One day a friend told me that a strawberry is one of the best fruits anyone can ever consume. I was so surprised at that statement; I was prompted immediately to research on the healthy facts about strawberries. Below are some points I want to share with you:
- The ancient Romans believed that strawberries alleviated symptoms of melancholy, fainting, all inflammations, fevers, throat infections, kidney stones, bad breath, attacks of gout, and diseases of the blood, liver, and spleen.
- Strawberries are low fat, low calorie; is the highest fruit source of vitamin C, also rich in fiber, folic acid, and potassium. According to the American Cancer Society; foods rich in vitamin C may lower the risk of cancers of the gastrointestinal tract.
- Eating strawberries, which are rich in nitrate, can increase the flow of blood & oxygen to the muscles by 7%. This prevents muscle fatigue, making exercise easier. In a test, subjects who ate nitrate-rich foods like strawberries, before exercising burned 100 more calories than those who did not.
- Strawberries have powerful antioxidant properties. In a study conducted by food scientists, strawberry ranked 27th in 50 of the world’s best antioxidant food sources. Also, it ranked 4th in terms of fruits that are rich in antioxidant.
- And now for my favourite discovery… They give you whiter teeth. Ever heard of strawberries and baking soda as teeth cleaner? Try it. Put 1 large strawberry in a blender together with a ½ teaspoon of baking soda and blend well. You can also mash the strawberry using a fork and mix the baking soda in. Use it like toothpaste and spread it on to your teeth gently. Leave it for 3-6 minutes and cleanse your teeth with water afterwards. Just make sure you brush your teeth with your preferred commercial toothpaste after so there won’t be strawberry stain or taste left.
Before now, you may have thought that strawberry was only considered a “sexy fruit”, something you eat when you want to get your groove on or when setting a romantic scene. Little did you know that it had such compact nutritional benefits.
New knowledge gained must be shared, so I encourage you to continue browsing this site to see which of your favourite fruit will be featured next; you might just be surprised what you find out about it.
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