The Acai Berry

With an increasingly stressful life, with all the results that may cause, people are increasingly looking for help and support.

We all know that eating healthily, regular exercise and a positive outlook to life are three of the most important ways to combat illness and help ensure a longer more enjoyable life.

But, we also know that it may not always be that easy.

Eating healthily is most probably one of the fastest ways to improve health, with it's effects being felt immediately. So making sure that you regularly enjoy what have been come to be called "Superfoods", is a major step forward.

 

What is a Superfood, why they may be important, and what are they ...

A superfood is one that has the highest concentration of natural antioxidants, along with vitamins, minerals and fibre. Antioxidants are vital for a healthy body, helping to combat disease and ageing.

Most superfoods come from the fruit or vegetables, with the blueberry till lately classed as the top superfood.

Other superfoods include 'Allium' vegetables, garlic, onions, and leeks'. This group of commonly used vegetables contain flavonoids that help the production of antioxidants in the liver. This helps to eliminate toxins and carcinogens in the body.

Other superfoods include: Barley; Beans; Lentils; Buckwheat; Green Foods; Hot Peppers; Nuts and Seeds; Sprouts; Yogurts.

Remember though, that enjoying a balanced diet is part of a healthy lifestyle. Eating healthily, regular exercise, developing a positive attitude through meditation or yoga combined will offer you the most long term benefits.

 

ORAC and Antioxidants ...

ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) scoring is the way antioxidants in foods are measured. The higher the ORAC score, the richer the food is in antioxidants.

Superfoods as we have discussed, have high antioxidant values, measured by an ORAC score.

Research seems to agree that foods with high ORAC scores (high antioxidants) could help to slow down certain age related conditions including a memory loss, better learning ability, stronger brain cell activity, and the prevention of damage to the blood vessels and other parts of the body.

In fact, the USDA (The United States Department of Agriculture) has a specific ORAC recommended daily intake of between 3,000 and 5,000 ORAC units.

So research is indicating that a healthy dose of essential antioxidants, should be the basis of everyone's diet.

Popular fruit such as apples and bananas have an ORAC score of 218 and 221 respectively. Blueberries, have an ORAC score of 2,400 per serving. Research in to Acai is showing that 100 grams of freeze-dried Acai has an ORAC value of 35,000 (the highest of any kind of processed Acai). This is the highest ORAC value ever reported for a fruit or vegetable to this date.

 

More on Antioxidants ...

Simply put, antioxidants help control the number of 'free radicals' within your body. Not all free radicals are harmful, a certain amount are always present in your body helping to break down toxins and fighting diseases.

Problems happen when your body has too many free radicals, which can lead to stresses on an otherwise healthy body.

Where do these extra free radicals come from ...

Your body gets these excess free radicals from sources such as ultra-violet rays from the sun, X-rays, and gamma rays from radioactive material. You can also pick them up from cigarette smoke, car exhausts and industrial fumes. So you can understand that they are extremely easy to pick up.

Research is suggesting that your body gets an average of 10,000 free radical hits a day. It's impossible to avoid most of them in your everyday life. What you can do though is make sure you get the maximum antioxidant boost a day.

More than antioxidants, get Anthocyanins ...

Anthocyanins are a specific type of powerful antioxidant, and what is great about them is that it's very easy to identify which foods have them. Studies are indicating that Anthocyanins have very specific benefits which may help against cancers, diabetes, bacterial infections, inflammations, the aging process, as well as neurological diseases.

Anthocyanins are flavonoid pigments responsible for the vibrant colours such as the reds, blues and purples of fruits and flowers. These bright colours help flowers and fruit to spread their seeds by attracting animals to eat them.

Foods containing a high level of anthocyanins include black currents, aubergines, red cabbage, oranges, blackberries, raspberries, cherries, red currents, and red grapes.

 

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