I love a good factoid, so much so that my husband often refers to me as “factoid johnson”.  One of my favorite kinds of factoids are those that pertain to health, eating right and just taking care of yourself in general.  We recently attended a Qigong seminar in Asheville {more on that to come} and a big part of the seminar was about conquering diseases thru food.  Eating the right combinations of things to bring balance and wellness to your body.  So I figured since we are on this little food healing journey I should share some of this info with my favorite people…You!

First featured food…Strawberries.  You know you love them…they are sweet, refreshing and just plain delicious!  But did you know that strawberries contain a major phytochemical content including high ellagic acid that specifically protects your heart, are anti-cancer and an anti-inflammatory?!  Who knew!!  Strawberries are also a natural COX inhibitor {COX = enzyme cyclo-oxygenase}.  A what?  COX is an enzyme that naturally occurs in our bodies but in over abundance, this enzyme can cause inflammation like in arthritis, asthma, atherosclerosis & cancer.  The strawberry’s natural COX inhibitor properties have a similar effect on the body as asprin or ibuprofen in reducing this inflammation.

I think we can all agree that these healing properties mixed with the yumminess of Strawberries makes them a fabulous food to include in your daily diet.  But {always has to be a but doesn’t there} traditional strawberries are also sprayed with more pesticides per acre then any other fruit and because of the porous like surface of a strawberry these pesticides easily seep into the strawberry making it impossible to completely wash off those harmful chemicals.  GROSS!!!  So the solution to this nasty problem; Always always ALWAYS eat organic strawberries. {problem solved!}  If you pick one item on your grocery list to buy organic make it this berry.  Fruits and Veggies that have a more tough outer skin or that you remove the outer layer are less likely to be saturated with pesticides.

I think its safe to say we probably already have our favorite ways to enjoy these little guys, just pop them as a snack, cut them up in salads or put them in your morning smoothie.  Here are a few delicious recipes using this brilliant little berry that might be worth trying strawberry bruschetta {featured on the blog Annie’s Eats}, strawberry yogurt cake  {from A spicy Perspective } which also contains one of my favorite ingredients Greek Yogurt {from this post} or the classic chocolate covered strawberries {check out T Time Chic for an easy way to cover those berries with chocolate goodness}

Moral of this story…eat your Strawberries {organic of course}!!

~ Jillian

*Information from “Conquering Any Disease”  by: Jeff Primack.