The choke berry is a healthy fruit that contains powerful antioxidants. The berries have substances called anthocyanins (greek origin,anthos and kyanos means dark blue), hence the name black chokeberry. It has been studied in labs that when pre-diabetic (sensitive to insulin) rats were fed extracts over a period of six weeks, they had

Aronia Berries by Gary duboman01

lower blood glucose. They also had reduced levels of plasma triglycerides and low cholesterol. Some of the rats were fed water spiked with the aronia berries while others were fed pure water with low levels of the aronia berry. Both levels of the aronia berry mixture had the same effect.

Aronia berries are full of nutritional value. Human studies show that a daily consumption of at least 200 ml of aronia berry juice per day by diabetes patients helped to lower their blood glucose levels. That gave them a stable amount of insulin. The influence that the aronia fruit juice had on blood glucose is that it amazingly reduces the abnormalities in blood glucose. It can be used to fight against any complications that may be associated with diabetes. In the studies that used aronia berries extract for diabetes, it not only helped the blood glucose levels stay low, but it also stopped damage from occurring to the kidneys as a result of the diabetic condition. Blood glucose is just one of the many ailments that the aronia berry extract has the power to level in our bodies.

The aronia berry is also known as the choke berry. Aronia berries are also filled with nutrients that are great for those who use the alternative choices to being healthy. They are full of benefits for the body as they contain antioxidants that help fight against cancer. This black chokeberry also contains useful mineral and vitamins; vitamins C, E, B2, B6 and folic acid. 

Aronia berries are starting to be found in super markets and households all over the United States. They are sold as yogurts, jellies, pie fillings, candies and sorbet. There is even an aronia berry juice. It is also a flavor that is

Aronia Berries by Birgit F

popular in wines. This delicious berry adds nutrients that your body needs to ensure a healthier life. 

The aronia berry is a great source of antioxidants, fights against heart disease and cardio vascular problems, promotes a healthy urinary tract, has anti-inflammatory properties, fights cold and flu bacteria and viruses, strengthens the memory, aids in digestion, helps the body produce good cholesterol and provides the body with essential oils. There are so many benefits this berry has for the body. It is no wonder this fruit is quite the rage for those who experience its healing power. 

Aronia berries are used as ingredients in other juices such as the pomegranate and blueberry juice that Archer Farms produces. Some have testified that after drinking juices with aronia berries, they no longer experience catching colds.

Sawmill Hollow Organic Farms is the first organic aronia berry plantation in the United States. The farm has done research over the course of the past ten years on the organic choke berry, and developed a whole product line from it. The farm has also opened a store to sell the black choke berry products. Aronia berries contain a high level of antioxidants. They help reduce the risks for cancer, heart disease, diabetes and bacterial infections. Aronia is now native to the United States and is an easy plant to grow organically.

Sawmill Hollow Organic Farm customers purchase these berries and eat them freshly picked right off of the bush or alternatively use them in bread, muffins, and other baked goods. There are customers at the festival that drink the aronia berry juice, or use the berries to make teas, wine or smoothies. A popular reason to purchase these berries at the festival is to make jams or jellies. 

The berry has a taste that is not easy to describe, but it is of a distinctive and pleasant flavor. The berry has a bitter taste that may make your mouth pucker. It gives your mouth a dry-like feeling that is caused by tannis – a chemical used to make wine dry.

Sawmill Hollow Organic Farms has this festival every year in September. They provide tours of the aronia plantation, have educational talks, and let you sample the aronia berry product before purchasing.

The aronia berry is also known by the name, the black chokeberry. Early native settlers referred to it as the choke

Aronia Berries by Outdoor PDK3

berry since they ate it raw, it was sharp. Aronia berries are close in relation to the blueberry. Science has become interested in its deep purple color and concludes that by this berry being black in color, it has to be high in antioxidants and vitamin C. Since the aronia berry is strong in taste, natural aronia berry juice is better sweetened.

An animal study in 2004 showed that the aronia berry’s antioxidant effects had a gastro protective effect when treating the acute gastric hemorrhagic lesion in rats. This study suggested to scientists that it can be a natural effective treatment for stomach problems in humans (including ulcers). Another 2003 study showed that the berry provided a natural defense to fight against colon cancer. A 2002 animal modeled study concluded that the anthocyanins in the aronia berry were useful in fighting against oxidative stress in cardiovascular patients. 2002 studies have also shown that the aronia berry juice without sugar helped to treat diabetic patients.

The aronia berries have been known to prevent spasms in blood vessels, keeping blood pressure from becoming dangerously high and helping to prevent blood vessel spasms. In the United States, the aronia berry was tested by the Department of Agriculture. They found that the aronia berry has the highest ORAC and H-ORAC score (this is the testing unit of antioxidants). 

Do you eat the aronia berry? For a specific reason?

Lychees

Since the lychee fruit is nutritious and contains lots of health benefits, there are vast of delicious recipes made out of it. When you search on the net, you will see actually hundreds of recipes with lychee as one of its main ingredients. Apart from it being the main ingredient, these lychee fruits are also naturally added to fruit salads and plenty of natural lychees are added in desserts as well. Some of the common salads with lychee fruits added are in chicken salads or they simply stir fry the fruits for some sweet touches. In addition, most of the people who love to eat lychee used it in a sweet-and-sour recipe sauces and dessert sauces.

Aside from this antioxidant fruit being excellent to be eaten as it is, and being naturally added in chicken salads, desserts and fruit salads, lychees are also being used in making ice cream, syrups and delicious jams with lychee being the main element. There is also a famous drink known as Lychee Martini. Delicious lychee fruit recipes are candied dried lychees; spiced nuts with candied lychees; drop doughnuts lychee; roll-ups made of lychee; stuffed lychees; tropical fruit lychee aalsa plus cinnamon chips; and wolfgang’s sweet lychee spring rolls with lychee sauce.

Famous beverages made from lychee are lychee bellini; lychee cocktail; and lychee cosmopolitan and a lot more beverages. Famous lychee desserts are baked lychees; lychee ice; lychee doughnuts; lychee pudding and a lot more desserts.

Do you use the lychee in your recipes?  What do you make that also has the lychee fruit in it?

Flavanoids are labeled as vitamin P. They are metabolites that enhance vitamin C’s functions by protecting it from oxidation and improving how vitamin C is absorbed. Flavonoids are important in plant pigmentation. It helps produce the yellow, red or blue that you see in plant petals. Flavonoids also help to protect plants from insect and fungal attacks. Flavonoids are also found in nuts, grains and leaves. Some of the herbs that contain Flavonoids are hawthorn, echinacea, bilberry and milk thistle. Good sources of Flavonoids can be found in all citrus fruits, berries, parsley, green and white teas, and dark chocolate. Red wine even contains high amounts of Flavonoids. This is why a high intake of red wine would show that there are less coronary disease rates.

One of the most common classes of Flavonoids is phytonutrients.  Phytonutrients are components that help promote health. Nutrients like protein, fat, minerals and vitamins are essential for life unlike phytonutrients. Phytonutrients help to protect against diseases by enhancing your immune system response, killing cancerous cells converting to vitamin A and serving as antioxidants. Flavonoids help with many of the body’s processes and are beneficial to the heart, liver and kidneys. As a result of this, many consumers as well as food manufacturers have become interested in flavonoids. Flavonoids mediate the body’s effect for diets that are rich in fruits and vegetables to assist in the prevention of colorectal cancer. They have a profound growth effect on colonic tumor cells also. Soy flavonoids are used to help ease the symptoms of menopause.

Nashi Pear

 Nashi pears, also called Asian pears, are related to the pears we see regularly but shares similarities with an apple in that it is crisp, slightly sweet and juicy. They are often referred to as apple pears. These pears are round and firm, and as soon as they are harvested they are ready to be eaten. The Nashi pear’s nutritional benefits are vitamin C, dietary fiber and B vitamins. They are loaded with nutrients that benefit you health wise. They provide around 3 grams of dietary fiber per 100 grams. Eating these pears regularly can help to fight against colon cancer. The Nashi pear helps the body with its production of red blood cells as well as gastrointestinal health. Nashi pears have high water content and are grainy in texture. There are a few fruits referred to as ‘antioxidant fruits’ including the Nashi pear. 

The Nashi pear is low in saturated fat and contains about 14g carbohydrates and zero fat. It is also high in dietary fiber and vitamin K. The Nashi pear is not only just good for your general health, but that are good in weight loss. The Nashi pear is rich in antioxidants including zea xanthins, lutein and beta carotene. It has been known to be useful in helping to treat gout, arthritis, colitis and chronic gallbladder disorder. In addition to all of the nutrients this pear provides, it is one of the fruits that bear the lowest calorie count at 58 calories per 100 grams!

Camu Camu

 Camu camu is a bush that can be found grown in the Amazonian rain forest of Peru. This bush produces a fruit that also goes by the name of Camu Camu. The Camu Camu fruit is roughly the size and color of a large grape, and contains a yellow pulp. This fruit grows wild and is flash frozen when it is picked. The Camu Camu fruit is a very familiar fruit to Japan but remains almost unknown in the United States. It takes about four to five years for this bush to even bear the fruit. The benefits of Camu Camu are many. Camu Camu is one of the most effective and fastest ways for your body to get the vitamin C it needs. This fruit contains more vitamin C than any other known fruit!

When this fruit has grown, it is harvested on canoes. After harvest, it is taken to a plant to be processed. There it is thawed out, peeled and then turned to liquid. Once this plant has been liquefied, it is spray dried which produces a pale pink and very potent powder. The nutrition of Camu Camu is widely known. Once the Camu Camu is processed, it is sold as a health food in capsules or in its loose powder form. People who take these capsules claim that just two per day increases their wellness abundantly. Camu Camu is presently threatened to be an endangered species due to i’s being over harvested. There are efforts being put forth to try to have Camu Camu grown commercially. 

Have you had camu camu?  How do you like it?  What does it taste like to you?

Asian pear

The Asian pear is a fruit that closely resembles an apple in its shape. It has the same crunch and texture as an apple, but it holds the pear’s sweet taste and flavor. It was cultivated mostly in China and Japan until the United States Asian immigrant demanded it in the United States. It is now cultivated in California and does not have the same process to ripen as the regular pears do. Most of the other pears have to wait to ripen where the Asian pear is picked while ripe and ready to eat. It lasts longer when it is refrigerated. The most common of the Asian pears that you see in the United States are round and yellow or brownish with a bumpy skin. This pear is sometimes referred to as the Nashi pear.  

When it comes to finding a good quality Asian pear, you will select them by their smell instead of how firm they are. They will usually have a sweet strong scent. Most fruits are ripe when they are gentle but the Asian pear is actually ripe when it is firm. This pear has a longer shelf life than most fruits and can be refrigerated for a few days. These pears are seasonal and are only available from July to October in California, Japan, Oregon and Washington. This pear is known as one of the antioxidant fruits because of all the beneficial ways it contributes to your health. The Asian pear is the oldest known pear to be cultivated.

You might be interested in buying Native Forest Organic Sliced Asian Pears, 15-Ounce Cans (Pack of 6) if you cannot find Asian pears in your area.

grapes

Proanthocyanins are a distinctive class of flavonoid, and was discovered in 1946 by a researcher from France who was doing studies on peanut skins, and its effect on circulation and heart disease. Upon doing his research, he found one compound called proanthocyanidin or proanthocyanins which he discovered to be very effective in the protection of vascular walls inside human body. Vascular walls is human tissue that surrounds and guards your veins and arteries. And in 1986, this was considered the most useful product, and to their amazement, purple grapes especially in the seed extract contained vast amount of proanthocyanins.

In general, how can these classes help you? Proanthocyanidins offer plenty of health benefits. It builds up your vascular walls including your smallest capillaries. This keeps your blood vessels fit and prevents heart diseases. It facilitates in the collagen formation, called a building block in every cell in human body. Other benefits include: It aids with edema and varicose veins prevention; Improvement of eyesight infections due to environmental factors like computer screens, sun, smoke and other eye pollutants; Enhancement in Vitamin C’s functions; And helps in the protection of your heart and prevention of heart diseases. It also makes cell membranes become stronger, thus making histamine difficult to escape. Since proanthocyanidins contains antihistamine action, it blocks any allergic reactions to your body.

Known to be a great antioxidant, it is the reason why antioxidant fruits, such as purple grapes and other grapeseed or grapeskin are recommended to be eaten for health reasons and prevention of heart disease.