Antioxidants and Why We Need Them
Antioxdants - Live Long My Friend!
Today's fast-food society and nutrient deficient soils makes it difficult to obtain the quality and concentrations of daily nutrients necessary to positively impact our health.
Berry Radical is a revolutionary certified
organic, superfood designed to assist the body in attaining vibrant
health, wellbeing and longevity. The ingredients in Berry Radical
have been proven to assist the body in neutralising free radical
damage.
Berry Radical: a potent combination of 10 of the worlds most potent, antioxidant, superfoods, contains certified organic, antioxidant-rich raw cacao (chocolate), fruits and berries which can support healthy immune function and protect cells.
Contains a wide spectrum of nature's most powerful antioxidants: hydroxytyrosol, zeaxanthin, alpha and beta-carotene, lutein, lycopene, anthocyanin, cryptoxanthin, xanthophyll, epicatechin, quercetin, punicalagins and ellagic, chlorogenic, gallic, ferulic and caffeic acids from organically grown chocolate, berries and fruits Helps quench damaging free radicals in the body. May slow processes associated with aging.
The ingredients of Berry Radical are:
- Goji berry
- Acai berry
- Blueberry
- Olive juice extract
- Raspberry
- Strawberry
- Raw unrefined cacao powder
- Pomegranate extract
- Natural flavour... it is literally strawberry essence & nothing artificial!
Please view the video on Berry Radical.
What are Free Radicals?
Oxidation occurs when free radicals (highly reactive, high-energy particles) ricochet wildly throughout the body and damage cells. Free radicals can be produced within the body by natural biological processes or introduced from outside via tobacco smoke, toxins, pollutants and sub-optimal eating habits. Free radicals are believed to accelerate the progression of cancer, cardiovascular disease, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic fatigue, and age-related diseases. Antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables help to neutralise free radicals in our bodies. Australian's are encouraged to eat 7 serves of fruit and vegetables a day. Specifically, 2 serves of fruit and 5 serves of vegetables each day. Many people struggle to eat the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables each day. Within Australia, only 14% of men and 21% of women report eating the recommended four or more servings of vegetables daily.
Recipes with Berry Radical
It is simple to use Berry Radical in a
morning smoothie. My favourite Summer smoothie is made by
my husband and the recipe is secret... but it includes blueberries,
strawberries, bee pollen, InLiven, coconut milk and filtered water
with a sachet of Berry Radical and LOVE!
Occasionally I have Berry Radical is at night in some warm milk. I add a spoon of Berry Radical to the warmed milk and then a tea spoon of local honey and this warming drink ensures I sleep soundly and wake feeling refreshed.
To view more Berry Radical recipes
Why Do Plants Contain Antioxidants?
Photosynthesis is the process whereby plants convert light energy from the sun into stored physical energy. Photosynthesis exposes plants to a massive number of free radicals. Plants produce antioxidants to protect themselves from damage by these free radicals. Antioxidant plant pigments, primarily carotenoids and polyphenols that are responsible for the bright colours of many orange, red, blue and purple fruits, berries and algae, provide most of this protection. Research has shown that human ingestion of these plant-based antioxidants results in similar protection. Research also shows that antioxidants work synergistically (where the combined effect is greater than the sum of the individual effects) and are far more effective when a spectrum of antioxidants are ingested, rather that individual isolated compounds.
Why Did You Make A Powder Instead Of A
Juice?
By utilising raw, freeze-dried powders we have concentrated all the nutrition from the fruits and berries into a much more potent, nutrient dense form. Which is why 1 box of berry radical is equivalent to 12 bottles of mangosteen juice 17 bottles of goji juice and 41 bottles of noni juice, in terms of antioxidant capacity. Our organic fruit and berry powders are highly concentrated foods, with all the nutrients and enzymes in the fresh fruit. Only water has been removed.
Gram for gram, powders are far more potent and concentrated than watered-down juices. Many fruits are more than 90 percent water, which means you get at least 10 times the nutrients in a freeze-dried fruit than the fresh fruit or a rehydrated juice. Powders do not require the preservatives that juices do. The freeze drying process does not kill the enzymes. It puts them in a state of suspended animation. They are brought back to life by adding the Berry Radical to liquid.
Food 'v' Supplements
If you're supplementing with single dose antioxidants, or a combination of a few isolated antioxidant nutrients, you may not be getting the benefits you hoped for. Whilst isolated nutrients may have powerful antioxidant benefits in vitro (test tube) they rarely have significant benefits in vivo (humans). Whereas foods high in antioxidants have proven benefits in both humans and in vitro. It is known that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can help prevent cancers, coronary heart disease and strokes. Synthetic antioxidants appear to be so ineffective that they may actually increase cancer risk. In fact, every large clinical trial that has used isolated antioxidant nutrients has failed to show benefit for cancer and cardiovascular disease.
Most isolated antioxidant nutrients are chemically, and structurally, different to those found in foods; and do not have the desired effect in the human body. Research has found that whole tomato powder but not lycopene, a carotenoid found in tomatoes, inhibited prostate carcinogenesis in rats, which demonstrates the superior functionality and efficacy of whole-food nutrition compared with high dose, isolated nutrient, supplementation. [1] [2] [3] [4]
What Are ORAC Units And How Many Do We Need?
ORAC, short for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity, is a standardised measurement of the total antioxidant power of a substance. Antioxidant power is the ability to neutralize oxygen free radicals. The more free radicals a substance can absorb, the higher it's ORAC score. Nutritionists recommend that we consume around 5000 ORAC units per day to significantly impact antioxidant activity in the body and reduce free radical damage. One serving (half a cup) of fruits or vegetables provides approximately 500 ORAC units. If you're not eating at least 10 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, you're not getting the recommended amount of ORAC units to mop-up the damage caused by free radicals in your body every day. The ORAC (total) score of a serving (3.5g) of Berry Radical is over 4000 ORAC units.
References:
- Francheschi S, Parpinel M, La Vecchia C, Favero A, Talamini R, Negri E. Role of different types of vegetables and fruit in the prevention of cancer of the colon, rectum, and breast. Epidemiology 1998;9(3):338-341
- Rautalahti M, Huttunen J. Antioxidants and carcinogenesis. Ann Med 1993;25:435-441
- Paolini M, Abdel-Rahman SZ, Sapone A, Pedulli GF, Perocco P, Cantelli-Forti G, Legator MS. Beta-carotene: a cancer chemopreventive agent or a co-carcinogen? Mutat Res. 2003;543(3):195-200
- Van Duyn MS and Pivonka E. Overview of the health benefits of fruit and vegetable consumption for the dietetics professional: selected literature. J Am Diet Assoc. 2000;100:1511-1521.
- Boileau TW, Liao Z, Kim S, et al. Prostate carcinogenesis in N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (NMU)-testosterone-treated rats fed tomato powder, lycopene, or energy-restricted diets. J Natl
