What are raspberries?

Raspberries are the fruits of plants of the genus Rubus, belonging to the family Rosaceae. There are more than 200 species, widespread throughout the world. Some species are native to Europe, North America and other parts of Asia.

 

What are the nutritional properties of raspberries?

100 g of raspberries (Rubus idaeus) provide 34 calories broken down as follows:

  • 72% carbohydrates

  • 16% lipids

  • 12% protein

In particular, 100 grams of raspberries provide:

  • 84.6 g of water

  • 1 g of protein

  • 0.6 g of lipids (including omega 3 fatty acids)

  • 6.5 g of soluble sugars

  • 7.4 g of fiber

Among vitamins and minerals, 100 g of raspberry provide:

Raspberries also contain many phytonutrients: anthocyanins (cyanidin and delphinidin), flavonols (quercetin, kaempferol, catechins, epicatechin), glycosides, flavonoids, tannins (ellagitannins, gallotannins, proanthocyanidins), hydroxybenzoic acids (such as ellagic acid, vanillic, gallic acid and chlorogenic acid), hydroxycinnamic (caffeic acid, coumaric acid and ferulic acid), stilbenoids (resveratrol).

 

When should you not eat raspberries?

Raspberries can interfere with the activity of oxazolidinones , such as linezolid.

 

Seasonality of raspberries

Raspberry season runs from May to October depending on the variety.

 

Possible benefits and drawbacks of raspberries

Raspberries can increase the metabolism of fat cells, so their consumption may be useful in case of obesity. It also seems that they exert beneficial effects in terms of controlling blood sugar and anticancer properties. The latter would depend on the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory molecules present in the raspberries, but not only. It seems, in fact, that the ellagitannins can induce the death of cancer cells and prevent their proliferation.

Raspberries are sources of oxalate, substances which could cause the formation of kidney stones.