Fifty Fun Facts, Issue #9 Berry Firsts |
(look for Wikipedia and other information links highlighted like this) Among food categories, berries have gained reputation around the world as leading resources for nutrition, health maintenance, new food applications and industrial innovations. What are some of these firsts in comparison to other food groups?1. #1 Antioxidant Food Most consumers would know wild blueberries as Nature's #1 antioxidant food. Until new assays were developed in 2004, that was the information we had. But now, there are better antioxidant assays and newly discovered berries such as açaí, the most powerful antioxidant fruit known. See this publication link and a summary from The Berry Doctor's Journal. 2. #1 Nutrient-Rich Food What is the single most nutritious food you could name? Spinach, soy beans, flax seeds, papaya have all been mentioned at one time or another. But there seems to be no one food with more concentrated micro- and macronutrients than the goji berry (wolfberry). See these two reports from The Berry Doctor's Journal, #1 and #2 and this review from the Natural Products Information Center, click!
3. #1 Fiber-Rich Food We usually think of grains or vegetables for getting our dietary fiber, but Rubus berries (raspberries, blackberries, boysenberries - above) are 15% fiber, more per gram than any single grain. Then came along analyses of açaí which proved to be an astounding 44% fiber (...can that be right?!). Whatever it is once these studies are confirmed, açaí has exceptional fiber content, probably the highest measured among foods to date.
4. #1 Pigmentation Pigments are natural defense chemicals for plants but human industry takes these convenient "packages", does extractions of those colorful pigments, then uses them as industrial colorants for foods, dyes, paints, cosmetics and the visual arts. Juices from plants that readily stain the skin are an index of industrial colorant usefulness. Black raspberries, chokeberries, muscadine grapes, seabuckthorn and açaí are berries with dense staining pigmentations that have been or will be used industrially. 5. #1 Versatility and #1 Popularity Is there any food with as many uses as the strawberry? Or as popular? Jam and preserve, syrup and topping, granola bar, cereal, pie, ice cream, smoothie, processed fruit products like wine, leathers and gum, and the famous milkshake, shortcake, chocolate-covered berry, daiquiri and even a party -- the strawberry social! If you can think of other berry "firsts", send them to me at DrPaul@BerryDoctor.com Winner of the best idea gets your choice of a free ebook on a berry topic! Previous Issues of Fifty Fun Facts # 1 (goji = wolfberry, black raspberry, blackberry, açaí) # 3 (strawberry, grape antioxidants) # 5 (phenolics and flavonoids) # 8 (top 5 research studies of 2006) Click here for the essay Archives! Would information like this interest someone you know? Please suggest a visit to the Berry Doctor Sign-in Page! Thanks. See you next time for another round of Fifty Fun Facts About Berries! Dr. Paul |
