To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Jam, jelly and preserves
Date: Thu, 28 Jul 2005 13:06:29 -0400
On Thu, 28 Jul 2005 09:25:37 -0700 (PDT), Lisa Almarode
<lisaalmarode@yahoo.com> wrote:
While some might call this bait-and-switch, it's really just a process
of education
Hello,
If you are selling jam/jellies made from fruit with high
antioxidant/flavonoid content (like currants), you may wish to mention
that. People looking for antioxidants may buy your jelly/jam instead of
other antioxidant products.
Berries may fight cancer and heart disease by increasing levels of
flavonoids in the blood.
Flavonoids are found in certain fruits and vegetables and are thought to
fight the cell damaging effects of oxidation. Eating berries such as
lingonberries, which are related to cranberries, blueberries, bilberries
and black currants led to higher levels of a flavonoid called quercetin in
the blood.
Quercetin is a potent dietary antioxidant that may protect against
cardiovascular disease and possibly cancer.
In the study, 40 60-year-old men were split into two groups. One group of
20 ate 100 grams a day of blackcurrants, lingonberries and bilberries for
eight weeks, while the others ate as normal.
The blood quercetin levels of the men eating berries increased from 32
percent to 51 percent compared to men eating their normal diet. Further,
after eight weeks, men eating berries took in about 12 milligrams of
quercetin per day compared with about 5.8 mg per day for the control group.
Not only do berries contain many flavonoids, but also fiber, vitamin C and
other phenolic compounds. Not all berries contain equal amounts of
nutrients, however. The best sources of quercetin are cranberries,
lingonberries, bilberries and black currants, researchers said.
Ideally, berries should be eaten raw as heating and freezing destroy many
antioxidants. However, some antioxidants will remain even after heating or
freezing.
Juices contain less of the beneficial compounds because processing does
not completely release them from the berry skin, researchers said.
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition January 2003;57:37-42
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