Acai and ORAC
(Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity)

If you want to understand why Acai berries are being regarded as the top superfood, you have to understand ORAC - Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity.

ORAC ... simply, is the way foods are measured to identify their antioxidant level.

 

What is ORAC?

The ability to control oxygen free radicals is shown by an ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) number.

According to the Free Radical Theory, oxygen free radical damage is a major contributor to the functional decline that is characteristic of the aging process.

ORAC numbers are assigned by measuring the antioxidant activity of the specific substance being tested. The higher the ORAC number, the higher the antioxidant strength.

Several foods have high ORAC scores and antioxidant activity. These include Montgomery tart cherries, prunes, raisins, kale, spinach, cocoa, pomegranates, black raspberries. But the berry from Brazil - the Acai - has the highest, along with several other properties which we will get to in another article.

 

Why High ORAC Values Could be Important ...

Research over the last decades are seeming to agree that foods with high ORAC scores could help to slow down certain age related conditions.

Studies are suggesting that antioxidant rich foods have the power to lessen slow down the oxidation processes that are linked to aging.

Further, more benefits are being discovered including a slowing down of memory loss, better learning ability, stronger brain cell activity, and the prevention of oxygen damage to the capillaries (blood vessels) and other parts of the body.

 

The ORAC Score in Daily Life ...

So the evidence of a diet high in ORAC scoring foods is definitely gaining momentum.

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.

That is all well and good, but the UK and USA's "5 fruit and vegetable a day programs" fall dismally behind those recommendations. It has been calculated that the average "5 a day" only delivers 1,750 ORAC units.

So to enjoy a healthy dose of essential antioxidants, a much higher intake of specific fruit and vegetables has to be incorporated in to everyone's diet.

Common popular fruit such as apples and bananas only have an ORAC score of 218 and 221 respectively. The blueberry, regarded as one of the healthiest berries easily available has an ORAC score of 2,400 per serving ...

If you lived near the Amazon rainforests though, you could enjoy fresh Acai berries with their impressive ORAC score of 5,500 per serving.

There is good news though. When fresh Acai are processed using a "freeze drying" process, 100 grams of freeze-dried Acai has an ORAC value of 35,000 (higher than any other kind of processed Acai).

In fact a recent scientific paper by Schauss and colleagues reported an extremely high total ORAC value of 1027 micromoles TE per gram for a freeze-dried fruit pulp and skin powder from the açaí berry. This is the highest ORAC value ever reported for a fruit or vegetable to this date, after converting values of fresh food weights to dry weights.

So clearly, freeze-dried Acai has to be the option for enjoying the maximum antioxidant benefits of any Acai based product.

Read more ... Açai & Nutrition ... Why everyone should enjoy Açai.