Discover Supplements » Anti-oxidants

Turn to superfood juices to give your health a boost

yuming — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 11:51:14 +0000

If you’re one to dislike pill popping, drinking superfood juices that are power-packed with anti-oxidants and vitamins could be a delicious alternative in supplementing your diet, while keeping you hydrated this summer.

Many brands of fruit juices on supermarket shelves tend to be laden with sugar, so you may get your vitamins but at a cost — lots of unwanted calories. We recommend heading over to a specialized health food store for unsweetened juice.

But despite the hype around superfood juices, they tend be a little too tart for your regular Joe. A personal favorite habit of mine is to mix a splash of unsweetened cloudy apple juice or ruby grapefruit juice to take away the edge.

Goji berry
This Himalayan wonder that is part of everyday Chinese cuisine is known to prevent the growth of cancer cells, reduce blood glucose, and lower cholesterol levels. The flavor is a tangy mix of sweet and sour, which could be drunk on its own if you like its unusual fragrance.

Mangosteen
A refreshing sweet fruit to many people in Southeast Asian, the real goodness lies in the rind of this queer-looking purple fruit. The key to its benefits are xanthones which are chemical compounds found in plant food — and the mangosteen has 40 out of 200 known xanathones. These compounds contain anti-oxidants that help maintain intestinal health, strengthen the immune system and neutralize free radicals.

Pomegranate
The red ruby seed of the pomegranate hold strong antioxidant power — particularly ellagitannin compounds like punicalagins and punicalins that make up about half of the fruit’s antioxidant ability. The health benefits include healing dry skin, unclogging arteries, reducing high blood pressure, anti-tumor effects and supporting weight-loss.

Acai berry
The juice of the acai berry has 10 times more anti-oxidants than red wine. It is full of heart-friendly omega fatty acids (oleic acid, a monounsaturated omega-9 acid, and linoleic acid, a polyunsaturated omega-6 acid), free radical fighting antioxidants, and essential amino acids. Acai also increases the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins like vitamins A, E, D, and K, while lowering bad cholesterol levels.

Bilberry
Bilberry is a relative of the cranberry, blueberry, and huckleberry. Its fruit looks and tastes similar to the American blueberry so its juice is fairly mild in flavor. Bilberry fruit contains high concentrations of tannins and powerful flavonoid, anthocyanidin, that prevents and improves conditions such as atherosclerosis, cataracts, diabetes, diarrhea, macular degeneration, night blindness, and retinopathy.

Women who drink tea may have healthier arteries

yuming — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 05:56:49 +0000

We just get more good news about anti-oxidant rich beverage, tea. A recent French study has shown that drinking tea could help to reduce the risk of heart disease.

Published in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, the research discovered that tea drinking women had lower levels of plaque in their arteries, which means they have a reduced risk of suffering from heart disease and stroke.

Artery plaque consists of fat, calcium, cholesterol and other substances found in blood. When plaque builds up in the arteries, it is called atherosclerosis.

The study found that plaque was present in 45 per cent of the women who didn’t drink tea, 42.5 per cent of women drinking 1-2 cups of tea daily and in only 33.7 per cent of those drinking three or more cups a day.

The research involved 2,613 men and 3,984 women, with an average age of 73. Scientists stressed that the conclusion of this study was independent of other dietary and lifestyle habits, medical and personal history.

Blueberry extracts could reduce food intake and obesity

yuming — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 08:10:27 +0000

A joint research team from New Zealand and the US has found that rats fed blueberry extracts gained less weight than the rats that were not. The blueberry nibbling group decreased their food consumption by eight per cent, which also showed they felt full at that level of food intake.

What’s exciting if these findings could be translated to humans — could blueberry extracts find a significant role in weight-loss products? With half of Europeans and 60 per cent of Americans categorized as overweight, the diet industry is certainly paying attention to the potential of the blueberry.

The other conclusion of the study made was that the rats’ antioxidant levels in their blood measured higher than the control group.

Two varieties of the fruit were used — Maru and Centurion. It was found that the Maru type decreased food intake by 8.6 per cent, while the Centurion type produced a 6.2 per cent reduction. Therefore, the effect of the Maru strain had a more significant impact.

By eating less, the rats’ weight gain was also affected — the Maru variety showed a 9.2 per cent reduction in weight gain, as compared to the control group, while the Centurion type effected a 5.3 per cent decrease in weight gain.

Researchers still need to find out the precise mechanism for this satiation effect. They are speculating it has to do with the amino acids in the upper intestine.