r Blackberries

(Boysenberries, dewberries, youngberries)

o
Nutritional Profile
3 Energy value (calories per serving): Low
Protein: Low
Fat: Low
] Saturated fat: Low
Cholesterol: None
Carbohydrates: High

1 Fiber: Moderate
Sodium: Low
Major vitamin contribution: Vitamin A, vitamin C
Major mineral contribution: Calcium

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About the Nutrients in This Food
Blackberries have no starch but do contain sugars and dietary fiber, pri-

8 marily pectin, which dissolves as the fruit matures. Unripe blackberries

contain more pectin than ripe ones.
One-half cup fresh blackberries has 3.8 g dietary fiber, 15 mg vitamin
C (20 percent of the RDA for a woman, 17 percent of the RDA for a man),
and 18 mcg folate (5 percent of the RDA).
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The Most Nutritious Way to Serve This Food

w Fresh or lightly cooked.

Diets That May Exclude or Restrict This Food

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Buying This Food

? Look for: Plump, firm dark berries with no hulls. A firm, well-rounded
berry is still moist and fresh; older berries lose moisture, which is why
their skin wrinkles.
Avoid: Baskets of berries with juice stains or liquid leaking out of the berries. The stains
and leaks are signs that there are crushedand possibly moldyberries inside.

Storing This Food

Cover berries and refrigerate them. Then use them in a day or two.
Do not wash berries before storing. The moisture collects in spaces on the surface of
the berries that may mold in the refrigerator. Also, handling the berries may damage their
cells, releasing enzymes that can destroy vitamins.

Preparing This Food

Rinse the berries under cool running water, then drain them and pick them over carefully to
remove all stems and leaves.

What Happens When You Cook This Food

Cooking destroys some of the vitamin C in fresh blackberries and lets water-soluble B
vitamins leach out. Cooked berries are likely to be mushy because the heat and water dis-
solve their pectin and the skin of the berry collapses. Cooking may also change the color of
blackberries, which contain soluble red anthocyanin pigments that stain cooking water and
turn blue in basic (alkaline) solutions. Adding lemon juice to a blackberry pie stabilizes these
pigments; it is a practical way to keep the berries a deep, dark reddish blue.

How Other Kinds of Processing Affect This Food

Canning. The intense heat used in canning fruits reduces the vitamin C content of black-
berries. Berries packed in juice have more nutrients, ounce for ounce, than berries packed in
either water or syrup.

Medical Uses and/or Benefits

Anticancer activity. Blackberries are rich in anthocyanins, bright-red plant pigments that act
as antioxidantsnatural chemicals that prevent free radicals (molecular fragments) from
joining to form carcinogenic (cancer-causing) compounds. Some varieties of blackberries also
contain ellagic acid, another anticarcinogen with antiviral and antibacterial properties.

Adverse Effects Associated with This Food

Allergic reaction. Hives and angioedema (swelling of the face, lips, and eyes) are common
allergic responses to berries, virtually all of which have been known to trigger allergic
reactions. According to the Merck Manual, berries are one of the 12 foods most likely to
trigger classic food allergy symptoms. The others are chocolate, corn, eggs, fish, legumes
(peas, lima beans, peanuts, soybeans), milk, nuts, peaches, pork, shellfish, and wheat (see
wheat cereals ).