More Than Just A Good Taste
Perfectly sweet and slightly tart, raspberries burst with summer flavor. Our berries taste delicious and they're also very good for you. How raspberries improve your health? Read a few most important health benefits.
Prevent cancer
Today, new research suggests that eating red raspberries may prevent cancer. Tests conducted at the Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina have revealed that the human body readily absorbs the ellagic acid from red raspberries. This ellagic acid has been clinically shown to cause apoptosis (cell death) in certain cancer cells. Among several significant phytochemicals, red raspberries contain ellagic acid, a phenolic compound that has exhibited anti-carcinogenic effects against a wide range of carcinogens in several tissues. Ellagic acid contributes to significant inhibition of colon, esophageal, liver, lung, tongue, and skin cancers in studies with rats and mice, both in vitro and in vivo. Anthocyanins are also prevalent in red raspberries, working as antioxidants that protect against heart disease and age-related mental decline.
The Sweet but low in calories
Raspberries are naturally sweet, but low in calories. In fact, one cup has around 60 calories!
Vitamin C
Just one cup of raspberries has 54 milligrams of vitamin C or about 50% of the RDA for men and women. While calcium is important for bone health, vitamin C is also crucial for building and maintaining strong bones. Plus, vitamin C helps your body absorb iron and can speed up healing.
Fiber Filled
The raspberry is a drupelet (a cluster of fruit, like a bunch of grapes). The seed inside each druplet helps boost the fiber content. Fiber can help lower cholesterol, increase the feeling of fullness after meals and prevent or treat constipation. 1 cup of raspberries has a whopping 8 grams of fiber or around 30% of the daily fiber recommendation for men and women.
See the scientific papers below to see how raspberries may improve your health.
“The antioxidant capacity of the fresh fruit and the levels of vitamin C and phenolics were not affected by freezing. When fruit were stored at 4 °C for 3 days and then at 18 °C for 24 h, mimicking the route fresh fruit takes after harvest to the supermarket and onto the consumer’s table, anthocyanin levels were unaffected while vitamin C levels declined and those of elligitannins increased, and overall, there was no effect on the antioxidant capacity of the fruit. It is concluded, therefore, that freshly picked, fresh commercial, and frozen raspberries all contain similar levels of phytochemicals and antioxidants per serving.”
Bibliography
Impact of Berry Phytochemicals on Human Health: Effects beyond Antioxidation. (2007) Navindra P. Seeram & David Heber, Los Angeles, Center for Human Nutrition, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California
Fruit processing. Encyclopedia Britannica (1999) [On-line]
Raspberries and Blackberries, Their Breeding, Diseases and Growth (1988) Jenning, D. L.San Diego, CA: Academic Press Limited.
Raspberry (2016) Evica Mratinić, Belgrade, Polja Partenon