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What is ORAC?

(Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity)

Antioxidants are vital for the growth and development of health; they are typically found in high amount in foods and vegetables. When we say that this fruit or vegetable is rich in Antioxidants it indicates that there must be some way to measure the level of antioxidants in those fruits of vegetables. The method for the antioxidants measurement is ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity)
ORAC is the toll used for measuring the level of antioxidants in food, the higher the value of ORAC is the higher the chances of that food is to fight against diseases and destroy the free radicals.  Foods with high ORAC value are capable of protecting cells from damage caused by oxidation.  The ORAC method was developed by a physician chemist Dr. Guohua Cao at the University of Tuffs in Oklahoma.  ORAC value is also known as ORAC score. The ORAC value is measured in terms of the number oxygen radicals a food can absorb, the more a food can absorb oxygen radicals the more is ORAC value or ORAC score.

The high value ORAC foods come with many health benefits. The ORAC food can slows down the aging effects and makes you look fresh and younger. This is because of the power of ORAC food for the middle aged people to fight better against diseases. The most important role of ORAC foods is to fight against free radicals; free radicals damage and breakdowns the body cells. The high ORAC food prevents the body cells to be damaged by these free radicals. The ORAC foods also assist in lowering the risk of cancer and heart diseases. ORAC value foods can save you time and money to spend on doctors.

There are many foods which are rich in antioxidants and have a high ORAC value. The Acai berry fruit is claimed to be a fruit with high ORAC value. This ORAC food fights well against diseases, lowers the cholesterol level, boosts the energy level and improves the immune system. The consumption of some other foods with high ORAC value improves the antioxidants ability of human blood, prevents lost of memory, and protects vessels from being damaged. These high ORAC foods include blueberries, spinach and strawberries. ORAC foods promote good vision, maintain proper sugar level and maintain fresh skin.

Medical experts have spent a lot of time on how much units of ORAC value one should intake daily to build up the capacity of fight well against diseases. ORAC food experts recommend a daily intake of 3000-5000 per unit of ORAC value and less units overtime will affect the body power to resists against various diseases. You can simply pick seven fruit with high ORAC value and can consume around 6000 units per day. The high ORAC value foods can be recognized by their bright colors. Some of the top antioxidants with highest ORAC value per 100 grams are unprocessed cocoa powder with an ORAC value of 26000 and Acai berry with 18,500 ORAC value.

There many antioxidants product available in the market as supplements, drinks, capsules and pills many few of them are tested to provide the required amount of antioxidants and with less ORAC value. High ORAC value fruits and vegetables are the best source of antioxidants.

Tags: antioxidants, cancer, health, orac

Has anyone continued to drink acai juice or eating flax seed oil DURING chemo therapy?

I’m about to begin chemo. I am a generally health conscious person and although “alternative” therapies are ignored by doctors- I still want to drink 2 oz of acai juice daily to help keep my energy up. My doc is opposed to it. Said there aren’t enough studies and it could cause an adverse reaction to the chemo… ?? I won’t drink the wheat grass due to no control over what could be on the grass (unknown bacteria)- but, a bottle of acai juice from WHole Foods Market? Has anyone had NEGATIVE reactions during chemo while still drinking Acai or eating flax seed oil?

Oh…oh… What can I say that will help you understand the methods of chemotherapy? I love acai juice, and I am health conscience just like you. That is the best way to be! But not when you’re on chemo. Let me explain…one of the best ways, and yes, it’s not a great way, but the only way as of yet that physicians have learned to help treat cancer is chemotherapy. It’s basis is that the body is given a dose of medicine that destroys delicate DNA; DNA is most vulnerable during replication, hence, the target is rapidly dividing cells, and cancer cells are dividing out of control. This also means the chemo will destroy other rapidly dividing cells, like blood cells which they will monitor. You will hurt your body to help it. I know, it is not great. So, chemo is basically a dose of free radicals – free radicals are destroying the DNA. Antioxidants combat free radicals, that is why we should eat them…because in essence damaged DNA can cause cancer. Are you with me? The treatment for cancer with chemotherapy depends on your body NOT interfering with the free radicals. Acai juice is one of the strongest antioxidants, it will totally make the chemo less effective. If you drink it, it will decrease the chance the chemo will work to destroy the rapidly dividing cells, the cancer cells. I’ll tell you what, when you are done with chemo and your doc tells you THEN do as much as you can with helping your body heal. Then drink the Acai juice and whatever else healthy you want. And when you are free of cancer, indulge in it daily to help prevent any new DNA damage that could lead to cancer. I hope this made sense. And my best to you, I will send all of my thoughts and healing energy to you this moment. Dana

Tags: acai juice, cancer