BerriHealth - May 2011
Spring Updates

We are finally heading into spring weather here in Oregon.  The sun is out and signs of new growth can be found everywhere.  Speaking of new, we have made quite a few additions to our products over the winter and look forward to sharing them with you.  We have taken feedback from many of our customers and worked very hard to improve the usability of our products. We reduced the seed content in our powders significantly, and we use a resealable high-quality stand-up pouch for all of our non-bulk packaging.  We are also working to expand our product line, and we will soon have small batches of other premium berries in freeze-dried whole and powder form.  These other products will all come straight from our friends at Sturm’s Berry Farm.

If you have visited our website recently, you may have noticed that things look a little different around BerriHealth.com these days.  We have gotten a lot of positive feedback on the new layout and updated content.  We will continue to revise and update our website frequently to make sure we can share with you all the latest information on our company and products. We would love to hear any feedback you have on our site, or about things you wish were on our site, so feel free to use our contact form or respond to this e-mail and let us know what your thoughts are.
 

New Products, Powdering Process
On the products side, we spent a lot of time researching new ways to make a very fine freeze-dried powder that contains less seeds.  We wanted to accomplish this while still using whole berries and avoiding commonly used grinders that create high temperatures and break down the beneficial compounds found in black raspberries (click here to find out why temperature is so important).  Our new grinding technology lets us do all of these things, and we also now run all of our powder through a fine mesh to filter out any large seed particles.

Our partnerships with local farms give us access to more than just high-quality black raspberries.  After sampling many of the berries that can be found in the Oregon Willamette Valley, we realized there are other healthy, great-tasting berries we could offer our customers as well.  On that note, we are looking to bring a limited quantity of freeze-dried Hood strawberries and red raspberries to our store in the upcoming month.  Hood strawberries are smaller than many of the typical strawberries you will see in your supermarket, but they pack a whole lot more flavor.


In Depth: The "Whole" Story
At BerriHealth we use whole USDA Grade A black raspberries picked vine fresh and freeze dried as our starting product.  This is important because we use the same top-quality berries that you would buy right at the farm instead of lower-quality berries that are left over in the grading process.  Also, with BerriHealth you know you are getting a minimal loss of beneficial compounds.  Instead of starting with whole berries, some other companies use a puree that is pasteurized, which can reduce their anthocyanin content by up to 60%.

Using whole berries is just one of the extra steps we take to make sure you are getting the maximum benefits out of our freeze-dried black raspberries.  Our whole berries are offered right on our website, and all of our powder is created using those same whole berries.  We can’t give away all our secrets, but being transparent about what you are consuming is important to us.

Here at BerriHealth it’s really very simple:  We start with the highest quality black raspberries, and then we do everything we can to keep them that way.  The whole process from start to end is specifically geared towards that one goal.

 
Customer Questions
How much is a serving?  How many fresh berries is that?
One standard serving is 20 grams of powder.  That is slightly more than two tablespoons.  Your doctor or other medical advisor may have more specific amounts for you to take based on his or her own opinions and research data.  One serving is approximately the same as an entire cup of fresh black raspberries.

When is the black raspberry harvest?
Black raspberries are harvested on Sturm's Berry Farm during a three week window in July.  They have a shorter harvest time than any of the other berries on the farm.


Quick Peek: Packaging
Most of you have already checked out our new packaging, but if you haven't, click here for some of the benefits!


How do you Use Your Freeze-Dried Black Raspberries?
We have talked with many different researchers on the best way to consume larger amounts of black raspberry powder and also get optimal benefits.  We would like to share with you our "cool tea" preparation process, so please click on this link and follow the instructions to create a tasty black raspberry drink.  We would also like to thank Dr. Eugene Woltering sharing this process with us.


Latest Research
Black raspberries have been shown to be very powerful agents in preventing angiogenesis, a key precursor to cancerous tumors.  If you are interested in learning more about angiogenesis, check out this excellent speech by William Li on the basics of angiogenesis and how it can be affected by diet.

There are also a variety of new developments in the research world on black raspberries. If you haven't already, check out our research collection on PubMed, which contains a frequently updated list of interesting research papers and studies.