What Are Raspberry Ketones?
Ketones are natural chemicals that give raspberries their enticing aroma. They are phenolic compounds that also occur in berries like blackberries, cranberries, and other fruits. Although raspberry ketones have been used to add fragrance and flavor to foods and products like colas, ice cream, cosmetics, candles, soaps and candies for many years, they have recently gained attention for their alleged ability to help with weight loss.
The raspberry ketone is actually one of the most expensive products used in the food industry — the natural compound can cost as much as $160,000 per kilogram. Plus, extraction of pure raspberry ketone requires an insane amount of raspberries. Extraction occurs through hydrogenation and takes about a kilogram of raspberries (over 2 pounds) to make 1.4 milligrams of raspberry ketones. Considering a standard supplemental dose for humans is around 300–600 milligrams, that’s a lot of raspberries! This is exactly why some supplement companies use synthetic raspberry ketone, which is much cheaper.
A raspberry contains 200 molecules that contribute to its distinct raspberry flavor. One of those, Raspberry Ketone, was singled out by food manufacturers decades ago for its potent smell. Berry-flavored candy, soaps and candles made today likely use Raspberry Ketone. Our extra is white powder quality. The smell will be odd smell but this is due to the new bottles freshly made. More recently, the Raspberry Ketone garnered public attention again, but this time as a purported weight-loss aid.