Eating fruits and vegetables is really very good…and even better than we imagined! These are Spanish researchers from the University of Granada (no pun intended) who have just made this great discovery, after having developed a new calculation method, which analyzes foods in their entirety. Her name ? Global Antioxidant Response (GAR).
It must be said that until now, the method of calculation only took into account part of the food bolus that the small intestine absorbs (we speak of "liquid fraction"). José Ángel Rufián-Henares, lead author of the study just published in the journal Food Chemistry , explains as follows:
“The problem is that the antioxidant activity of the solid fraction (the fibers) is not taken into account, because it is assumed that it is not beneficial. However, this insoluble fraction arrives in the large intestine and the intestinal flora can also ferment it to extract even more antioxidant substance “.
With this new methodology, the problem is solved and the food is completely dissected! This is how the researchers noticed that citrus fruits (in fruit OR in a bottle) had antioxidant properties on average 10 times greater than those detected! Yes, 70% of the antioxidant activity of lemons, grapefruits and oranges is in their fibers, assure the researchers.
And that is great news! Because in addition to being good to taste and full of vitamins, we will now know that citrus fruits are also excellent anti-cancer and perfect for boosting our metabolism.
