So strawberries have been in the news at the moment and for all of the wrong reasons. But that doesn’t mean that they are not a) tasty and b) good for you!
You may also be helping our farmers out with their glut of beautiful fruit that is now unlikely to be sold at the quantities they’d hoped.
Here’s what strawberries are generally considered to do for us from a Chinese Medicine point of view:
- Thermal nature: cooling
- Flavour: sweet, sour
- Effect: Forms body fluids and Blood
So this means that the delicious red goodness that is a strawberry is refreshing, the sweetness promotes the production of body fluids (good for those people who have problems associated with dryness), the sourness conserves those body fluids and the red colour means this fruit is beneficial for making Blood. On the last point, strawberries are considered to be high in vitamin C and we know that this is helpful in absorbing iron – you might want to team your strawberries up as a dessert following an iron rich meal. Don’t eat too many strawberries (especially raw) if you run cold or are prone to loose bowel motions.
So what should you do with your strawberries, especially if you’ve picked up a bumper pack at a bargain price? (After you’ve sliced them first for safety reasons.)
Well in Chinese Medicine, the general rule is not to eat too much raw food (especially with a cooling nature and especially if you already feel cold) so maybe eat a few raw strawberries. The rest can be cooked up in any one of these great sounding healthy, strawberry recipes. Failing that, you can always dip a few in the finest quality, fair trade, 70+% cacao, dark chocolate. Yum.
So support the farmers, enjoy your strawberries and just be sure to cut them (and maybe cook them up) first.
To book an acupuncture appointment at either Launceston clinic or for further information on Chinese Medicine contact Dr Sarah George (Acupuncture). Sarah is a practitioner of acupuncture (AHPRA registered), massage therapy and natural health.
