Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.

~Hippocrates

 

Hippocrates was right and most people by now know it: what you eat has an enormous impact on how you feel and your overall health and well-being

Too much sugar, too many trans fats or too many processed foods can make you ill.

Similarly, consumption of nutrient-dense foods that are rich in phytonutrients (and flavour!) can help you feel well and even help fight or prevent chronic disease. 

Introducing Haskap Berries

The Japanese have known about the health benefits of haskap berries for centuries; they call haskaps “the elixir of life” (Thompson, 2006). The people of northeastern China and Russia have also been aware of the medicinal properties of haskaps since ancient times (Rupasinghe et al., 2018).

North Americans are finally catching on: haskap berries are a powerful superfruit! They not only taste delicious, but they may improve your health and prevent disease!

Why are Haskap Berries so powerful?

  • Haskap berries possess significant amounts of polyphenols, which have been shown to be effective to control inflammation; regular consumption of polyphenols may reduce the risk of dementia, stroke and neurodegenerative disorders (Rupasinghe et al., 2015).  

  • Haskap berries have extraordinary levels of anthocyanins – specifically cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (C3G), as compared with other native North American berries. C3G anthocyanin is a natural pigment found in many dark coloured fruits, vegetables and other plants; one reason why haskap berries have such high levels of C3G anthocyanin is because they actually have two layers of skin! Multiple peer-reviewed studies on rats and mice have demonstrated that the C3G anthocyanins found in haskap berries exhibit many health benefits, including anti-inflammatory, cardio-protective, anti-diabetic and anti-cancer properties (Rupasinghe et al., 2018).

  • Haskap berries possess remarkably high levels of Vitamin C, which is critical for a healthy immune system and is also necessary for growth and repair of all body tissue and maintenance of cartilage, bones and teeth. Furthermore, Vitamin C helps your body absorb and store iron and may help protect against cardiovascular disease and age-related eye disease.

  • Haskap berries are rich in potassium, which helps regulate muscle contractions and nerve signals. It may also help reduce blood pressure and water retention and protect against stroke, osteoporosis and kidney stones.

  • Haskap berries are rich in Vitamin A, which is important for reproduction and contributes towards good vision and a strong immune system. Vitamin A is also necessary for healthy functioning of organs, including heart, lungs, and kidneys.

How do Haskap Berries compare with other berries rich in antioxidants?

The charts below have been prepared using readily available published data for antioxidants - including total anthocyanins, C3G anthocyanins and polyphenols - in several varieties of common berries,

As you can see, haskap berries are at the very top!

What is an ORAC value?

ORAC stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity, and is measured in µmole TE/100g.

In broad terms, it is a measurement of the antioxidant capacity of a given food.

More specifically, it is a measure of the ability of a given food to neutralize oxidizing free radicals (or clean up the “rust”), which can harm otherwise healthy cells.

The higher the ORAC value, the higher the antioxidant capacity.

ORAC values provide a reasonable method to compare the antioxidant capacity of different fresh foods – specifically berries. And when it comes to haskap berries, the ORAC scores are very high. In fact, when considering their antioxidant capacity as well as taste and concentrations of other important vitamins and nutrients, haskap berries are considered one of the very best berries that you can include in your diet.

Haskap berries do not need to be cooked in order to be safe to consume, they do not need to have sugar added to be palatable, and they grow well in colder climates, which means that they are the perfect crop to grow in Nova Scotia, Canada!

References:

1.     Celli, G.B., Ghanem, A., and Brooks, M.S.L. (2014). Haskap Berries (Lonicera caerulea L.) – a critical review of antioxidant capacity and health-related studies for potential value-added products. Food and Bioprocess Technology, 7(6): 1541-1554.

2.     Chun, O.K., Kim, D-O., Smith, N., Schroeder, D., Han, J.T. and Lee, C.Y. (2005). Daily consumption of phenolics and total antioxidant capacity from fruit and vegetables in the American diet.  Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 85:1715-1724. doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.2176.

3.     Haytowitz, D. B. and Bhagwat, S. (2010). USDA Database for the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) of Selected Foods, Release 2.

4.     Kalt, W., Cassidy, A., Howard, L.R., Krikorian, R., Stull, A.J., Tremblay, F. and Zamora-Ross, R. (2020). Recent research on the health benefits of blueberries and their anthocyanins. Advances in Nutrition, 11(2): 224-236. doi: 10.1093/advances/nmz065.

5.     Rupasinghe, H.P.V., Yu, L.J., Bhullar, KD.S. and Bors, B. (2012). Short Communication: Haskap (Lonicera caerulea): A new berry crop with high antioxidant capacity. Canadian Journal of Plant Science, 92: 1311-1317. doi: 10.4141/CJPS2012-073.

6.     Rupasinghe, H.P.V., Boehm, M.M.A., Sekhon-Loodu, S, Parmar, I., Bors, B. and Jamieson, A.R. (2015). Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Haskap Cultivars is Prolyphenols-Dependent.  Biomolecules, 5(2): 1079-1098. doi:10.3390/biom5021079.

7.     Rupasinghe, H.P.V., Arumuggam, N., Amararathna, M. and De Silva, A.B.K.H. (2018). The potential health benefits of haskap (Lonicera caerulea L.): Role of cyanidin-3-O-glucoside. Journal of Functional Foods, 44: 24-39.

8.     Thompson, M.M. (2006). Introducing Haskap, Japanese blue honeysuckle. Journal – American Pomological Society. 60:164-168.

9.     Veberic, R., Jakopic, J., Stampar, F. and Schitzer, V. (2009). European elderberry (Sambucus nigra L.) rich in sugars, organic acids, anthocyanins and selected polyphenols. Food Chemistry, 114(2): 511-515. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2008.09.080.

10.  Wolfe, K.L., Kang, X., He, X., Dong, M., Zhang, Q. and Liu, R.H. (2008). Cellular antioxidant activity of common fruits. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 56: 8418-8426.