Health experts always seem to be adding to their list of must-eat items, and superfruits are no exception. There is a new group of fruits rocking the health world that experts say are high in nutrition, packed with antioxidants (they keep you looking young), and often can protect you against disease.
Here are five superfruits that’ll have you feeling healthy and young.
1. Aronia
According to the Los Angeles Times: “The fruit, which grows on a bush in clusters, owes its nickname — the chokeberry — to its extraordinarily tart taste. Broadly used in Europe in jams and jellies, the aronia is also found in wine, juices, tea, syrup and sauces, and sold as an extract and a supplement.”
Benefits: Everyone knows blueberries are healthy and a must-eat fruit with a ton of benefits. But according to Superberries, aronia actually has three times as many antioxidants as a blueberry. Each bite will provide you with a high level of anthocyanin, which helps fight disease. Even better, it’s also high in vitamin C.
2. Buffaloberry
This berry can be found growing on shrubs on many Indian reservations, reports Business Insider. They can grow most anywhere, including dry environments. Luckily, these fruits are high enough in sugar so that they even taste good as a fresh fruit. So new to the superfruit scene that commercial production of these fruits is pretty limited, you can purchase seeds to grow the shrub at Amazon.com. There are also certain wines made from the berry, which you can find at PrairieBerry.com and StrawbaleWinery.com.
Benefits: These tiny, red, and somewhat sour fruits are packed with lycopene, an antioxidant that lowers the risk of some types of cancers, according to Business Insider. Buffaloberry is also brimming with other phenolic antioxidants, which can help prevent you from getting cancer and can slow cellular aging.
3. Pichuberry
Expect this berry to taste like a cross between a passion fruit and a cherry tomato, says Details. The fruit is native to Peru but has been adopted by many European cultures, writes Pichuberry, a company hoping to help the pichuberry become mainstream. The company is working toward turning the pichuberry into a leading ingredient in juices, protein bars, teas, and other products.
Benefits: Looking for a fruit that provides you with a high dose of vitamin D? Three-fourths of a cup of pichuberry will give you 39 percent of your daily dose. It will also provide antioxidants, withanolides (anticancer compounds), and a ton of B12, which keeps your nerve cells nice and healthy.
4. Gac
“The flavor of the cantaloupe-sized gac has been described as ‘reminiscent of cantaloupe with hints of green melon and carrot.’ Only its large seeds and the oil covering them are edible; the outer layer is toxic,” reports the Los Angeles Times. “Often incorporated into a sticky rice dish in Asia, gac is being marketed off the continent as a powder supplement and juice.” This fruit comes from vines in Southeast Asia and China and has a relatively short harvest season, making it a superfruit that’s somewhat hard to come by.
Benefits: Gac has a ton of the antioxidant lycopene in it. In fact, the Los Angeles Times writes that by unit weight, gac actually has 70 times the content of the antioxidant lycopene as a tomato does. Hoping for more? Gac also has 10 times the beta-carotene of carrots. All of that beta-carotene and lycopene means it can help lower your risk of heart disease, macular degeneration, and may inhibit the growth of some cancers.
5. Lucuma
As far as taste goes, lucuma may be the superfruit you need to cure a sweet tooth. Details writes that it tastes like “maple syrup meets butterscotch.” It’s a fruit that’s native to the Andes, according to Sunfood, and is often used as a healthy way to naturally sweeten desserts.
Benefits: The benefits are almost endless. Lucuma provides protein, iron, a high dose of beta-carotene (that’ll help regulate blood pressure), magnesium, and calcium. And it’s also an anti-inflammatory.