Antioxidant Supplements: 4 Berry Complex - The Remedy That Helps Fight Viral Infections And Also Improves Memory And Eyesight

As someone who values your health, you'll no doubt be more than familiar with the standard dietary advice recommending you eat five portions of fruit and vegetables each day to maintain good health. However, what the medical experts should have perhaps added to their original message is to make sure you include berries as part of your daily fruit allowance.

Numerous studies have shown that berries - particularly cranberries, bilberries, blueberries and elderberries - are a rich source of potent antioxidants that can help prevent a range of medical complaints. These include urinary tract infections, influenza, memory loss, cataracts and macular degeneration.

However, fresh berries are not always easy to find all year-round and for this reason they can become expensive to buy when they are out of season. In addition, berries are not to everyone's liking - for example, cranberries have a very distinctive, sour taste which some people find hard to tolerate.

Fortunately, 4 Berry Complex is the name of a new product that contains all the goodness of cranberries, bilberries, blueberries and elderberries in one supplement. 4 Berry Complex has been designed particularly with women's health in mind, as these berries are known to be effective against conditions like cystitis, which mainly affect women.

Cranberries can put an end to the misery and discomfort of cystitis
Cranberries have long been recommended, by both alternative and mainstream practitioners, as a remedy for urinary tract infections (UTIs), like cystitis. Researchers have found that the bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli) is the most common cause of cystitis.

Women are far more prone to the condition than men as they have a shorter urethra (the tube that carries urine from your bladder), which makes it easier for bacteria to gain access and reach your bladder.

Doctors routinely prescribe antibiotics to treat cystitis but their usefulness can be limited by the fact that certain strains of bacteria, including E. coli, have become resistant to many of these drugs.

Laboratory studies have shown that cranberries help prevent these bacteria from attaching themselves to the bladder wall lining, thereby preventing infections from developing.1

Scientists believe that certain flavonoids (plant pigments), called proanthocyanidins, in cranberries are responsible for preventing this attachment and subsequent infection.2

In one study, researchers found that cranberries successfully reduced bacteria levels in the bladders of older women.3

Bilberries have a dual role in promoting good eye health
Dried bilberries have traditionally been used as a remedy for a variety of conditions, including scurvy, diarrhoea, urinary tract infections and diabetes. Modern research has found that these berries are particularly beneficial for preserving vision. Studies into this area were inspired by World War II British pilots, who reported how their night vision improved considerably when they ate bilberry jam.4

Bilberries appear to have two main actions in relation to the eyes. First, they appear to boost the delivery of blood to the area - meaning that essential nutrients and oxygen are better able to reach your eyes.

Second, bilberries contain substances called anthocyanidins, which are responsible for giving the berries their dark colour. However, anthocyanidins also have another important function. They are potent antioxidants that have a particular affinity with the retina of the eye, and are responsible for protecting the tissues against free radical damage - an underlying cause of many degenerative problems.

Preliminary findings from trials conducted so far, show that bilberries may play an important role in the prevention of cataracts (a condition where the lens of the eye becomes hard and opaque).5

They are also showing a lot of promise in the treatment of macular degeneration (an eye disorder that causes fluid to leak into the retina, which impairs central vision).6

How blueberries can help prevent age-related memory loss and cognitive decline
Like bilberries, blueberries are another rich source of the antioxidant, anthocyanidin. Professor Ronald Prior, researcher at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), found that, out of 40 fruits and vegetables tested, blueberries were found to possess the highest antioxidant capacity.7

Antioxidants are known to protect against oxidative cell damage that can lead to degenerative conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease.

In a recent animal study led by Professor James Joseph of the USDA, Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston, animals fed blueberry extract showed fewer age-related motor changes (those associated with the motor nerves which carry impulses from your brain to your muscles and causes voluntary movement). They were found to perform significantly better in tests of balance and coordination. In addition, the animals receiving blueberry extract also showed less signs of oxidative stress in their brains and performed better in memory tests, than the control group.8

Commenting on the study, Professor Molly Wagster, a Health Scientist Administrator with the National Institute on Aging (NIA) Neuroscience and Neurospsychology of Aging Program in Maryland, said: 'The exciting finding from this study is the potential reversal of some age-related impairments in both memory and motor co-ordination.'

The good news is that the NIA has recently funded additions to two ongoing clinical trials to see if these benefits may also extend to slowing cognitive decline in older women.

Eldeberries may help shorten the duration of flu
Elderberries, which are also contained in 4 Berry Complex, were referred by Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, as his 'medicine chest'. Among the folklore about elderberries are stories of relief from many ailments including constipation, colic, diarrhoea, colds, rheumatism, influenza, fever, sore throats and rhinitis.
A study led by Dr Madeleine Mumcuoglu at the Department of Virology, Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, in Israel, has confirmed that biochemicals in elderberries have the ability to protect cells from virus invasion. This means that elderberries have the potential to prevent the spread of infection in the body. In the study a standardised extract of black elderberry was found to be effective against both type A and B of the influenza virus. It also proved successful in fighting at least ten different strains of influenza, including Beijing, Singapore, Hong Kong, Ann Arbor, Texas, Panama, Yamagata and Shangdong.10

It is believed that flavonoids, including quercetin (a plant pigment with potent antioxidant powers), are responsible for elderberries' therapeutic effects.
The recommended dose for 4 Berry Complex is one capsule twice a day.