Ellagic acid … resveratrol … phytochemicals … phytonutrients … inhibition … viral … bacterial … these are all words that tend to swim together after a while when you read many of the articles that are They have published. written on these intriguing and increasingly popular topics.
So I will take my pen in hand and endeavor to write something that even my kids can understand and hopefully they will get excited!
First of all, what are some of these words and what do they mean?
Resveratrol, OPCs, and ellagic acid are some of the forms of antioxidants most commonly found in plants, fruits, and berries.
Ellagic acid is a “plant chemical” or nutrient found in various berries and fruits, such as pomegranates, walnuts, strawberries, raspberries and recent studies have found that the muscadine grape, which is a grape / berry grown in the SE parts of the United States , has more than TRIPLE the amount of ellagic acid than almost any other fruit or berry on the planet.
There is an independent laboratory company called Brunswick Laboratories that tests foods and supplements to see how high the ORAC scale is on them. ( ORAC stands for Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity) which, in simple terms, represents how high the level of antioxidants is in this food or supplement … or in terms of our history “How well can this food / supplement fight the bad guys!“When they tasted muscadine grapes, they said they had never tasted anything that rated this high.
Phyto it’s just another word for ‘plant’ so whenever you see the term ‘phytochemical’ or ‘phytonutrient’ it refers to a plant-based chemical or nutrient. Personally, I prefer to call it a nutrient as it is EXACTLY what it is. The chemical sounds too scary.
Inhibition is my new favorite word today. When I read or hear something that INHIBIT the growth of… gold INHIBIT the process of… it’s usually a good thing, as it seems like all the bad things in our body will automatically grow like crazy, unless we can find something to inhibit it, or STOP that. “Inhibited the growth of cancer cells” is my new favorite phrase!
I learn best with ‘word pictures’ so let me try to give you one here …
Free radicals… It is a very common term used these days as it is the word used to describe all the bad guys who are constantly trying to alter our lives. They come in the form of chemicals and toxins, and they sneak in uninvited and often unaware in ways we never imagine.
These are just a few of the ways we allow these guys to come in on a daily basis:
Stress… studies show that stress dramatically increases the possibility of disease and illness in our body. Why? Because it opens the door for these nasty little ones to come in and wreak havoc.
Skin care… Did you know that our skin is our largest organ and that everything we put on our skin enters the bloodstream in 26 seconds? Yes, that includes all the antifreeze and engine degreaser that we smear on our skin every day.. Wait, you didn’t know that propylene glycol is the main ingredient in antifreeze and that sodium laurel solfate (SLS) is what they use as engine degreasers.? Yes, our lovely FDA has approved those exact ingredients for use in the skin care industry and if you check their labels, you will see them on every bottle on the shelf. ( even Johnson & Johnson baby care products!) And then we wonder why our skin becomes flabby and wrinkled when we hit 40 and 50 …!
Our food… forget about processed foods, everyone KNOWS they are not good for us, ( and eat them anyway) but what about fresh fruits and vegetables? Yeah, full of bad guys, waiting for a free ride to their next assignment. Your body. Your free access to our system are GMOs, chemicals to repel insects, water treatments, etc.
Environment… we are privileged to live on planet earth at a time when there has never been more technology and advancement. But it all comes at a huge and unhealthy price. All of these emit radiation and chemicals at a level that I don’t even understand. All we know is that they are there and we cannot escape them!
These are all bad guys who practically have access to our bodies at all hours of the day.. Unless they stopThey quickly steal and eat good cells, multiply many times … and begin to fuel inflammation, disease, aging, and cancer.
So what do free radicals, ellagic acid, and these muscadine grapes have to do with all of this?
That’s where the exciting part comes in! I rub my hands in anticipation that maybe only a couple of people will get a glimpse of this amazing phenomenon. That happens when we hold onto something good and life-changing!
ANTIOXIDANTS is your new friend and warrior, ESPECIALLY when it comes to fighting him ‘bad types of free radicals‘! When we start taking ANY high antioxidant supplement, it’s almost like I can see the scenario that is happening inside … all the bad guys are stopping, as the big male ‘new guy’ stands up, flexes his muscles and says, “Listen! I’m the new kid on the block now … party’s over!”
The new kid immediately goes to work to restore all the worn and broken cells in our bodies. And as long as he’s there, the bad guys can’t function. They are inhibited! Disrupted.
Did you know that by the ripe old age of 40, our antioxidant levels are at about 50% and decline rapidly from there; At the age of 60-70, they are reduced to about 5%? For some, the loss of antioxidants begins much earlier … which is why we are seeing a cancer attack at a much younger age than ever before.
So let’s get back to ellagic acids and resveratrol and what they all do. Inhibition again. Gah. I love that word! They are all part of the ‘superman’ team that now has control of our internal parts.
Ellagic acid helps the body fight viral, fungal, and bacterial infections. INHIBITING bad guys from doing their job when they enter the body … if we have enough ellagic acid in our bodies, our chances of getting sick from any of the above are much lower.
Resveratrol – ahhh, another word that I have come to love very much. If I still had babies, they could be called Rezzy and Ellagic.. (smile)
But seriously ladies, resveratrol is our ‘savior queen!‘… She is seriously on our side! She’s about rebuilding all the aging cells, tightening the loose spots, putting the zipper back that has been stolen from us, cleaning those blood vessels and varicose veins, and in simple words, it’s about helping us age gracefully. ! I love her to pieces!
(She was also my husband’s savior although she is the QUEEN of anti-inflammatories, is it any wonder we love her so much ?!
Studies have shown that the highest form of natural resveratrol is found in the skin of muscadine grapes. That, plus the fact that there are over a hundred MORE of these supermen and heroes included in this little grape / berry, waiting to be released into their destiny, which has been growing right under our noses since the beginning of time, is enough. to make anyone excited.
Personally, I believe that when God made the muscadines, he did it with a twinkle in his eye, knowing that someday LONG later, when the world he made would be in a chemical and toxic mess, he would stoop down, he would pick the right one. person … drop a vision in your heart and let it change the world with this simple little fruit. I am honored and humbled to be a part of that plan.