Patrick Holford analysed fruits using five criterion - zinc content, folate content, antioxidant content (ORAC), vitamin C content and glycaemia load. Strawberries, followed by raspberries, came out top with just one serving of berries found to provide three times more health benefits than most fruits. In addition, Holford uncovered a multitude of benefits covering health, nutrition, beauty and, perhaps more controversially, sex.
“Berries are as close as you can get to the perfect fruit,” says Holford. “They provide numerous benefits from boosting energy levels to reversing the signs of ageing, improving a person’s sex drive to aiding concentration, and they help prevent cancer, colds, hay fever and asthma. I recommend a serving of berries every day - that, far more than an apple, is likely to keep the doctor away.”
While the government recommends eating five servings of fruit and vegetables a day, not all fruits are equal. Strawberries and raspberries contain 10 essential nutrients. Not only is this more than are found in other foods, five of the nutrients are not found in any multi-vitamin pill.
Commenting on the news, Laurence Olins, chairman of British Summer Fruits, says: “Working with Patrick has been enlightening. We always knew that eating berries was good for us, but with Patrick’s help we’ve uncovered many more specific reasons for consumers to eat them. We hope once the news gets out consumers of all ages will want to include them as part of their daily diet.”
British Summer Fruits is the new name for the umbrella industry association - formerly National Summer Fruits Ltd - which was adopted last year by the six marketing company members that represent 98 per cent of the British soft and stonefruit crop grown for the UK supermarkets. The campaign, being run by Sputnik Communications, will spread across the breadth of the British season and is supported by many of the UK’s leading retailers.
HOLFORD’S REASONS TO BE BERRY-FULL
LOW SUGAR AND LOW GLYCAEMIC LOAD
• Strawberries, followed by raspberries, are the best fruits to eat for those wanting to lose weight and have sustained energy levels. This is because they are low in calories and have the lowest glycaemic load of any fruit (the glycaemic load of a large punnet of strawberries is 1).
• The glycaemic load of a food is a measure of how much a food raises a person’s blood sugar level, and how much it is likely to cause weight gain. Stable weight and stable energy are achieved by eating foods with a low glycaemic load.
• It is a myth that bananas provide sustained energy. They are among the fruits with the highest glycaemic load (12). This means a person would have to eat 12 punnets of strawberries to have the same effect on your blood sugar as one banana.
FOLATE, THE 21st CENTURY PANACEA
• Described in the British Medical Journal as a ‘leading contender for panacea of the 21st century’, folate (a B vitamin) prevents pregnancy problems and miscarriages, relieves depression, improves memory and concentration, and lowers heart disease risk and homocysteine levels, now thought to the single greatest measure of a long and healthy life.
• There is 100 times more folate in a small punnet of strawberries than there is in one apple.
• Five strawberries provide 125mcg of folic acid which is more than half of a day’s RDA.
ZINC
• All berries contain high levels of Zinc, but raspberries have the highest of all fruits. Zinc is the nutrient that aids growth (of everything from hair to nails, babies to plants). As human sperm is packed with zinc, and because it’s the mineral that makes the male hormone testosterone, zinc is the nutrient most associated with sex.
• Infertility, loss of sex drive and impotence are attributable to a deficiency in zinc, so eating strawberries and raspberries is beneficial to a healthy sex life.
• Zinc helps give men harder erections and strengthens sperm.
ANTIOXIDANT POWER
• The big buzzword in health and nutrition is antioxidants. Put simply, the exhaust fumes of the body are called oxidants. When we breathe in car exhaust, cigarette smoke or polluted air, eat burnt or fried foods, and tan our skin we expose ourselves to oxidants. This ages us faster and increases the risk of many diseases, including cancer. The only reversal to this is exposure to antioxidants.
• Strawberries and raspberries are among the best all-round foods for anti-ageing antioxidants. Berries have a higher antioxidant content than any other fruit. Five strawberries contain more antioxidant power than three apples or four bananas (See Antioxidant Power chart).
ANTI-CANCER NUTRIENTS
• Strawberries and raspberries are top anti-cancer foods as they are exceptionally high in four known anti- cancer nutrients: anthocyanins, ellagic acid, isothiocyanates and quercitin. These nutrients are not found in any multi-vitamin pill.
• Nitrosamine, a common cancer-producing chemical found in some meats is put out of action by strawberries. In fact, research (1) has shown that strawberries are second only to garlic for their anti-cancer properties against nitrosamines.
• According to research at the Indiana University School of Medicine in the US, ellegic acid in strawberries and raspberries protect healthy cells from developing into cancer cells (2).
• Isothyiocyanates don’t just help prevent cancer, they reverse it by killing cancer cells. Strawberries and raspberries have been shown to inhibit cancer development in cervical (3), oesophageal (4) and oral cancer (5).
• The Mayo Clinic in the US is currently conducting research into quercitin to help treat and prevent prostrate cancer, the fastest rising cancer now affecting one in six men at some point in their life. Mayo Clinic researcher Dr. Nianzeng Xing has found quercitin blocks the androgen activity which in turn prevents or stops the growth of prostrate cancer cells.
QUERCITIN - THE ANTIDOTE TO HAYFEVER, ECZEMA AND ASTHEMA
• Strawberries and raspberries are nature’s cure for hayfever, eczema and asthma.
• The high quercitin content inhibits the release of histamine which helps mitigate conditions brought on by these types of allergin.
• Quercitin, along with other bioflavanoids in berries, also improves the health of capillaries and connective tissues which can help alleviate bruising, oedema, varicose veins, and fragile capillaries.
VITAMIN C
• Strawberries, closely followed by raspberries, contain the most vitamin C per calorie than any other fruit. British strawberries and raspberries are the only home-grown fruit containing significant amounts.
• There is more vitamin C in five strawberries than there is in an orange.
• A high dietary in-take of vitamin C halves the risk of cancer, prevents colds and infections, and promotes healthy, firm skin (collagen, the glue between skin cells, is made of vitamin C). n
(1) Department of Food and Nutrition, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, South Korea
(2) Xue H et al, ‘Inhibition of cellular transformation by berry extracts’ Carcinogenesis May 2001
(3) Narayanan BA et al, ‘Expression and its possible role in GI arrest and apoptosis in ellagic acid treated cancer cells’ Cancer Lett. March 1, 1999
(4) Stoner GD et al, ‘Isothiocyanates and freeze-dried strawberries as inhibitors of oesophageal cancer’ Toxicol Sci. Dec 1999
5) Casto BC et al, ‘Chemoprevention of oral cancer by black raspberries’ Anticancer Res. Nov-Dec 2002
AND IF THAT STILL HASN’T PERSUADED YOU...
Eating strawberries and raspberries increases the sex drive of both men and women, revealed the British Summer Fruits study. The reason lies in the exceptionally high levels of zinc found in the fruits’ seeds, which unlike most fruits are eaten rather than removed.
Zinc is the nutrient most associated with sex for three principle reasons: First, it is the nutrient that governs testosterone, which is needed for sperm production. Second, a woman’s body prepares itself for sex more quickly if zinc levels are high, and third, human sperm is packed with it. If a man were to have sex just three times in 24 hours, his entire zinc supply could be depleted.
Patrick Holford, the founder of the Institute for Optimum Nutrition, found strawberries, followed by raspberries, came out top. “My message is simple: every time you have sex, or simply want to ready yourself or your partner for sex you should consume a handful of raspberries or strawberries,” said Holford. “And it’s not just the zinc content of the berries which is beneficial in the bedroom. They are incredibly high in anti-oxidants which helps to optimise blood flow to the sex organs, and they have the lowest glycaemic load of any fruit meaning they provide sustained energy levels at only a few calories.”
Laurence Olins, chairman of British Summer Fruits, the industry body which represents 98 per cent of all the soft fruits sold through supermarkets, said: “Let this be a call to arms for the men and women of the UK. Patrick’s findings show berries to be as close as you can get to the perfect fruit. A serving of strawberries or raspberries a day - whether as a snack, a smoothie or in a recipe - should be top of everyone’s list.”
In addition to improving male and female sex drive, strawberries and raspberries provide numerous other benefits. They help reverse the signs of ageing, help prevent cancer, hayfever and asthma, boost energy levels, aid concentration and help hangovers. They are also great for anyone watching their weight and who needs sustained energy.
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