Strawberry is one of the most popular fruits in the spring and summer. This lovely heart-shaped, red-colored, juicy, sweet and sour, and aromatic fruit is extremely nutritious and is often called the “Queen of Fruits”. It is often used to make favorite desserts, such as strawberry milkshakes, strawberry cakes, and strawberry smoothies. The delicious strawberry has many health benefits. In this article, we will present 10 excellent benefits of strawberries, including helping to lose weight.
Nutritional Value of Strawberries
Compared to fruits such as oranges, bananas, or apples, strawberries have the most nutritional content. They contain a large number of vitamins and minerals. They contain 35 mg of vitamin C per 100 grams, which is much higher than apples and pears. Other nutrients include glucose, fructose, citric acid, malic acid, carotenoids, and riboflavin. All these nutrients have a positive impact on the growth and development of children and are also very beneficial for the health of the elderly.
In addition, there are only 54 calories in each 1 cup (166g). Therefore, if you want to control your weight, eating strawberries is more effective than eating other fruits that are high in sugar and calories.
10 Health Benefits of Strawberries
A clinical study showed that eating 8 strawberries a day can improve the heart, brain, and overall health. Specifically, the benefits of strawberries include the following:
1. Reduce the Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
Strawberries are high in antioxidants, including flavonoids, anthocyanins, catechins, quercetin, kaempferol, and ellagic acid, plant compounds that have anti-inflammatory properties and help the body fight inflammation caused by free radicals.
A 2019 study reported that the anthocyanins in strawberries may reduce the risk of myocardial infarction. Regular consumption of strawberries helps lower blood pressure and lower blood cholesterol levels, thereby reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
2. Prevent Cancer
Ellagic acid contained in strawberries is a natural phenolic antioxidant with a high antioxidant capacity to prevent skin cancer, bladder cancer, lung cancer, esophageal cancer, and breast cancer.
Ellagic acid acts as a defender of healthy cells, deactivating certain carcinogens, slowing down the reproduction of cancer cells, and inhibiting their spread while repairing damaged cells in the body. In addition, the flavonoids and proanthocyanidins in strawberries also have strong anti-cancer effects.
3. Promotes Brain Health
There is much scientific evidence that the consumption of blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, and other berries has a positive effect on brain health and may help prevent age-related memory loss and other pathologies.
The iodine, vitamin C, and phytochemicals in strawberries may help maintain proper nervous system function, increase blood flow to the brain, and improve cognitive function. The anthocyanins contained in strawberries may also significantly improve memory and prevent cognitive decline.
4. Promotes Intestinal Health
The richness of dietary fiber is also a characteristic of strawberries. Fiber can effectively increase intestinal peristalsis and reduce constipation, hemorrhoids, and even intestinal cancer, thus promoting intestinal health.
Eating 1 cup of strawberries can meet 15% of the recommended daily fiber intake for an adult. According to the University of Massachusetts Amherst, eating just three-quarters of a cup of strawberries can reduce colon inflammation and improve intestinal health.
5. Promotes Skin Health
Delicious strawberries are also ideal for promoting healthy skin. They contain high levels of fruit acids, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants (including ellagic acid and anthocyanins), all of which can help boost skin elasticity, resulting in lighter, firmer, and more moisturized skin. Studies have found that ellagic acid inhibits certain enzymes that cause collagen breakdown and reduces the inflammatory response, thereby reducing skin damage from the sun’s UV rays.
6. May Reduce the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes
Eating strawberries can help lower blood sugar levels and reduce inflammation, especially when consumed within two hours of a meal. This is because strawberries have a very low glycemic index.
A study has shown that strawberries can improve insulin signaling, diverting glucose out of the bloodstream and into cells more quickly, thus helping to improve blood sugar control in people with diabetes. Also, the ellagic acid and vitamin C contained in strawberries help to control the rise in blood sugar levels.
7. Promotes Eye Health
Fresh, juicy strawberries are also very good for eye health, as they are rich in vitamin C, an antioxidant that can help reduce the risk of cataracts. Other foods rich in vitamin C include green peppers, broccoli, citrus fruits (such as oranges and grapefruits), and cantaloupe. Eating more of these types of foods is very good for your eyes.
In addition, strawberries are a great source of carotenoids, which are important for the synthesis of vitamin A. A study published in the Archives of Ophthalmology found that eating 3-5 servings of strawberries per day (80 grams each) reduced the risk of age-related macular degeneration by 36%.
8. Helps With Weight Loss
Eating strawberries regularly can also help you lose weight or control your weight because they are very low in calories and rich in nutrients and fiber. These are good for weight loss.
They are also the ideal fruit for low-carb diets. One cup (166g) of them contains only 12g of carbohydrates. In addition, strawberries promote the production of “lipocalin” and “leptin”, both fat-burning hormones that help reduce appetite, lower blood sugar, lose weight and reduce fat.
9. Promotes Bone Health
Some of the most critical nutrients that the body needs to build bones include:
- Manganese: Helps in the formation of muscle mass, ligaments, and bone cells
- Calcium: It is a major component of bones and a mineral needed for the activity of the body’s central nervous system.
- Potassium: Helps regulate calcium levels in the bones, thus increasing bone density
- Vitamin C: Stimulates the synthesis of new bone cells
- Vitamin K: Helps form new bones
Strawberries contain all these essential nutrients. In addition, the antioxidants they contain may help control inflammation levels and prevent free radical damage. A 2017 study showed that strawberries have pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory properties that may help relieve the symptoms of osteoarthritis.
10. Immunity Boosting
Strawberries are an excellent source of vitamin C, a known immune booster that helps stimulate antibody formation and are a powerful and fast-acting antioxidant.
Clinical studies have shown that the immune-enhancing properties of strawberries include:
- Obese people are more susceptible to infections, and strawberries can enhance the immune response of T cells and monocytes in obese people’s immune cells
- Helps improve cell survival, growth, and antioxidant defense
- May protect and repair DNA damage
- Has antibacterial effects
- Contains probiotics and daily consumption can positively alter the gut microbiome, thereby boosting the immune system.
- In a study of healthy adults, it was found that short- to medium-term consumption of strawberries significantly increased body levels of antioxidants, folic acid, and vitamin C, and significantly improved the resistance of white blood cells to external stress.
How to Select Strawberries?
According to the EWG’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce, strawberries are one of the “dirtiest” foods. Nearly 60 different pesticides have been found on a single strawberry. Therefore, it is best to buy organic varieties of them. Of course, if you have the means to grow your own, it’s even better. And organic foods tend to taste better and have more nutrients and health benefits.
Here are a few ways to help you:
- Look at the shape: Don’t buy large but oddly shaped strawberries, as this is most likely due to excessive use of hormones in the growing process. Be especially careful of pregnant and breastfeeding women.
- Look at the color: Choose fruits that are evenly colored, bright, and shiny.
- Look at the surface: Strawberries that have started to deteriorate and mold have white or gray spots on their skin. Fresh fruit should have a bright, flat surface free of mold and mildew.
How to Store They?
Freshly bought strawberries can be stored in the refrigerator for about a week. However, what we don’t know is how long they have been sitting in the store before we buy them at home. You can keep strawberries fresh longer by using the methods below. If you can’t eat all in a certain time, freezing them also helps.
- Throw away the moldy strawberries immediately to prevent the mold from spreading to more fruit
- Wash as much as you can eat. Strawberries are more likely to spoil when exposed to water.
- Store them in the freezer or a place below 10 degrees Celsius.
- If you want to save them for later use (for dessert), you can wash and slice them and store them in an airtight container and then freeze them.
What Are the Side Effects?
For most healthy people, strawberries are safe to eat. However, if you have any of the following health problems, please do not eat too many, or avoid them:
1. Frequent diarrhea
They have laxative properties that stimulate the intestinal tract and shorten the time that stool remains in the intestinal tract, which can worsen diarrhea symptoms.
2. Taking anti-thrombotic drugs
All fruits in the berry family, including strawberries, cranberries, and blueberries, are natural blood thinners. This means that consuming large amounts of these fruits may slow down the rate of blood clotting.
Therefore, if you are taking any blood-thinning medications, excessive consumption of them can cause your blood to become thinner and may increase the probability of bruising and bleeding.
