I was doing research recently with one of our nutritional research partners, Nutrition Facts headed by Michael Greger MD., who is our on expert advisory panel. What I found blew my mind, actually just a few big preconceived ideas I had about the nutrient density of certain foods, like apples, pears and plumbs.
It seems our commitment to understanding what good science says, not blind ambition, opinion, personal preference, dogma (vegetarian or otherwise), really pays off, because open-mindedness enables us from getting too caught up with what we think we know.
I would have never believed that apples were more antioxidant-rich than berries. Albeit not by a staggering amount, but enough for me to ratchet apples up higher on the desired nutrient-rich foods list!
For those of you who don’t know, the antioxidant score of a food is ranked by the ORAC scale – which stands for Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity of a food. Basically, a measure of a foods ability to detoxify, and remove free radicals, promote slower aging, cancer prevention etc.
To give you some perspective:
The everyday foods we eat like peas, carrots, corn and lettuce have an ORAC score of around 400. All other foods that are NOT on the Top 12 Antioxidants-Rich Super foods list below rank between 400 and 4000.
Now, what are the Top 12 Antioxidants-Rich Superfoods in the world?
1) 1 TBSP of Cocao Powder ORAC 4017
2) 1/2 Cup of Blueberries ORAC 4848
3) 1 Pomegranate ORAC 4950
4) 1 Black Plum ORAC 5003
5) 1 Handful of Pecans ORAC 5086
6) 1 Pear ORAC 5235
7) 1/2 Cup Cranberries ORAC 5271
8) 1 Apple ORAC 5609
9) 1 TSP Cinnamon ORAC 6960
10) 1 Artichoke ORAC11,000
11) 1/2 Cup Goji Berries ORAC18,980
12) 1/2 Cup Acai Berries ORAC 74,780!
These are really insightful findings, not the least of which is the fact that there is an obvious reason why Acai berries have been so popular for weight loss. They are super nutrient-rich and when you eat nutrient dense foods you detoxify the body and promote the natural weight loss process, optimize your health and achieve more of the Success Results. Eating nutrient rich you can reduce your calorie intake amidst optimal nutrition and still be satisfied with great-tasting food!
You will learn a ton about this in The Nutrient Rich® Healthy Eating System where we will help you make the Switch to Rich and develop the mindset that gets you excited about the way you eat, and optimizing it for nutrient density!
Also, I guess we discovered you don’t have to search out exotic fruits and foods to get some that are really high on the scale of the most nutrient dense foods in the world!
What are your thoughts about these findings?