Berries: Health Benefits And Side Effects
For good nutrition, you need to eat plant foods rich in vitamins, including fresh berries. Let’s figure out what benefits berries bring and what possible side effects it can have.
The Benefits Of Berries
Berries contain vitamins, antioxidants and fibre. Essential oils in some berries have medicinal properties, such as antiseptic, diuretic, expectorant. Such berries are used as part of a comprehensive treatment of diseases. For colds and SARS, blackcurrants, strawberries are brewed, raspberry jam is diluted in warm water.
Frozen berries are no less useful than fresh ones. During long-term transportation and storage, fruits lose many useful properties. Therefore, in the off-season, it is worth giving preference to frozen berries, rather than fresh ones imported from distant countries.
Side Effects of Berries
Berries should be eaten in moderation, as a high content of vitamins and acids can provoke hyperavitaminosis, allergies, and indigestion. Under the action of acid, tooth enamel is destroyed and gastritis and other diseases of the gastrointestinal tract develop. Rinse your mouth with water after eating the berries to wash away the acid from your teeth.
In inflammatory diseases of the stomach and intestines, it is better to replace fresh berries with compotes and jams to facilitate the process of assimilation of the product. At the same time, too much sugar should not be added during their manufacture. Due to its high content, drinks and jams are high in calories. Packaged ready-made fruit drinks with a high concentration of sugar and preservatives can be replaced with homemade drinks.
Simultaneous ingestion of berries and other foods can lead to fermentation processes in the stomach and intestines, causing bloating and abdominal pain. It is best to consume berries apart from other meals and in the morning.
How to choose the right berries
Choose ripe berries, unripe ones can provoke indigestion. The fruits should be even, without damaged areas and signs of disease and rot. Berries on a branch, with untorn stalks, retain freshness longer.
Harvest fruits from untreated bushes in ecologically clean areas, away from freeways, as the berries accumulate toxins.
In addition to fresh berries, frozen and dried ones are also useful. They retain most of the vitamins. In the future, from these berries, you can cook fruit drinks all year round and add them to cereals, yogurts and pies.
