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Acai Berry Antioxidants- One Reason Why Acai Berry Is So Victorious And So Favorite
By EricHanson | October 17, 2009
Though the Acai Berry is becoming more well known as the most recent superfood, there are many things about it that people don’t know or understand. It has incredible capabilities as a diet 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?
Acai Berry First of all, understanding what antioxidants are in the chemical sense, might help most people understand why it’s so important. Antioxidants prevent or slow the process of oxidation of other molecules. Oxidation is a chemical reaction of electrons that damages cells by producing free radicals. Antioxidants stop these chain reactions and destroy free radical intermediates. Though oxidants are necessary for life, the fact that they’re damaging means that many plants and animals contain multitudes of different antioxidants to help slow, but not deplete the oxidants. Low levels of antioxidants can cause oxidative stress which plays a role in many human ailments such as strokes and neurodegenerative diseases. It is not, however, completely certain that oxidative stress is the cause of it and as research advances, the clear truth might be 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).
Acai Berry 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 keep foods fresh, but also let them respire. Oxidation still occurs, but it keeps the foods longer. Oxidants most commonly attack unsaturated fats, which turns them rancid. It usually causes discoloration and a sulfurous or metallic flavor. So oxidation in fat-rich foods should be avoided at all costs. This usually occurs in meats. However, because oxidation still occurs in fruits and vegetables, most are sprayed with sulfurous antioxidants and then air dried to help slow down 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 (a very strong antioxidant) of red wine. As this article has proven, antioxidants play a vital 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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