Saturday, September 12, 2020

Berries


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Berries are considered superfood,  for they're packed with nutrients and anti- oxidant elements. We greatly enjoy them in their natural fruit form, in baked goods, in  jams, juices, sauces. Always delicious!

Berries are also widely used in  herbal supplements containing extracts of the active ingredient,  which promise many health benefits such as:immunity/metabolism/energy Boost; anti-aging/anti-inflammation/anti -cancer Fight .

Health stores' staff point at Goji berries, as a  very popular product with potential health benefits, among them ,glucose regulation and eye condition improvement..

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People on meds should beware. Some of these extracts might interfere and/or interact with doctor's prescriptions for blood thinning, diabetes, etc..(Hawthorne's berries and Acai berries, for example, are known to have impact on heart disorders).

We're blessed  here, in Israel, mainly with strawberries, but the season is  short. Most of the other known  berry types (blueberries, blackberries, raspberries etc..) are imported and rather expensive Tiny bottles with berry extracts,  produced by reputable pharma companies, are also expensive, but worth ,perhaps, the money.


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I keep  a  bottle or two of such berry extracts in my cabinet, usually for their anti- inflammatory property. I don't take the capsule or softgel on a regular basis as one would take meds, but whenever I feel a problem and suspect inflammation of some sort. It usually helps.


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47 comments:

  1. Interesting post on berry extracts.

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    1. Thanks, Christine. I think berry extracts are a fascinating subject, especially those less known to us such as Akai and Goji.

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  2. My brother swears by cherry juice extract for inflammation. My cousin has diabetes and his doctor told him to eat strawberries and blueberries.

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    1. Usually, conventional doctors won't recommend anything but meds, but nowadays they are all aware of the importance of natural remedies, so they go along with their patients and Google.

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  3. I need to look into some of these berry extracts. I have a lot of knee and leg pain. Wonder if any would help that. I think strawberry season is short no matter where one lives. Seems like around Easter to Memorial Day here.

    Betty

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    1. You do that! You may discover some real benefits for you.
      Regarding knee pain, my solution is to watch my body weight. I might usually get knee pain, only if I exceed my normal weight.

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  4. Plenty of berries here in Tasmania, strawberries we can buy all year around now as well as blueberries and raspberries.
    Strawberries at the moment are very cheap with the others more expensive.
    Take care.

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    1. Lucky you! Enjoy the abundance and the cheap price!

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  5. Not only that, but sometimes they look and taste as genetically modified fruit!! not as naturally grown food.

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  6. We eat lots of berries and enjoy them very much, quite aside from their nutritional benefits. We have been enjoying them fresh for some time now, and once the season is over we switch to frozen berries.

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    1. That's how things go here too. When the season ends, people switch to frozen berries. The frozen are used, however, mainly in baked desserts: pies, pancakes, cobblers , cupcakes.

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  7. Good information DUTA, I know that I love strawberries and we can find them year round. Blue berries I like baked into muffins but I don't do that often as I don't like to eat too much flour. I will look to see if I can find the extracts, I've been having problems with bursitis in my right arm. Take care DUTA!

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    1. Thanks, Alicia.
      There are some 20 types of berrries. We are familiar only with some 7-9 types. Most of them have anti- inflammatory quality.
      (It's worth reading and learning about the berry extracts health benefits).

      Bursitis, as far as I know is inflammation of the fluid cushions. I would try applying ice. I'm a great believer in ice therapy.
      All the Best to you!

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  8. Eddie and I have our favourite fruits, they are blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries. Lovely simply served with double (heavy) cream.

    All the best Jan

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    1. Excellent choice! Delicious, nutitious fruit! I like them served with ice-cream or in a fresh berry salad.

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  9. Berry is good for increase our immunity. Great article, stay safe, and healthy

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    1. Hi Vicky,
      So they say. Immunity's the mother of our health; if she's strong, then our body's capable of fighting disease and keeping us well.
      Thanks for your comment.

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  10. Berry interesting to know about the extracts, and health benefits of berries!:) Thank you!
    The only fruit extract that I have had I think is prune!! Its very good,though expensive too!! and I would have it on yogurt. Sounds like the berry extracts might be good on yogurt too!? Happy healthy days to you Duta! Blessings!

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    1. Most fruits, including berries, go well with youghurt. Berries, not the extracts, are a delicious addition to various food items. The extracts come in capsule/soft gel form and serve to help with some health problem.
      Blessings to you, too!

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  11. My favorite berries are blueberries, seconded by raspberries but one needs to be careful about seeds. O enjoy putting berries in my yogurt and on oatmeal cereal and yes they do have so many good health benefits.

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    1. I know blueberries are the favorite of many people. We, here, have no choices; strawberry is our best and almost single choice. Other berry types are imported and expensive.

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  12. Can you get frozen berries? I've used those at times.

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    1. Yes, I can - at the supermarket. They are considered as healthy as the fresh ones, if not more. I like to use them in baking. However, they're imported and therefore, not cheap.

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  13. Berries -- almost any kind -- are my favorite fruit and I like them any old way I can. As berries, in different things, in baking... The frozen ones help make winter a little more tolerable!

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    1. You sound almost enthusiastic about them. I totally agree with you on their making winter "more tolerable".

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  14. We have plenty of berries in Summer, but the season comes to an end sadly! My parents have a lot of beautiful, sweet raspberries in their garden, so yum!

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    1. Hopefully,Natalia, you take good advantage of the abundance of berries in summer, and of your parents' sweet raspberries.

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  15. Hawthorne and blackberries don't agree with me and give me headaches for some reason. But I love blueberries and strawberries. My daughter dropped by over the weekend with a bag of powder ginger for me to mix in warm water for inflammation flare ups. Haven't tried it yet.

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    1. Well, blueberries and strawberries are definitely the stars of the berry world.
      There are many home remedies for inflammation. Hope ginger powder helps you.

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  16. Excellent advice. Our berry season is nearly done. It seems so short!
    I heard, on the news, you are on lockdown. Good luck. Crazy times, they are.

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    1. Thank you.
      Our lockdown starts on this Friday. If supermarkets will stay open, and food will be available, then no end of the world. Crazy times, indeed!

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  17. In the summer in Wisconsin, we can buy blueberries that are very large...I love those. Not as sour as the smaller berries. I, too, especially love strawberries, and we can usually get those all summer long. Or, we can go to a field and pick strawberries, if the field is opened to the public. There are a couple in my area, but I usually buy them at the store (so much easier). I don't know much about extracts, so thanks for that information. I'll have to look all the extracts up. Stay well, DUTA!

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    1. My hometown used to have strawberry fields at its entrance (or exit, depends on how you look at it). These fields are now transformed in... buildings and warehouses.Gone are the days when we used to get to these fields and pick strawberries.

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  18. I love most berries. Strawberries are my favorite, any way you serve them. After that, I'm game for any of them.

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    1. "..anyway you serve them" - right. They are delicious anyway one serves them: fresh or added to ice-cream, youghurt, sourcream, you name it!

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  19. We have berries in abundance here in the UK, with 'Pick Your Own' being a very popular pastime, which has continued to be enjoyed during the lockdown.
    Hope the lock down is not too severe for you. Wishing you well......

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    1. Well, you live in Europe, so you've got abundance. With our scarce rains,we're lucky if anything grows (despite high-tech irrigation systems).

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  20. I love all berries ! with whipped cream, delicious !

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    1. All berries - that would mean the 20 types. You love the ones we're all familiar with , and they are about half of all the berries. Anyway, who doesn't love berries. We all do. They fully deserve our love.

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  21. As well as five oranges and one mandarin, I ate a punnet of strawberries today I love fruit...and never a day goes by I don't eat fruit.

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    1. Love of fruit is universal love.There's only one fruit that I love, but it doesn't return love to me - kiwi. Apparently, it dos something bad to my stomach. So, I refrain from eating it.

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  22. Fruit is delightful and a true joy in life.
    Just reading your response above in regard to kiwi fruit... I ate too many at one time once and my lips became swollen for a good hour. Not as bad an experience as for your stomach, just a warning perhaps [smile]

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    1. Kiwi is a delicious fruit, but probably too acid for me.So, I sadly stopped eating it.It's the only fruit I suspect of harming me.

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    2. yes, acid, that would be it.
      I can feel it in my joints after too many tomatoes (love their taste so much), so have worked out my limits with them.
      Do tomatoes have an effect on you Duta?

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    3. Tomatoes, no, but then I don't eat a lot of them. With kiwi, even one fruit might cause a sense of burning, so I try to avoid that by not eating such a delicious fruit.

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  23. We used to have lots of raspberries and blackberries in our back yard. Also the crop of strawberries were rather nice too, but in recent years it seems they have fizzled out or the critters are getting more of them early on. Recently, we found that we have an elderberry tree which my grandpa believes to be the best medicine. So there were plenty berries for juice and for the birds. Actually, I feel certain it was the birds who planted that tree to begin with.

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    1. Your Grandpa is probably right. Elderberry is known to have many health benefits; improves cold and flu symptoms, boosts immunity system, antioxidant activity.

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