why is stewed fruit good for you?

It’s that time of year when the blackberries are weighing down the hedgerows and the apples are falling. I love blackberry picking and finding fruit for free. I make and freeze as much as I have room for and particularly enjoy apple and blackberry together, though I found damsons this year too so I’ve enjoyed the tartness or the damsons for a change.

blackberries

Apple and Blackberry

1. Apple and blackberry provide an excellent polyphenol combination

• Blackberries are rich in anthocyanins, which have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity.

• Apples provide quercetin and other flavonoids, particularly concentrated in the skin.

• Together they provide a broad range of plant polyphenols that can support cardiovascular and metabolic health.

2. Gut microbiome support
The fruit provides fermentable fibres and polyphenols that can be metabolised by gut bacteria into compounds with potential anti-inflammatory effects.

• Apple contains pectin, a soluble fibre that can act as a prebiotic substrate.

• Blackberries contribute fibre plus polyphenols.

• Cooking softens the fruit and can make it considerably easier to digest than raw fruit for some people.

3. Supports bowel regularity
The combination of soluble fibre from apple and insoluble fibre from blackberries can help promote healthy bowel movements. If you're prone to constipation, this can be particularly useful.

4. Relatively gentle source of carbohydrates
Stewing fruit without added sugar gives you naturally occurring carbohydrate alongside fibre, water and micronutrients, rather than the concentrated sugars found in juices or dried fruit.

5. Vitamin and mineral contribution
Blackberries provide vitamin C, manganese and folate, while apples contribute vitamin C and potassium.

While some vitamin C and other heat-sensitive compounds will be lost through cooking, polyphenols and fibre are unharmed. In fact, cooking can sometimes increase the accessibility of certain plant compounds.

Recipe

Bramley Apple chopped - skin on

Blackberries

Cinnamon + 3 cloves

Root Ginger finely chopped

Stew gently with a splash of water until soft. This also works really well in a slow cooker. I keep an eye on it until I smell that lovely sweet smell of cooking fruit and the apples have gone fluffy.

Store in the fridge in an airtight container or freeze. Its great to have in stock to make a blackberry/apple desert.

I love mine with a little Greek yoghurt/coconut yoghurt and perhaps some chia or ground flax (if you can tolerate them). I also add it to my smoothies or use it like jam.

One caveat: blackberries contain quite a lot of fibre and seeds, and both apples and blackberries contain fermentable carbohydrates (particularly fructose/sorbitol in apples). So while they're excellent foods generally, they aren't necessarily ideal during an active low-FODMAP or very sensitive-gut phase.

Why stewed apple can be helpful for the gut

Pectin is the star

Apple is particularly rich in pectin, a soluble fibre. Pectin isn't fully digested in the small intestine, so some reaches the colon where microbes can ferment it.

This can produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), including acetate and, depending on the microbial community, propionate and butyrate.

This is important because it can:

• support the intestinal epithelial cells

• influence gut barrier function

• regulate aspects of immune activity

• influence intestinal motility

• contribute to a healthier microbial environment.

blackberries and damsons