Acai Berry: A Relative Newcomer To The List Of Super Antioxidants
Even if you have never heard of specific super antioxidants, you have likely heard that antioxidants are good for you. But have you ever really been told why? Most people know they should get more antioxidants and they constantly hear companies bragging about their ORAC value. Most people have also heard that getting plenty of antioxidants from foods rated high on the list can help them live a life free of serious health problems like cancer. They may also have heard that acai berry is contending for spots atop the list, but may not even know what the ORAC chart is. Well, let’s straighten that out right now.
What are Antioxidants?
It can be hard to explain free radicals and antioxidants simply. Basically, free radicals are molecules missing an electron. They steal this electron from other molecules in order to return to normal. When the molecule they steal from is a healthy cell in our body, they can cause problems like cancer. The reason for this is simple. A free radical that steals an electron is no longer a free radical, but it certainly isn’t of any use to our body. However, the blood cell the electron came from has now become its own free radical, missing an electron. This causes a cascade effect where healthy cells start robbing one another and can end up causing mutated cell growth, also known as tumors. Antioxidants supply the free radicals with the electron they want, meaning they don’t have to rob it from one of our body’s healthy cells. Since free radicals are present in our atmosphere from pollution, antioxidants have become even more important to modern people.
What are the Best Antioxidants?
It can be very hard to rate antioxidant levels even with the help of the ORAC chart, because foods are all measured differently. For instance, you can measure ORAC values based on dry weight or based on serving size. That means they can vary drastically. A recent rating for the antioxidant level of freeze dried acai berry was over 102,000 on the ORAC chart, easily the highest rating for any berry tested at the time of the study, hence its classification as a super antioxidant. But depending on the manufacturing process, this level can vary a great deal. Only the highest quality acai berry supplements will offer you what you want from their product.
While acai berry is not the only antioxidant-rich food you can find, it is one of the best. And it is far more appetizing as a smoothie than some other super antioxidants such as cloves or turmeric. Because of its great appeal and extremely high levels of nutrition, the acai berry looks to be making quite a name for itself in the health food market. If you have not already given the acai berry a chance, you should consider this super antioxidant for your supplement needs.