5 Popular Berries ...

Fresh fruit always tastes so much better than dried fruit, in my opinion. What better way to get a healthy dose of vitamins and minerals than to have them all wrapped up in a sweet little morsel. Here are 5 popular berries that are always at the top of my list.

5 Cranberries

These tiny berries might be tart, but they have some amazing health benefits. Juice made from cranberries is excellent for cleansing the kidneys of toxins. Cranberry juice is also helpful in keeping urinary tract infections at bay. A bottle of juice made from nothing but cranberries is always found in my fridge. It might be psychological, but I feel great after drinking a glass.

4 Raspberries

Lots of fiber and manganese are both found in raspberries. Fiber helps the body feel fuller longer, which means you’ll be less inclined to snack as often. Manganese increases metabolism causing you to burn more fat. These little berries have also shown signs of slowing the growth of cancer cells, due to the ellagic acid they contain. I’m not as fond of raspberries as many other people are, but I still enjoy some tasty jam made from them most mornings.

3 Blackberries

Antioxidants are present in many types of berries and blackberries are no exception to this rule. It has also been found that blackberries are excellent fighters of certain types of bacteria. I like pouring half-n-half over a bowl of blackberries for dessert.

2 Strawberries

I feel bad for the folks who are allergic to strawberries. Talk about yummy! These little berries go great with just about everything. Besides containing lots of vitamin C, as do most fruits, strawberries also have copper, vitamin B6, magnesium, potassium, vitamin K, folic acid, and manganese.

1 Blueberries

The many benefits of blueberries have been studied for years. It’s already well-known that blueberries contain the most antioxidants out of every other type of fresh fruit. They can also help reduce the signs of aging and boost the immune system. I like to eat blueberries fresh from the berry bush, in pancakes or muffins, or as a jam.

Berries are great for snacks and not only the 5 berries I mentioned above. There are so many more that are talked about less often, but are still filled with tons of vitamins. Which berries are at the top of your list of favorites? Do you eat berries because you want to be healthy or only because they taste good?

Top Photo Credit: lisaluvz