Does Berries help with weight loss?
Berries are small juicy fruits that are produced by a single ovary. They are available in a variety of flavours and colours that make them wanted especially in summers. Berries are not only flavourful but also rich in vitamins and minerals that are essential while in summers as to restore the lost nutrients in sweat.
While vitamins and minerals are available in other fruits and vegetables and can be fulfilled by consuming a bunch of food items, berries in general not only are a great source of vitamins but they are also energy giving, high in water content and packed with minerals like sodium, potassium, magnesium and zinc that helps to keep our bodies hydrated and balance the lost electrolytes from the body.
Although berries are not great source of macronutrients, but they are indeed a healthy snack option along with providing an extra touch of flavour with nutrition to complete a meal bowl. Berries come in a variety of different flavours and colours that project the availability of different polyphenols in it that help protect our immunity, boost gut health, produce antioxidants and also balance electrolytes.
Types of Berries
Blackberry:
Being a native of Asian countries, blackberry has a distinctive taste profile, tart flavours and dark purple colour that makes it exotic as it is. They are packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that help boost immunity. They provide 43 gm calories, 1.4 gm protein, 9 gm of carbohydrates, 0.5 gm of fat and 5.3 gm of dietary fibre along per 100 grams of blackberry serving.
Blueberry:
These types of berries are a native to the North American regions where they are grown to be a vibrant dark blue berry that are sweet yet savoury, nutrient-rich and infuses the body with instant energy. They provide a total of 57 gm of calories, 0.7 gm protein, 14.2 gm of carbohydrates, 0.3 gm of fats and 2.7 gm of dietary fibre per 100 grams of serving. Blueberries are also a great source of anthocyanin which is an antioxidant that also provides the berry its vibrant blue colour.
Strawberry:
Strawberries are native to the European countries that have a colour range from bright red to a subtle pink colour that is rich in vitamin C, antioxidants, other vitamins and minerals like folate, manganese. They are said to have 32 gm of calories, 0.7 gm of protein, 7.7 gm of carbohydrates and 0.3 gm of fats and 2 gm of dietary fibre in every 100 grams of strawberry serving.
Gooseberry:
These European elegances are light green, crimson colour berries that have a bittersweet taste with abundance of vitamin c in them. Gooseberries are rich in antioxidants and zinc mineral with high energy giving properties. They provide 44 gm of calories, 1.6 gm of protein, 15 gm of carbohydrates, 6.8 gm of dietary fibre and 0.6 gm of fats per 100 grams of their serving.
Raspberry:
They were a type of wild growing berries that were native to both European and Asian countries where they were not consumed in the earlier years. Soon after due to their distinct flavour and vibrant appearance made them popular and started their domesticated cultivation. Raspberries are known to have 52 gm of calories, 1.5 gm of protein, 11.9 gm of carbohydrates, with 0.7 gm of fat and 6.5 grams of dietary fibre in every 100 grams of raspberry serving.
Benefits of eating berries for weight loss
Antioxidants- Berries are known to be rich in antioxidants that are help with fighting free radicles in our body, that provoke the growth of cancer-causing cells, engage in fat malabsorption and excess depositions in blood vessels. By consuming these berries, we ensure the intake of nutrient like vitamins and minerals that often get excreted by the body in the form of sweat and urine, while they also help in maintaining the electrolytes in our body that help in blood circulation, temperature management, boost immunity, maintain digestive system that help in weight loss.
Dietary fibre- berries as may not seem to have a good dietary fibre source but they do in fact carry a decent amounts of fibre content in few of their berries that when consumed in good amounts, do help in the betterment of digestive system, metabolism and gut health. Berries like strawberries, raspberry, gooseberry etc are some of the great examples of berries being a good source of fibre that help eliminate fats, stored toxins and flush out deposited fats to promote a healthy weight loss journey.
Nutrients- Although berries in itself is quite healthy, nutritious and fibre-rich but they indeed promote a bundle of micronutrients that help boost various body functions, processes and weight loss. Berries in general are packed with antioxidants, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, along with vitamins like vitamin A, vitamin C, thiamine, folate, riboflavin and niacin that promotes weight management and minerals like sodium, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc and selenium in them.
Boost metabolism- A combination of all these micronutrients and antioxidants help with speeding up of the weight loss process. The ultimate goal for us to consume nutrient rich food is to eliminate toxins, excess fats and bacterial cells to get removed from the body that help sustain a healthy body weight and promotes convenience to the digestive tract to function properly and help boost immunity that would promote the maintenance of a healthy weight.
Detoxification- Detoxification is basically the process of eliminating toxins in the body that hinder with various body functions and rule out the healthy balance in the body. Detoxifications include the incorporation of antioxidants like anthocyanins in their diet that could be in the form of juices, organic produce extract, smoothie, shakes, acai berry bowls, in drinks and oatmeal bowls that will provide a boost within our body to remove the toxin build-up and help maintain a body weight.