Calorie content
The origin of strawberries goes back to America, but modern varieties are already so regionalized for each area that they are grown almost everywhere. Each variety has its own characteristics, but they are all equally tasty, aromatic and healthy. It is used fresh for food, as well as in the form of jam, compotes, desserts, and so on.
Fresh berries contain a small amount of calories, which is about 36 kcal per hundred grams of product. For this reason, they are included in many weight loss diets. And thanks to its complete vitamin and mineral composition, doctors very often recommend consuming strawberries as part of therapeutic diets.
The consumption of strawberries can only be limited by the body's allergic reaction to it.
The calorie content of strawberry preparations is also low:
- the calorie content of fresh strawberries is no more than 30 kcal per 100 grams;
- frozen berries – approximately 32 kcal;
- calorie content of strawberries with sugar – 165 kcal;
- dried strawberries – 289 kcal.
The nutritional value of winter preparations per 100 g is (Table No. 1):
Table No. 1.
Workpiece name | Proteins, mg | Fats, mg | Carbohydrates, mg |
Fresh | 60 | 40 | 740 |
Frozen | 70 | 30 | 750 |
With sugar | 50 | 30 | 3890 |
Dried strawberries | 20 | 20 | 8420 |
Experts say that frozen berries do not lose any of their nutritional properties, so in winter you can safely provide yourself with strawberries that are complete in their composition.
Harm and possible contraindications
- In the following situations, berries should be eaten with caution:
- Strawberries, even frozen ones, although to a lesser extent, are quite a strong allergen. This happens due to the high content of oxalic and salicylic acids. If you are prone to allergies, use the product with caution.
- The consumption of strawberries should be limited during pregnancy. To begin with, 2-4 berries a day will be enough, and if there is no negative reaction, you can increase the amount slightly.
- Berries should not be fed to children under 12 months of age. After a year, you can start complementary feeding with 1-2 small berries, gradually increasing their number.
- If you have gastritis with high acidity, you should not eat strawberries on an empty stomach or in large quantities.
- Some high blood pressure medications taken with strawberries may place additional stress on the kidneys.
Strawberries are an extremely healthy and tasty berry. If you have the opportunity, try freezing it, and in winter you can enjoy pies or compote that are almost indistinguishable from those made from fresh berries.
Valuable dietary properties
Strawberries are not only aromatic and tasty berries, but also very healthy, especially for those who keep their weight under control. It contains minimal calories and a complete complex of natural vitamins and minerals, which makes any diet easy and absolutely safe. Eating 10-15 pcs. per day, you can replenish your supply of vitamins in the amount of the daily requirement.
Fresh strawberries contain the daily requirement of ascorbic acid. Among garden crops, only black currant is richer than it. If you compare strawberries and oranges, the garden berry will have the advantage in vitamin C.
Strawberries also hold the lead among country crops in terms of vitamin B9 content. It is present in significantly smaller doses in raspberries and grapes. The daily inclusion of strawberries in the diet menu allows the immune system to work much more efficiently.
Many nutritionists include fresh strawberries in medicinal nutrition. This is due to its powerful anti-inflammatory and bactericidal properties. Strawberries are especially recommended for many stomach diseases. And the unpleasant odor from the mouth can be perfectly neutralized by a few strawberries. This wonderful berry has another excellent quality - it effectively fights the influenza virus. That is why all doctors advise using it in the treatment of various viral colds and including it in the patient’s menu for a quick recovery.
Garden strawberries contain a lot of iodine, so the lack of this microelement is well compensated by eating them. Each piece contains a whole complex of vitamins and microelements that allow you to cope with any vitamin deficiency.
However, the most valuable property of strawberries is the ability to lower blood sugar levels. This allows people who suffer from diabetes to consume the berry. This helps to diversify the menu for this category of citizens.
Advice. Among other things, it is recommended to consume strawberries for gallstone disease, as well as for anemia. The high iron content greatly contributes to this.
Application in cosmetology
During the berry season, the “folk cosmetologist” awakens in every woman. All food brought home ends up on the face first, and only then on the plate. Women are accustomed to spending their time as rationally as possible and doing several things at the same time. The preparation time for strawberry pie or muffins can be combined with applying a strawberry mask to the face, lips and crease of the upper eyelid.
Strawberries fight hyperpigmentation, post-acne, dry out existing acne and visibly rejuvenate. How to use the berry for the benefit not only of digestion, but also of natural beauty:
- Apply a quick nourishing mask. Wash the berries thoroughly, cut them in half and rub the halves on your face. Get ready for your skin to turn red. It looks like you've been skinned alive, so warn your family about beauty treatments. Keep the mask on your face for 10-25 minutes, rinse with warm water and apply your usual skincare products.
- Freeze the strawberries with ice cubes. You can crush strawberries and mix them with ice or freeze whole berries - the effect will be identical. Every morning should start with an icy, relaxing massage. Take frozen berry ice and gently rub it along the massage lines on your face. The massage will smooth out fine wrinkles, ice will refresh the skin, give tone, and strawberries will nourish it with vitamins and moisturize.
- Add crushed strawberries to your basic care products. Please note that the sales period for such cosmetics is reduced several times. As soon as you smell the putrid odor of the cream, throw it away. This indicates rotting of the berries. A spoiled ingredient will no longer be able to nourish the skin and will act exactly the opposite.
- If you are not confident in your cosmetic abilities, then do not be discouraged and purchase a special line at a pharmacy or mass market containing strawberries. Pay attention to the composition: the berry should be in the first position in the composition and listed as an ingredient, not a flavoring.
Strawberry diet
Strawberries are a low-calorie berry, containing a little more than 30 kcal per hundred grams. This allows you to include it in various diets without fear of ruining your figure. There are no restrictions on the number of berries consumed. One of the pleasant properties for those who are on a diet is the possibility of strawberry fasting days. During this period, it is allowed to eat up to 1.5 kg of strawberries per day.
It is very easy to lose weight with strawberries, as they are very tasty and healthy. After all, the low-calorie content of berries goes well with other beneficial properties, for example, it reduces blood pressure, strengthens the walls of blood vessels and serves as an excellent product for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases.
And yet, one of the main advantages is the most effective fight against extra pounds. Strawberry diets increase vitality and mood.
In just 4 days, the strawberry diet helps you lose three kilograms of weight, while receiving all the necessary nutrients in the right quantities.
On all days of the diet, breakfast includes about one hundred grams of strawberries with milk. Lunch consists, for example, of chicken with vegetables. Dinner includes a salad with herbs and vegetables, and for dessert again strawberries and cheese. On other days, the diet is not much different from the first day. Eggs, greens, vegetables and fish are allowed. At night you can eat strawberries and drink kefir.
This diet is not at all burdensome for a person, it maintains calories at the proper level, and it consists of your favorite foods. It is not possible to go hungry on such a diet, since the nutritional value is sufficient to not feel hungry.
Advice. Nutritionists advise sticking to strawberry fasts in the future so as not to exceed caloric intake on these days. And for winter unloading, the berries are frozen in the summer.
Beneficial properties of strawberries
The natural properties of strawberries are a powerful weapon against a “bouquet” of diseases. From routine types of constipation to serious diabetes and atherosclerosis. Berries are chosen by those who want to look younger and more attractive.
What does strawberry cure?
By consuming berries during the season, you can improve your health, strengthen your immune system, and get rid of some ailments:
- Garden strawberries are endowed with antimicrobial properties; in fact, they are a source of natural aspirin, therefore they relieve pain of a different nature (headache, periodic pain, joint pain, etc.).
- Disaccharides stimulate the production of glucose, so the berry is indicated for diabetes.
- Its saturation with potassium and magnesium makes it useful for normalizing heart function.
- Soft fiber regulates intestinal motility, prevents or eliminates constipation. Together with pepsin, it cleanses blood vessels.
- Strawberry masks heal the skin, make it young and radiant.
- Berry juice removes yellow teeth and freshens breath.
Consumption of fresh strawberry berries heals the body, simultaneously solving human aesthetic problems.
The berry is an easily digestible product (20-25 minutes), saturating the body with energy. But it does not create a feeling of heaviness.
Therapeutic “specialization” of nutrients
The health effects and benefits of strawberries are due to the composition of the elements contained in it:
- Iron. A classic source of hemoglobin, useful for anemia and anemia.
- Bor. An essential component of blood cells, muscle and bone tissue.
- Iodine. Normalizes the activity of the thyroid gland.
- Copper. The main disinfectant of the body.
- Fluorine. Guarantor of the indestructibility of tooth enamel.
Organic acids dissolve kidney stones.
Benefits of roots and leaves
The rhizomes and leaves of garden strawberries are also useful:
- They are saturated with tannins, so a decoction based on them is indicated for inflammation of the nasopharynx and digestive disorders. A handful of leaves is poured into a glass of water, boiled for several minutes, left for half an hour, and gargled.
- Tea made from the leaves is a diuretic and expectorant. They drink it for problems falling asleep, insomnia, and high blood pressure.
- Diarrhea is stopped by two or three glasses of infusion (two tablespoons of leaves are steamed with half a liter of boiling water).
- “Tails” are a storehouse of folic acid and vitamins (there are more of them here than in fruits). They are brewed as tea to improve blood circulation or if you suffer from osteochondrosis or gout. If there are no health problems, sepals are added to make tea or other drink more flavorful.
However, infusions, teas, and other leaf-based products are prohibited in cases of increased gastric secretion, pregnancy, and breastfeeding.
Can pregnant women eat strawberries?
The vitamin-mineral complex of garden strawberries will not harm the female body in any way. On the contrary, it will feed it. The main benefit for women's health is folic acid. There is plenty of it here, it is required for normal intrauterine development of the fetus.
The main thing is to buy from trusted sellers and not to overuse it by overeating on fragrant fruits. And be sure to pour boiling water over it so as not to provoke an allergy.
When starting breastfeeding, garden strawberries are excluded until the baby’s reaction to them is determined. Then consult a pediatrician.
Is it possible to give strawberries to children?
Garden strawberries can be given to children starting at one year old (as complementary food). Carefully and little by little to make sure there is no allergy. But not the first, early fruits: they are stuffed with nitrates and pesticides. At the height of the season, 100-120 grams per day is enough for babies.
Moms are interested in the benefits of strawberries and wild strawberries for the child’s body. The effect is complex:
- For children, the berries act like natural aspirin, therefore they are indicated as an antipyretic.
- They can be eaten even with diathesis.
- The acids contained here suppress viral infections and neutralize inflammation. Therefore, berries are very useful during periods of outbreaks and for the prevention of acute respiratory infections and influenza.
This is simply a delicious appetite stimulant for a child.
Benefits for men
In addition to their general properties, strawberries are useful for the stronger half for the following reasons:
- It contains a high concentration of zinc. It normalizes the male hormonal system; such drugs are prescribed for the prevention or treatment of prostatitis, adenoma, and impotence. The microelement increases male libido.
- The mission of vitamin C is to strengthen the immune system of men, especially smokers, to create the body’s natural shield against viruses.
It is an internationally recognized aphrodisiac and an essential component of a romantic date (along with champagne). By creating such a menu, a man can be confident in himself and the lady.
Methods of use
Many people are accustomed to strawberries being served either fresh or as jam. But this berry can also be frozen, made into puree, jam, confiture, and salad. You can combine it with various foods, but best of all with cheese, nuts, as well as whipped cream and ice cream. In any form, the berry contains a minimum amount of calories, even pureed strawberries with sugar, and under no circumstances will spoil the figure.
You can also eat dried strawberries. To do this, take 1 kg of fresh berries and fill them with 0.4 kg of sugar. All this is put in the refrigerator for 20 hours. Then a syrup is prepared from 0.35 sugar and the same amount of water and chilled strawberries are poured into it. Cook the berries this way for about eight minutes. Then the water is drained, and the berries are placed on a baking sheet and placed in the oven for 25 minutes. After this, mix the berries and put them in the oven again, but at a temperature of 75 degrees. This is how you get dried strawberries.
And also almost all people love dumplings with strawberries. This all comes from childhood, when a large number of berries ripen in the garden, and mothers and grandmothers try to feed their children and grandchildren healthy and tasty dishes. You can never have too many strawberry dumplings, because the berry is so aromatic and tasty that children and adults like it.
Gardeners always brag about garden strawberries. Everyone tries to breed a variety that will be better and tastier than the neighbor’s. Therefore, in summer cottages there are always large strawberry plantations.
It must be remembered that the calorie content of frozen strawberries is lower than fresh ones. This must be taken into account when drawing up a dietary menu.
Canned compotes are very aromatic; they are often cooked in winter, when the body needs vitamins to resist colds.
Strawberries are useful in any form, but the main thing to remember is that various additives increase the calorie content of the final product. Therefore, eating fresh is always more useful and advisable.
Are there vitamins in frozen strawberries?
There are as many vitamins in a frozen product as there are in a fresh product. And if stored correctly, almost all vitamins are preserved. The product should be used immediately after defrosting; it should not lie, even in the refrigerator. To prepare the same compote, there is no need to defrost the berries at all, but should be placed in water frozen.