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Years ago, in the house where I grew up, I remember my mother tending to a small garden circled by a fence of mulberry shrubs. In the summer months when the mulberry shrubs bore fruits, my group of feisty friends and I would painstakingly pluck the ripe berries. The loot used to be shared equally among all of us, and that used to be the highlight of our summer vacations. Read: Reasons why you should eat strawberries.
When a friend recently made a trip to Mahabaleshwar, she brought back a big box of mulberries for us in Mumbai. These succulent berries made me hark back to my childhood days and our insatiable appetite for mulberries. That s when I thought of exploring the health benefits of these delicious, yet relatively low-key berries. There are four varieties of this delicious fruit: black (morus nigra), red (morus rubra), white (morus alba) and Chinese mulberry (morus australis), each as nutritious and delicious as the other. Here are five good reasons why you should include mulberries in your diet. Read: Home remedy for high BP-- you should eat blueberries.
Is full of antioxidants
All varieties of mulberry contain potent antioxidants that can minimise the damaging effects of free-radicals. In a study conducted on mulberry fruits, however, black mulberries or morus nigra were known to be the richest in antioxidants. The study also suggested the extracts of the fruit can be good substitute for the synthetic antioxidants. [1] Read: How you can lose weight with acai berry.
Has an antidiabetic effect
Being a diabetic means you restricted from eating a wide variety of fruits, especially the ones ranking high on the glycemic index. But the good news is that mulberries are known to have antidiabetic properties, making them a great addition to your diet. In a study conducted on diabetic patients, glibenclamide, an antidiabetic drug was only marginally better than mulberry. The study concluded that mulberry therapy exhibited potential hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects. [2] Read: Why you should have gooseberries.
Has anti-obesity properties
Worried about piling pounds? Weight management gets easier if you have a diet rich in mulberries. A study suggests that mulberry extracts have anti-obesity effects. [3] Mice who were fattened on a high-fat diet were a mulberry leaf and fruit extracts daily for a period of 12 weeks. The combination treatment significantly decreased the body weight of the obese mice. Read: Goji berries-- a superfood with 7 health benefits.
Prevents fatty liver
Mulberry water extracts are rich in polyphenols like gallic acid, chlorogenic acid, rutin and anthocyanins. Regularly consuming mulberries can aid in not only reducing body weight, but also bringing down lipids or fat content in the liver. [4] [5]
Has anti-cancer properties
Mulberries also help in reducing the risk of the dreaded C word. Oxidative stress caused by free radicals in the body is one of the causes of cancers in the human body. [6] Mulberry extracts enable the body to scavange and flush out these damage-causing radicals. [7]
Also read: 8 delicious ways to include mulberries in your breakfast.
References:
1. Arfan, M., Khan, R., Rybarczyk, A., & Amarowicz, R. (2012). Antioxidant activity of mulberry fruit extracts. International journal of molecular sciences, 13(2), 2472-2480.
2. Andallu, B., Suryakantham, V., Srikanthi, B. L., & Reddy, G. K. (2001). Effect of mulberry (Morus indica L.) therapy on plasma and erythrocyte membrane lipids in patients with type 2 diabetes. Clinica Chimica Acta, 314(1), 47-53.
3. Lim, H. H., Lee, S. O., Kim, S. Y., Yang, S. J., & Lim, Y. (2013). Anti-inflammatory and antiobesity effects of mulberry leaf and fruit extract on high fat diet-induced obesity. Experimental Biology and Medicine, 238(10), 1160-1169.
4. Peng, C. H., Liu, L. K., Chuang, C. M., Chyau, C. C., Huang, C. N., & Wang, C. J. (2011). Mulberry water extracts possess an anti-obesity effect and ability to inhibit hepatic lipogenesis and promote lipolysis. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry, 59(6), 2663-2671.
5. Ou, T. T., Hsu, M. J., Chan, K. C., Huang, C. N., Ho, H. H., & Wang, C. J. (2011). Mulberry extract inhibits oleic acid induced lipid accumulation via reduction of lipogenesis and promotion of hepatic lipid clearance. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 91(15), 2740-2748.
6. Klaunig, J. E., Kamendulis, L. M., & Hocevar, B. A. (2010). Oxidative stress and oxidative damage in carcinogenesis. Toxicologic pathology, 38(1), 96-109.
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