They shimmer between the leaves in the most beautiful shades of red, violet, pink and blue. But of course, berries are not only an optical ornament. They taste wonderfully delicious, have little sugar in them, are suitable for the a wide range of dishes and keep us fit. In spite of their small size, they have a whole lot to offer.
Blue, red, violet and pink – it’s the colour that counts.
Besides many vitamins and minerals, berries contain valuable anthocyanins. These water-soluble plant dyes with the difficult to pronounce name are found in almost all higher plants. They color fruits and flowers blue, violet or red.
But anthocyanins can do much more than make fruit and flowers pretty. They are also extremely useful for us humans. In fruits, the anthocyanins in the skin absorb the UV light. In this way, they prevent damage to the proteins, the genetic material and the cell nucleus.
They also bind free radicals, i.e. aggressive, destructive oxygen compounds and protect the plant from so-called oxidative stress. Quite complicated, isn’t it!
The important thing is that anthocyanins apparently do the same in the human body. And that’s great for us.
In this way, the plant dyes are said to have blood pressure-lowering, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antiviral effects for us people.
They are also supposed to protect us – like the plants – from free radicals. Ingenious! Because these free radicals are suspected of increasing the risk of many serious diseases: arteriosclerosis, rheumatism, diabetes, heart attack, stroke, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, periodontal disease and cataracts.
Berries instead of gummy bears.
So when you’re feeling a little hungry, reach for colorful berries instead of gummy bears. They taste delicious, are refreshing, strengthen our immune system and fight bravely against “radicals” that we don’t want in our bodies.
Sources: wikipedia.de; gesundheits-lexikon.com; deutsche-apotheker-zeitung.de; fitforfun.de; medmix.at (German)
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