Patagonia, home of the Maqui Berry
The maqui berry has a deep purple hue and grows in the remote Patagonia, the southernmost part of South America. The region falls within the borders of Chile and Argentina, and is home to the Mapuche Indian’s, a group of people that consume the maqui berry as part of their daily diet. Fresh juice from the maqui berry is recorded as having an ORAC score of >50,000 μmole TE/100g, or in a concentrated form more than than 90,000 μmole TE/100g. Goji berry, acai berry and pomegranate have not come close to these levels.
What is ORAC?
ORAC stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity and is a way of measuring the antioxidant values of foods. The higher the ORAC score, the better ability the food has of defending against free radicals. As chemical reactions occur in the body, atoms with one unpaired electron are often left behind (free racical). In large numbers, these free radicals can cause oxidation which is harmful to the health of the human body and has been attributed to increasing the rate of aging. Antioxidants have the ability to neutralize those free radicals, which are cause by a number of things, such as lack of sleep, strees, tobacco, poor diet and pollution.
What are antioxidants?
Antioxidants have one extra oxygen molecule and can balance out the free radical before it does any harm by donating it’s extra oxygen molecule. While our body produces natural antioxidants to battle against oxidative stresses, inflammation and the cell damage that can result, over time aging and environmental effects end up creating more free radicals than our body can naturally contend with. This is why foods high in antioxidants can help prevent the effects of aging, and in some studies have actually stunted the growth of cancerous cells. While more research needs to be done, antioxidants seem to be a key factor in maintain good health throughout human life.