By: Ozren Podnar |
Wonders hidden in red raspberries |
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Due to their divine taste nobody needs convincing to indulge themselves with these fruits.
But, the taste is not the only benefit of this dark red fruit.
Raspberries are much more than a tasty summer snack.
This fruit is rich in nutrients which can prevent diseases, and give strength and endurance to the body.
The benefits of phytonutrients
Raspberries are rich in hydroxybenzoic acid, antocianins, resveratrol and flavonoids such as quercetin and kaempferol.
Most of those phytonutrients preserve cell health, protect cells against damages and regulate inflammatory enzymes.
By doing so they reduce the risk of chronic problems such as obesity, blood vessel diseases and type II diabetes.
In that regard ellagic acid, a type of hydroxybenzoic acid, is especially important since it has strong anti-inflammatory properties.
Protection against cancer
Recently this fruit has become interesting due to the substances that protect against cancer.
Earlier, nutrients with antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties were considered the key anti-carcinogenic substances.
Researches performed on breast, esophagus, colon and uterine cancer showed that these nutrients significantly reduce oxidative stress and reduce inflammation, which prevents the development of cancer cells.
New studies showed additional effects of phytonutrients in raspberries.
It appears that ellagitannins, nutrients related to ellagic acid, prevent the conversion of healthy cells into malignant ones.
Ellagitannins send signals to malignant cells, causing their apoptosis, or simply said, self-destruction.
Rubus rosifolius raspberry, which can be found in both Americas, Australia and eastern Asia has the strongest effect on reducing the number of malignant cells.
According to research published in Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, this raspberry variety has a different phytochemistry and biological activity than other raspberry types.
Researchers have confirmed that Rubus rosifoliusa extracts prevent the growth of lung cancer cells by 54%, colon cancer cells by 50% and stomach cancer cells by 37%.
Ketones against fats
Red raspberries are rich in vitamins and minerals, contain only a few calories and have a low glycemic index.
This makes them a perfect food which you need to consume as often as possible.
Apart from all of that, natural phenolic compounds found in red raspberries have a potential for alleviating obesity.
Ketones from raspberries are natural phenolic compounds responsible for raspberry aroma.
Raspberry ketones can help you lose weight, especially if you combine them with regular exercise and balanced diet with healthy and integrate foods – explained Dr. Oz.
Nutrition experts from the Korean capital Seoul fed male mice with food rich in fats and raspberry ketones (Note: Alternativa za Vas web portal does not approve of animal experiments).
Although it was expected for the mice to become fat, that did not happen and scientists believe that ketones are responsible for that.
Korean experts believe that raspberry ketones offer a hope as a herbal remedy against obesity since their biological activities change lipid metabolism.
The effect of ketones
The effectiveness of raspberry ketones is the result of an increased secretion of adiponectine – a hormone that participates in preventing the formation of fat cells.
“Adiponectine is a protein used by the body for regulating metabolism” – explained Dr. Oz.
Raspberry ketones cause faster decomposing of fats in cells, which allows our body to burn the fat faster.
Recommended doses
As a part of weight loss program, recommended dose is 100 mg of ketones a day in the form of diet supplements. Many manufacturers sell raspberry ketones in 100 mg pills for simpler dosing.
In order to ingest that quantity of ketones, you would need to consume 40 kg of raspberries.
But, be cautious, since a lot of fresh raspberries is needed for the production of ketones and many diet supplements are often produced industrially with the help of chemical reactions.
Other benefits of ketones
Weight loss is not the only benefit of raspberry ketones. This compound helps lower cholesterol and alleviate pains after intensive exercises.
These ketones contain salicylic acid, which is beneficial against atherosclerosis and heart diseases.
There are indications that ketones also help people suffering from alopecia, but that property has not been sufficiently researched.
The riper it is, the stronger it is
The ripeness of raspberry is also important. According to a research published in Agricultural and Food Chemistry magazine, red raspberries are most effective when they are fully ripe.
Total levels of antocianins in all raspberry varieties increase proportionally to their ripeness.
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