"The fruits of our labour" by Meri-Tuuli at en.wikipedia - Own work (Original caption: “I took this picture several summers ago, whilst out collecting bilberries with my mother in finland.”). Licensed under Public Domain via Commons
'via Blog this'
... there's an unprecedented hunger driving this industry to gather up as many as humanly possible.
Who's so wild about these intensely flavored berries? Nordic folk load them into pies, jams, breakfast porridge and reindeer meatballs. They make ice cream, juice, and even shampoo out of them.
But there's another group that's increasingly driving this wild fruit harvest: health-conscious people in East Asia.
Over the last decade, Japanese, Chinese and South Koreans have been discovering these berries, particularly in health and beauty products.
Labels on various lotions and potions sold in Asia — like this dark purple powder — make exaggerated claims that the berries improve night vision, make people smarter, and ward off cancer, obesity, ulcers and heart disease.
But there's actual science showing that Finnish and Swedish bilberries are packed withmore vitamins and antioxidants than North American blueberries. Lingonberries can help prevent urinary tract infections. Cloudberries, the most rare and expensive of the three, may boost intestinal flora and help prevent colon cancer.
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