Health food of the month - Strawberries

But there is more reason for us all to love strawberries apart from their fabulous flavour. Strawberries are a nutritional powerhouse!

Strawberries are actually members of the rose family and the most common variety is a hybrid of a wild Virginian, North American, native plant. The word is thought to come from the Old English streawberige, possibly because the plant sends out runners which can look like a piece of straw.

It was only during the 16th century onwards that strawberries began to be accepted in Europe but today they are so popular that supermarkets import them year round to meet demand.

This charming red fruit is surprisingly good for us. For a start, strawberries contain a large amount of phenolic compounds such as flavonoids, which have antioxidant properties. The phenols in strawberries are also said to fight against many inflammatory disorders such as osteoarthritis, asthma and atherosclerosis.

Strawberries are also said to be very good in assisting the fight against the onset of many different types of cancers. This is mainly because of the combination of these antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents found in strawberries but is also assisted by the fruit’s high quantites of vitamin c, folate and the flavonoids quercetin and kaempferol.

Strawberries contain a good level of manganese – this is another powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent. A normal cupful of strawberries will contain around 20% manganese and this will not only help fight the battles against free radicals and oxidative stress, but can also help to reduce cellular inflammation which can be an underlying cause of many heart problems.

Manganese is also very good for bones, helping to build health bones and to maintain proper bone structure.

Strawberries contain potassium and vitamin K which are also important in bone health.

All this is on top of the high levels of vitamin C contained in strawberries which can have such good effect on so many aspects of the body, helping to lower blood pressure, ensure a healthy immune system and ward off the development of age-related ocular diseases such as cataracts and macular degeneration.

Finally strawberries have a high level of fibre to help the general digestive processes.

Really strawberries shouldn’t be considered a treat – they appear to be a must have on everyone’s regular diet sheet!

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