Dear Subscriber,
Strawberries have always been on my top list of foods mainly because, they are berries. I am a fan of all food berries, particularly blueberries. During my 22 years in Alaska, we made it a point to go wild blueberry picking at the end of each summer. No berry beats wild Alaska bush blueberries, in my opinion.
However, research is showing that many berries are outstanding. There is an institute devoted to the cranberry, a fruit packed with polyphenols. Here we see a report that strawberries can help prevent dementia and depression!!
A 12-week study in middle aged, overweight adults showed the berry can positively impact memory and depressive symptoms. I believe the benefits come from the strawberry’s rich polyphenol content, likely the source of the wonderful protective effects of all berries, pomegranates, cranberries, green tea, and more. It was a double-blind study using packets of dried strawberry extract measured against a placebo packet designed to taste like strawberry but minus the polyphenols. The packet had the equivalent of about 1 cup of strawberries containing some 37 mg of anthocyanins, potent polyphenols.
Now, strawberry season is over. I am not a fan of unripe out of season strawberries, and even less of a fan of non-organic strawberries. They are amongst the dirty dozen of sprayed foods. I’ve tried growing them for years but the slugs have won out---- until this year. I managed to get a raised bed about 2 feet off the ground. The slugs did not find their way up the support posts. We got a small but our best crop in years, so I am going to develop this method to the extent that I can, make most of the raised bed into a strawberry patch, and have the delicious berries, fresh, all growing season if possible.
Very valuable bioflavonoids include ECGC from green tea, quercetin from onions and celery. I am a real fan of luteolin, found in celery, broccoli, thyme, dandelion, artichoke and green herbs. There are lots of others, which I may cover over time. But I believe that these bioflavonoids and those in berries are amongst the most active and have the property of being able to cross the blood brain barrier to quell inflammation in the brain, and perhaps neutralize toxic compounds in neurons like free radicals. As you know, I have age related macular degeneration. I am particularly interested in bioflavonoids for their known protection of the retina. Retina is brain tissue, unbeknownst to many.
Thanksgiving is this week. Enjoy your cranberries, and all berries. Please make sure they are organic. If. Your choice is berry powder or any powdered supplement from greens or fruits, again, make sure they are organic.
To Your Excellent Health,
Robert Jay Rowen, MD
PS Don’t forget about apples. Their peels are loaded with polyphenols and we all remember the old saying – “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”. Terri and I grow apples, Fujis in particular. We store them in refrigerators well into spring along with storable pears. Apples actually get sweeter this way as they dehydrate a bit, leaving their sweet tastes intact. I eat several a day and I know these are organic!
Strawberries and Dementia
https://scitechdaily.com/sweet-science-eating-strawberries-could-help-prevent-dementia-and-depression/
Slug Solution: Put small containers, lids from dare I say plastic objects you might buy such as shredded parmesan, etc. on the ground near your berries. Some say you need to make them indented into the Earth, so ground level. Malarkey, I see them work just laying on top of the ground. Fill the lid with some cheap beer. The slugs love the beer, climb in and it's all over but the crying! True story: I was helping a friend in the garden, we were emptying her plastic lids full of dead slugs (side note I don't know if chickens would eat the dead slugs, worth a try) and as we were replacing the lids around the yard I noticed a slug , popped the top on a new can of cheap beer and no kidding ....the sound the instant smell, something made that slug do a 180 and come running for that beer. We stood they're laughing! Thinking he heard the pop top, though it was most likely chemical aroma. Then as a curious soul, I allowed a slug to crawl along my finger. Bad idea, the slime is awful and very hard to remove. Take my advice , bad experiment! Moral of the story- Slugs love Beer! It Works!
OK, you got me. Let's just say, it's the fastest I've ever seen a slug move!