Blackberries are packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants and are often enjoyed fresh, as jam, or in baked goods. They are closely related to raspberries and are known as "aggregate fruits" because they are made of multiple flower ovaries that combine to form a single fruit.
Blackberries are found primarily in northern temperate regions, and the wild version is abundant in North America and the Pacific and Atlantic coasts.
Blackberries nutritional information
One cup is equal to a single serving and contains:
- Calories: 62%
- Total fat: 0.7 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
- Sodium: 1.4 mg
- Total Carbs: 13.8g
- Dietary fiber: 7.6 g
- Sugar: 7 g
- Added sugar: 0g
- Protein: 2 g
Macronutrients
- Total fat: One cup of blackberries has 0.7 grams of total fat, which includes 0.4 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 0.07 grams of monounsaturated fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, and 0 grams of trans fat.
- Carbohydrates: contains 13.8 grams of carbohydrates, including 7.6 grams of fiber and 7 grams of natural sugar.
- Protein: Believe it or not, it provides 2 grams of protein.
Vitamins, Minerals and Other Micronutrients
- Manganese: 40% of your Daily Value (DV)
- Vitamin C: 34% DV
- Copper: 26% DV
- Vitamin K: 24% DV
- Vitamin E: 11% DV
- Folate: 9% DV
- Pantothenic Acid (B5): 8% DV
- Magnesium: 7% DV
- Zinc: 7% DV
- Niacin (B3): 6% DV
- Iron: 5% DV
- Potassium: 5% DV
- Vitamin B6: 3% DV
- Calcium: 3% DV
- Phosphorus: 3% DV
- Riboflavin (B2): 3% DV
What benefits do they bring to health?
Like other berries, blackberries have a rich and varied nutrient profile. They contain a wide variety of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
They can help with weight control
Blackberries are an excellent source of dietary fiber, which supports healthy weight loss goals and helps maintain a healthy weight. In fact, adding more fiber to your diet is linked to lower body weight, according to an April 2013 study in Nutrients.
Dietary fiber creates bulk and increases fecal water content, which helps keep you full and your intestinal tract working smoothly. Fiber can also help improve glucose tolerance, increase insulin sensitivity, and lower blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
Increasing your fiber intake to 30 grams per day is an effective approach to weight loss, as shown in a February 2015 Annals of Internal Medicine study.
Additionally, according to research conducted in November 2018 in Nutrition and Diabetes, eating a diet high in whole fruits (such as berries), as well as vegetables, legumes, and nuts, was shown to be an effective strategy for treating obesity.
Minerals can support healthy bones
This fruit contains minerals associated with good bone health, such as manganese, copper, zinc, magnesium, and vitamin K.
These minerals work together to support the bone homeostasis. Manganese helps with bone metabolism, aiding in the prevention of osteoporosis, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), while copper and zinc help with bone formation and overall structure, according to American Bone Health.
Most of the magnesium in our bodies is found in our bones and works closely with calcium and phosphorus. Vitamin K plays a key role in bone metabolism and is essential for bone health.
Contain powerful antioxidant properties
The berries contain a number of health-promoting nutrients, such as phytochemicals manganese and vitamin C, which have been found to be therapeutic for a variety of gastrointestinal and immune-related diseases, according to the October 2017 issue. from Nutrition Reviews.
Manganese helps scavenge reactive oxygen species, which are known as free radicals, and help the body deal with oxidative stress, according to an April 2018 report in Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity. Blackberries contain 40 percent of your daily value needs.
Meanwhile, vitamin C helps limit the damaging effects of free radicals through its antioxidant activity, all of which have a positive effect on the gastrointestinal tract and immunity.
Are there risks when consuming them?
There are currently no confirmed or known food allergies or drug interactions related to blackberries. Be sure to discuss any drug-food interactions with your doctor.
Summer is the season for blackberries and when the plump fruits have a rich, deep color, a sweet aroma and are more likely to taste better.
Avoid the ones that still have a helmet attached in the center, indicating that they were collected before fully ripening. Canned blackberries should not be packed too tightly, have spots or high moisture, or look crushed or moldy. You can also find frozen berries year-round in the freezer section of your local grocery store.
When preparing berries, follow these cleaning tips to protect delicate fruits from injury:
- To clean, fill a bowl with cold water and add the blackberries, shake gently, then pour into a strainer.
- Alternatively, you can carefully place them in a colander and gently wash them under light pressure from the faucet.
- Eliminate the shredded ones or you will cause the others to mold quickly. To prevent crushing and spoilage, you may want to transfer them from their original packaging to a single layer in a shallow glass dish lined with a damp paper towel.
How to freeze blackberries?
If you can't eat the berries within two days, you can easily freeze them.
- Wash them and dry them with a piece of paper.
- Spread them out on a baking sheet in a single layer.
- Place the baking sheet in the freezer and freeze until hard.
- Transfer the frozen blackberries to a zip-top freezer bag or an airtight container. Frozen ones should stay fresh for up to a year.