Chokeberry Aronia
Enjoy Chokeberry
Aronia is a genus of deciduous shrubs, the chokeberries. Drink the juice but do not eat the aronia berries, as these are too high in oxalates. Chokeberry, Aronia melanocarpa juice has been used by Native Americans for centuries as a healing herb. Recent tests with rats have shown it can improve cholesterol, aide diabetes, and depending on the carcinogen or stage of chemotherapy it can enhance certain liver enzymes. These studies have been done in animals and have not yet been tried with humans. Chokeberries are the food highest in proanthocyanidins, the item which prevents urinary tract infections, from a Food Source of Proanthocyanidins,
Like the cranberry and the blueberry, the black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) has juice which has been used to prevent UTI. It is high in anthocyanins and antioxidant activity. Compared with the cranberry, it contains more than five times the amount of flavonoids and anthocyanins. Although native to eastern North America, the chokeberry has become popular in Eastern Europe and Russia because of its health-promoting potential.
In animal studies, Dr. Valcheva-Kuzmanova's group has shown that Aronia protects the liver from chemical poisoning, and the stomach lining from ulcers caused by the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug indomethacin. Aronia also acts as an anti-inflammatory substance to prevent swelling caused by release of the allergic mediators histamine and serotonin.
Favorable Effects Upon Platelets, BP, HDL Cholesterol
Berry juice consumption has favorable affects upon platelet functioning (useful with PLD!), upon blood pressure, and upon HDL cholesterol levels. This includes all dark berries and even grapes.
