Strawberries - calorie content, composition and beneficial properties

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The first summer berries, which include strawberries, will enrich the body with vitamins and bring gastronomic pleasure. Strawberries attract not only their taste, but also their various beneficial properties. Fleshy, juicy, aromatic fruits contain a lot of macro- and microelements, vitamins and consist of 85% purified water, which the body needs to maintain water balance.

Eating berries has a beneficial effect on the functioning of all organs and systems and helps cleanse the body. Strawberries are not just a treat, but a way to strengthen the immune system and improve health at a time when the main sources of vitamins are not yet available.

Story

It is believed that strawberries grew in European forests back in the Neolithic era. It is reliably known that this berry was well known and used as a dessert in antiquity. Written sources speak about this. The already cultivated plant first became known in the 15th century; it first appeared in France, where it began to be actively grown. It was from there that strawberries began to spread throughout Europe.

And in Russia she became widely known and beloved by everyone thanks to Tsar Alexei. It was his gardener who first offered this amazingly tasty berry to the royal family, and they immediately fell in love with it. Strawberries became truly widespread much later, at the end of the 18th century.

Strawberries have long been valued for their excellent taste, but modern scientists also pay attention to their benefits.
It contains 85% water, and yet it contains a huge amount of useful substances. In addition, 100 g of berries contain only 36.9 kcal, which makes it simply an ideal dietary product. Chemical composition (per 100 g)

Can you lose weight by eating strawberries?

a girl measures her waist circumference after a strawberry diet.
The answer is yes.

There is an express diet based on strawberries, designed for 3-4 days.

Please note that with every meal there are always strawberries for dessert. And yet, according to Ayurveda, the ideal time to eat berries is the first half of the day. And it’s better to completely avoid aromatic dessert at night.

However, if you have never restricted yourself in food, try starting with one diet day every 14 days. Gradually increase the number of days you restrict your food intake with the goal of losing weight. Look at your feelings, health and goals.

So, we looked at the benefits of strawberries for burning excess fat, as well as their energy value in small and large doses.

Be attentive to your body's reactions. If you have any allergy to strawberries, avoid eating them.

Be healthy and moderate in your diet!

Use in folk medicine

Of course, fresh strawberries taste best due to their special taste and aroma, for which everyone loves them. But it is no less beautiful as part of a variety of desserts, which delight children and adults. In addition, strawberries make excellent liqueurs, liqueurs and even wine. But that’s not all this amazing berry can give us.

Strawberries are believed to be very effective in folk medicine as a delicious healer. Moreover, not only fresh but also dried berries are used for medicinal purposes. In addition, dried leaves and stems will help fight a variety of diseases.

Strawberries help best in the fight against vitamin deficiency, as they are a real storehouse of vitamins. It helps boost immunity and also fight foreign microbes. A huge influence is also attributed to it in the treatment of diseases of the blood and joints, including anemia or atherosclerosis. Fresh berries act as a mild diuretic and are excellent for treating diseases of the oral cavity.

Strawberries are considered an excellent way to relieve constipation, as well as a real salvation for joints if you eat them in large quantities every day for a week. The main thing is that it does not cause an allergic reaction.

It is believed that strawberries can help those who have pronounced problems with the gallbladder. In addition, it is used in the form of compresses or ointments to treat many skin diseases, for example, various forms of eczema. Strawberries help fight fine wrinkles, saturate the skin with vitamins and soften it. That is why it is used as a face mask: fresh berries are kneaded, applied to the face, left for 20 minutes and washed off.

Due to their good taste and low calorie content, strawberries are used as the sole ingredient of the special strawberry diet, which requires you to eat only strawberries for several days. This simultaneously saturates the body with vitamins and microelements, and is a very tasty way to lose weight.

A little about the bad

Despite such a large list of beneficial properties of this berry, there are some negative effects:

• Strawberries are a strong allergen, so they should not be consumed by children under 3 years of age and people who are prone to food allergies.
• During pregnancy, you should not eat strawberries in large quantities due to possible fetal allergies.
• People with exacerbations of ulcers or other gastrointestinal diseases are not recommended to enjoy these berries.

Use in cooking

Strawberries contain only 38 calories, so they are great for those who want a delicious dessert, but at the same time protect their figure. You can equally successfully use them both fresh during the season and frozen strawberries after defrosting in the winter. It is used to make jam and jelly, and is used for ice cream and a variety of desserts. It's also great for making infusions and liqueurs, for baking in any season, or for juicing.

Regarding its medicinal properties, traditional medicine often turns to strawberries, because they help treat anemia or joint problems. It also helps with high blood pressure and other diseases of the cardiovascular system; it is recommended for patients with diabetes, as it can lower blood sugar levels in a natural and fairly quick way.

The only disadvantage of strawberries is that they are a strong allergen, so you need to be careful when using them if you are prone to allergic reactions. In particular, you do not need to eat berries if you suffer from ulcers or gastritis, have chronic appendicitis or stomach colic. Pregnant women and children should be given it in small quantities.

Calorie table

Below we will look at the calorie table for forest, dried, dried and frozen berries, and also find out how many calories are in strawberry jam.

Benefits of berries

To get the maximum benefit from this delicious, amazing berry, it is recommended to mix it with dairy or fermented milk products, as they complement not only the excellent taste, but also the beneficial properties of strawberries. In addition, milk somewhat softens the strong effect of some components of the berries on the stomach. There are many recipes with strawberries and dairy products, so you won't have any problems with healthy goodies.

You can put the remaining fruits in the refrigerator to preserve them better. Strawberries can be frozen: they tolerate freezing well, retaining many beneficial properties, and then in winter you can use them in desserts.

Is it possible to eat strawberries on a diet?

a handful of fresh strawberries in a bowl on the table and a strawberry smoothie in a glass
Yes, you can. Moreover, during a diet you crave sweets. And strawberries have a unique juicy taste and a minimum of calories.

Consult your nutritionist about organizing fasting days on strawberries. This way you will enhance the effect of losing excess fat and nourish your body with healthy vitamins.

How to choose the right strawberries

If you are going to buy strawberries, pay attention to the berries. They should be strong enough, without damage, and have a pronounced red color. You should first of all pay attention to the quality of the berries, and not to the size, since they can be too large if they are artificially grown with the addition of nitrates. At the same time, the best strawberries are different in size and have small unripe sides, and this only speaks in their favor, since it means that they were collected under natural conditions.

Pay attention to the color of the strawberries: it should be quite bright, but not overly red, as dyes are sometimes used when growing. Be sure to pay attention that there are no small black marks on it, as this indicates that the bushes were treated with saltpeter.

Be sure to buy unsealed strawberries from private individuals, or frozen: this will be the safest way. Give preference to markets rather than supermarkets, so you will have a much better chance of purchasing a product grown in natural conditions.

Please note: truly high-quality berries that do not have chemicals usually release juice very actively after washing. If this has not happened for a long time, this should alert you and make you take a closer look at where you buy your strawberries.

Homemade strawberries have a delicious aroma that is hard to miss. At the same time, chemically treated berries have almost no smell, which indicates unnaturalness.

Is strawberry a berry or a nut?

This is one of the most popular garden crops in the world. But how to classify it, a strawberry or a fruit? Let's analyze:

• Fruits grow on trees, berries on the ground or bushes.
• The berries are distinguished by numerous seeds, sometimes very small (as, for example, raspberries). Strawberries also have them, only they are located not inside, but outside. But this is not a berry.
• According to botanical science, strawberries are considered to be nuts. And that's why. The usual red berries are the protruding receptacle. It contains the true fruits - dryish miniature seeds-nuts.

Strawberries are not a berry, not a fruit. It is classified as a multi-walnut, the softest of this family.

At the everyday level, strawberries are considered a berry.

Difference between strawberries and wild strawberries

What is usually called strawberries and grown in garden plots or cottages is actually garden strawberries.

But this is not a “cultivated” version of wild strawberries, but two different types:

1. Strawberries and strawberries have different “insides”. The inside of the strawberry is uniformly red, the strawberry version is whitish and has a column-like stem.
2. The strawberry fruit is larger, juicier, and softer than the strawberry fruit.
3. Wild berries are more fragrant.

Strawberry is a purely Russian name. Derived from the Old Russian "klub", meaning "roundness" or "ball" (for example, puffs of smoke). This is how wild green strawberries have been called in Rus' for centuries.

Botanical description

It’s not for nothing that strawberries and wild strawberries are confused:

• Both berries belong to the Rosaceae family.
• Their common Latin name is Fragaria, meaning “fragrant.”
• Officially, both are considered strawberries.
• They ripen on a low growing bush.
• In spring, white or pinkish flowers appear on them from the receptacle.
• The cone-shaped fruits that appear are green, bitter and tasteless. As they ripen, they turn red, gaining sweetness.
• Their top is crowned with a “crown” of leaves and green leaves on the same stalk.
• Small yellowish specks on the surface are seeds. In berries they are located not inside, but outside the fruit.

At the everyday level, the criterion for determining the type of berry is the dimensions: real strawberries are always larger than wild strawberries.

Strawberry fruits weigh 15-21 grams. Weight, dimensions and taste depend on the variety of garden strawberries. Hybrid specimens are two to three times more massive and sweeter. The general flavor range is from sour-sweet to dense sweetness.

Strawberry classic – bright red color. There are burgundy, white, and yellowish berries. Deep red strawberries are considered the most useful.

Geography of growth

The common garden strawberry is the result of cross-pollination of Chilean and Virginia strawberries (Virginia is a US state). The process was helped by an incident: the royal gardener planted bushes in the Louvre garden nearby. This is how dozens of varieties were born. According to another version, the hybrid was obtained by the Dutch, and brought to Europe by the French in the 18th century. A hundred years later, the Russians became acquainted with garden strawberries. In addition to the USA and Chile, it grows in neighboring countries of the American continent. In Europe there is a zone of forest and forest-steppe, from the Baltic states to Kazakhstan plus Siberia. This is the distribution area for wild or summer berries. In greenhouses, strawberries bear fruit anywhere.

Productivity

One and a half to three kilograms of fruit are harvested from a garden strawberry bush per season. This depends on the variety and age of the plant, compliance with agronomic requirements, and weather conditions.

What is repairability

Typically, garden strawberry plants produce one harvest per season. But there are exceptions.

The ability of a strawberry plant to bear fruit twice or thrice per season with short breaks is called remontancy. The term goes back to the French remontant - “to rise or bloom again.”

Under favorable conditions, this species produces its first harvest in June, then at the peak of the summer heat. If autumn is warmer than usual, strawberry fruits have time to ripen again, towards the August-September border. Maintenance increases productivity, generously rewarding the gardener for his work. True, autumn strawberry fruits are small. But this is compensated by the increased sweetness and tenderness of the texture.

Popular remontant strawberry varieties are Diamant, Ruyana, Moscow Delicacy, Temptation.

Strawberry treatment

Strawberries are recommended even in the treatment of sclerosis, because the substances they contain support the nervous system and the body as a whole. In addition, it has a huge range of possibilities for treating diseases of the digestive system, which is why it has gained the greatest popularity as a medicinal product. It is able to cope perfectly with constipation, normalizes digestion due to its natural origin, and also helps to normalize metabolism and thereby promote weight loss. For thyroid diseases, strawberries can provide excellent treatment support, including inflammation, as they are excellent at fighting germs.

Strawberries help well with:

• kidney problems;
• poor functioning of the urinary tract;
• vitamin deficiency;
• poor immunity;
• problems with the stomach or intestines;
• anemia;
• skin diseases;
• fatigue and depression;
• insomnia.

Strawberries can help you with kidney diseases, in particular, strawberry juice, drunk in the morning on an empty stomach, helps fight gallstone disease. In addition, it has a mild diuretic effect, and also quite quickly and naturally reduces blood sugar levels.

Strawberries are excellent for helping with swelling, because... helps remove excess fluid from the body. It is also invaluable for beauty: regular use slightly slows down the aging process, nourishes the body, promotes good appetite, and the antioxidants it contains can even lift your mood.

As for the medicinal properties, not only strawberries are used, but also leaves, stems and even roots. The leaves are most often used because they can be stored for a very long time.

To make tea, take 2 large strawberry leaves or 2 tsp. crushed raw materials, pour 250 ml of boiling water and leave for several minutes. This tea should be drunk several times a day, adding honey for a more pleasant taste. It is a real storehouse of vitamins, and also promotes urine excretion and lowers blood pressure. The tea is excellent if you have stones or other problems with the bladder, or if there is stagnation of bile in the body.

If you have a sore throat, you can make an infusion of strawberry leaves to gargle with. To do this, you need to pour 5-10 dried strawberry leaves into a thermos, pour boiling water over it and keep for more than half an hour. It is excellent for treating various digestive system problems, including diarrhea or poisoning.

Strawberries for the heart

Large amounts of potassium and magnesium help fight stroke, stimulate proper heart function, and also normalize blood pressure. In addition, strawberries are able to stimulate the conduction of nerve impulses, thereby ensuring mental stability, increased thinking ability and protection against depression. All this became possible due to the fact that strawberries help the brain to be better saturated with oxygen and also contain substances that elevate mood. Strawberries also help blood, like almost all red berries and fruits: the copper and iron they contain stimulate the formation of blood cells.

Berry infusion

To make an infusion of strawberries, take several large fresh berries, mash thoroughly, place in a glass container and add 250 ml of boiling water. Leave the resulting infusion for half an hour, and then regularly gargle with it several times a day.

Bandages

For various problems, complex wounds and ulcers, you can use a strawberry bandage. To make a strawberry dressing, take a ripe berry, quickly dip it in boiling water, and then mash well with a fork. It can be applied to wounds and ulcers, then you need to carefully cover the top with a film and leave it like that for half an hour, and then rinse thoroughly.

For inflamed skin, bandages made from lingonberries, which have an antibacterial effect, are excellent.

Special Application

Strawberries are also widely known as an aphrodisiac, that is, as a means of increasing sexual desire. It helps to relax, increases sensuality and helps partners reveal their desires.

A little more history: it’s not for nothing that products for the over 18-year-old category are called strawberries. The most famous philologist of Russia, Vinogradov, in his book “The History of Words” says that the basis for this funny term was laid by Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol. If you remember, in his famous book “Dead Souls” there is a character, Lieutenant Kuvshinnikov, who was famous for his adventures and passion for the female sex, which he himself called: “taking advantage of strawberries.” It is with the popularity of “Dead Souls” that this berry is associated with the humorous name of erotica.

Garden strawberries in cosmetology

Strawberry extract is found in many skin care products. It is considered a key component of skin beauty and health.

You need to use strawberries in procedures such as:

• masks to tighten pores and cleanse the skin, giving it elasticity;
• masks made from pulp with honey, which moisturize the skin and make the tone uniform.

Strawberry with white clay smoothes wrinkles and softens rough areas. The juice is used as a bleach for fine pigmentation and freckles.

Video

Strawberries as cosmetics

As soon as strawberries became known and began to be widely used, they began to be actively used for cosmetic purposes. Strawberries help in the fight against acne and enlarged pores. Also, fresh strawberries and the acid they contain help fight the inevitable aging of the skin.

Even in ancient Rome, strawberry juice and strawberry pulp were used to whiten teeth and freshen breath; in other words, strawberries were used as toothpaste. But the French women who could afford it preferred to take whole baths of strawberries, as it was believed that it prolongs youth.

Strawberry masks

Whitening mask

To bleach, you need to take several large berries, remove the stem, and then mash them very well. Apply the resulting paste to the face, neck and décolleté, keep for 10-20 minutes, and then rinse thoroughly with water. Afterwards, apply a moisturizer that suits your skin type.

For aging skin

To help aging skin, take 3 berries, chop them thoroughly, add a teaspoon of clay for oily skin. If you have dry skin, add a little cream to the mask, apply this mixture to the skin, leave for a few minutes and rinse with cool water.

For problem skin

To help problem skin, take a few berries, extract juice from them and add a couple of tablespoons of cosmetic clay. Apply thoroughly to skin, leave on for a few minutes and rinse with warm water.

Gooseberry masks can also help you, as they stimulate cell renewal.

How to make strawberry cake

Ingredients

Cooking steps

1. Wash 250 g of strawberries thoroughly, remove the stems and add 125 g of sugar.
2. Beat this mixture in a blender.
3. Mix 4 eggs with 125 g of sugar and beat with a mixer until a fluffy foam forms.
4. Sift 250 g of flour and mix with 1 tsp. baking powder.
5. Gently add the flour to the egg mixture, stir, and then add 3 tbsp to the dough. l. vegetable oil.
6. Add strawberry puree, vanilla sugar to this dough and mix.
7. The baking dish must be greased with butter, and then the dough must be poured into it.
8. The biscuit should be baked for 20-25 minutes at 180 degrees.
9. After baking, let the sponge cake cool, after which it needs to be cut into 4 identical cake layers.
10. Prepare strawberry jelly according to the instructions on the package.
11. Beat 300 g of cottage cheese, 600 g of sour cream and 250 g of sugar in a blender.
12. In 30 g of gelatin you need to add 50 ml of hot water and let it stand, and then add it to the curd soufflé.
13. Mix the frozen jelly with 500 g of strawberries.
14. Place the cake in the mold and pour the soufflé over it, cover with another cake and place jelly with strawberries on top. Alternating, lay out the remaining cakes, greasing them.
15. Place the cake in the refrigerator for 10-12 hours.
16. Whip 200 ml of cream with 50 g of powdered sugar and decorate the top of the cake with this cream.
17. Decorate the top with the remaining 250 g of strawberries.

Why are frozen berries in demand?

Fresh berries are healthy, but many substances are retained after freezing. What is the demand for such a product? There are several reasons for this:

• a lot of vitamin C;
• content of useful components necessary to maintain the body;
• sweetness that lifts the mood of any person;
• lowers sugar levels and removes toxins from the body.

If there is no allergy, then the product can be added to different dishes. It will be available in any season. Frozen fruits contain less cadmium, lead and pesticides. After freezing, the development of bacteria is excluded. Although there are fewer valuable components after freezing, the taste and aroma are perfectly preserved.

Frozen strawberries are an excellent addition to ice cream, cottage cheese, cereals, cocktails, and compotes. It is used to prepare mousses, sauces, jellies, which serve as an excellent decoration for any table.

Myths about the magical properties of strawberries

Another option for the strawberry diet is to give up sweet, fatty and salty foods in favor of five glasses of strawberries a day.

However, if someone who is losing weight refuses the above-listed products, they can lose weight in any case, regardless of whether strawberries are on the menu or not.

Similar recommendations apply to many other products. By giving up junk food, the extra pounds will gradually go away.

Speaking about the fat-burning abilities of strawberries, they are, of course, present in it. But these properties should not be exaggerated.

For those who eat only strawberries, the chance of losing weight is minimal. This also applies to other sour berries. In order for the fat-burning properties to appear, you need to eat at least three kilograms of strawberries every day. And this threatens stomach ulcers or diarrhea.

To get rid of extra pounds, it is not enough to eat only berries. It is necessary to diversify the menu with other equally healthy products.

What are the benefits of frozen strawberries?

In addition to their great taste, strawberries, even when frozen, are extremely healthy.

• Among other useful properties, the following should be highlighted:
• contains a large number of antioxidants that help remove toxins, improve the properties of the skin and hair, and strengthen the immune system;
• folic acid has a beneficial effect on the reproductive function of both women and men; it is also necessary for pregnant women for the normal formation of the fetal nervous system;
• stimulates metabolic processes;
• has a beneficial effect on the activity of the central nervous system and the brain in particular;
• salicylic acid reduces the risk of developing inflammatory processes;
• is a pretty good remedy for anemia;
• due to its high acid content and fairly low calorie content, it can be used for weight loss;
• contributes to the normalization of gastrointestinal tract functions;
• used for atherosclerosis;
• is a good natural anti-stress remedy;
• helps strengthen the heart and blood vessels;
• has a positive effect on the liver and kidneys;
• high vitamin C content helps strengthen the immune system;
• used in folk cosmetic medicine as a face mask.

Did you know? The world's largest producer of strawberries is California, where they grow up to 1 million tons per year. And the best berries in the world are considered to be those grown in Great Britain; it is not for nothing that the traditional delicacy of the world's oldest tennis tournament, Wimbledon, is strawberries and cream.

Harm and contraindications

Like any product, garden strawberries also have their contraindications:

• allergies and individual intolerance to berries. They manifest themselves in the form of rashes and itching;
• various diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and intestines;
• intolerance of the body to pharmaceutical aspirin.

Unripe strawberries, saturated with nitrates, and poorly washed strawberries can cause harm to a healthy body. Harm can come from excessive consumption of berries over a short period of time.

Rules and regulations for use

An adult who has no contraindications (for example, allergies) can eat up to 600 g of berries per day; a child should be limited to 150–200 g.

Important! You can start feeding your baby after a year, by first trying to give half or one small strawberry.

You should not give early strawberries to a child under 7 years of age, because they are often grown using large amounts of fertilizer.

Strawberry calorie content and composition

According to nutritionist Anna Korobkina, five to six strawberries contain as much vitamin C as one orange. And in order to replenish the daily requirement of potassium, eight berries are enough. The calorie content of strawberries ranges from 30 to 41 kcal per 100 grams of product.

Strawberries contain vitamins A, B1, B2, B9, C, E, K, H and PP, as well as minerals such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, iodine, phosphorus and sodium.

This is a low-calorie product that is suitable for dietary nutrition. It is very healthy, rich in microelements and vitamins.