How many of us know what a lingonberry is?
Belonging to the family named Ericaceae, lingonberries is an evergreen shrub that bears edible fruit. Mostly found growing in Europe, Asia etc, lingonberries if often confused with cranberries.
This lingonberry fruit is small and it tastes sour and they grow in clusters on short stalks. Cranberries are larger in shape and are seen growing on long stalks. It has got various ingredients like dietary polyphenols, omega-3 fatty acids, sterols plus vitamins like A/C/B1/B2/B3, minerals like calcium, zinc, iron and phosphorus etc.
Various health benefits of consuming lingonberries are
Prevents diabetes:
By consuming lingonberries, we could have reduced risk of getting diabetes because of the presence of flavonoids and anthocyanins etc.
Lowers cholesterol:
It is true that a food rich in high fat would lead to a rise in cholesterol levels and body weight also gets increased. By intake of this amazing fruit, the cholesterol levels in us would get lowered. High gat induced inflammatory changes could be avoided by the anti-inflammatory properties of lingonberries.
Inflammation gets reduced:
Many chronic diseases like obesity and diabetes etc are caused due to the inflammation. It is revealed that a diet of lingonberries have shown in the low grade inflammation etc
Immunity gets boosted:
The gut micro bacteria or the GI health gets improved when we consume lingonberries. Here, the antioxidant as well as anti-inflammatory properties of this fruit play a huge role. Improvement in the gut health would improve the immunity of a person.
Removal of dental plaque:
Microbes like Streptococcus mutans, Candida etc are known to cause dental issues like bleeding and plaque. The antimicrobial property of lingonberries would remove dental plaque and oral flora would be balanced.
Good for heart:
The anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative properties of quercetin (a flavonoid present in this fruit) would be good for heart health. The risk of getting heart attacks and strokes is lowered.
Improves vision:
Poor vision or damage to the cells of the retina could be due to the oxidative stress. The presence of anthocyanins and flavonoids in this fruit would protect the retinal cells from damage due to free radicals. The vision would become better.
Good for weight loss:
It is believed that by consuming lingonberries we would not gain weight due to the high fat diet. The metabolic as well as physiological properties of the body get improved. The amount of fat deposit in the adipose tissues gets reduced and weight loss is promoted.