Strawberries
It’s strawberry season! Did you know the strawberry is the most popular berry in the world? The strawberry goes back thousands of years and consists of hundreds of varieties.
Strawberries are particularly rich in fiber, vitamin C and anthocyanidins (a flavonoid), specifically pelargonidin. Pelargonidin gives strawberries their beautiful, bright red color. Research suggests pelargonidin shields against inflammation through slowing down the activity of cyclooxygenase enzymes (COX). COX enzymes create prostaglandins - which are suggested to be responsible for promoting inflammation, pain and fever. To put the actions of these enzymes into perspective, if you were to sprain your ankle and take a NSAID, such as ibuprofen, ibuprofen will block pain and inflammation through blocking COX enzymes. Therefore, research suggests strawberries act in a natural way to block these enzymes and play an anti-inflammatory role.
Tip: when strawberries are cut, they begin to lose their vitamin C content. In order to gain the most bang for your buck, keep strawberries whole.
Strawberries are important to purchase organically, or wash thoroughly. Every year, the EWG comes out with the Dirty Dozen (produce with the most pesticides) and the Clean Fifteen (produce with the least pesticides). According to the EWG’s Dirty Dozen list, strawberries are the number one produce associated with the highest levels of pesticide residues. If you are buying non-organic produce, and are worried about pesticides, try this one-ingredient homemade produce wash!