West Cork's new little berries packs a big health punch

Steve Collins, founder and director of Fyterberry and a medical doctor with a doctorate in nutrition, at his aronia berry farm near Bantry, West Cork. Pictures: Noel Sweeney

    Grown on a hardy shrub that thrives in marginal Irish land, aronia, a small, dark purple fruit, just might be one of the healthiest berries you’ve never heard of.

Thanks to sky-high levels of polyphenols, its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties can help strengthen the immune system, reduce inflammation, and prevent disease.

A native of North America, where it’s called chokeberry — a name that seems unlikely to grab the right kind of attention — aronia is now being grown commercially in Ireland.