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When it comes to antioxidant power, berries are a food that sits among the high scorers. Berries rank high on the ORAC  (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) chart, a measuring system that rates food according to their overall antioxidant capacity. So what are the antioxidants we find in berries like blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries?

Vitamin C

One of the most famous of antioxidants, vitamin C is abundant in berries, especially blackberries. Vitamin C is a water soluble antioxidant that protects water based cells in our bodies from the damaging effect of free radicals (also known as oxidation).

Vitamin C is particularly effective at protecting LDL cholesterol from oxidation. This helps protect us from cardiovascular disease. Oxidized cholesterol sticks to arteries walls and will build up to develop a plaque – this is a condition called arteriosclerosis, the number one contributer to heart disease. This too is a benefit of owning a carrot juicer as you can make highly concentrated vitamin juices.

Vitamin C in high doses can also help with the inflammatory pain of arthritis. Some researchers believe that some of the pain in joints is caused by free radicals attacking joints and vitamin C can quench some of those free radicals before they induce pain.

Rutin

Rutin is another antioxidant that has potent anti-inflammatory properties. Found abundantly in berries, rutin may help with inflammatory conditions like arthritis and asthma.

Gallic Acid

Gallic acid is a powerful anti-cancer antioxidant that adds to the health benefits of berries profile. Gallic acid has been found to be especially effective at killing prostate cancer cells.

Ellagic Acid

Another powerful anti-cancer antioxidant, ellagic acid is also an anti-bacterial and anti-viral agent. A study found that ellagic acid was a useful aid to cancer patients under chemotherapy. Ellagic acid helped to reduce the number of white blood cells killed during treatment. This helped keep the immune system of the cancer patients in better shape.

Ellagic acid has also been found to help protect us from and even reverse heart disease. Participants in a study experienced reduced blood pressure levels and a reversing of arterioscelerosis with daily supplementation of ellagic acids. No small feat!

Berry Juice Recipes

Daily berry juice recipes is a great way to take advantage of the antioxidants available in berries. 4 cups of berries will make about one berry juice. That’s a lot more berries than you could eat in one sitting. The following juice recipe will provide you with a variety of berries and their health benefits.

Berry Juice Recipe

1 cup of blueberries

1 cup of strawberries

1 cup of blackberries

1 cup of raspberries

Wash berries thoroughly and top strawberries before putting them in your juicing machine. If you don’t have a juicer I recommend a Jack Lalanne Juicer.

Related posts:

1. Acai Fruit Juice Popularity
2. Health Benefits of Juicing
3. Trying An Acai Berry Supplement