A BERRY GOOD LIFE
Posting and photos by: Elizabeth Fiend
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Now that we’re both over 50, everyone asks ‘How do the Fiends stay so youthful looking?” It’s living the good life, which in our book includes eating plenty of colorful, fresh fruit and vegetables.
In the summer we get the freshest fruit by growing our own. Amazing, but we grow the above raspberries, blue berries and black raspberries in our city backyard smack dab in the center of South Philly — yeah the same hood Rocky once beat-up meat in.
Berries are loaded with antioxidants and they taste good, two reasons why we eat them every chance we can. According to Lisa Turner in Better Nutrition “Few fruits have quite the provocative allure, the fragile charm or the nutrients of berries. They’re full of fiber, minerals and vitamins, and loaded with healing antioxidants. Blueberries, raspberries and blackberries are rich in proanthocyanidins, antioxidants that can help prevent cancer and heart disease. Strawberries, raspberries and blackberries contain ellagic acid, a plant compound that combats carcinogens. Blueberries also appear to delay the onset of age-related loss of cognitive function.” [Following is an article describing exactly what antioxidants are and why you need them.]
It’s actually quite easy to grow berries and I recommend it if you have the space and desire. We’ve had the red raspberries for a few years, but this year is our first crop of black raspberries. There were many cultivars to choose from when I purchased my plants — the biggest berry, the earliest to bear fruit, the juiciest. Hard to decide, so I let fate have a hand and got the plant named Allen, even spelled the same way Mr. Fiend spells his name. It was a good choice –it’s big, early and juicy.
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FRUIT FACT: How can you tell the difference between black raspberries and blackberries? A black raspberry when picked will have a hollow center, just like a red raspberry (see photo above). Blackberries hold on to their cores when picked. And, yes, I’m growing blackberries too. They’re just beginning to flower and will bear fruit in about a month, coinciding with the figs.
Antioxidants minimize damage to your cells from free radicals.
By Jeanie Lerche Davis. Source: WebMD Feature. Reviewed by Charlotte Grayson Mathis, MD.
An apple slice turns brown. Fish becomes rancid. A cut on your skin is raw and inflamed. All of these result from a natural process called oxidation. It happens to all cells in nature, including the ones in your body.
To help your body protect itself from the rigors of oxidation, Mother Nature provides thousands of different antioxidants in various amounts in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and legumes. When your body needs to put up its best defense, especially true in today’s environment, antioxidants are crucial to your health.
