A client recently asked me what ORAC meant, because she had read it in several health articles discussing antioxidants in fruits and vegetables. Here’s my answer. ORAC or the oxygen radical absorbance capacity measures the free radical destroying potential of a particular food.

Based on a 100 gram (about 3 ounces) portion, here’s the ranking of the top 10 fruits, the top 10 vegetables, and two surprise foods:

FRUITS

Goji berries 25,300
Black raspberries 7,700
Prunes 5,770
Bilberries 4,460
Pomegranates 3,307
Raisins 2,830
Blueberries 2,400
Red raspberries 2,400
Blackberries 2,026
Strawberries 1,540
Vegetables ORAC Score

VEGETABLES

Garlic 1,939
Spinach 1,770
Yellow squash 1,150
Brussels sprouts 980
Alfalfa sprouts 930
Steamed spinach 909
Broccoli 880
Beets 840
Avocado 782
Red bell pepper 710

OTHER

Dark chocolate 13,120
Milk chocolate 6,740

Yes, I can hear the chocolate lovers of the world cheering! Chocolate does have some redeeming nutritional properties. And, you may ask what in the world are goji berries?

These pinkish-red berries native to Tibet and China are high in iron, protein, fiber, vitamin C, vitamin E, and many other nutrients. They can be eaten fresh or dried, used in cooking, cereal, trail mixes, and smoothies. You can find them at many health food stores.

While these values are useful, they are not complete. Here’s the larger picture. The ORAC scores actually measure only one type of antioxidant activity — the reactive oxygen species or ROS that functions in the water-based compartments of the body. Along with many other water-soluble antioxidants, there are fat-soluble antioxidants as well. For example, the carotenoid family of antioxidants includes beta-carotene, lycopene, luctein, canthaxanthin, and zeaxanthin, but these fat-soluble substances are not measured in the ORAC test. In addition, the ORAC measurements are done in a test tube which is very different from the complex, constantly changing biochemistry of a living body. Even though ORAC has shortcomings, it is still a useful tool. Some experts have suggested that people should consume about 5,000 ORAC units a day for maximum health benefits.

Based on what you eat every day, what is your ORAC score?

Did you make a New Year’s resolution to lose weight? The usual recommendations are to
reduce calories and increase exercise. Yes, those work, and there are at least 10 other pieces to the puzzle of weight loss.

Here are just three:

1. Surveys show that 25% of people skip breakfast, perhaps because they are not hungry or
   because they want to reduce their daily calorie intake. However research connects long
   term success with weight loss to eating breakfast. Breakfast revs up your calorie burning
   machinery. Consuming a breakfast with both protein and high-fiber whole grain foods
   stabilizes energy, and improves focus and concentration through the morning. And your
   body prefers an “eat as you go through the day”. Eating more in the morning also decreases late night eating which, in turn improves early morning appetite.
2. The levels of hormone-disrupting environmental toxins in the food chain has increased.
   These chemicals, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), accumulate in human fat
   tissue and disrupt normal endocrine activity in the body. These hormone disruptors can
   fatten us in many ways, especially interfering with the activity of estrogens, androgens,
   and other hormones that regulate fat metabolism in the body. Now’s a great time to begin
   a detoxification program that will help move these hormone-disruptors out of your body.
   Until you do, it’s hard to be thinner.
3. Many of us eat emotionally. It’s often described as the “sad-glad-mad” syndrome of eating. And eating in response to emotions sets people up to eat much more or much less than the body requires for health. Occasional or mild forms of this type of eating can happen to many of us, if you do it frequently it’s worth really looking at. Think before you eat. Ask yourself these questions: Am I hungry? If not, what am I feeling or what’s going on? Keep checking in with yourself. I call this the “think system” —hey, it worked in Music Man!
   You can also find lots of books on this topic and stories from people with eating disorders
   at: “The Gurze 2008 Eating Disorders Resource Catalogue” which is available from www.bulimia.com.

A friend once asked me: “If you were stranded on an island and could only have three foods and all foods were equally nutritious, which three foods would you choose?” I wasn’t sure about the other two, but my favorite food is definitely watermelon.

Watermelon is a great cooling food on a hot summer’s day. It’s easy to prepare—just cut it! And nearly everyone likes it. But that’s only the beginning. It’s fat-free, unprocessed, natural, and low in calories. Watermelon is loaded with nutrients and health benefits. Just one cup of watermelon has 25% of our daily vitamin C needs, 10% of vitamin A and B6, 7% of B1, and about 5% of magnesium and potassium. It’s also loaded with the anti-oxidant lycopene. Lycopene has been shown to protect against cancers including: prostate, breast, colon, endometrial, and lung. It’s also been shown to reduce inflammation in asthma, and arthritis. Studies also show that eating at least three servings of fruit each day can protect against macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in adults. Watermelon is a delicious summer-time way to fulfill that.

My favorite way to prepare watermelon is to just cut it in edible sized pieces and leave the rind on it. If you want to be fancy, make a watermelon basket.

Making a Watermelon Basket

1. Wipe off the watermelon with a damp cloth. (Sometimes they still have dirt on them.)
2. Cut a sliver off the bottom so it will sit better.
3. Take a marker or pencil and draw a line a bit above half-way around the watermelon.
4. Also mark a place for a handle and make it about 1-1/2 to 2 inches wide.
5. Then take a sharp knife and carefully cut along the outside of the “handle” in a zig-zag
   shape if you want to be fancy, and straight if you don’t care about being fancy.
6. Once you’ve cut out the handle, continue cutting on each side of it to finish making the
   basket. (zig-zag or straight)
7. Take a melon-baller or a sharp knife and hollow out the watermelon. Put the pieces in a
   bowl while you are doing this.
8. Then either put the watermelon pieces back into the basket or mix with other summer
   fruit—like other melons, berries, peaches, plums, nectarines, grapes, and more.
9. Eat and Enjoy the summer day.

All natural foods reduce cancer risk

It’s well known that the cabbage family foods are protective against breast cancer,
prostate cancer, and colon cancer, but here’s one more study that confirms what our
mom’s told us: EAT YOUR VEGETABLES!

A new study in rats reports that sulforaphane, helps keep the blood-brain barrier intact
from brain damage. When the brain is injured it “leaks”, just like our gut. This leakiness
allows unwanted substances to enter the brain, causing inflammation and damage. At
least in rats, eating broccoli prevented this leakiness and the subsequent damage.
Other studies suggest that eating these foods twice daily can reduce risks of some cancers
by 50%. While this may be true, virtually all natural foods also reduce cancer risk. So
rather than only eating cabbage family foods, eat a wide variety of fruits, vegetables,
nuts, seed, whole grains, legumes, herbs and spices.

Cruciferous vegetables include broccoli and broccoli sprouts, Brussels sprouts,
horseradish, mustard greens, kale, seakale, turnip, radish, daikon radish, kohl rabi, collard
greens, bok choy, caulifl ower, cabbage, napa cabbage, Chinese cabbage, horseradish,
kohlrabi, rutabaga, watercress, and Japanese wasabi

The take away

Eat coleslaw or cabbage in soup, or broccoli, or broccoli sprouts with mustard on a
sandwich, or wasabi with that sushi, or brussel sprouts, or collard greens, or steam some
baby bok choy or some sort of cabbage family food at least a few times every week.
Cabbage or broccoli soup are delicious this time of year.

“Soft drinks are chemical soups, not foods”

I’ve always said that soft drinks are chemical soups, not foods. Researchers are beginning to agree. Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine, in a study funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, concluded that one daily soft drink — with calories or not — is associated with a 48% increased risk of metabolic syndrome, a key predecessor of heart disease and diabetes. Sodas have been linked previously with increased obesity and high blood pressure.

“Metabolic syndrome – a cluster of symptoms”

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of symptoms including excessive abdominal fat, high blood-glucose levels, high blood pressure, high blood triglycerides and low levels of highdensity lipoprotein (good cholesterol). People with three or more of these symptoms have double the normal risk of heart disease and diabetes.

It may not be any one ingredient that causes this, but rather that people who drink soda eat less nutrient dense foods and may have an overall lifestyle that is less health oriented, according to the lead researcher, Dr. Ramachandran S. Vasan of the Boston University School of Medicine. People who drank sodas were also more likely to eat foods higher in calories, higher in saturated and trans fats, and to be more sedentary than people who didn’t drink sodas. But even when these lifestyle habits were factored out, people who drank sodas still fared worse.

Those who drank at least one soda a day had a 44% higher risk of developing metabolic syndrome during the four years of the study.

Those who drank at least one soda per day also had:

• A 31% greater risk of becoming obese;
• A 30% higher risk of having a larger waist line;
• A 25% higher risk of developing high blood triglycerides or high blood sugar;
• A 32% greater risk of having low levels of good cholesterol;
• A trend toward an increased risk of high blood pressure.

The Take Away:

I usually drink water.

• If you love the taste of something carbonated, why not have some club soda with an ounce or two of 100% juice to give it some flavor.
• Or just squeeze a lemon or lime into some club soda.
• Or try some herbal iced tea sweetened with a bit of juice.
• Make some homemade lemonade with fresh lemons, water, and some honey. If you want it to sparkle, use club soda or mineral water.
• Remember that some brands of bottled mineral waters also can supply 10% of your minerals in a glass—water can be a great source of minerals.

You may have never even considered the fact that your Birth control pills, allergy medicine, or over the counter antacids could be depleting your nutrients, but they could be. Here’s the scoop on just a few drugs and their nutritional effects.

Birth control pills deplete vitamin B2 (ribofl avin), vitamin B12 (cobalamin), folic acid, vitamin C, and zinc. Estrogen supplementation can lower serum magnesium levels. Acid blockers (Protein Pump Inhibitors and H2 blockers)  are commonly used either in prescription or over the counter medications by people who have heartburn and indigestion. The acid in our stomach is important for absorption of minerals, digestion of protein, and protection from food poisoning. Studies show that acid blockers increase risk of defi ciencies of : vitamin B12, folic acid, iron, and zinc. Animal studies also show lowered calcium levels and altered the way we use vitamin D.

Statin drugs are used commonly to lower cholesterol. It’s been known since 1985 that statin medications can deplete CoEnzyme Q10 levels. Research suggests that some of the muscle aches and weakness and liver toxicity of these medications is caused by CoQ10 depletion. If you are taking a statin medication, take 60-200 mg of CoQ10 daily to insure that you have adequate amounts. (Higher dosages would be for people who have heart disease.)

Resveratrol first came to public attention when the researchers noted that people in France have less heart disease but eat so much fatty food, and called it the French Paradox. Could it be the red wine? And what in the wine: Resveratrol!

Resveratrol is a powerful, antioxidant phenol that is found in grapes. The highest concentrations are found in red wine, but purple grape juice, the skin of young unripe red grapes, and grape seeds also have significant amounts. It’s also found in small amounts in peanuts.

Resveratrol has been shown to have anti-aging effects and to boost athletic performance (in mice, rats and primates). It also is anti-oxidant, anti-cancer, and helps promote weight loss, is anti-infl ammatory, has cholesterol lowering abilities, and increases insulin sensitivity. Studies also show that Resveratrol may also lower the risk of colon cancer and slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

Current research shows that resveratrol’s powerful protective effects come from its ability by activating a group of genes called sirtuins (also called silent information regulator proteins, specifically SIRT-1 and SIRT-2. ) Sirutins protect our DNA, extend life span, protect our cells from radiation, and speed up cellular repair.

It’s not known what the optimal amount of resveratrol is, but based on animal research, most of us would benefit from between 5 mg daily for prevention, and 40 to 150 mg daily therapeutically. Although many more studies on people need to be done, there doesn’t seem to be any negative effects from taking these amounts daily. Based on the French Paradox studies, drinking one glass of red wine daily can be protective. A glass supplies about 1 mg of resveratrol.

This may be a supplement you’d like to try, you may look for it in a multivitamin, or you may want to drink your one glass of wine daily, or drink more purple grape juice, or eat the seeds you find in your grapes.

The Pearl: Resveratrol is just one more reason to put more colorful food into your daily diet.

Research from the Journal of the American Medical Association reports that after removing all menopausal women from a study who might have had osteoporosis, 7% had osteoporosis and 42% had osteopenia. Are Fosimax and some of the other drugs the answer? I think not.

Research on vitamin D demonstrates that optimizing vitamin D is as effective as commercial medications. Regular exercise, which is not optional for any of us, also helps keep bones strong and healthy.  An Israeli study echoes that giving just 500 mg of magnesium daily increased bone density.  Further, trace nutrients that we find in fresh whole foods, vitamin K, vitamin C, potassium, copper, manganese, zinc, silicon, boron, and fluorine all play a role in bone building. Stress causes bone loss by changing our internal pH; as we become more acidic, our body takes minerals out of our bone-bank-account to alkalize our cells and blood.

The Pearls:

• Get your vitamin 25-OHD (vitamin D) level checked by your doctor. Optimal levels are 45 or 50 and above. If less, take 2000 to 4000 IU of vitamin D daily, or even more with your doctor’s approval.

• Move your body- weight bearing exercise shows the greatest return, but any movement helps build your bones and keeps you happy too.

• Take a bone building supplement. Make sure that it has calcium, magnesium, vitamin D, manganese, vitamin C and other bone building nutrients. My favorite is Perque Bone Guard.

• Eat lots of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, and organic meats and poultry. These will provide the trace nutrients that will keep your bones healthy and happy.

• Get some pH paper and check your first morning pH. Optimal is 6.5-7.5. If your pH is consistently lower, focus on eating more alkaline balancing foods like fruits, vegetables, lentils, yams, vegetable juices, greens and more.

• And finally, what’s good for your bones is also great for you!