemophilia).
It can also cause allergy-like itching, swelling, or difficulty in breathing.
b) Raspberries health benefits
Raspberries are another powerful type of berries that are rich in antioxidants.
Actually, it is rich in ellagic acid, nutrient-dense, low in calories and carbs, and high in fiber.
In addition, berry fruits are one of the few foods that contain anthocyanin in both the skin and the flesh.
These strong antioxidants have several health benefits as cited in various studies .
It also contains bioactive polyphenols that help improve heart health.
What are the health benefits of raspberries?
It is important to know why you need to eat raspberries. Therefore, here are some of the advance benefits of eating raspberries.
- It helps fight cancer since it is rich in anti-cancer properties
- Maintain cardiovascular health due to high anthocyanin and fiber contents
- Reducing oxidative damage and inflammation
- It helps boost fertility and can improve sexual organs, promoting testosterone levels
- Prevents the risk of diabetes
- It helps in weight loss and belly fat burn
- Helps in improving eye health
- The presence of phytochemicals in raspberries boost immunity
- It helps improve your neurological health
- helps slow down aging, due to the presence of ellagitannins in raspberries that offer protection against premature aging
- Alleviate arthritis, the polyphenols in raspberries can offer cartilage protection and make arthritic conditions less.
c) Strawberries Health benefits
Many people like strawberries due to its sweet taste and the aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
Actually, the presence of anthocyanin gives it a colorful appearance of bright red, and juicy that attacks many people.
Some people are not aware of the health benefits they get from eating strawberries.
Strawberries contain a wide variety of antioxidants and phytonutrients that play a major role in our wellbeing.
They are nutrient-dense, high in fiber, but low in calories and carbs.
Strawberries are a good source of manganese, vitamin C, E, and K, folate (vitamin B9), potassium, iron, copper, and magnesium.
It also contains plant compounds such as pelargonidin, ellagic acid, ellagitannins and procyanidins.
Here are some of the health benefits of strawberries
- It helps prevent the risk of certain cancer
- Strawberries are nutrients dense thus provide an array of macronutrients
- Promotes heart health and prevents cardiovascular diseases
- Boost mental focus and reduce neurological disorders
- It promotes eye health
- Reduce the side effects of free radicals
- Controls blood sugar levels thus reduce the risk of blood pressure
- Improves immune system
- Boost your blood lipid profile
- Reduce the harmful oxidation of LDL “bad” cholesterol
Potential Side effects of strawberries
Strawberries can cause allergy, especially in young children.
The symptoms may include itching or tingling in mouth, hives, headache and swelling of the lips, face, tongue.
It can also cause breathing problems in severe cases.
d) Blackberries Health Benefits
Blackberries are among the top types of berries that are full of vitamins and minerals.
In fact, blackberries are rich in vitamin C and K, they contain manganese and high in fiber and other plant compounds that have advance health benefits.
Furthermore, blackberries have a low glycemic index (GI), which is considered less likely to spike your blood sugar level.
Here are some of the benefits of blackberries
The presence of high fiber, vitamin C, K, manganese, and other plants compounds helps in the following:
- Boost brain health and prevents neurological disorders
- Prevents oral diseases
- Strengthen bones and reduce the arthritis
- Manganese in blackberries can help osteoporosis, and reduce epileptic seizures
- It helps prevents heavy menstrual bleeding
- It reduces bad cholesterol levels
- Controls blood sugar level
- It helps in weight loss as it makes you feel full and prevent scurvy
- Helps in healing of wounds
- Can help prevent the common cold