Xocai Chocolate with Acai Berries - High in AntiOxidants
Diabetes is a disease of Oxidative stress
Anthocyanins
Anthocyanins have some of the strongest medicinal effects of any plant compounds. Physiologically, they are powerful antioxidants used as viable therapies that support eye and heart health. Some anthocyanins have been shown to be four times as powerful as vitamin E. The berry nectars including grapes (vitis vinifera var), bilberries, and blueberries (vaccinium myrtillus), elderberries (sambucus cerulean), cranberries (vaccinium macrocarpon) and prunes (prunus domestica) are some of the richest sources of anthocyanins. Anthocyanins are most stable in low, acid Ph's. However, these berries have a powerful alkalinizing effect from their minerals and polyphenols. The ultimate test of a nutrient's effect of body pH is the pH of its ash, and when the nectars of these anthocyanin-rich foods are heated to ash, the pH is quite alkaline. Red cabbage, egg plant and apples (malva pumila) are some common foods that contain anthocyanins. An easy way to identify them in your refrigerator is to notice which fruits and vegetables do not spoil quickly. Bilberry nectar is a rich source of anthocyanins. It is also a rich botanical source of iron, magnesium, potassium and copper. It was used as early as the Middle Ages to induce menstruation and as recently as World War II to improve pilots' night vision.
One study showed that anthocyanins have the strongest antioxidant power in the polyphenol family. The study found that the darker a berry's color, the greater its antioxidant power. The amount of anthocyanins varied for different varieties of the same berry and increased in those grown in low or high latitudes. Anthocyanins also have anti-inflammatory properties. They support healthy brain function, the peripheral nervous system, the skin and collagen. Anthocyanins also provide nutritional support for diabetics. They are hypoglycemic agents which lower blood sugar levels and protect both large blood vessels and capillaries from oxidative damage. They prevent oxidative damage in the capillaries of the eye and extremities, the two most common complications of diabetes.
Diabetes is a disease of oxidative stress. The reason diabetics are sensitive to sugar in their food supply is because they cannot balance their sugar metabolism. Sugar is an oxidant and diabetics have too much of it circulating in their blood. Therefore, sugar is a source of oxidative stress. Diabetics deal poorly with blood sugar-induced oxidative stress and are taught to avoid ingesting it. The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory qualities of anthocyanins have been proven useful in the fight against high blood sugar. Micro-blood vessel damage from high blood sugar levels causes most of the complications in diabetes. Collagen proteins become linked with sugars, resulting in scarring and blood vessel blockage. Anthocyanins protect fragile tissues from this type of vascular damage. Blood vessel damage can allow large blood-borne molecules to migrate out of the bloodstream and between the cells of surrounding tissues, causing edema and chronic inflammation of the soft tissues of the body. This situation is often painful to diabetics. OPCs promote normal capillary and lymphatic reuptake of metabolic and other blood-borne matter. Retinopathy occurs when the retina scars in its attempt to repair leaking capillaries by plugging the leaks with abnormal proteins. Anthocyanins not only prevent capillaries from leaking in the first place, but they also help clean up the mess when they do.
Other Illnesses Associated With Oxidative Stress
GI Tract: Diabetes, pancreatitis, liver damage, and leaky gut syndrome
Brain and Nervous System: Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, hypertension and multiple sclerosis
Heart & Blood Vessels: Atherosclerosis, coronary thrombosis.
Lungs: Asthma, emphysema, chronic pulmonary disease.
Eyes: Cataracts, retinopathy, macular degeneration.
Joints: Rheumatoid arthritis
Kidneys: Glomerulonephritis
Skin: "Age spots," vitiligo, wrinkles.
Body in General: Accelerated aging, cancer, autoimmune diseases, inflammatory states, AIDS and lupus.
Anthocyanins have some of the strongest medicinal effects of any plant compounds. Physiologically, they are powerful antioxidants used as viable therapies that support eye and heart health. Some anthocyanins have been shown to be four times as powerful as vitamin E. The berry nectars including grapes (vitis vinifera var), bilberries, and blueberries (vaccinium myrtillus), elderberries (sambucus cerulean), cranberries (vaccinium macrocarpon) and prunes (prunus domestica) are some of the richest sources of anthocyanins. Anthocyanins are most stable in low, acid Ph's. However, these berries have a powerful alkalinizing effect from their minerals and polyphenols. The ultimate test of a nutrient's effect of body pH is the pH of its ash, and when the nectars of these anthocyanin-rich foods are heated to ash, the pH is quite alkaline. Red cabbage, egg plant and apples (malva pumila) are some common foods that contain anthocyanins. An easy way to identify them in your refrigerator is to notice which fruits and vegetables do not spoil quickly. Bilberry nectar is a rich source of anthocyanins. It is also a rich botanical source of iron, magnesium, potassium and copper. It was used as early as the Middle Ages to induce menstruation and as recently as World War II to improve pilots' night vision.
One study showed that anthocyanins have the strongest antioxidant power in the polyphenol family. The study found that the darker a berry's color, the greater its antioxidant power. The amount of anthocyanins varied for different varieties of the same berry and increased in those grown in low or high latitudes. Anthocyanins also have anti-inflammatory properties. They support healthy brain function, the peripheral nervous system, the skin and collagen. Anthocyanins also provide nutritional support for diabetics. They are hypoglycemic agents which lower blood sugar levels and protect both large blood vessels and capillaries from oxidative damage. They prevent oxidative damage in the capillaries of the eye and extremities, the two most common complications of diabetes.
Diabetes is a disease of oxidative stress. The reason diabetics are sensitive to sugar in their food supply is because they cannot balance their sugar metabolism. Sugar is an oxidant and diabetics have too much of it circulating in their blood. Therefore, sugar is a source of oxidative stress. Diabetics deal poorly with blood sugar-induced oxidative stress and are taught to avoid ingesting it. The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory qualities of anthocyanins have been proven useful in the fight against high blood sugar. Micro-blood vessel damage from high blood sugar levels causes most of the complications in diabetes. Collagen proteins become linked with sugars, resulting in scarring and blood vessel blockage. Anthocyanins protect fragile tissues from this type of vascular damage. Blood vessel damage can allow large blood-borne molecules to migrate out of the bloodstream and between the cells of surrounding tissues, causing edema and chronic inflammation of the soft tissues of the body. This situation is often painful to diabetics. OPCs promote normal capillary and lymphatic reuptake of metabolic and other blood-borne matter. Retinopathy occurs when the retina scars in its attempt to repair leaking capillaries by plugging the leaks with abnormal proteins. Anthocyanins not only prevent capillaries from leaking in the first place, but they also help clean up the mess when they do.
Other Illnesses Associated With Oxidative Stress
GI Tract: Diabetes, pancreatitis, liver damage, and leaky gut syndrome
Brain and Nervous System: Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, hypertension and multiple sclerosis
Heart & Blood Vessels: Atherosclerosis, coronary thrombosis.
Lungs: Asthma, emphysema, chronic pulmonary disease.
Eyes: Cataracts, retinopathy, macular degeneration.
Joints: Rheumatoid arthritis
Kidneys: Glomerulonephritis
Skin: "Age spots," vitiligo, wrinkles.
Body in General: Accelerated aging, cancer, autoimmune diseases, inflammatory states, AIDS and lupus.
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