Have you ever picked wild berries from the woods? If yes, then you know the joy of berries. Berries are not just fun and delicious, but also, they have numerous health benefits. They have a high nutritional content. A cup full of strawberries has vitamin C up to 100 mg. This is the same amount of vitamin C that is found in a small glass of orange juice. Vitamin C is required by our body for the proper functioning of our immune system. Shifting focus on blueberries, a cup of them offer lesser vitamin C content than strawberries, and they have 83 calories per cup. Cranberries offer approximately the same amount of nutrients, but with 44 calories, and a cup full of raspberries presents 64 calories.

Health benefits of some of the berries are:

* Berries of dark color, like blackberries, blueberries, wolfberries and raspberries are rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants strengthen your immune power, and you are less prone to diseases such as common cold, and flu.

* Bilberries, raspberries and blueberries are rich in lutin, a compound important for healthy eyesight.

* Raspberries have good quantity of cancer fighting phytochemicals and anthocyanins, such as ferulic acid, ellagic, and coumaric.

* Extracts of the fruit of pomegranate have powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant qualities, and has been proved by studies of being advantageous in case of expanding cancer cells and also in recovering from coronary heart diseases. Pomegranate extracts are also beneficial in gum diseases.

In a research in 1999, at Tufts University, researchers fed old rats berry extracts and younger rats the regular diet. The results were as follows:

* Older rats were fast in learning than the younger rats

* Older rats were far more coordinated than the younger ones

* Older rats also had improved motor skills

* Older rats had more memory than the younger rats

As it can be seen, the experiments clearly show that berry extracts did wonders for some rats although they were older. Similar holds true for humans as well. Studies have been conducted on human subjects and the groups that were fed berries showed a dramatic improvement over the other groups.

Berries protect against brain damage. Many types of berries, especially blueberries help the neurons and protect the brain from any kind of damage.

Almost all the berries contain flavonoids that help fight against some specific type of cancer cells. Berries taken regularly can help reduce the chances of cancer in the body. There are many types of berries, and it’s not possible to have a regular intake of all the berries everyday, so berry extracts are recommended for a healthy living.