How Acai Berry Antioxidants Help Neutralize the Free Radicals

Human body is constructed with atoms and such atoms have an entire contingent of electrons that have been classed by scientists as inert. However, the atoms that do not contain the full compliment with electrons often tend to become unstable. In result these atoms start behaving in an aggressive manner searching for the missing electron. Such aggressive atoms in zoological terms are known as the free radicals. To learn how acai berry antioxidants help, it is necessary learning about free radicals first.

Free Radicals

Basic natures of the free radicals are as follows.

  • Throughout their life cycle they tend to return to inert state.
  • For achievement of this objective, they require extra electron to which they would latch on.
  • Such latching can only be possible by swiping some electrons from other electrons.
  • Once they find those extra electrons, they will create further free radicals.

Creation of Free Radicals

Going through any stressful events can create free radicals in the body and stresses that are more than endurable are always upsetting in nature. It affects all the natural events related to our life cycles like eating, moving around, or even breathing. Anything that is associated with living can create free radicals when stressed. Free radicals upset the immunizing balances in the body and when they get higher in number, people suffer from various health problems.

Common Forms

Some of the common forms of free radicals are oxygen free radicals. Features of these radicals are –

  • Oxygen free radicals are the oxygen atoms missing an electron;
  • Overabundance of the oxygen free radicals can result in oxidative stresses in the physique; and
  • Its working pattern is similar to rust eating out metals.

How Antioxidants Help

Antioxidants can help neutralize free radicals and their affects on the body in multiple ways. That is why adding antioxidant element to anatomic system is essential. The ways these antioxidants work are as follows.

  • Antioxidants add electrons to free radicals and thus the free radicals are able to get back to inert state.
  • Thus antioxidants neutralize the erratic behavior of the free radicals and help the body from their harmful effects performing the rescuing act.

Antioxidant Measurement

But how much antioxidant does the body require for getting back the free radicals to inert state? It has to be calculated using some effective tools. Methods of measuring the antioxidants introduce or in any food, pills, or supplements are as follows.

  • Normally the antioxidants or such antioxidant properties of any of the elements are measured using the ORAC scale.
  • ORAC is the abbreviation for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity.
  • Low ORAC scores are bad for the body while high ORAC scores are good.
  • According to the USDA recommendations, daily intake in the range of 3.600-5,000 ORAC units is good for health.
  • Many of the popular diet and antioxidant programs like the “5 fruits and vegetables a day” offers only 1,700 ORAC units per day for the user which is not adequate.
  • Most of the people take less than 1,000 ORAC units per day and it is one of the reasons for the radical related illness growing continuously.

Richest ORAC Sources

Among all types of foods, the fruits and vegetables are the richest sources of ORAC. But where does acai berry comes in? One would be surprised to know that acai berry tops the table of ORAC holders with a massive 5,500 ORAC per 100 grams of acai berry. The following table clarifies the position of acai berry holding ORAC or antioxidants corresponding to other fruits.

Name of the Fruit
ORAC Contents (in Units) per 100 Grams of Fruits
Acai Berry
5,500
Apple
218
Bananas
221
Blue Berries
2,400
Freeze Dried Acai Antioxidants
50,000

It is not surprising that acai berry is considered to be one of the best anti-oxidants around by both users as well as scientists.

Antioxidant Elements in Acai Berry

You should have a look at the French food habits to learn the other benefits of the acai berry. French people consume high amounts of coffee, processed carbohydrates, cheese, and red wine. In result they should have been one of the easiest preys for the cardiovascular diseases. On the contrary, the instances of such diseases are lowest in the country. The reason as found out by the scientists is that red wine is rich in anthocyannins that is highly antioxidant in characteristics. At the same time research has revealed that acai berry has substantial amount of anthocyannins in it and therefore the antioxidant characteristics of acai berry cannot be undermined.

With such antioxidant elements it is quite natural that acai berry ranks at the very top of the preference lists of the supplement manufacturers, especially for weight loss and anti-oxidation neutralizing the free radicals created in the anatomy of any person.