Are there published studies providing evidence about the efficacy of frozen fruit (vs fresh)? What are viable sources of acai in the US? Sambozan adds soy lecitihin to their acai product.
evanbrand
Answer:
I found two good studies comparing fresh to frozen fruit. One on strawberries and one on raspberries. They both found the same thing: “no statistically significant differences between the…[antioxidant levels] for fresh and frozen strawberries” and “It is concluded, therefore, that freshly picked, fresh commercial, and frozen raspberries all contain similar levels of phytochemicals and antioxidants per serving.”
In fact, frozen last longer than fresh, are available year-round, and tend to be cheaper and more convenient. If you look in my freezer, normally it’s half frozen greens and half frozen berries (though this time of the year it’s also stuffed with 20 pounds of fresh dates!).
In terms of your acai question, I’m not sure what your concern about soy lecithin is. Even people with soy allergies are often able to tolerate lecithin (and soy proteins are more than 100 times less allergenic than other allergens such as eggs and dairy). I love the frozen packs of unsweetened acai pulp (featured in my video Antioxidant Content of 300 Foods), though if you’re extremely allergic to soy you may just have to stick to less exotic berries. See my video Best Berries.
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