Health Hotline Magazine | May 2022

As you reach into arches of prickly vines for the plumpest blackberry you can spot, it’s like you’re a kid again. Stretching as tall as you can muster on your tippiest toes, you get your fingers on the biggest, juiciest, sun-warmed berry in sight and pop it in your mouth. That perfectly tart berry is worth every little scrape you may have endured to reach it. Every bite bursts into memories — being a child picking wild or u-pick farm berries, filling buckets to only end up half as full as they should because you can’t help but snack on them as you go. The memories are as sweet as the berries, and sweeter still are all the nutrients they pack. FOR THE LOVE OF ORGANICS : BERRIES By Morgaine Lee O GANIC HEADQUA TE S ®

Bitter Truths and Better Fruit with Organic Farming For all the sweetness and joy they bring, strawberries are a notorious mainstay on the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen list and have taken the number one spot since 2016. Tests by the USDA showed 99 percent of all conventional samples contained at least one pesticide residue, with an average of 7.8 di erent pesticides per sample. About 20 percent of chemical sprays used to produce strawberries in conventional farming leave a residue on the fruit; the other 80 percent are fumigants like chloropicrin used prior to planting to wipe out everything in the soil — both beneficial and parasitic. Choosing organic not only keeps the residues at bay and out of our bodies, but also produces a more nutritious berry and supports healthy soil teeming with life. Organic berries even have a longer shelf life.

There’s No Berry Like an Organic Berry

Blueberry Memories Protect those treasured memories of berry picking and homemade berry pies with the brain-loving power of gallic acid. Blueberries are an especially potent source of this memory-supporting antioxidant. Studies have shown that gallic acid can cross the blood-brain barrier and directly support brain function. Gallic acid stimulates the hippocampus, the memory center of the brain, and its antioxidant actions protect brain cells from oxidative damage caused by environmental stresses and natural aging processes. It also reduces inflammation. Studies have demonstrated that this powerful antioxidant can support healthy brain function and prevent neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. So, keep your bowl of organic blueberries close at hand and those sweet memories even closer.

Take yourself back to the days of crimson-stained fingertips and raspberry finger puppets; not only are berries fun but they are also full of juicy health benefits. Berries are especially rich in antioxidant polyphenols and other important nutrients including quercetin, fiber, and vitamins C and E. These nutrients and antioxidants play important roles in the body, including supporting cardiovascular health, brain function, and protecting the body from oxidative damage. Studies show that organic berries have significantly higher concentrations of these vital nutrients compared to conventionally grown ones. Organic strawberries, for example, have about 10 percent higher antioxidant activity, vitamin C, and phenolics than conventionally grown strawberries.

Make your berry snack a little more decadent with a pairing of chocolate. A study published earlier this year found that the flavanol content of cocoa combined with the anthocyanin content of strawberries are an antioxidant match

made in heaven. The pair are full of antioxi- dants shown to enhance cognitive perfor- mance and memory. Go ahead and devour every bit of that chocolate-covered strawberry, your brain will love it too! Just be sure to make it organic to get the most out of your berry and chocolate treats.

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