25 Apr

Best Strawberries For Strawberry Juice And How To Choose Them

Strawberries, one of the richest fruits in terms of antioxidants and nutrients. Many people do not realize there are over 600 different cultivars of these delicious berries in existence. These strawberries are either organically grow pure forms, wild strawberries, or cultivated hybrids. Most of the berries you encounter at the grocery store are genetically altered hybrid versions of the former two.

What do people do with these strawberries? Most people purchase strawberries from the store to eat them plain or with sugar. A small section of the population cooks or bakes with them. A rapidly growing number of consumers have chosen to reap the benefits of this super fruit by juicing them.

Juicing the berries gives the drinker a super packed punch of the nutrients you would normally get from eating the berries. This concentrated version of the berry packs a ton of anti-cancer health benefits. These berries also contain a large dose of vitamin C which is linked to reducing bad cholesterol.

How do you know which are the best strawberries for juicing?

It is a well-known concept that most of the strawberries and other produce at the grocery store has been sprayed with pesticides to keep away bugs, wax to make it look more presentable, and/or coloring to make it appear riper. Some of these procedures are dangerous to the consumer and the environment. The easiest way to sidestep these unwanted additives is to buy berries that are locally grown and organic.

best strawberries for juicing

How To Pick Fresh Strawberries

-Pick only the strawberries that are a full and deep red.
-Be sure to test the berries for firmness: a ripe berry is firm and not mushy
-Check for damage to the berry from vines, twigs, and insects
-Ask where these berries were grown

Storing Strawberries

These berries will be much quicker to mold and go rotten than other berries bought from the store because of the lack of dangerous preservatives. Because of this, it is important to only pick enough berries to use in your juicer in a week unless you plan on freezing them. The very best strawberries for juicing are fresh picked strawberries that have been washed and hulled.

Juicing Strawberries

-Be sure to full wash the berries with produce soap
-Remove the hull from the berries
-Cut strawberries in smaller sections to better fit them in your juicer
-Add other fruits/vegetables to make up for the soluble fiber you are missing out on by juicing them
-Clean your juicer thoroughly to make sure it functions properly every time and does not get stained by the strawberry’s pigment

So what are you waiting for? Pop a few of these strawberries in your juice-maker and enjoy the health benefits.

22 Mar

Strawberry Juice Side Effects: Can You Drink Too Much Strawberry Juice?

Strawberry juice side effects are extremely uncommon. However, there are a couple of potential side effects that you need to familiarize yourself with before eating the fruit or drinking its juice.

Strawberry Allergies

A small number of people are allergic to strawberries, and even if you have never experienced an allergic reaction before, you could potentially develop one. Symptoms of an allergic reaction to strawberries can include swelling accompanied by a burning or prickling sensation to the mouth, tongue or cheeks; hives; tearing of the eyes; runny nasal passages; difficulty breathing through the nose; sneezing; itching; dermatitis; asthma; rhinitis; nausea; vomiting; diarrhea; cramps; eczema; and, in extremely rare cases, anaphylactic shock and asphyxia.

Strawberry juice side effects

Strawberry Juice Side Effects And Phenols

Strawberries contain phenols, which are phytonutrients. While this is typically one of the characteristics of strawberries that make them largely considered a sort of “wonder fruit”, somewhat more recent research indicates that the benefits of the phenols can come at a price. Strawberries have long since been heralded as a fantastic anti-cancer and anti-aging food, but new evidence suggests that phenols may have no innate mechanism that allows them to differentiate between, say, tumor cells and healthy cells. Thus, while the phenols do happen to attack cancer cells, they also tend to weaken surrounding healthy cells as well.

As with all foods, it is important to know your body and how you react to certain foods. Moreover, it is important to consume foods in moderation, and stray away from tendencies of leaning on any one, particular food source for your nutrition. Keep a healthy, balanced diet and you will likely avoid any potential strawberry juice side effects.

19 Jan

Which Fruit Has The Most Fluoride?

What is Fluoride?

Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral that is present throughout the earth. It is concentrated in water, soil, plants and many foods. Fluoride can be introduced to our body both systemically through ingestion of water, foods and supplements containing it. It can also be introduced topically to the teeth using pastes and rinses.

Fluoride in Our Bodies

When fluoride is ingested it is absorbed into our bones. This causes them to become stronger and fracture less easily. Because teeth are bones, fluoride helps strengthen teeth and prevent decay. The constant addition of fluoride causes re-mineralization of our bones. This means that even if it has been lacking for many years, the addition of it can help repair teeth and bones.

Lack of fluoride can increase the likelihood of significant tooth decay. This in turn can cause low self esteem, problems in careers or school and can even contribute to speech problems. Children with tooth decay are often affected by other serious health problems. Having enough fluoride can help prevent pain and reduce health care costs.

Though rare, sometimes an individual can have too much fluoride. This is often caused by taking to high of a supplement dose or swallowing toothpaste. For someone who steadily is getting too much fluoride, it can lead to fluorosis. Fluorosis is a relatively harmless staining of the teeth. It causes white spots to appear on the surfaces. A continuous high level of fluoride has been linked to reduced bone strength, kidney problems, and an increase risk of DNA damage.

Studies have shown that the majority of people do not receive enough fluoride, especially in communities that do not fluorinate their water. Besides taking a supplement and using fluorinated toothpastes, you can also increase your fluoride intake by eating a variety of foods.

Health benefits of strawberry juice

Top Fruits For Fluoride Content

The amounts of Fluoride are given for 100g of each fruit.

1 Strawberry 4,40 mcg
2 Peach 4,00 mcg
3 Apple 3,30 mcg
4 Banana 2,20 mcg
5 Plum 2,00 mcg
6 Cherry (sweet) 2,00 mcg
7 Watermelon 1,50 mcg
8 Melon (Cantaloupe) 1,00 mcg
9 *

*Nutrition data for other fruits did not indicate fluoride content.

26 Nov

Health Benefits Of Strawberry Juice: A Natural Anti-Inflammation Agent and Blood Sugar Regulator

Because strawberry juice is made out of simple and worldwide known berries that don’t seem really that special or exotic, people are often surprised that there are so many health benefits of strawberry juice. But it’s established scientific fact now that drinking strawberry juice is among the most high-impact ways to deliver an astonishing amount of healthy nutrients, anti-oxidant agents and vitamins to the human body. Strawberry juice is easy to digest, contains natural fiber, and is even inexpensive to buy. It does all this while tasting great, with little or no need for added sugars or artificial sweetener.

Before we talk more about the health benefits of drinking strawberry juice, let’s consider its source, the strawberry itself.  Among all American foods, strawberries easily landed in the Top 50 in a survey to determine which foods are best for human consumption. In fact, they ranked as “27th best” overall.

Health benefits of strawberry juice

Strawberries: Third Best Fruits You Can Eat

But when considering fruits alone, strawberries ranked third as the best fruits people can eat based on nutrition delivered per amount eaten. Only walnuts and blackberries ranked higher in terms of total amount of vitamins and anti-oxidants they deliver based on eating 3.5 ounces.

A Long List Of Healthy Nutrients And 136% of Vitamin C RDA in One Cup

When you eat a daily serving of strawberry or drink strawberry juice, you are gaining a laundry list of healthy nutrients. These include: Vitamin C, manganese, potassium, folate, iodine, Vitamins B2 and B5, omega-3 fatty acids, Vitamin K, copper, magnesium and fiber! Strawberries are highest in Vitamin C, with one cup delivering 136% of the recommended daily allowance.

Additionally, strawberries contain dozens of phyto-nutrients too numerous to mention here. Keep in mind that vitamins themselves, such as Vitamin C, are anti-oxidants, but there are many other classifications of anti-oxidant substances, and suffice it to say that strawberries are packed with dozens of them, even to an amazing degree.

Are Health Benefits Of Strawberries Lost In The Juice?

Okay, so when strawberries are processed into strawberry juice, do you still get all the nutritional value you would get if you ate the solid fruit itself? The simple answer is yes, but it depends on what kind of strawberry juice you select, so let’s take a quick look at this issue.

You may have heard of something called “juice concentrate.” What that means is that a fruit has had all of its water removed to make it easier to ship and store. When you buy frozen strawberry concentrate, for example, it is necessary for you to “add water” to make strawberry juice that you can drink. In general, strawberry juice from concentrate will have less nutritional value than pure, fresh strawberry juice. Whenever you process any vegetable in any way – be it drying, freezing, cooking or canning – some of the nutritional value is lost in the process.

However, if you buy strawberry juice listed as “not from concentrate” you are basically getting pure strawberries that have been blended into juice – although some brands may have had some of the pulp removed – and thus you lose nutrition and fiber.

Both concentrate and pure strawberry juice products still pack a lot of nutrition and are extremely healthy drinks; it’s just that some of the nutrition has been removed in the process. Many people choose to make their own strawberry juice using their own blender or food processor, however. In this case, you are getting the very same nutrition as you would if you simply ate strawberries whole.

Eat Them Fresh For The Best Health Impact

It’s also important to note that the strawberry is a relatively fragile fruit in that they do not hold their nutrition well over long periods. In fact, studies show that just two days after picking, strawberries lose significant amounts of vitamins and other anti-oxidants. So whether you are drinking the juice or eating the berry, think “fresh” for maximum nutritional punch.

Anti-inflammatory Effects

We should also mention that strawberries and strawberry juice has been shown to have significant anti-inflammatory effects on the human body, but only if eaten often and regularly. Strawberries lower the levels of something called C-reactive proteins in the body, which are associated with inflammatory conditions, such as arthritis. To get this benefit, studies show that strawberries must be eaten at least three times per week over a period of several weeks.

Strawberry Juice Regulates Blood Sugars

Strawberry juice is also now understood to be an excellent regulator of blood sugars, and will even counterbalance the negative effects of eating refined sugars. This makes strawberries and strawberry juice an excellent choice for diabetics and others on sugar-restricted diets.

That strawberry juice is one of the best possible sources of human nutrition is an established fact beyond a reasonable doubt. This juice is a natural win-win situation: It tastes great and the numerous health benefits of strawberry juice can do wonders for your health. It’s the best of all worlds.