15 Top Health Benefits of Mulberries
Benefits of Mulberry
In China, mulberry tree leaves and fruits are eaten for its extraordinary health benefits. It is regarded as a health tonic where the leaves are dried as tea and the berries made into syrup. The leaves are also fed to silkworms for their thriving silk industries. Known to protect many known diseases and used as a traditional medicine, mulberry leaves and fruits are now becoming very popular outside of China. Let’s explore the many health benefits of mulberries.
Health Benefits of Mulberry
The mulberry fruits are small, plumb yet juicy that is nice to eat. It also comes in dried form and is a delicious and nutritious snack. Besides turning it into syrup or eat it on its own, you can also add mulberry fruits in your salad, yogurt, smoothies, or cereals. The fruits are high in Vitamins A and C, fiber, protein, iron, calcium, and antioxidants.
Mulberry leaves are harvested and dried to form the mulberry tea that has powerful antioxidant properties to lower cholesterol and reduce inflammation. This amazing mulberry fruits and leaves, when taken together, will give many health benefits, which are:
- Strengthens Eyesight: Regular consumption of mulberry will help strengthen your eyesight. Its high level of Vitamin A also prevents eyesight loss and retinal degeneration.
- Hair growth and gray hair: Mulberry juice when applied directly on the head is supposed to help blacken your gray hair and promotes healthy growth
- Cancer: Mulberry is rich in resveratrol that is believed to help prevent cancer
- Immune System: High in Vitamin C and flavonoids, it is a natural booster for flu and other minor ailments. Mulberry also helps with your gastric problems and with chronic hepatitis.
- Mulberry as a Brain tonic: With its high content of choline, mulberry is a good brain tonic which helps with your memory
- Source of protein: Mulberry is one of the very few fruits with protein, which helps with muscle building.
- Arthritic pain: With its anti-inflammatory properties, it helps reliefs arthritic pain
- Diabetes: The flavonoids and gallic acid in mulberry assists in controlling the sharp rise of blood sugar. It also restricts the high amount of monosaccharide in the body.
- Post Pregnancy: Eating mulberry after childbirth, is good to bring back energy and health.
- Cholesterol: Eating mulberry on a regular basis will keep your triglyceride and LDL cholesterol levels low. It will also strengthen your liver and kidney.
- Constipation: Mulberry, with its high fiber content, will help treat constipation.
- Hypertension: Help contains hypertension.
- Enhances appetite: Regular consumption of mulberry will improve the digestive and assimilating function and hence will enhance the appetite level.
- Calms the nerves: Nutritional content of the berry will help enhance the blood and indirectly calms the nerves.
- For Weight Loss: Mulberry tea prevents absorption of carbohydrates and flushes it out from the body due to the presence of moranoline (1-deoxynojirimycin), a strong α-glucosidase inhibitor.
Benefits of Mulberries and Its Nutritional Values
Mulberry is great when eaten for breakfast as it is rich in many health-benefiting plants derived antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals to kick-start your day.
It is low in sodium, saturated fat, and cholesterol. Mulberry is a good source of protein, dietary fiber, Vitamin A, C and K. It is also a very good source of resveratrol, riboflavin, choline, potassium, flavonoids, and iron.
If you don't have time for breakfast, just carry the dried mulberries with you and have them on the go.
Eating Mulberry
There are several mulberry varieties - the red, dark purple, white, and pink mulberry varieties. All the varieties will be sticky moist when ripe. The red and dark purple mulberries taste more like blackberry. The white mulberry has a honey sweetness while the pink variety is sticky sweet.
Fresh Mulberry
Mulberry can be eaten fresh, and if you like, with cream and honey. They can be added to your salad and great as jams, jellies, and syrups. They don't freeze well so, use it immediately. Because of its high water content and thin skins, they tend to get moldy or ferment fast. If you have a lot, it is best to turn them into jams, syrups or bake as cakes.
Dried Mulberry
Dried mulberry is more crunchy and is a good healthy snack. It can be used as pie fillings and as mulberry muffins. For some variety, you can add it to your cookies, cakes, ice creams, and yogurts.
You can drink it as tea from its leaves or syrups and enjoy the health benefits of mulberry.
Mulberry Leaves Extract
You can now buy mulberry leaves extract in a capsule form to help with weight loss, boost your immunity level, and as a good source of antioxidants. I find it convenient compared to having the dried mulberry when I travel and have no issue with the Customs clearance.
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Disclaimer
This hub, Health Benefits of Mulberries, is meant to be informative and educational that provides general health information. It is not meant to be a substitute for the personal and professional medical care and diagnosis. If you have or suspect of having any health related problems, you are recommended to seek professional medical advice and treatment.
© 2011 Mazlan
Your Comments on Health Benefits of Mulberry
I made a mulberry cobbler once. I twas so good.
I find it amusing that although I grew up with mulberries all around me I always thought that they were bird food so I never tried eating them, good info. Thanks
we have many mulberry trees...
I freeze my mulberries every year and I have no problems with them. I rinse them and freeze them for a couple of hours in the colander, so they are individually frozen and then put them in freezer bags until I can make jam, jelly or smoothies.
Hello greatstuff! In answer to your question...I don't know if I ate enough of them to make a difference, but I always had excellent eyesight until I turned 40. Now that I know that are good for your eyes, I plan on eating more of them, maybe I will see a difference now. If I do, I will definitely let you know. :)
We had wild mulberry trees growing near our house in Texas when I was a child. I would eat them right off the tree. I had not seen any in Oklahoma until we moved to the country and there were two growing on our property. My husband laughs at me when he sees me bending the limbs to get at more mulberries! LOL I am glad to hear they are so healthy for you. I may have to try to pick some to bring in instead of just having them all to myself! Wonderful hub, voted up and interesting! Have a great day! :)
Great information!
You have even included a video on a recipe
Thanks for SHARING:)
You are very welcome. Berries are wonderfully healing and delicious too.
Great info. "Here we go 'round the mulberry bush, the mulberry bush, the mulberry bush." Blessings, Debby
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