our wild berries growing in northern latitudes are exceptionally rich in vitamins, flavonoids, carotens, antioxidants – you name it. many scientific studies have proven positive health effects lifting our nordic wild berries to their current super food status.
the berries are handpicked and processed with care. we use only the best quality ingredients and sophisticated manufacturing methods that guarantee that the beneficial characteristics of our berries are retained.
(you can find out the full nutritional information and vitamin content on our product pages.)
the antioxidant values of foods listed are expressed in ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) units, a unit of measurement for antioxidants developed by the National Institute on Aging in the National Institutes of Health (NIH). ORAC is a method of measuring a food’s ability to help destroy free radicals before they cause damage to the body. these free radical scavengers are referred to as antioxidants. the higher the score, the better that food can destroy free radicals which may help to slow the ageing process and prevent diseases including cancer.
this comparison table showing ORAC units has been compiled using the ORAC database and values from independent laboratory analysis (the biokia product range).
vitamin C is the best known antioxidant in berries. it helps the body’s natural defence system combat the harmful effects of the oxidation – the process that makes us age, converts healthy cells into cancerous ones, elevates the blood pressure, and causes infertility. vitamin C keeps skin, cartilage, tendons, teeth, gums, and bones healthy.
adults need 40mg of vitamin C a day. you can’t stock up vitamin C in your body, so you need it in your diet every day.
vitamin E is a generic name for several vitamin E compounds. it serves as an antioxidant, protecting the body against harmful oxidation by maintaining the structure of the cell membrane and protecting vitamin A in the body.
the recommended daily intake is 4mg a day for men and 3mg for women. berries have higher contents of vitamin E than fruits.
berries are low in proteins and fats and have high water content (80-90% of total weight). this is why berries have low calorie content. most of this comes from naturally occurring sugars – fructose and glucose. sugars are the simplest form of carbohydrates, so count these toward your carb intake.
fibre together with organic acids constitute most of the dry components in berries. fibre is only found in foods that come from plants. you can’t get fibre from eating meat, fish and dairy products, which is probably why in the UK most people do not eat enough fibre. there are two different types of fibre – soluble and insoluble. each helps your body in different ways, so a normal, healthy diet should include both types.
insoluble – or ‘dietary’ – fibre has many important functions in the digestive tract maintaining intestinal functions and feeding your friendly bacteria. soluble fibre slows the blood sugar rising after a meal and emptying of the stomach, for example.
it is recommended to get 25-35g fibre daily. it is important to eat a variety of fibre-containing foods, like oat, vegetables, and – you guessed it – berries, which are some of the most important dietary sources of fibre.
the science of phenolic compounds may be as complicated as it sounds, but you may have heard of flavonoids, some of the most common type of phenolic compounds found in berries. they do more than give berries their lovely colour and taste: flavonoids have beneficial effects on our health and well-being, too. they are potent antioxidants – and put together with vitamin C with all that action and chemistry, well, you could call them the mr and mrs smith of nutrition.
(end of the science bit.)