Archive for the ‘Nutrition Antioxidants’ Category

Acai boosts the immune system

Saturday, March 7th, 2009

The immune system is a protection mechanism in our bodies that ward off bacteria, viruses, toxins, parasites and microbes that cause infection and disease. Boosting your immune system is one of acai health benefits you can take advantage of, with rich amounts of antioxidants and plant sterols found in this tiny superfood.

The best way to enhance your immune system is to tweak your diet. Load up on fresh vegetables and fruits like the acai berry for a sufficient supply of vitamins, minerals, fiber and enzymes. Acai contains antioxidants that protect the cells of your immune system from damage by toxins in the environment.

Protein is another acai health benefit that can help strengthen your immune system. Protein deficiency can lead to elevated blood sugar levels and a stressed pancreas and immune system.

Sleep deprivation is another factor that can compromise your immune system. Always get at least six hours of sleep each night for balanced hormone levels, healthy weight, clear reasoning, and better mood.

Dehydration weakens the immune system and can disrupt your chemical, nutritional and pH balances, leading to sickness and premature aging. To calculate the amount of water you should take in daily, divide your body weight (pounds) by 2 and drink that amount in ounces. Never substitute coffee or alcohol for water as they can contribute to significant fluid loss. Coffee also strips your body of essential minerals such as calcium, magnesium and potassium.

Another food item to avoid is sugar – it raises insulin levels that can undermine the immune system. Elevated blood sugar in your body reduces its ability to fight infections. Lesser sugar intake leads to better energy levels, weight distribution, disease immunity, and cognitive thinking.

Acai health benefits are numerous. But not all acai products are made equal. Pick the ones that do not contain caffeine or sugar. Supplementing your diet with acai berries, drinking lots of water, and sleeping well can substantially improve your immune strength.

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Acai and Pregnancy

Sunday, February 22nd, 2009

Do acai and pregnancy go together?

Women trying to get pregnant might want to try acai berries to enhance their fertility. A diet rich in organic food like acai keeps the reproduction system healthy. And acai is great for maintaining healthy weight, a crucial factor in ovulation effectiveness.

Parasites and heavy metals are toxins that can cause fertility-limiting contamination. An excellent detoxifying agent, acai rids the body of toxins that can impede hormonal balance and overall fertility.

Nutritional supplements like freeze-dried acai helps the body absorb the maximum amount of nutrients. Vitamins and minerals in acai can strengthen reproductive glands and nourish the developing egg.

Free radicals can harm cells in the ovaries, follicle and egg. As you know by now, acai berries contain the most concentrated amounts of antioxidants than any other fruit on earth – antioxidants that can reverse the harmful effects of free radicals. Antioxidants are most potent when they contain extracts of superfoods like acai.

Acai berry supplements are also effective in boosting energy levels and sex drive, as well as keeping menstrual cycles and ovulation in order.

Is the acai berry safe for your newcomer?

Expecting women are naturally wary of what they eat or drink, whether it can benefit or harm the little one in their womb. The acai berry provides an enormous amount of health benefits, but because it is being marketed as a weight-loss supplement, many moms-to-be are cautious in taking acai-based products during pregnancy.

The acai berry is more than just a diet pill. Acai is all about pumping the body with nutrients, vitamins and antioxidants that are important to both mom and baby. With a great protein profile, acai berries can even help expecting women meet their body’s protein need, which increases by 30 percent during pregnancy.

For acai and pregnancy to work hand-in-hand, always read the label before buying any acai juice drink or supplement. As long as it does not contain caffeine and sugar, acai is perfectly safe for women who are pregnant or trying to conceive.

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Acai Berry Fruit Best at Reducing Inflammation

Tuesday, February 10th, 2009

Inflammation is probably the foremost contributing factor to premature aging and chronic diseases such as arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, allergies and cancer. Reducing inflammation can significantly improve quality of life as we age.

What is inflammation?
Most of us associate inflammation with swelling caused by injury. While inflammation from insect bites and ankle sprains are highly visible to the eye, swelling that occurs inside our bodies usually go unnoticed. Chronic inflammation can be caused by stress, smoking, high-fat diet, and environmental pollution.

Fortunately, Mother Nature has given us powerful anti-inflammatory remedies that effectively provide natural inflammation relief.

Brazilian Açai Fruit
Topping the list of anti-inflammatory supplements is Brazil’s acai berry fruit and its exceptional antioxidant content. Studies have shown that the Brazilian acai fruit contains specific polyphenols that can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, arthritis, obesity, and viral diseases by protecting cells from oxidative damage.

Broccoli, Grapes, Green Tea
Quercetin is a natural antioxidant found in red grapes, broccoli and green tea. Lab tests show that quercetin can severely alter intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), an important inflammation factor.

Fish Oil
Researchers from the UK discovered that taking 3.5 grams of fish oil daily for six weeks activated anti-inflammatory and lipid modulating mechanisms that can delay the early onset of coronary heart disease. Fish oil not only improves cardiovascular health, it fights inflammation and provides arthritic relief.

Flaxseed Oil
Flaxseed oil contains Omega-3 fatty acids that help decrease C-reactive protein, a common inflammation marker. Lignans that are also present in flaxseeds can protect postmenopausal women from breast cancer.

While supplements like the acai berry fruit can help suppress inflammation in your body, the most effective cure is always prevention. Sticking to a healthy diet, exercising regularly, and maintaining a stress-free lifestyle will prevent inflammation from occurring in the first place.

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What the ORAC score means

Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009

Antioxidants help eliminate oxygen free radicals from the human body. This ability is measured through a test tube analysis called ORAC, or Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity. The ORAC score is used to indicate the amount of antioxidants in one food source.

What are free radicals?
Free radicals are also called oxygen radicals. These are chemicals that form inside our bodies from natural processes such as digestion or physical activity. External forces such as pollution, solar radiation and rotten food also cause free radicals.

What do free radicals do?
Imagine rust forming on metal. As rust eats away the surface, the metal erodes and eventually becomes unusable. This is how free radicals attack our body – they weaken our cells, organs, tissue and other important parts, leading to diseases such as cancer, heart ailments, osteoarthritis and dementia.

The ORAC scale
Dr. Guohua Cao, a chemist-physician, is credited with the creation of the ORAC index. The ORAC test identifies and measures important antioxidants in a food source.

Foods with a high ORAC score can raise the antioxidant levels in the blood by up to 25 percent. Doctors recommend that we consume fruits and vegetables with a total ORAC score of 1,750 per day.

Because some plants contain more antioxidants than others, it is possible to achieve 1,300 ORAC units from seven kinds of vegetables or 6,000 ORAC points from just one type of fruit. Eight to ten servings of brightly colored fruits and dark green vegetables can give you an ORAC score of 5,000.

Acai tops the ORAC list
Blueberries, raspberries, grapes, broccoli, garlic, oregano and tomatoes rate high on the ORAC scale. But no single food source comes close to the ORAC score of the acai berry from Brazil.

A study done by researchers from the US Department of Agriculture, the University of Arkansas, Brunswick Laboratories, the National University of Singapore and the University of California confirmed that freeze-dried acai fruit pulp has the highest ORAC antioxidant values of any food.

Compared to blackberries (53), pomegranates (105), and blueberries (92), acai has an amazing ORAC score of 1,027 per gram. Some samples of freeze-dried acai turned out ORAC results of up to 50,000.

While these figures are impressive, they do not apply to all acai. Frozen, spray-dried and air-dried acai have lower ORAC values because many of the polyphenolics, enzymes and nutrients of the acai fruit are lost in the process.

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The 5 Best Antioxidant Foods

Monday, January 12th, 2009

In order to live a healthier lifestyle, one must eat a diet rich in high antioxidants.

Everywhere you go today, you hear that eating a diet rich in high-antioxidant foods is the best path to take in order to embrace a healthier lifestyle. By eating several portions of fruits and vegetables a day, your body will work at its peak, conditional level. Many people want to know which foods are the highest in antioxidants, and we’ve supplied you with a few suggestions of the five best antioxidant foods.

Berries are the king of antioxidants. Acai, blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries are all very high in antioxidants with acai berries being at the top. The richer in color the berry appears, the higher the level of antioxidants. Acai berries, as well as the others, contain Vitamins A, B, C, and E that help improve a person’s immune system.

Grapes are another good source of antioxidants. It is suggested to consume them fresh or in juice rather than in wine for obvious reasons. Look to eat a grape that is redder in color than white for they have higher nutritional levels than lighter shades of grapes.

Broccoli is among the highest-rated vegetable when it comes to nutrients and antioxidants. It is a cruciferous vegetable that has high levels of Vitamin C and calcium, even more so than oranges and milk. Many people are surprised to learn that broccoli contains many disease-fighting chemicals that have been known to lower the risk of many types of cancer. It’s best to eat broccoli raw or steamed to take full advantage of its nutritious properties.

Garlic is an odorous, multi-faceted antioxidant that people have been using to flavor their meals for years. Garlic contains selenium, iodine, calcium, zinc, Vitamins A, B, and C, and many more beneficial minerals and nutrients. It has been used throughout the centuries as an antibiotic, a catalyst for decreasing blood pressure and cholesterol, and even a preventative measure to cancer.  

Tomatoes have been labeled as the most ingenious anti-cancer food due to the lycopene that they contain. Lycopene has been known to be a more powerful disease fighter than beta carotene or Vitamin E. Tomatoes can be consumed in any form to reap the benefits of their nutritious value.

By incorporating these high-antioxidant foods into your diet, your health will soar to maximum capacity. Remember to eat fresh foods as often as possible and you will feel the benefits of making decisions that can improve your health.

 

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How Adding Antioxidants to Your Diet Can Improve Your Health

Friday, January 9th, 2009

There are many diet recommendations thrown at us daily, and it’s hard to figure out what to believe. However, one thing is proven: adding antioxidants to your diet can improve your health.

It is understandable how some may become confused with the many diet recommendations that are thrown at them daily. Some suggest lowering your intake of carbohydrates, and some say eat only protein, but what we know and believe is that the best way to improve your health through diet is to include more antioxidants.

Antioxidants are substances that protect or repair your body from free radicals that insist on aging you early and allowing certain ailments to affect you more. You can be exposed to free radicals if you smoke or are around others that smoke, if you’re exposed to pollution or smog, and even if you’ve been exposed to radiation through x-rays. By including more antioxidants in your diet, you allow your body that extra boost it needs when fighting off these free radicals, thus making you feel and look healthier.

Vitamins A, C and E, beta-carotene, and lycopene and are a few, of many, antioxidants that will aid your body in the fight against free radicals. You can find these antioxidants in foods like acai berries, blueberries, broccoli, tomatoes, and carrots. Many of these foods are very rich in antioxidants, with acai berries the number one superfood to date. Acai berries are found in the tree tops of the Amazon forests, and are best consumed in a liquid form. The concentration of the berry extract is much higher than if you ingested it in pill or powder form. They are not to be eaten picked fresh from a tree. They need to be processed before consuming and can cause health issues if eaten before processing.

A well-balanced diet is the best way to fill your body with all the natural antioxidants it needs. Consuming more fruits and vegetables is key to achieving this, and preparing them is just as essential. Raw or fresh fruits and veggies provide the highest levels of nutrients, and they don’t have to be distasteful to be good for you. Educating yourself is the best way to remain healthy, and eating better will have you feeling better.

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Don’t Believe the Hype About Vitamins and Antioxidants

Thursday, December 18th, 2008

Every once in a while, you’ll find a sudden buzz in the air surrounding a new substance or product that is supposed to promise you the world. When it comes to the quick fix, and especially when dealing with health issues, people tend to jump before they educate themselves and often end up spending enormous amounts of money on a product with pretty packaging, yet laden with false claims.

However, the question that still lingers in everyone’s minds is, are vitamins and antioxidants really a good solution to achieving optimal health?

Many studies have been done to try and solve the queries of the masses, and the results were not as near pleasant as some of the supplement ads tend to want you to believe. Many of the vitamin and antioxidant manufacturers suggest that a person can reduce their risk of heart disease. The truth is that there is no medical evidence, nor literature, to support these hopeful claims. There were a few cases in the study where there was a marked reduction in cardiovascular disease and other chronic illnesses, but these were from participants who ate a diet rich in foods that were high on the ORAC scale. In other words, antioxidants can be effective, but you’ll get better results from eating them fresh instead of in a capsule form.

To keep your body in tip-top shape, stick to a diet rich in foods that are high on the ORAC scale, such as the acai berry. Take multivitamins, exercise and stay active.

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Fight aging and disease with antioxidants from acai berries

Wednesday, December 17th, 2008

Free radicals are harmful molecules that arise from aerobic respiration, metabolism, and inflammation. They can also come from environmental factors such as pollution, sunlight, strenuous exercise, X-rays, smoking and alcohol.

As we age, cell parts damaged by free radicals accumulate. This is where antioxidants play an important role. Antioxidants attack free radicals and prevent premature aging and chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis.

There are two types of antioxidants: dietary and enzymes.

Dietary antioxidants can be found naturally in fruits and vegetables. Vitamin A, C, and E, lycopene, selenium, and flavonoids are some examples of dietary antioxidants.

Antioxidants are consumed every day and most people do not even realize it. Berries, carrots, pomegranates, garlic, and tomatoes are all great sources of antioxidants.

Acai berries are said to contain the highest antioxidant levels than any other food on the planet. These miraculous berries have properties that assist the body in improving its immune system, digestive system, and even helping those with insomnia. Many use it to aid inflammation and lower cholesterol, but it has not been approved by the FDA as a medicinal treatment for disease.

Increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables in your diet increases the amount of antioxidants in your body. The healthier you eat, the better you will look and feel. The high quantity of vitamin E in acai berries will make your skin glow, and nails and hair strong. You will feel your energy levels increase as well, and may start to notice some weight loss over time.

There are endless antioxidant health benefits from acai berries. But they can be hard to obtain because the acai fruit can only be picked in Brazil, and exporting them fresh is impossible with its high rancidity.

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