2024-03-23 19:07:20
diEliana Liotta
From strawberries to cherries, from blueberries to apricots: in spring fruit is rich in vitamins and antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds
Spring is «an effervescent wine», writes Vincenzo Cardarelli, when «the first green foams/on the large tufted flowering elms». It is a celebration of nature and for us of vitamins and antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds. Between March and June the last oranges are appreciated and delicacies such as peaches and cherries ripen.
Strawberries
Low in sugar and very watery, strawberries are an ideal fruit. Few associate them with vitamin C, imagining that the micronutrient has to do above all with citrus fruits. Instead, a portion, approximately equal to eight to ten fruits, can almost cover the daily requirement of the vitamin.
Cherries
A type of polyphenol, anthocyanins, is responsible for the red of strawberries, substances that the plant world possesses exclusively and which we can imagine as armed warriors against oxidative stress, the rust of cells. These pigments color raspberries, blueberries and currants in shades of magenta to blue. In cherries, they are mixed with other phenolic compounds, whose anti-proliferative role against tumor cells is being studied. Fruits are also a good source of melatonin, which our brain synthesizes as a sleep hormone.
Blueberries
At the end of spring, blueberries are harvested and their anti-inflammatory characteristics are studied: together with other berries they would be a sort of shield for the intestine and bladder, preventing the adhesion of some pathogenic bacterial strains of the family to their walls. of Escherichia coli.
Apricots and peaches
In June the flower season gives way to summer with apricots and peaches. All yellow and orange fruits are rich in carotenoids, a family of approximately 600 phytocompounds. Among these, the most famous is beta-carotene, the starting point in the body for the formation of vitamin A, which is functional for vision, bones, skin and the immune system. The molecule would also play a role in counteracting cellular aging by preventing the formation of free radicals.
* The review is by Raffaella Cancello, nutritionist at the Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases operational unit of the Italian Auxological Institute in Milan.
March 23, 2024
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