If you walk down the supermarket aisle that displays “diet” foods, you’ll find bars, shakes, powders and an array of other processed foods that are supposed to help you lose weight. They’re low-this, low-that, high-priced and claim to help suppress your appetite. But there’s a superfood great for aiding weight-loss and improving health you’ll never find in that part of the store.
Berries.
The simple berry is simply the best diet food that most dieters don’t seem to know about. No matter which type of berries you prefer — strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries or boysenberries — these diminutive nutrient wonders deserve a place in everybody’s meal and snack plans.
First off, as a snack, berries have advantages that processed foods like bars can’t touch. A study at Loughborough University, Leicestershire, England, shows that munching on berries in the afternoon can help you consume significantly less food. In this test, the researchers found that berry snackers ate less at a later meal than folks who snacked on bars, cookies or other confectionary snacks.
Despite their sweet taste, berries contain natural compounds called anthocyanins that can help regulate your blood sugar and offer protection against type 2 diabetes. Research at the University of East Anglia in England shows that berries help make the body more sensitive to insulin — the hormone that takes glucose out of the blood.
The natural compounds found in berries also reduce inflammation, the immune system malfunction that is linked to heart problems, obesity and cancer.
And if you’re like me, you’ll find that snacking on berries just makes you feel better mood-wise than indulging in sweet treats like cookies or cakes. Plus, I find the taste of ripe berries to be a pleasure that no food that came out of a factory can match.
Which reminds me — I think there’s another round of ripe blueberries ready to be picked off the bush out in my backyard.
That’s another advantage of berries — in many parts of the country, you can grow your own, they are easy plants to care for and the fruit right off the bush is a delight. And if you’re lucky, they may be growing in the wild near where you live.
