Many illnesses and medical conditions are caused by an unhealthy lifestyle, poor diet and increasingly prominent environmental factors. Our unhealthy diet is often limited to fast food, ready meals and low-quality produce. We’re constantly rushing around between our jobs and family, turning things over in our mind and struggling to cope with the daily tasks that life throws our way.

Environmental factors like nicotine, UV radiation, medication, electronic smog and stress frequently cause the formation of “free radicals” in our body. These aggressive compounds are produced during numerous metabolic processes and energy generation. They’re an important part of the body’s defence mechanism, but they can also cause damage to our genetic material (DNA), cell membranes and body proteins.

So, it’s no wonder you feel bad after a hectic day. Days like this tend to pile up, and you end up being in a state of permanent stress for weeks, months and even years on end.

When the amount of free radicals in your body increases, they start to outbalance your antioxidants. If the body’s self-defence system becomes overloaded, it’s said to be under oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is responsible for ageing in both humans and animals. In order to restore this balance, you have to take in antioxidants through your diet.

At the same time, your antioxidant intake will decrease if you have an unhealthy diet.  Furthermore, many fruit and vegetable varieties lack these key nutrients, because they’re either grown as monoculture crops or in other regions, which means they spend a lot of time in transit or storage. This also causes an imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants, as this diet doesn’t contain enough antioxidants. This weakens the body’s defence mechanisms, reduces its performance and accelerates the development of diseases and the ageing process.

The aronia berry contains essential nutrients in their natural form. Some of its most important ingredients include polyphenols, riboflavin (vitamin B2), folic acid (vitamin B9), vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K and provitamin A, as well as the minerals potassium, calcium, iodine, zinc and iron.

Thanks to its high flavonoid content (polyphenols), the aronia berry can be an excellent supplement for a healthy diet. These biologically active compounds act as “radical scavengers” to combat oxidative stress.

Aronia can have a positive impact on your well-being in various ways. Aronia berries help to regulate your entire body. Their ingredients boost the cardiovascular system by regulating and dilating blood vessels. They regulate blood pressure and stimulate the flow of blood to the extremities. Their ingredients also affect cholesterol levels by cleaning out the veins. They’re proven to lower cholesterol and slow down arteriosclerosis.

Flavonoids are responsible for their anti-inflammatory effect. They help your body to absorb more vitamins and minerals from other foodstuffs and boost its self-healing powers. Aronia can be used to prevent and treat various forms of inflammation, such as hepatitis, gingivitis, gastritis, arthritis, cystitis and nephritis.

Fruits with a high polyphenol content are often better suited to allergy sufferers, as the polyphenols can combine with allergenic proteins and neutralise allergens.

Aronia even has a positive effect on the immune system. This isn’t due to the aronia’s vitamin content, but rather its revitaminisation effect. If vitamins act as antioxidants, they can no longer be used by the immune system. However, they can be revitaminised by the antioxidants contained in aronia berries and then reused by the immune system. This boosts the body’s defence mechanisms and self-healing powers.

Taking a handful of fresh aronia berries or 150 ml of aronia juice every day is enough to rebalance both you and your body. The best results were obtained in studies when aronia was taken every day for at least one month and up to three months.