More ORAC is better.

Busted!

If ever a bandwagon was overloaded, the use of ORAC to rank berries or market berry products and superfruit juices is stacked deep in misunderstanding, stretched truths and exaggeration.

ORAC -- the oxygen radical absorbance capacity -- has meaning only in a test tube yet it has become synonymous with berry rankings tabulated before at the Berry Doctor's Journal

1. açaí
2. seabuckthorn
3. wolfberry (goji)
4. black chokeberry (aronia)
5. etc.

The ORAC scores apply only to laboratory test tube conditions and were developed and are intended for use by scientists only to quantify the antioxidant potential of such berries used as foods or ingredients.

Armed with such rankings, however, unscientific, unscrupulous marketers proclaim that açaí is better for you than seabuckthorn which is better than goji which is better than....

Manufacturers go even further down the confused road of misunderstanding and misinformation by putting juices of multiple high-ORAC fruits all together in one product, then claiming it's a superior health beverage.

Why? Let's ask what's in it that serves health. It's as if they're saying, "The more, the better".

Or "Our product has more ORAC than yours, so ours is better".

As human science stands today, ORAC is meaningless.

Until proved to exist in a living animal, any evidence of

antioxidant activity in a test tube can also not be

applied to humans.

Getting sufficient intake of antioxidants

may be as easy as selecting a few colorful foods

or common juices like orange

A few reasons why ORAC has no meaning in the human body

1. the high acid properties of the human stomach (pH 1-2, very acidic) alter the chemistry of the consumed antioxidants in berries, other food or beverages. What goes in is not what the body gets
2. our bodies want and need antioxidant vitamins A, C and E, but do not want and actively metabolize or eliminate polyphenols like anthocyanins and flavonoids -- the most valued ingredients of superfruit juices
3. evidence from recent science shows that absorption of ingested polyphenols reaches saturation rapidly, indicating that ability to store these chemicals as antioxidants is small and limited
4. other than for vitamins, a physiological response or benefit of antioxidant compounds from food or juice has never been shown by expert-validated science

More ORAC is not better because

1. it is an artificial benchmark applying only to conditions in a test tube
2. the ORAC test is fraught with many mysteries and weaknesses as a measurement
3. there is no scientific evidence that ingesting more ORAC-enriched foods or juices means better antioxidant protection in the body
4. there is good evidence that our bodies see antioxidant polyphenols as "foreign" and unwanted in high quantities, so actively metabolize and excrete them
5. the more anthocyanins consumed, the more that are eliminated
6. there is as much theory for pro-oxidant effects of high antioxidant intake as there is for antioxidant effects
7. antioxidant-rich juices may interfere with the therapeutic actions of prescribed drugs
8. if manufacturers and marketers want to state something about ORAC on a product label, they are obligated to demonstrate to the FDA that the antioxidants actually have biological activity in the human body and can be defined by a Reference Daily Intake value (no such science exists)
9. it is easy to fulfill dietary antioxidant intake by selecting common, inexpensive whole foods needed for daily meals -- just follow the simple Color Code. Due to their varied colors, berries (fresh, frozen, dried, canned) are a good guide for keeping selection simple.

Summarizing ... the potential values of antioxidants in the human body are

1. we naturally make our own antioxidants, like glutathione, alpha-lipoic acid and melatonin which, combined with dietary antioxidant vitamins A-C-E, are probably enough to supply antioxidant protection and should not be exceeded in overall content to minimize possibilities for pro-oxidant effects
2. antioxidants may be best in small, precise quantities that have fine-tuning roles in cell physiology
3. there is no scientific evidence supporting the view that more ORAC is better for human health . Moderate intake by simply involving common colorful foods in meals, juices and snacks is inexpensive and effective

How do I get colorful antioxidant foods into my diet?

It's easier, less expensive and tastier than you may think...

Just use 3-5 different colors a day in your meals!

Orange-yellow Plant Foods Mean Vitamin A Content: oranges, mangoes, carrots, squash, yellow potatoes or yams (sweet potatoes)

Red or Green Plant Foods Mean Vitamin C Content: red - strawberries, red raspberries, red delicious apples, red bell peppers, tomatoes; green - spinach, broccoli, kiwifruit

Seeds, Nuts or Plant Oils Mean Vitamin E Content: blackberries (chew the seeds), unsalted peanuts with skins, flaxseeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, olive oil

Reading

• Nutraceuticals: Fact and fiction
• Anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins and catechins are the least well-absorbed of dietary polyphenols