Diet & Fitness 

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Superberries

So what is all this fuss about berries? It is increasingly the between-meal nibble of choice for celebrities, but what can they do for the rest of us?

Superstars eat Superberries

Liz Hurley, Mischa Barton and Madonna, who no doubt are getting top-end advice from leading nutritionists, are said to be nibbling on Goji on a daily basis. Meanwhile, nutritionist to the stars, Dr Perricone's top 10 foods includes Acai.

All fruits and vegetables are good for you but do some have health properties that increase their value? Rather than assume these berries are a passing trend, we should be sitting up and taking notice because they are definitely a good thing. But you'd better hurry up if you want to stay in the groove, or the trend will have moved on. It is rumoured we'll all be eating the Australian billy-goat plum and the South American camu-camu soon!

Berry good

Berries are particularly high in compounds called anthocyanins, which are antioxidant polyphenols. The reason they deliver these compounds is because they are red, and anthocyanins are pigments. Berries also tend to be extremely high in vitamin C, often more so than oranges. The fibre they contain, pectin, is particularly beneficial for digestive health, and some berries contain enough fibre to make a very significant contribution to daily intake.

Studies by the USDA Human Research Centre on Ageing at Tufts University indicate that diets high in fruit and vegetables slow ageing. They have developed ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) to measure the ability of fruits and vegetables to quench damaging free radicals, which are linked to heart disease, cancer and Alzheimers, as well as more trivial concerns such as wrinkles.

Fruits and vegetables, which can contain several of the 4,000 flavonoids, or plant compounds, which are linked to good health, have been given individual ORAC values. Tufts advise 3,000 to 6,000 units daily and this is where the berry comes in. Per 100g, Goji provide a remarkable 25,000 units, pomegranates about 3,300, blueberries 2,400, cranberries 1,700 and raspberries 1,200.

Real life seems to be following the theory. In Finland they once had one of the worst track records for heart disease in Europe until they introduced health measures to combat the problem and saw a 50 per cent drop in 20 years. One important measure was encouraging the regular consumption of berries.

Berry careful

It is important to pay attention to the source of the berries you are consuming. Fresh is always good, frozen is just as good. Dried are just fine and probably the only way of getting really exotic species. Be very careful of juices and smoothies however, and check how much actual fruit extract there is.

Juices, for instance, are often sugar, citric acid and preservatives rather than just juice. Health bars, mueslis and cereals are all great but again you may get more benefit by just chucking in a handful of dried or fresh berries so you know you are getting a decent portion.

While superberries are undoubtedly a bonus, some of the claims made for them are unrealistic and even irresponsible. Berries will give a potent antioxidant boost to your diet and they could very reasonably provide protection against the worst effects of ageing and some nasty diseases if eaten over the long-term as part of a varied diet. But they won't cure cancer, they are not fruit-Viagra and a handful of berries won't magic away your cellulite!

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