Home • Goji • DNA's synergized formula • Goji and anti-age • Science • Buy now • Distributors welcome   Science - Why Antioxidants? We’ve entered the antioxidant age. It’s impossible nowadays to speak of the health benefits of a food without mentioning its antioxidant potential. In fact, it’s become a household word being talked about everywhere, whether it be the scientific press or mass media. Let’s look at what antioxidants are and what their role is in disease prevention. We’ve heard it a million times; part of being healthy is to live a balanced life style, including proper nutrition, exercise, sufficient sleep and fluid intake. However, today’s lifestyle contributes greatly to stress, causing free radical damage to our cells. Our cells need the oxygen from the air we breathe, in order to produce energy. As a result, this process generates a substantial amount of “debris” or unstable atoms or molecules, called free radicals. Free radicals can be potentially dangerous to healthy cells, attacking the structure of the DNA in particular, resulting in accelerated aging and disease. “As we age, a cell can accumulate over 50,000 lesions due to free radicals and it is this alteration of your DNA that could contribute to the development of cancer and disease.” Fortunately, our bodies produce antioxidants which neutralize free radicals. Although, due to the excess demands we place on our bodies ex: poor diet, lack of sleep, smoke, alcohol, stress, etc…, we deplete our reserves and need to supplement. Luckily Mother Nature provides us with foods that contain these antioxidants. All fruits and vegetables are made up of molecules called phytochemical compounds or antioxidants. Accumulated research over the last few years suggests that …”it would appear to be more and more certain that the ability of fruits and vegetables to fight cancer is attributed to the content of their phytochemical composition.” There are several groups of phytochemicals found in nature and each of these is then further divided into classes and sub-classes. The largest of all groups is called polyphenols which contain several “sub-classes” of phytochemical compounds. It is this class of antioxidants that give berries their deep rich hues and these polyphenols are predominantly present in our goji blend. We also find a substantial amount of carotenoids (another class of antioxidants) abundant in the goji berry. “Berries in particular constitute a high source of polyphenols which have great anti-cancer potential: elagic acid, anthocyanidines and proanthocyanidines…Different antioxidants function differently in the body and it is clearly established that proanthocyanidines have the ability to prevent the development of ‘new’ blood vessels and could therefore maintain microtumors in a dormant stage, preventing them from progressing.” Research is showing that eating a balanced diet consisting of high antioxidant fruits and vegetables may help prevent disease and premature aging by mopping up free radicals before they can cause damage. Berries obviously represent a major source of phytochemicals that fight disease and therefore deserve their rightful place in a healthy lifestyle. Scientists at Tufts University have developed a scale called the orac (oxygen radical absorption capacity) test. This test measures the potency of antioxidants in foods. It has been suggested that humans should consume about 3000-5000 orac units a day for maximum benefits. Unfortunately, we don’t eat nearly enough fruits or vegetables nor the right variety to achieve this. As shown in the chart below we would need to ingest 2294 grams of apple (22 apples). Whereas, taking in just 20 grams of goji would be sufficient.   Fruits ORAC Score Grams Needed to Reach DRI Goji Berries 25,300 20 Black Raspberries 7,700 65 Prunes 5,770 87 Bilberry 4,460 112 Pomegranates 3,307 151 Raisins 2,830 177 Blueberries 2,400 208 Red Raspberries 2,400 208 Blackberries 2,036 246 Strawberries 1,540 325 Noni Fruit 1,506 332 Oranges 750 667 Red grapes 739 677 Pink grapefruit 495 1010 Apples 218 2294 Pears 134 3731 Vegetable ORAC Score Grams Needed to Reach DRI Garlic 1,939 258 Spinach 1,770 282 Steamed spinach 909 550 Yellow squash 1,150 435 Brussels sprouts 980 510 Alfalfa sprouts 930 538 Broccoli 880 568 Broccoli flowers 890 562 It is important to remember not only should we be eating high antioxidant foods, but also a variety that includes a full spectrum of antioxidants since different antioxidants have different effects. Not only has DNA Goji juice blend been formulated to include a “wide” array of the highest antioxidant fruits and berries but it contains one of the highest concentration of pure Goji Juice on the market. At DNA Fruitonix we never add sugar, colour or artificial flavouring to our juice, and it is gluten and allergen free as well. References Agricultural Research, November 1996, pp. 4-8. SEE ORAC CHART @ The Watsons approach to Optimal Health & Longevity: http://optimalhealth.cia.com.au/OracLevels.htm Ronald Prior, et al., Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts, Boston, Mass., in J. Agric. Food Chem. 1998;46: 2686­2693 & HortScience 1999 J Agric Food Chem 2001 Nov;49 (11):5165-70 How different foods can help the body fight Cancer Suzanne Dixon, MPH, MS, RD Les alimernts contre le cancer, Dr, Richard Béliveau ph.d. and Denis Gingras ph.d., edition du Trécarré.