All you need to know about… strawberries
Absolutely delicious and so good for you, strawberries are loaded with fibre, vitamins, and antioxidants, they are also low in calories and are known for reducing blood pressure. This sweet little superfood is also a higher source of vitamin C per serving (approximately 8 strawberries) than an orange.
While we refer to them as berries, strawberries are not berries at all, they are an aggregate fruit. What does that mean? A berry is a fruit formed from the ovary of a single flower with seeds inside the flesh. Strawberries, however have seeds on the outside of the fruit and develop from multiple ovaries of a single fruit which means that they are not a berry. Just to add to the confusion, fruits such as bananas, avocados, watermelon and kiwi fruit are, in botanical terms, berries. The strawberry comes from a plant called ‘fragaria’ which is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family.
It is believed by historians that the first strawberry plant was discovered in ancient Rome in 234 BC and was commonly used for medicinal purposes. Given the high level of vitamins and antioxidants in strawberries, it’s not surprising that strawberries are being researched for their medicinal potential. Recent studies show that there may be health benefits associated with the consumption of strawberries. The polyphenols found in strawberries may prevent chronic diseases related to oxidative stress and inflammation, including diabetes and diabetic complications, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, alcoholic liver disease, chronic kidney disease, cancer, and ageing. Of course, more studies are required to verify these findings, but wouldn’t it be wonderful if a strawberry a day could keep the doctor away?
