Nothing says British summer quite like strawberries and cream – preferably eaten courtside at Wimbledon.

But while strawberries have long been part of the tournament’s tradition, the fruit is more than just a seasonal treat. Naturally sweet, low in calories and packed with useful nutrients, strawberries are also surprisingly good for us.

Wimbledon, which officially begins today, is expected to get through around 2.5 million strawberries over the course of the tournament. Luckily, the fruit offers far more than flavour, nostalgia and a taste of sporting tradition.

When eaten on their own – without cream, chocolate or sugar – strawberries are rich in vitamin C and antioxidant plant compounds, while still being low in calories.

They also have a high water content and contain less sugar than fruits such as mangoes and bananas, making them an easy fruit to enjoy throughout summer without loading up on added sugar.

‘Strawberries are absolutely good for us,’ says Rob Hobson, registered nutritionist and author of Unprocess Your Family Life.

‘They are a nutrient-dense fruit, providing vitamin C, fibre, folate and a range of beneficial polyphenols, including anthocyanins, which give strawberries their red colour, and ellagic acid, both of which have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.’

As tennis fans prepare for the start of the tournament, Hobson explains why this classic summer fruit deserves its healthy reputation.

Strawberries are full of antioxidants – some of which have been said to have cancer-fighting effects 

Are strawberries healthy? 

A 100g serving of strawberries contains just 32 calories, making them one of the lightest fruits you can pile into a bowl. 

They are made up of around 91 per cent water, which helps explain why they taste so refreshing in warm weather. 

The same serving provides 7.7g of carbohydrates, including 4.9g of natural sugar, along with 2g of fibre, 0.7g of protein and just 0.3g of fat. 

In other words, strawberries are naturally sweet and satisfying, but still low in calories, virtually fat-free and hydrating. 

They are incredibly good for your gut 

Strawberries are considered a gut-friendly choice because, unlike some fruits, they are low in FODMAPs – fermentable carbohydrates – that can trigger bloating, gas and digestive discomfort in people with irritable bowel syndrome.

This means they may be easier to tolerate than some other high-fibre fruits, particularly for those with sensitive stomachs.

Hobson says: ‘Strawberries provide fibre, which helps feed beneficial gut bacteria and supports digestive health.

‘They also contain polyphenols that interact with the gut microbiome, and emerging research suggests these compounds may encourage the growth of beneficial bacteria.

‘They’re not a miracle food for gut health but they’re certainly a useful addition to a diet rich in a variety of plant foods.’

Strawberries and cream is undeniably the most British of Wimbledon traditions 

A 2025 study published in Microbiology Spectrum found that a daily serving of strawberries could help “feed” good gut bacteria and crowd out potentially harmful microbes. 

Researchers in Germany studied 69 healthy older adults over 10 weeks, giving different groups varying amounts of fresh strawberries, freeze-dried strawberries and capers in olive oil. 

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They found the group eating the highest amount of strawberries without capers showed increased gut microbial diversity, a reduction in potentially pathogenic bacteria and higher levels of bacteria linked to reduced inflammation and better metabolic health. 

The German researchers concluded: ‘Our findings suggest that a dietary intervention based on strawberries can positively alter the gut microbiota of healthy elderly people.’ 

However, this was a small study in older German adults, so it does not prove strawberries can prevent disease or will have the same effect in everyone.

Strawberries are high in immune-boosting antioxidants 

They may not be labelled a superfood, but strawberries are an excellent source of Vitamin C, with a typical serving providing a significant contribution towards your daily needs.

The NHS recommends that most adults aged between 19 and 64 need 40mg of Vitamin C per day. It is vital for iron absorption and protecting us against seasonal viruses. 

But eating multiple punnets of the fruit won’t suddenly make you untouchable, warns Hobson. 

‘Vitamin C supports the normal function of the immune system, although eating extra strawberries won’t “supercharge” your immunity,’ he explains.

‘The real benefit comes from regularly including Vitamin C-rich foods as part of a balanced diet.’

Research has even shown that regularly hitting daily recommended amounts can help boost the immune system and help you recover quicker from colds. 

Vitamin C is also essential for the production of collagen, the scaffolding structure in the skin. So whilst a few extra strawberries may not make your wrinkles vanish, regularly including foods rich in Vitamin C in your diet could give your skin a healthy glow.   

Strawberries and cream are said to have been served at Wimbledon since the first tournament in 1877

A cup a day could help keep depression and dementia away 

While strawberries may be best known as the fruit of Wimbledon, experts say they should not be saved for the tennis alone.

There is growing interest in whether the compounds found in strawberries could play a role in supporting brain health, although experts warn the evidence should not be overstated.

‘There is some research showing strawberries may be linked to lower risk of dementia, but it’s important not to overstate it,’ Hobson says.

One 2023 study found that eating strawberries every day for 12 weeks was linked with improvements in mood and fewer memory difficulties in overweight middle-aged adults who already had signs of mild cognitive decline.

The participants consumed the equivalent of around one cup of strawberries a day, and researchers suggested the effect may be linked to the fruit’s anti-inflammatory plant compounds, including anthocyanins and polyphenols.

Strawberries also provide folate and Vitamin C, both of which form part of a healthy diet. However, the study was small and does not prove strawberries can prevent dementia.

‘However, eating strawberries alone won’t prevent dementia’ Hobson warned.

‘They’re one part of an overall healthy dietary pattern, such as the Mediterranean diet, which has the strongest evidence for supporting brain health.’

But with British strawberry season now beginning in May and lasting as late as September, Hobson says the fruit is an affordable, easy way to add more colour and plant compounds to the diet.

Do strawberries affect medications?

For the vast majority of people, a bowl of fresh strawberries is unlikely to cause any problem. However, anyone taking regular medication should be more cautious with very large or concentrated amounts, such as strawberry powders, extracts or supplements.

Some laboratory research suggests compounds found in strawberries may affect drug transport systems such as P-glycoprotein, which helps control how certain medicines are absorbed and cleared by the body. However, this does not mean normal portions of fresh strawberries are a proven risk.

People taking blood-thinning or antiplatelet medication, such as warfarin, clopidogrel or daily aspirin, should also avoid making sudden major changes to their diet without medical advice. 

While strawberries contain natural plant compounds that may have mild effects on blood vessels and inflammation, they should not be treated as a blood-thinning food in the same way as medication.

While opting for organic strawberries will reduce your pesticide intake, Hobson says don’t let this put you off 

The best way to add strawberries to your diet

Strawberries are surprisingly versatile. They can be eaten on their own, served with cream, drizzled with balsamic vinegar or dark chocolate, blended into smoothies or even tossed through salads.

‘Fresh strawberries are hard to beat, but frozen strawberries are just as nutritious,’ Hobson says. ‘Pairing them with yoghurt or a handful of nuts also makes for a more satisfying snack by adding protein and healthy fats.’

However, strawberries are often raised in conversations about pesticide residues. In the US, they have repeatedly appeared on the Environmental Working Group’s so-called “Dirty Dozen” list of produce found to contain higher levels of pesticide residues, although the ranking is based on US testing and does not mean conventionally grown strawberries are unsafe to eat.

In the UK and Europe, pesticide residues are monitored and legal limits are set to keep levels within safety thresholds. Even so, some people may prefer to buy organic strawberries when they can, particularly if they are trying to reduce their overall exposure to pesticide residues.

‘Organic strawberries won’t have as many pesticides in,’ Hobson says, ‘but that doesn’t mean conventionally grown strawberries are unsafe to eat.

‘If you can afford organic, that’s great but don’t let it put you off. Washing them thoroughly under cold running water before eating helps remove dirt, bacteria and some surface pesticide residue.’

Ripe strawberries are also likely to offer the best flavour and nutritional value. Choose berries that are bright red all over, with fresh green leaves and a sweet smell. Avoid those that are pale, mushy or have a sharp, fermented scent, as they may be underripe or past their best.

By BURNEY WONG

Published: 11:46 BST, 29 June 2026 | Updated: 13:19 BST, 29 June 2026

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A four-time Olympian who revolutionised the health and fitness industry with his gym businesses has died aged 91.

Les Mills built his first gym on Victoria Street in central Auckland with his wife Colleen in 1968, after representing New Zealand in both the shot put and discus. 

The business went on to become an international group fitness brand, known for its choreographed exercise classes set to music. 

His son Phillip and his partner Jackie, were both instrumental in developing the music-driven group fitness model that drove its global expansion.

To this day, the former Auckland mayor’s workouts are used by clubs around the world. 

Aside from his success off the field, he also competed at four Olympic Games; Rome 1960, Tokyo 1964, Mexico City 1968 and Munich 1972.

However, his best results were at the Commonwealth Games, where he won five medals include discus gold at the 1966 Kingston Games in Jamaica.

He also has three silvers to his name, two in the discus at the 1958 Cardiff and 1970 Edinburgh Games, and one in the shot put at the Kingston Games.

Les Mills launched his first gym on Victoria Street in central Auckland with his wife Colleen in 1968, after representing New Zealand in both the shot put and discus

The four-time Olympian who opened a gym chain that revolutionised the fitness industry was 91

He also claimed shot put bronze in Edinburgh. 

He remained in the sport after retiring, coaching his compatriot Beatrice Faumuina to a world title in 1997 and Commonwealth Games gold in 1998. 

Phillip, who joined the business full-time in 1980, paid tribute to him. 

‘Dad was immensely strong, driven, and always cared deeply for the less advantaged,’ he said. 

‘He left a lasting impression on everyone he met, and his spirit lives on in gym workouts around the world, continuing to help people fall in love with fitness.

Juliet Yates, who was on Auckland Council during Mills’s first of eight years as mayor, told Radio New Zealand ‘he was a very, very pleasant person to work with’.

‘At the time, I think the achievements of the council he was mayor of were benefiting the whole of the city,’ she said. 

Mr Mills was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1973 for his contribution to sport, and was later appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2002 for services to both local government and sport.

The insect Emily Hyde found on the sofa of her Middlesex home was no bigger than a drawing pin head – but despite its tiny size the bug would go on to affect every part of her life.

At the time – unsure what it was – businesswoman Emily, 45, took a photograph of the insect and sent it to a friend, who identified it as a tick.

Emily assumed it had fallen from one of her two dogs – Lucy, a springbatt, and Mike, a rescue dog from Greece – so she flushed it away and carried on with life.

But within weeks, she recalls: ‘I developed a sore throat, headaches, aching joints and flu-like symptoms.

‘I was in bed for an entire week, which was completely unlike me. I’m someone who always carries on, so I knew something wasn’t right,’ says Emily, who is married to Daniel, 52, a plumber.

Although the worst of the illness passed, Emily never truly recovered, and in the years that followed she developed a long list of other symptoms including muscle pain, brain fog, memory loss, tinnitus, sensitivity to light and sound, and pins and needles.

‘I could barely get out of bed,’ she recalls. ‘I wasn’t living any more – I was simply existing.’

A doctor diagnosed long Covid, while a specialist thought it was a thyroid condition. It wasn’t until last year she saw an expert who unearthed the true cause of her poor health.

A tick on 45-year-old businesswoman Emily Hyde’s sofa bit here without her realising and gave her Lyme disease

It turned out the tick on her sofa had bitten her without her realising – and passed on Lyme disease.

Around 5 to 10 per cent of ticks are infected with the Borrelia bacteria responsible. Once you have been bitten, the bacteria travel into the bloodstream, causing inflammation. Without treatment they can infect the heart and brain.

Many assume tick bites only occur during countryside walks in the Scottish Highlands, where there are many deer (which ticks favour to live on).

In fact, studies show there is a considerable risk even in urban green spaces.

One study, published in 2022 by the UK Health Security Agency, found that ticks are just as likely to be distributed in urban green spaces and woodland edges as in the heart of the countryside.

The risk of being bitten increases during the warmer months of April to October, peaking around now.

There has been a significant rise in cases of Lyme disease in the UK, with 1,168 people affected last year, a 22 per cent increase on 2024, according to official figures – and the true number may be even higher, as ’85 per cent of people don’t see the tick so they don’t know what to attribute the symptoms to’, says Professor Jack Lambert, a consultant in infectious disease at Mater Misericordiae University Hospital in Dublin and a leading expert on the disease.

‘So often Lyme disease goes undiagnosed for years.’

There has been a 22 per cent rise in cases of Lyme disease in the UK since 2024, with 1,168 people affected last year

Typically one of the first signs is a bullseye rash near the bite site that occurs within days. Other symptoms include general malaise, and aches and pains can follow.

As bites tend to peak at this time of year, symptoms do get confused for ‘summer flu’, says Professor Lambert.

However, he says ‘some people will get no symptoms at all’ or ‘won’t show symptoms for months because of a delay to their immune system producing antibodies’, which is what causes the symptoms. ‘And when they do experience them eventually, people don’t think back to a tick bite when that much time has passed,’ he adds.

What’s more, symptoms can vary from one person to the other, says Professor Lambert – fewer than 50 per cent of people get the bullseye rash, for example.

‘If they do get that rash, it’s often misdiagnosed as ringworm – a fungal infection – because it looks so similar,’ he explains.

‘GPs often misdiagnose it as a regular skin infection, cellulitis, and the antibiotics they give don’t treat Lyme.’

The tiredness it causes because of inflammation often gets mistaken by doctors for chronic fatigue ‘or other conditions such as fibromyalgia, which cause symptoms of pain and fatigue’.

Yet if treatment is delayed, or Lyme disease goes untreated, it can lead to painful joints, memory problems and other debilitating problems as the bacteria spread around the body.

Around 5 to 10 per cent of ticks are infected with the Borrelia bacteria which causes Lyme disease

‘Sometimes they get Bell’s palsy – paralysis of the facial nerve so one side of the face droops like a stroke,’ explains Professor Lambert. ‘If the bacteria travels to the brain it can cause numbness and tingling, insomnia and neuro-psychiatric manifestations – such as anger and rage out of the blue.’

Around 1 per cent of those affected will develop ‘late Lyme arthritis’ – ‘horrible intractable joint pain’ and severe swelling, typically in the knees, which can occur even years after the bite.

‘Lyme disease can go to the heart and cause Lyme carditis [when the bacteria invade the heart, interfering with the electrical signals],’ adds Professor Lambert.

Yet in most cases Lyme can be treated with a simple course of antibiotics.

It was shortly after finding the tick on her sofa in August 2019 that Emily developed flu-like symptoms. She was also losing weight without any change to her eating habits and permanently exhausted.

Emily was eventually referred to an endocrinologist (hormone specialist), who diagnosed a ‘thyroid storm’ (caused by Lyme – although doctors did not realise this at the time).

This is where the thyroid gland in the front of the neck becomes overactive and releases an excess of hormones.

‘I was treated for my thyroid, but despite the medication I still felt incredibly ill,’ says Emily. ‘Everyone believed a thyroid problem was causing my symptoms, but deep down I knew something still wasn’t right.’

As Covid hit, Emily’s health deteriorated further.

‘Our business closed during lockdown, which in some ways was fortunate because I was becoming so exhausted I could barely function.

‘I’d struggle through the morning, then come home early afternoon and climb straight into bed still wearing my coat because I was constantly cold,’ she says.

Doctors suggested she had long Covid but Emily felt there had to be another explanation.

Out of desperation she went to an alternative health practitioner who suggested she look into Lyme disease, which Emily ‘had never even heard of’.

After doing some research she came across Professor Lambert online and travelled to Dublin for an appointment with him.

By then she was so weak she could no longer walk more than a short distance.

‘He listened to everything I’d been through before asking whether I’d ever been exposed to a tick,’ says Emily.

‘Suddenly I remembered the photograph I’d taken years earlier. Until that moment, I’d completely forgotten about it.’

Professor Lambert diagnosed Lyme disease and began treatment with antibiotics, which she took for 11 months.

She says: ‘Gradually my strength began to return. First, I could get out of bed. Then I could walk again. Little by little, I started getting my life back.’

Often a Lyme disease diagnosis is made by a doctor listening to symptoms – NHS guidelines say that ‘if someone shows up with a bullseye rash following a tick bite then we should not wait for a blood test, but just treat with antibiotics,’ says Professor Lambert.

There is a blood test but it is not always accurate – especially in the early stages, he adds.

After diagnosis, the treatment is usually three weeks of the antibiotic doxycycline.

‘And then if you’re not better three weeks of amoxicillin – but I have people who have three weeks of this, get better, then get worse and are not given antibiotics because they’re told they’re cured,’ says Professor Lambert.

‘In my experience some patients need a longer course of antibiotics. The guidelines only cover early Lyme.’

Recent research suggests that psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, could also have a role.

In a trial published in the journal Nature in February, 20 men and women with lingering Lyme disease symptoms were given two doses of psilocybin a fortnight apart.

Symptoms such as pain, fatigue, mood changes, sleep problems and quality of life all improved substantially for at least six months. However larger studies are needed to confirm the results.

Emily’s experience demonstrates how life-changing a delayed diagnosis can be.

Her illness forced her to close their successful kitchen and bathroom showrooms to focus on her recovery.

A year on from her diagnosis, Emily still feels she is not quite her old self again but is a lot better: ‘I lost almost six years of my life to this illness. I can’t get those years back, but if my story encourages just one person to recognise the symptoms earlier, seek medical advice sooner or find support, then sharing it will have been worthwhile.

lymediseaseuk.com