Raspberries Are Healthy Pt 1 and Fruit Bites

Raspberries Are Healthy Pt 1 and Fruit Bites

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
With today's Fruit Grower Report, I'm Bob Larson. More research to back up claims of the health benefits of foods loaded with anti-oxidants like red raspberries.

Oregon State University researcher Neil Shay says they've been testing mice to see how much raspberries impact things like weight gain ...

SHAY ... "These mice are quite interesting because if you just feed them a regular mouse-chow diet, it's low fat, about 10% fat, and the mice eat normally and maintain a normal body weight throughout their lifespan, but if you give these same mice a high-fat diet they tend to over-consume and they become obese and start to get diabetes and fatty liver disease."

Shay says puts raspberries in the category with other 'power foods' that have been shown, even in small doses, to improve metabolism ...

SHAY ... "But, I would say even if you're a raspberry grower, it's hard to eat raspberries every single day. You're going to get tired of them. So, what we'd like is just give people advice on what are some of the foods that you should include into your diet, but yeah one serving of red raspberries, one cup is very healthy, 64 calories and relatively low in sugar, has 8 grams of fiber and 5 ½ grams of sugar. That's a pretty good balance there."

Shay says raspberries also pack a wallop when it comes to dietary fiber with 8 grams in a one cup serving, equivalent to 32% of our daily fiber needs.

Listen tomorrow for more on the power-house raspberry research at OSU and who the studies could benefit most.

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BL: Welcome back to another episode of "Fruit Bites" brought to you by Valent U.S.A. With us again is Valent's Allison Walston. And this week Allison, let's talk about a new invasive insect pest in the United States.

AW: There is a new insect pest, or more specifically, an invasive leafhopper that was discovered in southeastern Pennsylvania, called the spotted lanternfly.

BL: I'm guessing that since we are discussing it on Fruit Bites, that it attacks fruit?

AW: oh yeah, this little leafhopper has the potential to greatly impact grapes, tree fruit and hops. It hasn't been mentioned, but a lot of leafhoppers transmit plant diseases.

BL: Where is the spotted lanternfly native to?

AW: it's native to China, India and Vietnam. The spotted lanternflies have been become a major pest in Korea and hopefully they don't move out to the PNW. The adults and 4th instar nymphs are gorgeous, entomologically speaking. So check out PennState Extension for pictures and more info.

BL: Well, thanks Allison. Join us again next time for Fruit Bites, brought to you by Valent. Until then, I'm Bob Larson.

https://www.agriculture.pa.gov/Plants_Land_Water/PlantIndustry/Entomology/spotted_lanternfly/Pages/default.aspx

https://extension.psu.edu/spotted-lanternfly

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