Acai Berries and the French Paradox
Let's get real.
We want to eat bread.
We want to eat cheese.
We want to eat butter, smoked ham, salami and potatoes...
and not just drizzle oil, but pour it on our salads.
Don't we? I know I do...
and YUMMY! Beats boiled chicken and brown rice any day of the week! Ok, let me be serious for a moment.
I am not suggesting you go all out and blow a healthy balanced diet for some of what I call "treats" that I listed above.
However, bear with my madness here for just a moment...
Have you ever heard of the French Paradox? The French are renowned "good" eaters.
They adore their cheese, butter, bread, pastries, smoked meats and sauces.
Yet, they seem to not be plagued like the majority of Western cultures where we have such high rates of heart disease and other heart related illnesses.
It's in this strange phenomena that the paradox exists.
However, recently, researchers have confirmed the answer.
Anthocyanins.
To us, and in relation to the French Paradox, that means, Red Wine.
So here's some seriously good news.
The Acai Berry has 30 times more Anthocyanins than Red Wine! "But what are Anthocyanins?" I hear you ask.
In many ways, you can view Anthocyanins as nature's sunscreen.
Most dark-skinned fruits contain high levels of this compound to protect it from UV rays.
They are flavoid pigments in fruits, flowers and vegetables which allow them to synthesize.
Further, the vibrant colour attracts animals to the fruits to be eaten and disperse their seeds.
The pigmentation and how it bodes in the blazing sun is the key here however.
Where all this is relevant with the Acai Berry is that the high levels of Anothcyanins can manage the free radicals the fruit is exposed to because of it's extraordinarily high Antioxidant properties.
These properties remain intact even after they are harvested and consumed by animals and humans, which is why this fruit is so powerful.
To give you some idea of how powerful these properties are, here are some facts and figures for you to mull over: ORAC: Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity - a list that is compiled by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) Per 100 grams: Apples = 218 Bananas = 221 Blueberries = 2400 Acai Berry = 5500 The USDA recommends we eat a variety of 5 fruits and vegetables per day and approximately 4000 - 5000 units of Antioxidants.
Even so, they estimate we will still consume less than 2000 units, as the ORAC scores of most fruit and vegetables that we ordinarily buy, don't stack up on the Antioxidant units recommended.
Majoritively, it is also estimated that most people barely consume 1000 units per day.
However, if we turn to Acai Berries, then these guidelines are easily managed...
Need I say more?
We want to eat bread.
We want to eat cheese.
We want to eat butter, smoked ham, salami and potatoes...
and not just drizzle oil, but pour it on our salads.
Don't we? I know I do...
and YUMMY! Beats boiled chicken and brown rice any day of the week! Ok, let me be serious for a moment.
I am not suggesting you go all out and blow a healthy balanced diet for some of what I call "treats" that I listed above.
However, bear with my madness here for just a moment...
Have you ever heard of the French Paradox? The French are renowned "good" eaters.
They adore their cheese, butter, bread, pastries, smoked meats and sauces.
Yet, they seem to not be plagued like the majority of Western cultures where we have such high rates of heart disease and other heart related illnesses.
It's in this strange phenomena that the paradox exists.
However, recently, researchers have confirmed the answer.
Anthocyanins.
To us, and in relation to the French Paradox, that means, Red Wine.
So here's some seriously good news.
The Acai Berry has 30 times more Anthocyanins than Red Wine! "But what are Anthocyanins?" I hear you ask.
In many ways, you can view Anthocyanins as nature's sunscreen.
Most dark-skinned fruits contain high levels of this compound to protect it from UV rays.
They are flavoid pigments in fruits, flowers and vegetables which allow them to synthesize.
Further, the vibrant colour attracts animals to the fruits to be eaten and disperse their seeds.
The pigmentation and how it bodes in the blazing sun is the key here however.
Where all this is relevant with the Acai Berry is that the high levels of Anothcyanins can manage the free radicals the fruit is exposed to because of it's extraordinarily high Antioxidant properties.
These properties remain intact even after they are harvested and consumed by animals and humans, which is why this fruit is so powerful.
To give you some idea of how powerful these properties are, here are some facts and figures for you to mull over: ORAC: Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity - a list that is compiled by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) Per 100 grams: Apples = 218 Bananas = 221 Blueberries = 2400 Acai Berry = 5500 The USDA recommends we eat a variety of 5 fruits and vegetables per day and approximately 4000 - 5000 units of Antioxidants.
Even so, they estimate we will still consume less than 2000 units, as the ORAC scores of most fruit and vegetables that we ordinarily buy, don't stack up on the Antioxidant units recommended.
Majoritively, it is also estimated that most people barely consume 1000 units per day.
However, if we turn to Acai Berries, then these guidelines are easily managed...
Need I say more?
Source...