Are Mulberries Good for You?

Hailed as a superfood, mulberries are mainly grown for the leaves, which is the main food silkworms eat. But the mulberry tree also grows black, red, or white berries that can be eaten, jammed, canned, added to a smoothie, or made into tea, fruit juice, or wine. 

It’s only natural to wonder, “are mulberries good for you?” What benefits do you stand to gain from adding mulberries to your diet? Plenty, is the short answer.  

Before we look at the health benefits of mulberries, let’s quickly examine the nutrition data.   

Mulberries Nutrition Data 

A cup of fresh mulberries only has 60 calories and most of the berry, at 80%, is water. The carbohydrates from a cup of fresh mulberries are 9.8%, fiber is 1.7%, protein is 1.4%, and fat is 0.4%. 

Two servings of mulberries, which is 7 ounces or 200 grams, has the following nutritional data: 

• Calories: 86 
• Water: 88% 
• Carbs: 19.6 grams 
• Sugar: 16.2 grams 
• Fiber: 3.4 grams 
• Protein: 2.8 grams 

Mulberries are also rich in various minerals and vitamins, like vitamin A, C, E, and K1 and iron, phosphorus, alpha- and beta-carotene, calcium, magnesium, and potassium. This superfood has plant compounds too, like anthocyanins, cyanidin, chlorogenic acid, rutin, and myricetin. 

In dried form, mulberries have 70% carbohydrates, 12% protein, 14% fiber, and 3% fat. They are relatively high in fiber compared to other berries. 

12 Benefits of Eating Mulberries 

So how are mulberries good for you? Here are the top benefits:  

Mulberries Improve Your Blood Sugar  

Scientists still need to study people and the effect mulberries have on their blood sugar control. However, other studies found that mulberries have 1-deoxynojirimycin (DNJ), which prevents a gut enzyme from breaking down carbs. 

In simple terms, eating mulberries decreases the rate at which sugar is absorbed by your blood following meals. This is highly beneficial to people who have type 2 diabetes. 

Mulberries Lower Your Cholesterol 

Various studies have proven that eating mulberries can lower your cholesterol levels. Even better, the berries increase HDL cholesterol (the good one) in comparison to LDL cholesterol (the baddie). Improving your good cholesterol and lowering bad cholesterol levels helps prevent heart attacks, strokes, and atherosclerosis.   

Mulberries can also decrease liver fat, which reduces your chances of developing fatty liver disease. 

Mulberries Improve Cognitive Health   

The high level of flavonoids found in mulberries can improve your brain health. 

With 1.85 milligrams of iron per 100 gram serving, mulberries help transport oxygen through your body. 

Your brain needs a minimum of 20% oxygen to be able to function by sending messages and nerve signals throughout your body. With deficient oxygen, your brain cells die and your struggle with poor concentration, sleep apnea, and more.   

Related: Mulberries vs Blueberries

Mulberries Reduce Your Risk of Getting Cancer 

Mulberries may reduce your risk of developing cancer because the antioxidants, like vitamin E, found in mulberry juice reduces oxidative stress. When you are stressed, your risk for getting cancer increases since there is more oxidative damage in your tissues and cells. Oxidative damage is linked to an increased cancer risk.   

Mulberries Help Your Digestion 

A single serving of fresh mulberries has almost 10% of your daily requirement of dietary fiber. This fiber helps your digestive system work smoothly by bulking up your stool. This ensures that food passes quickly through the digestive tract, reducing constipation, cramps, and bloating.  

Fiber also improves heart health and regulates your cholesterol levels.  

Mulberries Increase Your Circulation  

The high iron levels in mulberries significantly improve the red blood cells your body makes. As such, your body can distribute more oxygen to your brain, organs, and tissues, which can increase your metabolism and optimize how well your body functions.  

Mulberries Improve Your Vision 

Traditional Chinese doctors often prescribe mulberry tea to improve a person’s eyesight. 

Zeaxanthin is a carotenoid in mulberries that reduces oxidative stress in some cells in your eye. As an antioxidant, zeaxanthin helps prevent damage to the retina and reduces free radicals that cause cataracts and macular degeneration. 

Mulberries Help Regulate Your Blood Pressure 

Dark-skinned mulberries contain the flavonoid resveratrol, which affects how certain mechanisms work in blood vessels. In particular, resveratrol increases the production of a vasodilator, or nitric oxide. Thus, the blood vessels are less damage-prone by angiotensin, which constricts blood vessels.   

Unconstricted blood vessels reduce the formation of blood clots and heart issues like heart attacks and strokes. 

Mulberries May Be an Anti-Inflammatory  

Mulberries’ anti-inflammatory properties may help reduce your body’s response to inflammatory and chronic conditions. Mulberry tea can also reduce inflammation and pain. 

Mulberries Boost Your Immunity 

With 36.4 milligrams of vitamin C per 100 grams of fresh mulberries, your total daily requirement for vitamin C is met. These berries can help boost your immunity by helping your body fight against foreign pathogens and illness that antioxidants don’t help with.  

Mulberries Help Make Your Bones Healthy 

Various vitamins and minerals, like vitamin K, iron, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus, in mulberries help create and maintain healthy bone tissue. Ensuring your bones remain healthy is essential to prevent bone degradation that lead to conditions like osteoporosis.  

Mulberries Prevent You From Aging Prematurely 

Mulberries contain many compounds that can act as antioxidants. These are vitamins A and E and a range of carotenoids, like beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, zeaxanthin, and lutein. These antioxidants reduce the free radicals that affect your hair, skin, tissue, and other body areas. 

More specifically, mulberries can reduce the appearance of age spots and blemishes. These berries can also keep your hair healthy and shiny.  

Benefits of Eating Mulberry Leaves 

Eating the berries and the leaves of the mulberry tree can be beneficial. The leaves are used to make herbal teas and tinctures, and young mulberry leaves can be cooked and eaten.

Consuming mulberry leaves may have the following benefits: 

• Lower insulin and blood sugar
• Promote heart health 
• Reduce inflammation
• Improve liver health 
• Increase fat burning
• Prevent hyperpigmentation and lightens skin tone 
• Reduce liver and cervical cancer cells     

Precautions to Take With Eating Mulberries

There are few precautions to take with eating mulberries: 

• If you are allergic or sensitive to birch pollen, you may have a reaction to eating mulberries because of cross-reactivity. 
• Some people are allergic to mulberry leaves, which contain latex, a milky white sap. 

The Final Mulberry  

Considering all the benefits you can gain by including mulberries in your diet, this is surely a superfood and you no longer have to wonder how are mulberries good for you. However, as with all good things, eat mulberries in moderation. Three servings five times a day won’t increase the benefits that mulberries can give you. 

If you’ve never had mulberries before, it is important to note your reaction and stay away from these berries if you are allergic. 

And if you can enjoy these berries with no reaction, remember that sweet mulberries are packed to the brim with nutrients that offer a host of health benefits.

You may be interested in whether or not you can freeze mulberries.