It's National Strawberry Parfait Day!

Oh, I'm having so much fun with these national food days, why didn't I start them earlier!

This one is a good one, who doesn't LOVE strawberries (unless you're allergic to them I guess).  I got the following information from foodimentary.com.  They had some interesting facts and history on the strawberry:

1. Strawberries are the only fruit with seeds on the outside.
2. The average strawberry has 200 seeds.
3. The ancient Romans believed that strawberries alleviated symptoms of melancholy, fainting, all inflammations, fevers, throat infections, kidney stones, bad breath, attacks of gout, and diseases of the blood, liver and spleen.
4. To symbolize perfection and righteousness, medieval stone masons carved strawberry designs on altars and around the tops of pillars in churches and cathedrals.
5. In parts of Bavaria, country folk still practice the annual rite each spring of tying small baskets of wild strawberries to the horns of their cattle as an offering to elves. They believe that the elves, are passionately fond of strawberries, will help to produce healthy calves and an abundance of milk in return.​

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And some nutrition and health facts on the strawberry:

1. Strawberries are the 4th best source of antioxidants among fruit
2. They are very fragile and lose a lot of their vitamin C after only 2 days in your fridge
3. 1 cup of strawberries can help to regulate blood sugar levels (I guess that's why you eat them with the shortcake, hey?)
4. C reactive protein is a marker in the blood for inflammation and regular consumption of strawberries help to reduce that (which reduces your risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc)
5. 1 cup has 113% of your daily intake of vitamin C and a good source of fiber
6. Decreases inflammation in the digestive tract, thereby reducing symptoms of inflammatory bowel conditions like IBS and colitis

I've got a really simple Strawberry Parfait recipe on my website.  You can have it for breakfast, an afternoon snack or dessert.

Enjoy!

In good health,
Cheryl Wahl, RHN
Certified Professional Cancer Coach
Cancer Exercise Specialist