Well-known juicy berry, in addition to being one of the most delicious natural goodies of the first summer month, also occupies a leading position in the content of vitamins and amino acids, outstripping even citrus fruits in these indicators.
The nutritional value of strawberries
The full index of the RCU per 100 g of fragrant berries:
- 0.7 g of protein;
- 0.4 g of fat;
- 7.6 g of carbohydrates.
At the same time, the calorie index of strawberries on average does not exceed 43 kcal for the same number of berries, and the low glycemic value (31 in total) allows you to include summer sweetness in the diet of a diabetic. True, people with diabetes are recommended to eat no more than 70 g of goodies per day, and the calculation of sugars (per 100 g of product) should be carried out according to the following values:
- 2.6 g glucose;
- 2.5 g fructose;
- 1.2 g of sucrose.
Nutritionists recommend that healthy strawberries be included in the schemes of various diets for weight loss, primarily because of the huge amount of healthy carbohydrates and the almost complete absence of fats in its composition.
The chemical composition of the berry
As for the vitamin and microelement composition of strawberries, the benefits of which are considered, then it contains:
- vitamins: group B (B1, B2, B6, B9), carotenoids, ascorbic acid, tocopherol, phylloquinone, ergocalciferol;
- pectins;
- cellulose;
- phenols;
- acids - malic, pantothenic, folic and citric;
- trace elements: zinc, magnesium, potassium and calcium, sodium, iron.
Despite the fact that strawberries do not go off the shelves of large stores for a year, the best option for filling the deficit of nutrients is to wait for your local berry. Imported strawberries are removed from the bush while still being green, and ripens during the transportation period, so the benefits for the human body are doubtful of such strawberries.
Red berries of health
It is difficult to name the benefit of strawberries as the reason for the effectiveness of therapeutic or recovery processes . Therefore, it is better not to comment on the mythical abilities of the berry to cure cancer or destroy carious streptococci, but to focus on the real possibilities of the fetus:
- an increase in the number of red blood cells (without threatening to cause increased blood viscosity);
- partial disinfection of the oral cavity and slowing the development of caries;
- easy diuretic and choleretic effect;
- mild laxative effect, by stimulating bowel contractility;
- improvement of digestive functions (due to a large number of acids).
The assumption that the benefits of strawberries extend to the destruction of cancer cells is supported by the well-known properties of flavonoids and phenolic acids, which are actively used in anti-cancer therapy and are contained in strawberries. However, the amount of antioxidants in the berry is not enough to achieve a therapeutic effect. Therefore, doctors recommend using a treat as a prophylaxis for the development of pathogenic cells, and use prescribed medications for treatment.
The benefits of the green part of the strawberry bush
Not only the fruit part of the plant is useful for the human body, but also fresh (or dried) leaves of the green bush. The main thing is to use intact leaves without traces of chemical treatment.
- Quick "fastener" for the stomach - put 10 washed strawberry leaves in a thermos and pour 0.5 liters of boiling water. After half an hour, the drug can be drunk.
- Phyto-diuretic to relieve puffiness - mash dried leaves (2-3 pcs.) In hands and pour them with a glass of boiling water. Insist under the lid for 15 minutes and drink this amount of the product for 2 hours.
The main advantage of treating green plant tops is the ability to procure it for the future without losing the healing value of the composition. You need to store leaflets in kraft paper bags or in fabric bags.
Slimming strawberries
Diets based on the exclusion of sugars from the diet require natural sweeteners. If fructose and sucrose are completely eliminated from the menu, the body will begin to malfunction at the cardiovascular and mental levels, and metabolic disorders can lead to the opposite effect and the person will rapidly gain weight.
Recently, diet plans have appeared that are completely based on the proper use of strawberries. True, losing weight on such diets does not work out seriously, but losing 1-2 cm at the waist is enough. Here is a sample of one of these diets with approximate proportions of products:
- Morning meal - a fruit mix of 10-12 berries of strawberries, apples and kiwi, seasoned with 2 tbsp. spoons of natural unsweetened yogurt.
- Daily meal - mix 100 g of boiled white chicken meat, a pinch of cashew nuts or walnuts and 5-7 berries of strawberries. Add a spoonful of yogurt or grape oil.
- Evening snack - 5 strawberries with 1-2 crackers.
- Dinner (between 18:30 and 19:30) in the evening - grind half a pack of fat-free cottage cheese with 7 berries of strawberries and, if desired, a mix of 100 g of any other fruits. The curd mass can be washed down with fermented baked milk, yogurt, kefir (250 ml).
Such a diet may have the nature of fasting days and be repeated once a week. Or follow small blocks of 3 days with a frequency of once a month.
Strawberries for beauty
The benefits of strawberries for women are expressed in a wide range of cosmetic procedures. Due to the high concentration of fruit acids, strawberry masks whiten, peel, nourish and disinfect the skin. It uses both simple strawberry puree stabilized with egg white or starch, and complex multicomponent compositions with the addition of honey, cream, cottage cheese or cosmetic clay.
Irreplaceable for skin and berry juice. It is diluted with distilled water 1: 5 and frozen in forms for morning rubbing of the face. The undiluted juice of fresh berries is recommended to treat pigmented skin and acne.
To lighten the teeth by 1-2 tones, it is advised to stretch the berries on a cotton pad and grate the resulting gruel thoroughly with teeth and gums. You need to do this every day throughout the strawberry season. In the same way they get rid of brittle nails and painful calluses, which under the action of acid quickly coarsen and cease to bother.
Contraindications
With all the obvious benefits, the health damage of strawberries and the negative consequences of its use often lead to involuntary treatment of the natural medicine itself. As the most common phenomenon, allergic signs are expressed, expressed in hyperemia, edema of varying degrees, lacrimation, runny nose, urticaria. Since intolerance can occur at any age, there is a general recommendation not to consume berries with a volume of more than 400 g per day, and also not to include strawberries in the diet with an exacerbation of allergies to citrus, honey, nuts or melons.
In the presence of large fixed kidney stones, eating berries is also harmful. The use of strawberries as a source of vitamins cannot be compared with the consequences that can cause rough salt stones moving along the ureter.
Small children (from a year of life) are allowed to add 7-10 g of mashed strawberries to cottage cheese or unsweetened yogurt. If an allergic reaction to the new complementary foods is not noticed, you can gradually increase the serving to several berries per day.
To completely abandon the use of fresh or frozen strawberries (the benefits and harms of which are similar) will also have to be in acute form of gastritis or gastric ulcer. Reduce the number of berries to 5-7 pieces per day, you need hypertensive patients who are constantly taking drugs to lower blood pressure.
Is it possible to eat strawberries during feeding
If the mother’s body perceives the product well, then after the birth of a baby, you don’t need to deny yourself a treat. The exception is the situation when the baby is born in the "strawberry season", that is, in early summer. Then the newborn may not be able to cope with the abundance of new elements in milk and respond to violent allergic symptoms.
For a child born at the end of winter, a slightly changed and more saturated composition of mother's milk will even be useful. But during this period and until the baby reaches the age of seven months, the mother can eat no more than 3 berries per day. Gradually increasing the amount of strawberries eaten, by the year-old age of the baby, a nursing woman may have 5-7 berries in a daily diet.
Special recommendations
Buying berries in the market or in the store, you can easily take tinted and artificially restored berries for fresh ones. Will give a low-quality fake the lack of a specific, bright aroma or a neutral "wax" smell. It is best to buy strawberries “with tails” - such a berry will be stored longer, and “marketability” will not lose several days. Of course, before you get to the table, the berries will have to be washed well, preferably with warm water.
Improper eating of berries is the second most common cause of the body’s negative reaction to treats. Few people know, but tasty berries cannot be left “for sweet” after a hearty dinner, because the acids in abundance contained in strawberries trigger the immediate fermentation processes in the body. Bowel irritation can be avoided by eating berries between two main meals - that is, not on an empty or full stomach.
The most successful combination, in which all the elements of the berry are absorbed with maximum health benefits, is strawberries and dairy (sour-milk) products. Thanks to vitamin C, calcium is better absorbed by the body and takes on enveloping functions that protect the digestive tract from the aggressive effects of fruit acids.