Acai Berry Juice - Antioxidants
Though the acai berry is becoming more popular as the most recent superfood, there is still a lot about the berry that is still not understood. It has wonderful capabilities as a food supplement as well as a nutritious and good tasting juice. One of the most prominent benefits of the acai berry is it’s very high level of antioxidants. But what exactly are antioxidants?
First of all, understanding what antioxidants do chemically, could help people understand their importance. Antioxidants are useful for preventing or slowing the oxidation process of other molecules. Oxidation is a chemical reaction of electrons that damages cells by producing free radicals. Antioxidants stop these chain reactions and destroy the free radical intermediates. Though oxidants are a part of life, the fact they’re damaging means that many animals and plants have many different antioxidants to help slow down but not destroy the oxidants. Low levels of antioxidants can cause oxidative stress which plays a role in many human diseases such as strokes and neuro-degeneratove illnesses. It is not completely certain that oxidative stress is the cause of it and as studies continue, the truth may become definite in the future.
Though antioxidants are crucial, there isn’t a straightforward process for measuring it in fruits and vegetables. There are many other groups of compounds with different reactions to other reactive oxygen species. In current science, researchers use the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) system to measure antioxidant strength. Some of the compounds that are measured include Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Polyphenolic antioxidants, and Carotenoids (lycopene, carotenes).
In the case of foods, especially the acai berry, antioxidants are also used as a food additive. It helps preserve and guard against food deterioration. Many people are aware that sealing certain fruits and vegetables and keeping them in the dark or coating them in wax, such as with cucumbers, is a good way to keep them fresh. However, oxygen is necessary for food respiration. Certain preservatives are then used to help foods stay fresh, but also to let them respire. Oxidation still occurs, but food stays fresh longer. Oxidants assault unsaturated fats, which cause them to become rancid. It usually causes discoloration and a sulfurous or metallic flavor. So oxidation in fat-rich foods should be eliminated as much as possible. This usually occurs in meats. However, because oxidation still occurs in fruits and vegetables, most are sprayed with sulfurous antioxidants and then dried with air to help delay the process of decay.
Being as antioxidants are very important for slowing down the effects of anything from aging to maintaining major systems of the body, people are becoming more interested in different foods that contain higher levels of it. Acai is no exception and in fact, contains 10-30 times the amount of anthocyanins (which is a very powerful antiocidant) than are contained in red wine. As we have shown, antioxidants play an important role in the human body. Research continues on the acai berry, more information is being revealed about it’s many benefits and it may one day be able to be a vital asset to cancer patients.
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March 3rd, 2010 at 9:57 pm
[...] berry and why has it become a huge name in the diet industry? The Acai berry has been labeled as an antioxidant. It is full of omega fats, electrolytes, protein, antioxidants, amino acids and vitamins A, E and [...]
March 9th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
[...] and why has it become a huge name in the diet industry? The Acai berry has been described as an antioxidant. It’s rich in omega fats, protein, electrolytes, amino acids, antioxidants, and vitamins A, E and [...]
March 10th, 2010 at 4:52 pm
[...] and why has it become a huge name in the diet industry? The Acai berry has been described as an antioxidant. It is rich in vitamins A, E and B1, omega fats, protein, electrolytes, amino acids and [...]
March 11th, 2010 at 3:35 am
[...] industry? The Acai berry has been labeled as an antioxidant. It is rich in vitamins A, E and B1, omega fats, protein, [...]
March 11th, 2010 at 1:51 pm
[...] and why has it become a huge name in the diet industry? The Acai berry has been described as an antioxidant. It is rich in vitamins A, E and B1, omega fats, protein, electrolytes, amino acids and [...]
March 11th, 2010 at 3:09 pm
Isn’t it interesting how we keep hearing about different fruit juices that are rich in healthful antioxidants? First it was cranberry juice that was touted for help with urinary infections. Then they said blueberries had even more antioxidants. Then they started blending blueberry juice with pomegranate juice. And now acai berry juice. I wonder what they will discover next.
.-= Diane@Lemonade Cleanse´s last blog ..Lemonade Diet Cleanse Tips =-.
March 18th, 2010 at 2:37 am
[...] berry and why has it become a huge name in the diet industry? The Acai berry has been labeled as an antioxidant. It is rich in vitamins A, E and B1, omega fats, protein, electrolytes, amino acids and [...]
March 20th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
[...] and why has it become a huge name in the diet industry? The Acai berry has been described as an antioxidant. It is full of omega fats, electrolytes, protein, antioxidants, amino acids and vitamins A, E and [...]
March 21st, 2010 at 2:51 pm
[...] berry and why has it become a huge name in the diet industry? The Acai berry has been labeled as an antioxidant. It is full of omega fats, electrolytes, protein, antioxidants, amino acids and vitamins A, E and [...]
March 24th, 2010 at 2:14 am
[...] berry and why has it become a huge name in the diet industry? The Acai berry has been labeled as an antioxidant. It’s rich in omega fats, protein, electrolytes, amino acids, antioxidants, and vitamins A, E and [...]
March 24th, 2010 at 6:41 pm
[...] and why has it become a huge name in the diet industry? The Acai berry has been described as an antioxidant. It is rich in vitamins A, E and B1, omega fats, protein, electrolytes, amino acids and [...]
April 13th, 2010 at 1:56 pm
Thanks for sharing an informative post! Acai berry juice is indeed becoming popular nowadays. It has the essential vitamins and minerals to keep a sound mind and body. It’s an antioxidant too so it’s very healthy to the body.
April 23rd, 2010 at 4:43 pm
Thanks for sharing an informative post! Acai berry juice is indeed becoming popular nowadays. It has the essential vitamins and minerals to keep a sound mind and body. It’s an antioxidant too so it’s very healthy to the body.
May 11th, 2010 at 4:49 pm
I initially stumbled on this article as I was researching for cancer facts for an article I’m writing. I did not know, truthfully, that there were so many health concerns out there that people are struggling with! Thank you for the good quality information.
May 17th, 2010 at 6:39 pm
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May 26th, 2010 at 3:05 pm
My skin is better, my hair has stopped falling out, I’m sleeping better and I’m not craving sugar and not having the highs and lows like I used to. I’m not bloating and its helped with fluid retention. As a multi-vitamin, its fantastic even before you add the weight reduction. The weight is coming off slowly but is now actually coming off! My friend bought a similar product at the same time with a lot less miligrams of acai berry and noticed no change. She then tried some of mine – what a difference. Be very careful of lower doses – they don’t work. Poor food choices over the years depletes vitamin levels and we run on empty, it’s reminded me that I’m doing the best for myself with these. Great product. Thanks again.
May 27th, 2010 at 4:39 pm
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