How Useful is an Aronia Berry?
The aronia berry tree, also known as a 'chokeberry' tree, is a small family of shrub like plants that are in the Rosaceae family, native to and common throughout North America. There are three species overlapping, the red chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia), the black chokeberry ( Aronia melanocarpa), and the purple chokeberry (Aronia Prunifolia). The chokeberry plants themselves are attractive plants that are used in lot of gardens just for there appearance.
The juice from all three berries in the aronia family is very bitter tasting, not sweet enough to be eaten on it's own. That is how it got the name chokeberry, in fact. The juice, however is easily mixed with sweetener or even just apple juice and can be delicious as a mixed juice. Also, aronia is commonly used in the making of wines, yogurts, and jams, and as a pigment for coloring clothing.
The chokeberry is extremely high in flavanoids, including the following phytonutrients: Cyanide3-galactoside, anthocyanin, epicatechin, caffeic acid, quercetin, delphinidin, petunidin, pelargonidin, peonidin, and malvidin. These chemicals are all flavanoids, which are also antioxidants. They are considered very effective in the prevention of diseases caused by oxidative stress such as colorectal cancer, cardiovascular disease, inflammation, peptic ulcers, eye inflammation, and liver failure.
It may be hard to believe, but even the United States department of Agriculture (USDA) has signed off on the wonders of aronia berries. In a 2007 report they published, comparing 277 common foods found in North America, they chose Black Chokeberries as the food source that has the very highest ORAC score of all! This basically means that there is no other food known to man with as high a level of antioxidants, at least not that grows in North America.
The chokeberry was used for health and medicinal purposes as far back as the Native American Indians and early settlers. Since then there have been many claims by other fruits that they are the healthiest. So sadly, the chokeberry became less and less popular as these other fruits gained their popularity. Now that people are eating healthier, and science has evolved enough to allow proper testing, the chokeberry is becoming more common and has reclaimed it's throne again.
Not only does the aronia berry have a very high level of antioxidants, it is also very rich in several other vitamins, including vitamin c, vitamin e, vitamin b2, vitamin b6 and folic acid. If you research this berry you find there are several lists of positive factors relating to this berry, including but not limited to the quantity of antioxidants, prevention of heart and cardiovascular problems, and its anti-inflammatory properties. It is also been shown to help with urinary tract health, fights bacteria and virus, aids in digestion, helps with good cholesterol, helps control blood pressure and provides essential oils for your body.
Poland, Russia and pretty much all of eastern Europe have long recognized and used the chokeberry for generations to flavor their wines. They have also used it in their jams. Oddly enough, here in the United States, despite being the native habitat for aronia, we haven't remembered how to use it for consumption until modern times. Finally, it is now beginning to pop up and get found in a few groceries stores in juice and even fresh forms. It shouldn't be long until every health food store in North America is carrying multiple brands of chokeberry juice that you can buy inexpensively. - 17274
The juice from all three berries in the aronia family is very bitter tasting, not sweet enough to be eaten on it's own. That is how it got the name chokeberry, in fact. The juice, however is easily mixed with sweetener or even just apple juice and can be delicious as a mixed juice. Also, aronia is commonly used in the making of wines, yogurts, and jams, and as a pigment for coloring clothing.
The chokeberry is extremely high in flavanoids, including the following phytonutrients: Cyanide3-galactoside, anthocyanin, epicatechin, caffeic acid, quercetin, delphinidin, petunidin, pelargonidin, peonidin, and malvidin. These chemicals are all flavanoids, which are also antioxidants. They are considered very effective in the prevention of diseases caused by oxidative stress such as colorectal cancer, cardiovascular disease, inflammation, peptic ulcers, eye inflammation, and liver failure.
It may be hard to believe, but even the United States department of Agriculture (USDA) has signed off on the wonders of aronia berries. In a 2007 report they published, comparing 277 common foods found in North America, they chose Black Chokeberries as the food source that has the very highest ORAC score of all! This basically means that there is no other food known to man with as high a level of antioxidants, at least not that grows in North America.
The chokeberry was used for health and medicinal purposes as far back as the Native American Indians and early settlers. Since then there have been many claims by other fruits that they are the healthiest. So sadly, the chokeberry became less and less popular as these other fruits gained their popularity. Now that people are eating healthier, and science has evolved enough to allow proper testing, the chokeberry is becoming more common and has reclaimed it's throne again.
Not only does the aronia berry have a very high level of antioxidants, it is also very rich in several other vitamins, including vitamin c, vitamin e, vitamin b2, vitamin b6 and folic acid. If you research this berry you find there are several lists of positive factors relating to this berry, including but not limited to the quantity of antioxidants, prevention of heart and cardiovascular problems, and its anti-inflammatory properties. It is also been shown to help with urinary tract health, fights bacteria and virus, aids in digestion, helps with good cholesterol, helps control blood pressure and provides essential oils for your body.
Poland, Russia and pretty much all of eastern Europe have long recognized and used the chokeberry for generations to flavor their wines. They have also used it in their jams. Oddly enough, here in the United States, despite being the native habitat for aronia, we haven't remembered how to use it for consumption until modern times. Finally, it is now beginning to pop up and get found in a few groceries stores in juice and even fresh forms. It shouldn't be long until every health food store in North America is carrying multiple brands of chokeberry juice that you can buy inexpensively. - 17274
posted by X - Men at
11:29 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home