Frequently Asked Questions

• What Are Free Radicals And Why Do We Need Antioxidants?

  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.

• 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 result 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. 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.

• How Much Caffeine Does Berry Radical Contain?

  Interesting research on caffeine in the field of homeopathy indicates caffeine’s stimulating effect when cooked, but not when eaten raw. One experiment conducted with a decoction of roasted ground cacao beans in boiling water produced an excitement of the nervous system similar to that caused by black coffee and an excited state of circulation, demonstrated by an accelerated pulse. Notably, when the same decoction was made with raw, unroasted cacao beans neither effect was noticeable. A cup of tea contains an average of 40mg of caffeine, compared to 85mg as found in a cup of freshly brewed coffee. A cup of hot chocolate usually contains about 4 or 5 milligrams of caffeine, which is about 1/20 that of a cup of regular coffee. A serving of Berry Radical contains about 6mg of caffeine, about as much as in a hot chocolate, but considering the coffee berry and cacao in Berry Radical are both raw, there will be no stimulant effect.

• Food vs. 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. ^{[1][2] [3] [4]}

  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. ^[5]

• 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 neutralise oxygen free radicals. The more free radicals a substance can absorb, the higher its 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 fruit 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 1 gram of Berry Radical is over 1000. So, one 3g serving (one heaped teaspoon) of Berry Radical contains over 4000 ORAC units!

Bibliography/References

1. ^[1]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
2. ^[2]Rautalahti M, Huttunen J. Antioxidants and carcinogenesis. Ann Med 1993;25:435-441
3. ^[3]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
4. ^[4]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.
5. ^[5]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