Gooseberry

Gooseberry – the berry bush which gained the distribution from North Africa and Western Europe. As a wild plant the gooseberry in large quantities meets in Ukraine, in the Caucasus and in Transcaucasia, in Central, Southern Europe, and also in North America. In spite of the fact that berry of a gooseberry is loved by gardeners, the plant often meets in the run wild state in Kostroma, Yaroslavl, Smolensk, Tver, Vladimir, Moscow and many other regions of Russia and Ukraine.

Description

The gooseberry represents a bush up to 1-1,5 meters high with dark brown bark. Escapes of a gooseberry have the cylindrical form, with thin, similar to needles, thorns. Bush fruits – round or oval berries with well noticeable streaks, reach the maturity in June-August.

Advantage of a gooseberry

Thanks to the tastes and useful properties the gooseberry is widely eaten fresh, use it also as ingredient for preparation of fruit drinks, compotes, jam, wine and fruit jelly. Broths and infusions of a gooseberry are applied in traditional medicine as soothing, fortifying, laxative and diuretic means.

The gooseberry juice mixed with honey struggles with inflammatory diseases of upper respiratory tracts, and broth from leaves of a bush helps at long climacteric and uterine bleedings.

Pectins, organic acids, tannins, iron, copper, phosphorus, carotene, vitamins of the B,C, P group are a part of a gooseberry sugar. Vitamin A promotes strengthening of cells of an organism, protection of mucous membranes; B6-vitamin an irreplaceable element for treatment of nervous disturbances, diseases of cardiovascular system, normalization of protein metabolism; ascorbic acid increases immunity, stimulates work of a brain and a nervous system.

Besides, berries of a gooseberry contain a large amount of the silicon strengthening walls of blood vessels, preventing, thus, emergence of a varicosity.

Optimum ratio of sodium and potassium (1:11) defines antiedematous properties of a gooseberry. The pectin which is contained in berry does it by an irreplaceable product for a conclusion of radionuclides and other toxic agents of an organism of the people who underwent chemical therapy or influence of radiation.

The advantage of a gooseberry is not limited to above-mentioned properties: berry is widely applied at treatment of diseases of digestive tract, kidneys, a bladder, gastroenterocolites, deficits of copper, iron and phosphorus in an organism. In traditional medicine the gooseberry is used as the means eliminating disbolism.

To hypertensive persons the gooseberry helps to support normal arterial pressure.

Berries of this unpretentious bush have antineoplastic, cholagogue, diuretic, styptic, antiinflammatory and fortifying properties.

Gooseberry caloric content

The gooseberry is a valuable dietary product, being quite often used as the key or auxiliary product of fasting day. Description of a diet: for 1-2 weeks daily to eat about 700-800 g of a gooseberry, having strictly limited consumption of calories with other food.

Caloric content of a gooseberry reaches 43 kcal on 100 grams of a product. From them:

• Proteins – 0,7 g;
• Fats – 0,2 g;
• Carbohydrates – 12,0 g.

In spite of the fact that berry of a bush is recommended to the people who are on dietary food, the caloric content of a gooseberry is rather high, and you should not abuse it.

Preparation of a gooseberry

Berry is widely used for preparation of desserts: kissels, compotes, jam, jam. Thanks to the sweet-sour taste the gooseberry is perfectly combined with fish and meat dishes as sauce.

One of successful ways of use of a gooseberry which properties are brought closer to grapes – production from its berries of a domestic wine. For its preparation berries which then are crushed undertake good mature (but not overripe). The thick with parts of a gooseberry (vegetable pulp) infuses in the dark and cool place several days. After berries gave juice, liquid needs to be wrung out, and once again to fill in a residue with water and to allow them to stand several days. Water and sugar is added to the received liquids of the first and second extraction (at the rate of 700-800 grams of sugar on 1,7-1,8 liters of water).

Contraindications

The tannins and acids which are a part of a gooseberry in a large number it is destructive affect digestive tract and a peristaltics of intestines in the presence of stomach ulcer and a duodenum, colitis, coloenterites in an aggravation stage, and also an intestinal dysbiosis.

Broth from leaves of a gooseberry is natural diuretic means, abuse of it can result in negative impact on health: to loss of vitamins, organism dehydration, delay of a metabolism.

The advantage of a gooseberry is called in question at the simultaneous use of berry with lactic products (except cottage cheese) and fresh plums.