Have you eaten purple yet?

1. We Europeans usually eat only two or three colors of fruit and vegetables a day, often choosing from green, orange, yellow and red. We eat too little purple. While all colors are necessary to remain optimally healthy. What makes purple fruit so healthy?

2. We Europeans usually only eat two or three colors of fruits and vegetables a day, often choosing from green, orange, yellow and red. We eat too little purple. While all colors are necessary to remain optimally healthy. What makes purple fruit so healthy?

1. Blueberries, blackberries, black currants, red grapes and plums are full of natural purple-blue dyes, also called anthocyanins. Miraculous health effects are attributed to these substances. If purple fruit is especially ripe when it is ripe, the anthocyanins content is at its highest.

Blueberry as a reminder

1. Blueberries owe their deep color to a good amount of anthocyanins. Scientists suspect that these substances have a beneficial effect on our brain and memory. Animal studies have shown that anthocyanins end up in the brain, precisely in the area of ​​memory and learning. The higher the content there, the smarter the animals were and stayed with age.

2. Blueberries owe their deep color to a good amount of anthocyanins. Scientists suspect that these substances have a beneficial effect on our brain and memory. Animal studies have shown that anthocyanins enter the brain, precisely in the area of ​​memory and learning. The higher the content there, the smarter the animals were and stayed with age.

Blackberry for strong bones

1. You can buy them in mini boxes at the 'vegetable jeweler', but in the great outdoors you pick buckets full for free. Do wash before eating. Some health experts even recommend cooking blackberries and other wild forest fruits as well, for example by making jam. Wild fruits can be infected with tapeworm through fox excrement, although this infection is quite rare. Just like blueberries, blackberries contain anthocyanins and many minerals. They are the richest in calcium of all fruits and also provide a lot of magnesium and iron. These minerals are necessary for the bones, muscles and blood. Blackberries also contain the most vitamin E of all fruits, a substance that protects our body cells.

2. You can buy them in mini boxes at the 'vegetable jeweler', but in the great outdoors you pick buckets full for free. Do wash before eating. Some health experts even recommend cooking blackberries and other wild forest fruits as well, for example by making jam. Wild fruits can be infected with tapeworm through fox excrement, although this infection is quite rare. Just like blueberries, blackberries contain anthocyanins and many minerals. They are the richest of all fruits in calcium and also provide a lot of magnesium and iron. These minerals are necessary for the bones, muscles and blood. Blackberries also contain the most vitamin E of all fruits, a substance that protects our body cells.

Plum lowers cholesterol

1. Fruit is a source of fiber anyway, but plums take the cake: they provide on average 30 percent more fiber than other fruit. Fiber is good for bowel function and bowel movements, but also for cholesterol levels. Scientific research has also shown that plums have a strong antioxidant effect, perhaps the strongest of all fruits. So on the plums, because antioxidants protect our body against all kinds of diseases. Plums can be firm, but not hard. Hard plums are unripe and do not ripen afterwards. Keep them in a cool place outside the refrigerator: that is better for the taste, the smell and the maturing. Do not freeze plums.

2. Fruit is a source of fiber anyway, but plums take the cake: they provide on average 30 percent more fiber than other fruit. Fiber is good for bowel function and bowel movements, but also for cholesterol levels. Scientific research has also shown that plums have a strong antioxidant effect, perhaps the strongest of all fruits. So on the plums, because antioxidants protect our body against all kinds of diseases. Plums can be firm but not hard. Hard plums are unripe and do not ripen afterwards. Keep them in a cool place outside the refrigerator: that is better for the taste, the smell and the maturing. Do not freeze plums.

Blueberry lowers blood pressure

1. From blue to red and from black to blueberry: they all contain a lot of potassium. This substance has a blood pressure lowering effect. 200 grams of red berries per day can lead to a drop in the top pressure by 1 mm Hg, and the negative pressure by 0.5 mm Hg. That is about 10 percent of the blood pressure reduction caused by drugs. Blueberries (not to be confused with blueberries) have been the subject of some two hundred scientific publications in recent decades. The conclusion from this: blueberries are beneficial for the heart and blood vessels and for memory. The blue dye is said to promote blood circulation in the heart and reduce calcium build-up in blood vessels. In addition, this dye is said to have a positive effect on the brain, allowing it to react faster and work more precisely. New research shows that blueberries are also good for your weight: they break down existing fat cells and prevent new ones from being formed. Australian researchers also found that athletes recover faster from exercise when they eat blueberries. It is not yet clear why the fruits have this effect. Professor Steve Stannard, one of the researchers: "It probably has to do with the high levels of anthocyanins, which help the body's natural antioxidant mechanisms."

2. From blue to red and from black to blueberry: they all contain a lot of potassium. This substance has a blood pressure lowering effect. 200 grams of red berries per day can lead to a drop in the top pressure by 1 mm Hg, and the negative pressure by 0.5 mm Hg. That is about 10 percent of the blood pressure reduction caused by drugs. Blueberries (not to be confused with blueberries) have been the subject of some two hundred scientific publications in recent decades. The conclusion from this: blueberries are beneficial for the heart and blood vessels and for memory. The blue dye is said to promote blood circulation in the heart and reduce calcium build-up in blood vessels. In addition, this dye is said to have a positive effect on the brain, allowing it to react faster and work more precisely. New research shows that blueberries are also good for the figure: they break down existing fat cells and prevent new ones from being formed. Australian researchers also found that athletes recover faster from exercise when they eat blueberries. It is not yet clear why the fruits have this effect. Professor Steve Stannard, one of the researchers: "It probably has to do with the high levels of anthocyanins, which help the body's natural antioxidant mechanisms."

Anti-aging blueberries

1. They are packed with antioxidants and flavonoids. That is why a daily portion of blueberries is indispensable for those who want to slow down aging and prevent disease. After all, the antioxidants make free radicals harmless, or the aggressive molecules that are formed during the metabolic processes in our body and that damage and destroy cells and cell structures. And then the blue dye is also good for the heart and blood vessels. This dye is the same as that in blueberries, and therefore blueberries also ensure a better blood circulation in the heart, less plaque in the blood vessels and the brain that works faster and more precisely. Blueberries also promote collagen production (important for a firm skin!) And protect against night blindness. The darker in color the blueberries are, the more antioxidants they contain. By the way, this applies to most fruits and vegetables: the more color, the more antioxidants. Berries and blackberries can only be kept for one day outside the refrigerator and refrigerated for up to three days. Do not wash the fruits, leave the crowns and stems, spread them out on a plate and do not cover them; this way you prevent mold. Before eating the fruit, wash it under a gentle jet of water. Then crowns and stems can be removed. You can freeze soft summer fruit very well.