Free radicals cause disease? And antioxidants, measured with oxygen radical absorption capacity get rid of free radicals.

This might seem hard to believe but we as humans, don’t actually age, we don’t get sick and we don’t get diseases — our cells do.

Using a food’s oxygen radical absorption capacity we clean free radicals

Our body’s health is dependent on our cell’s health. So to slow down aging, limit sickness and prevent disease we must protect and properly feed our cells. If you were to put buttermilk in your car’s gas tank — it would get a “disease” and stop working.

What are cells made of?

Cells are made up of many atoms. When these atoms are healthy the cells replicate (make an exact copy) and keep the body young, well and disease free. What makes an atom healthy is that it has “paired” electrons

How do cells age, get sick and get diseases?

Atoms missing an electron are not just “bad” — they actually destroy surrounding atoms by stealing their electrons. An atom missing an electron is called a free radical. Free radicals alter or destroy cells. Cells that die such as cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis and many others.

Where do Free Radicals come from?

The Solution is Antioxidants

Antioxidants have “extra” electrons that they can give to free radicals, which eliminates their harmful effects. Antioxidants are your body’s defense against destructive free radicals. Therefore they are your defense against aging, sickness and disease.

Here an antioxidant gives an extra electron to the free radical. This atom is now neutralized. The chain reaction of free radicals stops here. According to studies and the Health Awareness Foundation, this reduces your risk of most sickness and disease.

Where do Antioxidants Come From?

Antioxidants are found in fruits and vegetables. They are also found in other types of foods such as cocoa, nuts, oils, beans, etc. Research studies suggest that organic foods have higher concentrations of antioxidants than processed foods grown with pesticides.

High amounts of antioxidants are also found in cold pressed non-alkalized dark chocolate. Most adults do not eat the right foods to properly feed their cells and need to supplement their antioxidant intake. Look for a combination of antioxidants, such as catechins and epicatechins, flavonols or flavonoids. The way the USDA measures food’s ability to absorb free radicals is commonly done with an ORAC or ORACfn test. This Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity is a good way to compare different foods and supplements. Be sure the results of the test are on the actual product and is regularly certified by a third part laboratory.

We use ORAC to measure how many free radicals we can clean up.

How do we measure antioxidants or ORAC?

The USDA measures antioxidants on a scale called The ORAC Scale (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity, not Orgasmic Reactions Around Chocolate). Each fruit and vegetable is measured and assigned a point value based on its ability to neutralize free radicals.

The USDA website recommends a Daily Allowance Intake Range of at LEAST 3,000-5,000 ORAC.

The optimal daily recommended ORAC intake is 12,000 ORAC points. The Average American gets only 800 ORAC points per day.

What kind of  antioxidants or ORAC do we need daily?

Some of the antioxidants in cocoa, called flavonoids, are catechin, epicatechin, procyanides, and proanthocyanidins. Chocolate on a per-weight basis has the highest concentration of these flavonoids of any food. Cocoa is loaded with a variety of phytonutrients, making it very high in antioxidants. The following chart has the ORAC values of some top antioxidant foods. It seems the higher the antioxidants, the better we usually consider a food.

Always look for cold-pressed non-alkalized dark chocolate for the highest in antioxidants and ORAC.