ORAC and Acai Berries
ORAC…no, it’s not a new vacuum cleaner. It’s a term developed by the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts to measure how an antioxidant absorbs free radicals. It stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity. Sounds pretty important…and it is! This test can measure the degree AND speed of an antioxidant’s ability to inhibit “oxidizing agents” (free radicals) and then assigns those two factors a single number or value. Makes it a whole lot easier for us to figure out which antioxidants are better for us than others!
Of course, there’s an acronym for those nasty free radicals, as well…ROS (Reactive Oxygen Species). “Species”…sounds sinister! I’m thinking the less “species” I have in my body, the better.
What I want to share today is which antioxidants have been shown to score the highest according to the ORAC rankings. I used to work for a pharmaceutical company for quite a number of years; and one of the bits of knowledge I took away from that experience is that “bioavailability” is imperative if you expect a supplement or drug to have the desired effect. Knowing this was one of the reasons I became a believer in Juice Plus years ago. Their extensive research has shown that what is in their capsules is actually “bioavailable” to our bodies. This is also the reason I’m a little skeptical of companies that sell supplements touting all the marvelous medical conditions they can impact when they don’t have the research to back up their claims, including whether or not their wonder pill or drink is bioavailable. So I admit I’ve been skeptical of all the information I’ve seen about the acai berry…up until now.
The article I read today in the June issue of Life Extension explores the scientific validation of the ORAC value of the acai berry, as well as numerous other berries and vegetables, which I’ll share later. The acai is a kind of palm tree found in South America near the Amazon. According to the scientific analysis of the acai berry, its…
…complete polyphenolic profile boasts a formidable array of beneficial compounds, including polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids (11.1% and 60.2% respectively), along with 19 health-promoting amino acids.
Another description of the benefits of the acai berry from this article states:
Its potent antioxidant properties and highly beneficial polyphenolic profile endow acai with a singular ability to combat cellular aging and oxidative damage. The latest research reveals the potential for significant beneficial effects on longevity and incidence of chronic disease.
There are a couple things that excite me about the information in this article. One is a finding that antioxidants in the freeze-dried acai extract “…have been shown to enter human cells in a fully functional form and effectively neutralize free radicals at very low doses”. Bioavailability…extremely important! This freeze-dried extract is also “…extraordinarily effective against the most damaging Reactive Oxygen Species, the superoxide and peroxyl radicals”.
Even more exciting to me (and many others) is the growing research that shows acai berries may be a major battler against cancer. I’m aware these same findings are in the alternative treatment world in regards to raspberry extract (which I currently take).
What makes these berries (and others) even more powerful is that they contain anthocyanins, one of the classes of polyphenols (chemicals found in plants). These are the berries that have deep red, blue or purple colors. Anthocyanins have benefits that are extremely important to thriving longevity. Those benefits include:
- Inhibiting cancer cell growth and actually killing the cells
- Reduced risk of heart disease
- Improvement in eye function
- Limiting the damage done to DNA cells by free radicals
In Friday’s blog post, I’ll share which other berries were mentioned in the article and their individual benefits to your health. I’ll also share the ORAC values assigned to all of them. The acai berry is by far the most potent, highly ranked berry at 18,400 ORAC units per 3.5 ounces (or 100 grams). Currently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends 3-5,000 ORAC units per day.
Are you a fan of acai berries? I’m thinking I’m heading in that direction!
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Thanks for a great article on ORAC and Acai Berries…In fact, it was a “Berry Good” article!….We appreciate your research.
[...] recently in regards to a follow-up blog I had committed to write. After “reporting” on the acai berries, I was going to blog the next time about the other berries that were in the same article and their [...]