Lingonberry

The humble lingobnerry, staple ingredient in many Scandinavian dishes and cooking recipes has recently began to garner a great deal of attention from the scientific community, which is most interested in determining whether or not the claims that they have health benefits are true.

Biologically speaking the lingonberry is a close relative of the cranberry plant and upon closer examination its not difficult to see why. Typically found in woodland and within close proximity to the ground of the forestry soil the fruit is easily pinpointed thanks to its distinctive shape and size, with its purple/red berries rather hard to spot. If you can’t be bothered looking for it yourself then you can always take a trip to Ikea where they have ligonberries for sale, either by themselves or as an accompaniment to a main dish (lingonberry goes especially well with duck.)
So what is the basis for the scientific research that is being currently devoted to this particular fruit? Studies seem to indicate that this fruit may actually have anti-cancer properties, which can be utilised to both treat and prevent cancer.

This is rather an ambitious claim to make but there is a solid basis for the research and it should be noted that this is far from being a randomly chosen issue. Specifically, lingonberry contains a chemical compound that can help to reduce the enzyme “ornithine decarboxylase” within the body. Ornithine decarboxylase is typically present and used in order to help speed up the mutation and division of cells within the body (which is what happens whenever cancer develops) and on this basis it would seem that lingonberry may hold the key to better managing cancer. Sadly, the research is only at the beginning of its life and therefore there is a great deal of work to be conducted before any solid conclusions can be competently drawn. That said, these early findings are extremely promising indeed and could potentially help improve the quality of life for many people.

Necessity is the mother of all creation and it should be noted that the traditional method for storing lingonberry was to simply store them in their own juices. The reason for this was more economical than health based as sugar at that time was deemed to be a luxury item. Citizens did not want to pay tax simply to store some fruit! Nowadays everything is a lot easier.