Other Myths
Summary of what you'll find below
in the 2nd Myth Buster
- açaí has the reputation as the highest antioxidant plant food. If other fruits and vegetables have not been measured for ORAC in exactly the same way, is this a fair statement?
- among ORAC values for berries, only açaí was prepared using freeze-drying methods (necessary due to its tendency to rot rapidly after harvest)
- comparative ORAC scores for other berries and fruits were not derived from freeze-drying, but from ice-frozen, dried or powdered samples
- differences in sample preparation account for large ORAC differences
- although certainly high, the ORAC for açaí should not be compared to other fruits analyzed by different ORAC preparations
- the question of which fruit actually is the highest antioxidant source has not really been answered, yet marketers of açaí products proclaim it is the undisputed leader
Introduction to Myth Busters
Myths about health benefits and the healing value of berries
or any plant food or juice product come from two sources
Myths gain life in the public when they're used to
market products, usually by persuasive personal
testimonials of how a product provided benefit to
an individual or small group of people with similar experiences.
Unscientific and nearly impossible to replicate in valid research,
testimonials are wide open to exaggeration and misleading
information motivated to sell a product.
Myths give pizazz for selling.
Science, by contrast,
seeks objective information
demonstrated under controlled conditions
of the laboratory or clinic,
then confirmed by expert skeptical peers.
This is how science works best -- subject a myth,
subject any unconfirmed concept ---
to a trial by fire ...
the fire of scientific doubt, replication, challenge, scrutiny.
Any concept surviving can be said to
have achieved "significant scientific agreement",
a future topic to be covered more
thoroughly at the Berry Doctor's Journal.
And this is also what most consumers want --
the plain truth.
So we're going to begin Year 3 of the Berry Doctor's Journal
by covering controversial topics in a series of
myth-busting essays, exposing misinformation
about berries and superfruit juice products.
We're going to keep manufacturers and
marketers honest,
and set the record straight.
Spoon up the truth about berries.
Let's be skeptical and bust the myths.
there are 2 açaí berries on the spoon -- can you find them?
[follow the Wikipedia links]
Myth
Açaí ORAC is x times higher than some other berry.
Therefore, açaí is x times better as an ingredient in consumer products.
Busted!
Did we convince you in Myth No. 1 that ORAC has no meaning in human biology?
ORAC -- the oxygen radical absorbance capacity -- has meaning only in a test tube yet it has become synonymous with ranking of berries and consumer products.
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 other berries with lower ORAC scores.
It's as if they're saying, "The more açaí in a product, the better".
Or "Our product has more açaí and higher ORAC than yours, so ours is better".
açaí berries
(Euterpe oleracea Mart.)
Critical points:
1. ORAC applies only to a test tube -- not to humans -- and the reasons why açaí is of interest at all as an antioxidant source minimize as soon as the açaí product enters the severe acid environment of the human stomach, then are mostly excreted from the body within hours, click!
2. açaí's reputation as the "highest antioxidant" plant food known is a deception -- the result of inconsistencies in fruit processing, ORAC measurement, judgment and comparisons
This information about the unsurpassable açaí ORAC value has been used to exaggerate marketing of açaí juice and food products.
Could this exaggeration be unlawful?
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) would say so, quoting:
"The FTC's truth-in-advertising law can be boiled down to two common-sense propositions: 1) advertising must be truthful and not misleading; and 2) before disseminating an ad, advertisers must have adequate substantiation for all objective product claims.
A deceptive ad is one that contains a misrepresentation or omission that is likely to mislead consumers acting reasonably under the circumstances to their detriment."
Let's explain.
From Myth Buster No. 1
Açaí's ORAC has no meaning in the human body
Inconsistencies in berry processing for ORAC measurements have created açaí's reputation
Açaí's exceptional ORAC score is the result of using a specially frozen and vacuum-dried powder -- freeze-dried açaí. No other ORAC scores for berries came from freeze-dried material that would be comparable to how açaí was prepared.
Freeze-drying is a process usually too expensive for research purposes. Açaí requires special freezing methods rapidly after harvest because the equatorial climate where it grows and its high fat content hasten rancidity.
This special drying preparation accounts for the huge disparities between açaí's high ORAC score and the next berry or fruit in line, whatever it may be.
For example, if densely phenolic fruit like black chokeberries (Aronia melanocarpa) or black raspberries (Rubus occidentalis) were freeze-dried immediately after harvest, their ORAC scores would certainly be higher.
But they had been prepared either fresh, dried, individually-frozen then stored for long periods of time before the ORAC test was done -- all reducing ORAC.
By Olympics analogy for the 100 m sprint,
it's like açaí
was allowed to use a sprinter's
light-weight track shoes,
but competitors had to wear
steel-lined work boots!
When prepared like other berries and competitive fruits for ORAC, açaí has quite an ordinary ORAC.
Spray-dried açaí powder (heat-exposed juice) or ice-frozen fresh açaí has an ORAC score less than 5% (below ORAC of 5000 units per 100 g) of the açaí score from freeze-drying, > 102,000 which has been stated to be "over ten times higher than the highest ORAC scores for any food..."
The large differences are an artifact resulting from inconsistent scientific methods applied to the different berries and fruits compared to the ORAC for açaí.
This major error in method and reasoning to derive and interpret ORAC is pervasive throughout the entire food and beverage industry using açaí.
Public understanding of açaí's place
in ORAC rankings compared to other fruits
has been misled by this discrepancy.
The busted myth?
Açaí's high ORAC value applies only to
freeze-dried fruit --which captures the true
antioxidant state of the fruit.
No other fruit compared against açaí's ORAC
has been prepared for ORAC analysis
by this expensive method.
ORAC comparisons are not valid.
Açaí palms, Brazil
Reading
(click the image to launch Amazon.com
where copies can be purchased)
For a discussion relevant to today's myth buster,
see pages 85-91 of the book below.
