Acai berries? Blueberries may be nearly as effective

by Mark Goodman

1. Blueberries

You might already be aware of blueberries' high antioxidant
content, but surprisingly many people are not. Easy to find
at most any grocery store or market, blueberries are one of
the easiest and most effective ways to increase your
antioxidant intake naturally without pills. The ORAC rating
of one cup blueberries is very high at 9019.[1] If you can
afford to, eating one cup a day is an excellent way to
supplement your diet.

2. Blackberries

Along with blueberries, blackberries are probably one of
grandma's favorite pie ingredients. What grandma probably
never realized was that blackberries are an excellent source
of highly concentrated antioxidants. With an ORAC rating of
7701 per cup, blackberries are near the top of the list of
antioxidant-rich berries.[1]

3. Cherries

With an ORAC value listed at 4873[1] per cup, cherries are
high on the list of antioxidant-rich berries. As the
favorite berry of many, there is no mistaking their sweet
taste, but knowing how beneficial they are for your health
should provide even more incentive to grab a bunch next time
you're at the grocery.

4. Wolfberries

Wolfberries, also known as goji berries are relatively
unknown in North America, but the opposite is the case in
China. The Chinese have been eating wolfberries for
centuries. They have probably realized the health benefits
of wolfberries longer than North Americans have known how
good blueberries taste. While it's hard to track down an
ORAC rating for wolfberries which hasn't been skewed by
commercial interests, it's probably safe to assume the value
is somewhere near or slightly greater than that of
blueberries.

5. Acai berries

Made popular recently by Oprah and internet marketers
everywhere, acai is another berry which is high in
antioxidants. As with wolfberries, to ORAC value of acai
berries has not been confirmed by an independent study, it
would probably be safe to assume their antioxidant value
lies somewhere equal to or above that of blueberries. They
do taste good and the juice has a semi-sweet flavor which
even tastes like it's good for you. Considering how long
they have been cultivated an eaten in South America, they
must have some merit besides flavor.

6. Noni berries

You might be most familiar with noni in juice form. It's
common to see noni juice all over health food stores, but
the berries themselves are rather difficult to find. While
the noni berry is high in antioxidants, what you may not
know is that the ORAC rating for them is less than the
rating for oranges.[2] I've included noni in this list to
make people aware that the common blueberry most likely has
more antioxidants than the noni berry.

The ORAC rating of a fruit is not the only value you should
consider when determining its nutritional value. There are
many more factors to take into account such as
anti-inflammatory xanthone and flavonoid content. A wise
choice would be to alternate consumption of several
different fruits to receive the unique benefits of each.

Reference:

1. Nutrient Data Laboratory, Agriculture Research Service,
US Department of Agriculture, Oxygen radical absorbance
capacity (ORAC) of Selected Foods - 2007.

2. Nutrient composition of the blended Noni Juice, a PDF
file located on-line at
http://ec.europa.eu/food/fs/sc/scf/out151_en.pdf

Mark Goodman is a nutrition expert who has been following
the recent popularity explosion of (http://www.top5acai.com)
acai berries. Contact Mark if you need any more information
about (http://www.top5acai.com) acai.