Antioxidants neutralise free radicals that lead to oxidative stress. Oxidation is a normal and necessary process that takes place in your body. Oxidative stress, on the other hand, occurs when there’s an imbalance between free radical activity and antioxidant activity. When functioning properly, free radicals can help fight off pathogens that lead to infections.
Oxidative stress is a major player in the cause of chronic diseases such as arthritis, Type II Diabetes, neurodegenerative disorders, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, autoimmune and heart disease. Science has attributed oxidative stress as the cause of over 70 well-known diseases.
New Zealand blackcurrants have exceptionally strong antioxidant activity due to their high levels of anthocyanins and flavonoids. They enable the body to recognise when it needs to mount an antioxidant response, allowing the body to do what it needs to do better – complimenting and increasing the body’s natural recovery systems.
‘Oxidation’ – where oxygen reacts at cellular levels and triggers a process that leads to cell death – can be controlled through antioxidants in the diet, and for this, blackcurrants are particularly potent.
One of the ways to prevent oxidative stress is to ensure that you’re obtaining enough antioxidants in your diet and blackcurrants are a very important source of these.
Scientists have established that blackcurrants have greater antioxidant activity than any other berry fruit, including blueberries. They have ‘remarkably high activity’ across the multiple of oxidative stress pathways that occur in the body and are key fighters in the body’s war against oxidative stress.