6 Health Benefits of Mulberries

Mulberries are delicious and nutritious, people all over the world enjoy it. Mulberries are a product of the Morus alba tree. Its leaves, which also contain nutrients and are even used as food for silkworms, are thin, glossy and light green; the fruit, like grapes, is red or white and grows in bunches called “drupes.”
1. Source of Antioxidants
Antioxidants help lessen the damage caused by free radicals and the entire mulberry plant- leaves, stems, and fruit, contains antioxidants. [1] [2] One antioxidant in particular, resveratrol, has gotten much attention. Research published by the University of Texas Health Science Center credits resveratrol for positive effects on age and longevity. [3]
2. Immune System Support
Mulberries contain alkaloids that activate macrophages. Macrophages are white blood cells that stimulate the immune system, putting it on high active alert against health threats. [4]
3. Supports Healthy Blood Sugar
More formal research is appropriate, but mulberry is thought to contain compounds that support balanced blood sugar levels. [5] Traditional medicine in China, Trinidad and Tobago have all used mulberry leaves to promote balanced blood sugar levels. [6] [7]
4. Healthy Food!
Dried mulberries are a great source of protein, vitamin C and K, fiber, and iron. Best of all, they’re available in health food stores everywhere! Enjoy them as a great snack all by themselves or add them to your favorite trail mix. If you live in a warm climate and are lucky enough to have mulberry trees nearby, you can enjoy the fruit fresh off the tree. Not as tasty as the fruit, even the leaves contain protein, fiber, and nutrients! [8]
5. Resists Redness
Practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine have used mulberry as a remedy for swelling and redness. [9] A recent Romanian study discovered that a curcumin and mulberry leaf combination may be a new lead into natural remedies for this sort of irritation. [10]
6. Brain Protection?
Do mulberries offer anything to the brain? Researchers at Khon Kaen University in Thailand set out to answer that question by evaluating the effect of mulberry on male rats with memory impairment and brain damage. Although further investigation is required before mulberries can be declared a cognitive enhancer and neuroprotectant, rats that consumed mulberries had better memories and less oxidative stress.
Health benefits of mulberries
 Delicious, fleshy, succulent mulberries are less in calories (just 43 calories per 100 g). They compose of health promoting phyto-nutrient compounds like polyphenol pigment antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins that are essential for optimum health.
 Mulberries have significantly high amounts of phenolic flavonoid phytochemicals called anthocyanins. Scientific studies have shown that consumption of berries have potential health effects against cancer, aging and neurological diseases, inflammation, diabetes, and bacterial infections.
 The berries contain resveratrol, another polyphenol flavonoid antioxidant. Resveratrol protects against stroke risk by altering molecular mechanisms in the blood vessels; reducing their susceptibility to damage through reduced activity of angiotensin (a systemic hormone causing blood vessel constriction that would elevate blood pressure) but potentiating production of the vasodilator hormone, nitric oxide.
 In addition, these berries are an excellent sources of vitamin-C (36.4 mg per 100, about 61% of RDI), which is also a powerful natural antioxidant. Consumption of foods rich in vitamin-C helps the body develop resistance against infectious agents, counter inflammation and scavenge harmful free radicals.
 Further, the berries also contain small amounts of vitamin A, and vitamin E, in addition to the above-mentioned antioxidants. Consumption of mulberry provides another group of health promoting flavonoid polyphenolic antioxidants such as lutein, zea-xanthin, ß-carotene and a-carotene in small but notably significant amounts. Altogether, these compounds help act as protect from harmful effects of oxygen-derived free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) that play a role in aging and various disease processes.
 Zea-xanthin, an important dietary carotenoid selectively concentrates into the retinal macula lutea, where it thought to provide antioxidant functions and protects the retina from the harmful ultraviolet rays through light-filtering actions.
 Mulberries are an excellent source of iron, which is a rare feature among berries, contain 1.85 mg/100 g of fruits (about 23% of RDI). Iron, being a component of hemoglobin inside the red blood cells, determines the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood.
 They also good source of minerals like potassium, manganese, and magnesium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure. Manganese is used by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase.
 They are rich in B-complex group of vitamins and vitamin K. Contain very good amounts of vitamin B-6, niacin, riboflavin and folic acid. These vitamins are function as co-factors and help body in the metabolism of carbohydrates, protein, and fats.