Aronia Berry Juice Health Benefits

Pucker up and prepare to experience the benefits of the tart Aronia Berry. The term "super food" gets used a lot, but when it comes to these berries and their juice health benefits, the term is well-deserved. These berries are a genuine miracle of nature. Aronia is a low-maintenance and nearly a pest-free crop. It is easy to grow the aronia plant organically because it does not need to be protected against pathogens, pest, and diseases, as a result the fruit does not contain traces of pesticides.
They are 3 times healthier than blueberries. The unique taste of the berry is one of life's unique experiences. Their high antioxidant levels, and high tannin levels make these berries tart. The berries are often made into juice mixed with other juice or made into jelly or other products. Another juice or sweetener is often added to reduce the tart taste
THIS JUICE IS AN ANTIOXIDANT LEADER
First the berry juice is a leading source of antioxidants. Antioxidants as you probably know are composed of a variety of compounds this includes vitamins, enzymes, bio-flavonoids, and peroxidases. Antioxidants break down the free radical molecule neutralizing it. Free radicals formed in your body essentially damage the cells leading to a host of negative effects, including making you age faster and rendering you less able to fight off diseases.
Drinking this juice supplies your body with free radical eliminating compounds that helps get rid of many of them. This helps you slow the process of aging and fend off disease. This claim it is backed up by solid science.
ESSENTIAL ACIDS OFFER DIFFERENT ARONIA BERRY JUICE HEALTH BENEFITS
Constituents within the berry include tannic acid, folic acid, quinic acid, phenolic acids, catechins, ascorbic acid,known as vitamin Cas well as Vitamins B6, B12, and E, minerals, resveratrol, hesperidin and rutin.
The primary organic acids in the berries are: tartaric, natural polyphenolic compounds, antioxidants, malic, and citric. This produces a low pH of 3.3-3.8 inside berries. This in turn hinders bacterial invasion and facilitates transport and storage of aronia berries.
Aronia berry juice is high in tannic acid, or tannins, which is well-known to be an anti-inflammatory agent. The tannins in the berry is what gives aronia berries their astringent taste that most people find objectionable. Aronia berry juice is reported to ease intestinal inflammation, and also inflammation of the joints, or even the skin.
Inflammation causes blood levels of certain proteins to be elevated. Inflammation causes the disruption of normal brain molecules. Inflammatory proteins are thought to possibly be connected to the development of Alzheimer's disease.
Let's talk about cancer one of the most dreaded diseases. It is well-known that anyone can get cancer, and so it only makes sense to take any precautions you can to eat and drink as much as practical of the healthy foods which do the most to give you the greatest chance of preventing the start of cancer. The juice fends off cancer in a variety of ways.
It also helps prevent cancer of the stomach and colon because it contains pectin, which is a soluble form of fiber. Aronia berry has a substantial amount of pectin. Pectin is a substance that is needed to thicken jams. It can be added to other fruits that are low in pectin when making jams. Pectin bonds to cholesterol in the stomach and intestine slowing glucose absorption by trapping carbohydrates. The consumption of pectin has been shown to reduce blood cholesterol levels.
EYE PROTECTION AND ARONIA BERRIES
Amazingly, aronia juice offers some protection for the agonizing condition of macular degeneration of the eyes. This is something for which there is no cure, and which causes blindness. A study found that those who drink high amounts of fruit juices, especially antioxidant rich juices like aronia berry and blueberry juice, have far less chance of developing macular generation as they grow older.
ARONIA BERRIES AS A MEMORY AGENT
Another one of thehealth benefits of the juice is memory improvement. Aronia berries and blueberries have been shown to not only increase brain function, but specifically memory. This is creating excitement among the scientific community because it suggests high aronia berry or blueberry/juice diets can play a role in preventing or staving off Alzheimer's disease. Dark purple berries are reported to promote health and anti-aging. The dark purple pigmentation with their high level of antioxidants called anthocyanins and have been reported to promote mental focus, protect the heart and vision, and prevent free-radical damage or oxidative stress.
GROW YOUR OWN
Why not think about adding a few aronia plants? If you want to become more self-sufficient you might want to think about planting some low maintenance Aronia shrubs. Purchase your Aronia berry plants from a reputable farm and nursery. The berries are produced on easy to grow shrubs that have low maintenance and add beauty to your landscape. Nero aronia plants grow about 3 to 4 feet tall and can make a nice hedge as well as being a source of fruit. A few plants could produce all the berries you need for the year. You can freeze those you do not use during the harvest time and have them throughout the year. You could also make juice and freeze it for use later.
SUMMARY
In my view, aronia is one of the best investments in your health. For less than the price of a cup of coffee at Dunkin' Donuts, McCafé at McDonald's or Starbucks you can have an anti-inflammatory, anti-heart disease, anti-cancer, anti-Alzheimer's, anti-diabetes, eye protection, and memory enhancing aronia berry drink that's delicious and healthful. Make some juice from your own home-grown plants and keep it in the refrigerator or freezer for daily use.

The Milky Bar Kids - In The Beginning

Sometimes a combination of youthful enthusiasm and a degree of bravado can carry the day. Other situations demand a large dose of determination that no one should witness the woeful lack of knowledge and experience that actually exists.
Such was the prevailing mindset we held most ferociously to on our first day of milking cows. The poor 'girls' had been milked by a sheep farmer for many weeks whilst the owner searched for a share-farmer. So...what's wrong with a sheep farmer milking cows, you may ask?
Well-ll-ll, for starters, this reluctant milker would round up the cows twice a day with the help of his trusty working dogs, and his equally trusty old utility. Hard to tell which 'moved' the cows faster - the incessant yapping at their heels, or the combined roar of the vehicle's motor and beeping of its horn, whilst simultaneously belching out great clouds of smoke. Certainly, the combination successfully achieved the goal of getting the herd into the dairy in the shortest time known to Man...or beast. Personally, we found ourselves unimpressed by the quantity of milk spread over the paddock by the great swinging udders of the 'sprinters'.
We maybe knew zilch about milking cows (except what this sheep farmer taught us) - but it didn't take an Einstein to figure this was all wrong. Where did two 'city slickers' (in a previous life) learn such patience and skill with handling these large creatures so successfully for the next 10 years on this property, and a further 4 years elsewhere? I can only think that deep love and respect for all animals, coupled with a burning desire to be in total charge of our destiny, were the keys to our success.
On this first day, it was all ahead of us, having graciously refused all offers of help with the confident air of two 'old hands' at this milking 'gig'. It's so funny in retrospect - we're amongst the most honest people you'll ever meet - and yet, on this subject, we blatantly lied and deceived everyone around us, so none should see our quivering interiors. The trusty sheep farmer had actually done us a massive favour, we told ourselves confidently. Nothing we could do could upset them more than he had...could it?
Well-ll-ll, once we had bungled through our first milking; our first full day; our first week - the girls began to respond to our TLC - slowly but surely. They led us far along the steep learning curve of patience and understanding with animals that had begun on the other side of Australia with raising kangaroos, and to this day (40 years later) is still our instinctive way to handle all our creatures - great and small.
It's really not hard when you start with a strong foundation of love and understanding. Did I really say that? Rubbish! Lying again! It's the hardest job in the world, gaining an animal's trust - especially one who has lost trust in humans. We each have several scars on both body and soul to prove it.

The Milky Bar Kids - A Memorable First

Our Dairy was a Herring-bone style with cows standing alongside each other in a staggered fashion - 6 each side of a waist-deep pit where we worked with swing-across sets of milking cups. A strong steel bar across their bottoms and a thick concrete ledge behind their back feet stopped them from joining us down there...mostly.
This old dairy had been the first herring-bone style in the area - a breakthrough in its day - but this one already had 'whiskers on it' - as we would discover. There was a long feed trough with a walk space in front to enable hand-bucketing their ration of crushed grain into it. In the interest of speed and ease of handling, I had carefully lined up the spot where each cow's head would be, and deposited 6 bucketfuls in each trough. Sounded good to me.
On this first day, hubby and I both went on foot to bring the cows in. Their size was just a tad 'over the top' for this ex-secretary, and a little 'Dutch courage' needed bolstering. Lesson No. l - when cows have been herded in by a sheep farmer and his dogs - and are then treated to quiet but firm encouragement by humans 'on foot', they do NOT respond with gratitude and appreciation.
NO...the drippy dames all had to stop everything they were doing 'stare at us wide-eyed'; 'poop'; turn around and start following us (from a fast-diminishing distance...did I mention, cows are SO curious); 'poop' some more; finally start to move together - in the wrong direction; and just for good luck, 'poop' again.
On this day, it required one human in front, for them to follow - and one human at the back to encourage the forward impetus. I cannot tell you how much we have chuckled at the memory. We seriously had no idea! But at last they were in the concrete holding yard with the gate firmly chained behind them. With a press of a button, the milking machine sprung into action and it was 'all systems go'.
Except...the first cow let into the dairy stopped at the first pile of feed in the long trough and started eating. And everyone else started piling up behind her, pushing and shoving like a mob scene at the opening of a department store sale. Soon, there were cows in the engine room - and the milk room around the huge (and extremely valuable) refrigerated milk vat. A couple went down the steps into 'our' pit; two were wedged tight between the tail rail and the trough; and another tried to jump over the feed trough, and succeeded in straddling it instead.
Before this event, we were apprehensive, but quite sure bravado would beat anything we would face. Huh! Now our stomachs and our nervous systems most closely resembled the stuff that jellyfish are made of, as we tried to restore order to the incredible chaos that overwhelmed us. I remember we had to let them all out again into the dirt yard next to the concrete - and clean down the dairy (you can guess why!). Next, remove the offending feed from the troughs. Aha! You feed them after they have walked in and shuffled and arranged themselves (and 'pooped' again - where does it all come from?).
Believe me, its no job for the faint-hearted - all these 'poppy' eyes in huge heads, all staring at you. Some want to sniff and taste you with tongues as long as a snake (well, nearly), whilst others roll their eyes, lay back their ears and toss their heads all about. It's hard to decide which is worse. There was just one more happening before this lengthy day was done, but that's another story - coming soon - honestly!
It had taken us almost 4 hours from 'whoa to go' to milk 26 cows. We were quite proud to find we cut that back to 2-1/2 hours at the next one - the p.m. milking. On that day, we would not have believed the 'norm' we achieved much later - 65 cows in 2 hours!

The Milky Bar Kids - Dog + Dairy = Disaster

Due to previous bad experiences with dogs, we thought it kindest to our new 'girls' (or dairy herd) to keep our dogs tied up on our first official milking day. On foot ourselves, we gently but firmly brought them in - no noisy, smelly vehicle or relentless barkers and heel-nippers for us, as we proceeded to lead them - like over-large lambs to the slaughter, coming to meet their Milkers. And we were confident at this, our second milking, there would be no repeat of the morning's bedlam and mayhem following our exceptional and memorable 'false start'.
Now we were seasoned troopers, and as this second, more educated approach began to near its end, we were almost ready to heave a sigh of relief and congratulate each other loudly on achieving a new world record of 1-1/2 hours only. Well-ll-ll...you know how you shouldn't 'count your chickens before they're hatched'? Hmm-m, well you shouldn't start whipping up a milkshake before you've milked the cow, either.
Disaster loomed, and struck, from a totally unexpected quarter. Our youngest dog wiggled herself loose from her collar and chain, and came to see what Mum and Dad were doing. Gypsy understood she should make a wide detour around these gargantuan beasts, but unfortunately, this took her out onto the dirt road our dairy was close to (for ease of milk pickup).
What she didn't understand was what a road and traffic was, compared to the extra long driveway in to the farmhouse where she had been born and bred, not to mention the care all users had taken to ensure the safety of Mum Candy, and her 8 baby puppies. Admittedly, there was not much traffic on this road, but what there was went fast, and swerved for nothing smaller than a milk-tanker.
And so a truck hit her and sent her helplessly rolling over and over countless times. She was just barely able to painfully and groggily make her way towards us as we came flying out of the dairy, alerted by the truck's horn and the sickening thud.
My husband lifted her into a corner of the milk-room of the dairy and gently placed her on a hastily improvised 'bed' of hessian feed sacks. Then we faced Catch 22...truly, all of that and more. Couldn't leave the cows whilst they were milking, in order to get to the house and summon the Vet. And even if we could, a Vet from where? We didn't even know that yet.
Necessity therefore made the choice for us - just to keep ducking in and out to our darling in the milk-room as often as possible between rows of cows, and finish as quickly as possible. At first Gypsy was semi-comatose, but breathing evenly, though her pulse was rapid (mine was even more so!).
By the time we had finally finished completely, our beloved pet was fully conscious, licking our hands gratefully, profusely and lovingly. She took a little water, but still needed carrying home. Nothing, thankfully was broken and it seemed shock and soreness, and some tearing of the pads on her feet, were responsible for her inability to walk for some hours after her accident.
Apart from bruises and scrapes, Gypsy had survived - and never, for the rest of her long life of 17 years, would she come near enough to a car to suffer possible damage...except to jump on the back of our utility, of course.

Organic Farming and Gardening: The Next Big Thing?

Every day we seem to hear horror stories about some major oil spill, a new threat to the ozone, overpowering greenhouse gases, children dying from drinking contaminated water, and many other tragedies. One of the common statements we hear from the "experts" is the depletion of our natural resources. The oil is going to dry-up and water will be scarce in the future. Among those ardent activists in the Go Green movement who are recycling and finding alternate sources of electricity, stands the organic farming industry.
So what is it?
Organic farming, and, to a lesser extent, organic gardening, is a system of growing crops that keeps pollution from a bare minimum, to non-existent. For one thing, chemicals like pesticides and herbicides are not used. Fruits and vegetables are cleaned manually, and other methods to keep the insect population at bay are employed. Crop rotation is perhaps the most beneficial. Whereas most farms growing multiple crops replant the same ones in the same areas, organic farmers and gardeners rotate each season. This ensures the rich nutrients are retained, and pests cannot make a permanent home.
Alongside the benefit of pollution reduction, is the benefit to the consumer: with an absence of pesticides and herbicides, and only organic fertilizer, consumers are less at risk for potentially dangerous diseases and ill-health. Pesticides can cause sickness, and is especially harmful for small children, whose immune systems are not yet strong enough to fight-off harmful toxins.
Organic farming and gardening also reduces the strain on our biological resources. Animals who eat food with pesticides are just as likely to develop the same kinds of illnesses as small children, and many migrate from their home population due to a lack of resources.
With traditional farming, the emphasis leans much more to "how much, how fast". Some make a trade of balancing the importance of natural resources and how many shortcuts can be made to get that extra dollar on the pound. Remember, I said some, not all. Organic farming was born of the necessity to limit our seemingly endless capacity for destruction. The process from seed to growth to consumer may not be as quick as traditional farming, but the result is of a much greater nutritional value, and there is obviously a lack of health-risks that come from eating pesticides.
All in all, from the research I've compiled I can only say that to go organic is the only way to go for those concerned with a healthier world environment for our children and our children's children.

Agriculture: Know the Past and the Future

Agriculture has been the most integral means of livelihood since the beginning of time. This involves not only the cultivation of plants and vegetation but also animal farming. Crops has been and still is the man's main food source. Its vast history can be traced back to thousand of years ago, surpassing various eras and numerous climate changes.
Primeval Origins and Middle Ages
Agriculture has long been depicted in ancient cave drawings and has appeared in countless manuscripts. The earliest of civilizations started near rivers because of the water it supplies and the nutrients it supplies the land. Egypt and India were believed to possess the most fertile of lands fit for sowing, no wonder it was named the Cradle of Civilization. By the 7000 BC, agriculture reached Egypt. This paved waves for ancient Sumerians to developed agricultural techniques such as irrigation and land cultivation in order to increase production. Even the Greeks have a figure for it, Demeter, as the great Olympian Goddess of grain and bread. It portrays man's source of sustenance. Such she is one of the most revered of all gods. Around the 1500s, colonists started their voyage and participated in the global exchange of crops such as potato, cocoa bean and tobacco. Spices from the New World were brought back to the Old. Soon this barter system improved to fabric, pottery and even jewelry.
Different Production Practices
Today, almost the same concept of agricultural techniques are being practiced with the slight difference of more advanced machinery and scientific processes. Pest control is one of the most practiced because of the abundance of destructive insects and diseases that affect the crops. Pesticides are one of the fastest ways of pest control yet are discouraged because of the chemicals that can cause fatal effects to humans when ingested. Plowing the soil is also both a form of pest control and nutrient enhancer. It prepares the land for planting. Other nutrient management techniques include the use of fertilizers and compost, crop rotation and proper irrigation.
Organic vs Inorganic
The demand for organic food has greatly increased over the years. People are more conscious about what they eat and in turn become more aware of how their food is grown. Organic foods are foods that are grown and maintained without any chemical pesticides or genetic modification. In grocery stores, Organic produce are usually labeled "All Natural" or "100% Organic". The demand for agriculture will no doubt increase still as the years progress. Until humans find another source of sustenance free of any agricultural content, this will forever stand as our means of living.

A Few Facts About Organic Farming

Organic farming has taken a giant hold on the farming industry in the last 20+ years. It has grown from what many thought was a fad, to--forgive the pun--much greener pastures.
So what is the hype behind organic farming? For one, there is a lack of both pesticides and herbicides. In the past, consumers didn't have much of a choice in the way their fruits and veggies were produced, and let's face it, negative results occurred. Pesticides and herbicides are not only threatening to the environment, they are directly affecting our children. Any product out in the market that is chemically enhanced is always subject to criticism, and the basic statistics show that, although this may not be as immediately profitable, it is the way to go in matters of living a healthy lifestyle.
The differences between this method and traditional farming are many. Aside from the pesticide/herbicide issue, there are a great many other reasons to consider supporting your local organic farmer (or gardener!)...
First among these, in my personal opinion, is water. Yep, water. No fruit or vegetable can grow to optimal heath without a pure water content. Farming in this method insists on having either a creek, stream or other water source to feed their crops. The most beneficial of which are heading in a decline (meaning to a lower land level, gravitationally). This will ensure that the deposits and run-off from your crops will not affect your local watering hole, so to speak.
Another is energy. Farming organically employs everything from solar power and wind energy, to a reduction in the use of inefficient energy sources overall. The estimate is that organic farmers use 25% less energy to produce crops for consumption than traditional farming methods. This means a reduction on greenhouse gases, negative effects on the ozone and a general spike in healthy eating habits. Many are turned-off from buying certain fruits and vegetable based merely on the concern of pesticide-inducement.
The research is there if you want it, but overall, traditional methods of farming are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Farmers should take the opportunity to learn and educate themselves about organic farming. It is eco-friendly, eliminates pollution, and is more oriented towards a healthy society. Although it may take up to three seasons to compete with traditional farming, after that basic hump, you are not only providing a healthy resource for yourselves and your family, you are also helping others to be involved in the organic-slash-green industry.