Who among us does not want to live a longer and healthier life? We have been told that one way to do this is to "Eat your fruits and vegetables."

Despite the knowledge that has linked diets rich in fruits and vegetables to a risk reduction of many chronic diseases and possibly aging, only a small percentage of us actually consume the recommended 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables daily.

Although numerous studies confirm risk reduction through consumption of these foods, the actual mechanism remains somewhat of a mystery. However, there is generally little doubt that the antioxidant capacity of fruits and vegetables is at least partially responsible for their favorable effects.

Antoxidants prevent oxidative damage to cells.

Many consumers are not aware that a relatively simple, but sensitive, method exists that quantifies the antioxidant capacity of foods and supplements. The measurement technique is the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity. The anacronym for this assay, "ORAC," is appearing more often in consumer literature and on some supplement labels. The technique, developed by the National Institute of Aging and standardized by the USDA, measures how well a sample inhibits an oxidizing agent (or in other words, disarms free radicals) and how long it takes to do so. The agent used as a standard control for antioxidant activity is a non-commercial, water-soluble derivative of tocopherol called Trolox. The units of an ORAC value are expressed as micromoles Trolox equivalents per gram of a substance (mmole TE/g). TThe number of Trolox Equivalents that equate to eating an average of 5-9 servings of a variety of fruits and vegetables per day is 6000.

Many of us who are not fond of fruits and vegetables try to compensate by taking an antioxidant formula. There are so many antioxidant formulas available on the market that selecting the best one has become a daunting task. Comparing ORAC values simplifies this purchase selection. Investigators in Madrid, Spain published their findings of a 170-fold difference in ORAC values among seven commercial dietary antioxidant supplements.

Orac 6000 is Better Health's ORAC--rated antioxidant Formula.

It is an innovative blend of RosemarinXTM and Berr-X TM, two ORAC botanicals. RosemarinXTM is derived from the herb rosemary. It is manufactured using a proprietary extraction technology that selectively isolates the beneficial fraction of the rosemary herb. Studies have demonstrated the antioxidant and anti-carcinogenic properties of rosemary.3,4 Better Health®’s supplier of RosemarinXTM uses ORAC values as a part of their internal quality control and the values of each lot are reported to Better Health.

BerrXM is a variety blend of berries containing high ORAC values.

Anthocyanins, the compounds that give pigmentation to fruits, serve as natural antioxidants. Studies have shown that berry anthocyanins not only reduce age-related oxidative stress, but also improve neuronal and cognitive brain function. Anthocyanin-rich berry extract formulas were studied recently in the Department of Pharmacy Sciences of Creighton University Medical Center, Omaha, NE. The results, published in a scientific journal in 2004, reported the beneficial antioxidant, anti-carcinogenic and anti-angiogenic (ability to reduce unwanted growth of blood vessels that can lead to varicose veins and tumor formation) effects of the berry extracts.5 Just one capsule of Orac 6000 twice a day (1000 mg of Orac 6000) has been standardized to provide 6000 Trolox equiv- alents/1000 g.This amount is believed to be sufficient to minimize the effects of free radicals that may have an effect on the aging process. Thus, Orac 6000 helps bridge the gap between the recommended number of servings of fruits and vegetables and actual daily consumption.