Let's be honest here. The idea that you should choose one fruit over the other is actually kind of silly. There are a ton of health benefits to eating fruit on a regular basis—especially a variety of fruits. However, if you're looking for the best fruit to eat that will provide you with all kinds of nutrients in one serving, the answer would have to be raspberries. Why? Because raspberries are by far the best fruit to eat in terms of its high amount of dietary fiber.
Raspberries have the highest amount of dietary fiber.
First, let's take a look at the nutritional breakdown. If you eat 1 cup of raspberries on a daily basis, you will get 8 grams of fiber—which is 32% of the daily value you need. The dietary reference intake (DRI) for fiber is 25 grams for women and 38 grams for men. Given that the average American only gets around 10 to 15 grams of fiber today, swapping out your banana with a cup of raspberries in your morning bowl of yogurt will bump your fiber intake significantly with minimal effort.
Why is fiber important? For quite a few reasons. Fiber can help flush out the toxins in your body. It can help with your gut health and inflammation, which can result in autoimmune diseases later down the line. And it can even help you to lose weight.
Raspberries are high in fiber, as well as blackberries! They both have 8 grams of fiber per cup, so if you need to pack in more fiber to your diet, both of these fruits are great options.
Raspberries are packed with nutrients.
54% of your DRI for Vitamin C, to be exact. Plus, raspberries are high in manganese (41% DRI), vitamin K (12% DRI), and also contain iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, thiamine, calcium, zinc, as well as vitamins E, A, and B6. Talk about really packing in the nutrients in a small bowl!
Raspberries are also incredibly high in antioxidants, which according to Healthline, are important for the health of your cells that fight oxidative stress. High oxidative stress is linked to all kinds of diseases like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.
Plus, antioxidants have been proven to have anti-aging properties. So if you have pair raspberries with this one breakfast food to eat for a longer life, you are truly reaping the benefits!
What about other berries?
While numerous other berries—like blueberries and strawberries—are popular staples in grocery carts, the overall health benefit you would get from these berries wouldn't be the same. Blueberries are a great source of the same nutrients but don't provide nearly as much fiber (3.6 grams). Strawberries are lower in calories and incredibly high in vitamin C, but again, the fiber content isn't as strong (3 grams).
Again, eating all kinds of fruits is good for you. While the raspberry is certainly a supreme fruit for your health, eating a variety of fruits can ensure that you're getting all kinds of vitamins and nutrients in your diet. The only reason raspberries would be a great option—and why we titled it the best fruit to eat—because of the amount of fiber you would get from it.
Clever ways to add raspberries to your diet.
If we've convinced you to eat more raspberries (yay!), here are a few tricks and recipes to get you started.
- Top them on your bowl of oatmeal or Greek yogurt.
- Blend them up in a smoothie, like this Raspberry-Peach Swirled Smoothie.
- Bake them into dessert with these Easy Fudgy Raspberry Brownies.
- Melt them down in a saucepan to make a warm jam to top on these Flaxseed Buttermilk Pancakes.
- Swap out the jelly and use smashed raspberries in your PB&J instead.
- Toss them into a salad.
- Stuff a chocolate chip into each raspberry for a clever sweet snack.
- Top on a slice of toast with cottage cheese. It's one of our favorite toast combinations!
- Enjoy them simply as a side with your breakfast plate.
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