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ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity)
ORAC, short for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity, is a test tube analysis that measures the total antioxidant power of foods and other chemical substances.
The latest research shows that Montmorency tart cherries have high ORAC (oxygen radical absorption capacity) values. These high ORAC values reflect the many natural compounds in tart cherries that have antioxidant properties.
This graph compares the most popular nutritional drinks and their corresponding ORAC Values
Immunotec’s Tart Cherry Concentrate provides more Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity per fluid ounce than competing juices.
Immunotec’s
Tart Cherry ConcentrateTM: 5,000
Eniva VIBETM: 2,600
YL Berry YoungTM Juice: 1,000
XangoTM Juice: 530
GojiTM Juice: 380
EB Tahitian NoniTM: 165
Sea SilverTM: 90
* Melatonin, a powerful antioxidant that attacks free radicals and may help prevent or reduce brain deterioration associated with aging, also is present in significant quantities in tart cherries.
* The researchers believe the combination of antioxidants in tart cherries may be the secret of the natural pain relief of tart cherries. Other fruits and vegetables do not have the pain relief of tart cherries.
* Tart cherries are also loaded with nutrients, including high amounts of vitamin A and beta carotene.
Melatonin in tart cherries
Dr. Russel Reiter with the University of Texas who has been studying melatonin for more than 30 years was surprised to find melatonin in tart cherries. “Tart cherries, specifically the Montmorency variety, contain an extremely significant quantity of melatonin, enough to produce positive results in the body,” says Dr. Reiter.
* Montmorency tart cherries, which account for the majority of tart cherries produced in the United States, contain up to 13.5 nanograms (ng) of melatonin per gram of cherries, more than is normally found in the blood.
* Melatonin is a potent antioxidant, much more so than vitamins C, E and A. That’s because melatonin is soluble both in fat and water and can therefore enter some cells that vitamins cannot. Dr. Reiter says eating cherries with high melatonin concentrations will increase the antioxidant capacity in the body.
Tart cherries high in ORAC value Brunswick Laboratories, Wareham, MA, recently conducted extensive nutraceutical evaluations on Montmorency tart cherry products. Dr. Boxin Ou, principal research scientist at Brunswick Laboratories and one of the leading scientists in the U.S. on phytochemicals in plant foods, discovered that not only do tart cherries have high ORAC values, but they also contain compounds called SOD (super oxide dismutase).
* Tart cherry products range from 1,700 to 12,800 ORAC units per 100 grams. The ORAC test accurately quantifies the antioxidant capacities of foods by taking into account the fact that most natural products are a complex mix of phyto-chemicals of which many are antioxidants. Other fruits that have been tested range from 700 to 5,700 ORAC units per 100 grams. Nutritionists suggest that people consume 3,000 to 5,000 ORAC units per day to have an impact on health.
* For the first time, Brunswick Labs discovered that tart cherries contain a class of compounds called SOD (super oxide dismutase), which act as super scavengers of dangerous free radicals, destroying them throughout the body. This is a significant discovery because very few natural foods contain SOD and the human body is often lacking SOD. Antioxidants and so much more Researchers at Michigan State University (MSU) in East Lansing, Michigan, were the first to identify the presence of numerous natural compounds in tart cherries with antioxidant properties. Dr. Muraleedharan Nair is the lead researcher on many of the projects at MSU.
Scientific tests show that tart cherry juice concentrate has 12,800 ORAC units per 100 grams of concentrate. This is a very high value, significantly higher than other fruits, including prunes, blueberries and strawberries. The ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) tests, which were conducted by Brunswick Laboratories in Wareham, Massachusetts, quantifies how many antioxidants are in a food and how powerful they are. Brunswick Labs is a leader in ORAC testing and has set the standard for other testing companies.
Dried cherries have 6,800 ORAC units per 100 grams; frozen tart cherries, 2,033 units and canned tart cherries, 1,700 units. Other fruits that have been tested range from 700 to 5,700 ORAC units per 100 grams. Nutritionists suggest that people consume 3,000 to 5,000 ORAC units per day to have an impact on health.
Tart cherries have 19 times as much vitamin A and beta carotene as strawberries and blueberries. They also are high in fiber and potassium and contain iron, magnesium, vitamins C, B6, E and folic acid; they have virtually no fat and no sodium. “This variety of nutrients in tart cherries translates into good nutrition,” says Rainville. A complete nutritional analysis of tart cherries was recently done on frozen, canned and dried tart cherries as well as tart cherry juice concentrate. How it works....
Science is beginning to find out why cherries work to improve quality of life. Dietary antioxidants are believed to play a role in reducing the risk of various human degenerative diseases caused by free radicals in our bodies.
If you want to live a disease free life, or minimize your exposure to disease, it is important for you to understand how free radicals damage our body and how antioxidants repair our body.
Free radicals are toxins, from the environment or by-products of digestion or drugs, believed to cause or worsen many diseases. They are not called 'radicals' for nothing. They steal electrons from our cells (building blocks of our body), creating weak unhealthy cells in the process.
When your cells are weak, you eventually become weak and/or sick. The way to keep free radicals from damaging your cells is to zap them with antioxidants. Free radicals want electrons, so they steal it (rip it) from your healthy cells...Folks this is how "disease" occurs...you get weak and eventually sick.
If you take antioxidants, the antioxidants provide the electrons that these free radicals (molecular thieves) need so they can leave the electrons from your healthy cells alone.
Cherries contain an abundance of 17 antioxidants including anthocyanins and melatonin (an efficient antioxidant). The consumption of any tart cherry products is followed by the uptake of the antioxidants into the body where they ward off tissue destruction (referred to scientifically as oxidative stress) that could cause aging and disease.
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