Maqui: Learn Why This Berry Is The Best Of The Best
The real secret of nutrition is understanding how the food we eat is transformed into complex signaling molecules that keep us alive. Dietary amino acids and fatty acids can be converted into hormones (such as insulin and resolvins) that control our bodies with precision. Likewise, polyphenols are also part of such signaling systems. In particular, they activate the genetic master switch of metabolism known as AMPK that controls how we generate energy and regulate our metabolism by turning it on and off at the cellular level. If you want to maintain wellness, you have to optimize your Resolution Response, as I describe in my newest book, The Resolution Zone. A critical step in that optimization is the activation AMPK, the genetic master switch for your metabolism. Polyphenols give you the dietary tools to do this—the reason why is shown in the following figure. There are more than 8,000 known polyphenols, but not all have the same ability to activate AMPK. The reason is that it depends on several factors, including concentration, structure, water-solubility, and degree of polymerization. Concentration Polyphenols are found in exceptionally low concentrations in fruits and vegetables; perhaps 0.2 percent by weight in fruits and about 0.1 percent by weight in vegetables. Since you need at least about 1,000 mg of polyphenols per day, it means you have to consume a lot of fruits and vegetables. How much is a lot? About ten servings per day. Not surprisingly, those individuals who consume this level of fruits and vegetables live longer. How much longer? Those that consume ten servings per day live about 30 percent longer with significantly less heart disease and cancer (1). Unfortunately, for most Americans, eating this amount of fruits and vegetables seems like Mission Impossible. Structure There are two broad classes of polyphenols—those that have a fused ring structure and those that don’t. The differences are shown below between the two general categories of polyphenols. It is only the polyphenol class known as flavonoids that have a fused ring structure that provides the appropriate three-dimensional properties to activate AMPK maximally. The other polyphenol structures are simply too floppy in three-dimensional space to do an excellent job of activating AMPK. This structure deficiency is especially true of resveratrol, which is part of the stilbene family of polyphenols. Even within the class of the fused-ring polyphenols (i.e., flavonoids), there are a lot of variations, as shown below. If you look closely at this figure, you will see that flavanols look somewhat similar to anthocyanins. Chocolate is rich in flavanols, whereas berries are rich in anthocyanins. But there is a big difference in their water solubility between these two groups of polyphenols. Water-solubility Although flavanols and anthocyanins are somewhat similar in structure, there are significant differences in their water-solubility. This difference is because the anthocyanins have a positive charge to make them much more water-soluble. This water-solubility is critical since it has been shown that it is the increased consumption of anthocyanins that are most associated with the reduction of heart disease (2,3). The water solubility of polyphenols is critical because if they don’t get in your body, they can’t activate AMPK. And if you don’t activate AMPK, you can’t have an optimal Resolution Response. Not surprisingly, there are a lot of different structures, even within anthocyanins, as shown below: In addition to having a positive charge, the more hydroxyl groups (-OH) on an anthocyanin molecule only further increases its water-solubility. This unique structure is why the subclass of anthocyanins, known as delphinidins, has the highest water-solubility of all anthocyanins. Although colorful berries are the richest source of anthocyanins, not all berries are good sources of delphinidins. As an example, strawberries are rich in anthocyanins, but they contain no delphinidins. Raspberries have a minimal amount of delphinidins, but not nearly as much as blueberries. However, even within the blueberry family there are significant variations. Bilberries (grown in northern Europe) have six times more delphinidins than blueberries (grown in North America). However, the maqui berry (grown in southern Chile) has 14 times the concentration of delphinidins compared to blueberries. However, there is another problem to overcome; the degree of polymerization of the delphinidins within these natural sources. Polymerization Most natural sources that contain delphinidins are composed of polymers. Polymers can’t be directly absorbed into the bloodstream. As a result, they continue to the colon where the gut bacteria metabolize them to shorter fragments that no longer contain the critical fused-ring structure. To get a maximum benefit for activating AMPK, you need the fused ring structure to provide the proper three-dimensional structure. Extracts Even for the maqui berry, the absolute levels of delphinidins as monomers in the fruit are still relatively low. This concentration problem can be circumvented by making extracts of the maqui berry using extensive purification, including column chromatography, to get a highly concentrated extract of delphinidin monomers. This purified maqui berry extract is what we use to make MaquiRx. For comparison, you would need to consume 4.5 kg of raspberries to get the same absolute levels of delphinidins as one capsule of MaquiRx. Alternatively, you could drink 50 glasses of red wine. Even though 200 grams of blueberries may have the same absolute levels of delphinidins as one capsule of MaquiRx, most of those delphinidins in blueberries are polymers that will not be directly absorbed into the body. On the other hand, the purified delphinidin monomers found in MaquiRx are directly absorbed into the blood (4). Summary It is easy to be confused about which 8,000 polyphenols will help you live longer. If you are looking for the best of the best of those 8,000 polyphenols, then your choice becomes much less complicated using MaquiRx as your primary polyphenol supplement. MaquiRx is the only polyphenol supplement that meets the criteria of concentration, structure, water-solubility, and degree of polymerization that you need to activate AMPK. Supplementing your diet with MaquiRx doesn’t mean you ignore the continuing need to consume up to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables per day, as suggested by following the Zone Diet because they are crucial for gut health as well as blood sugar and appetite control. The combination of these two dietary strategies (following the Zone Diet supplemented with MaquiRx) provides a pretty good pathway for a longer and better life. References Aune D et al. “Fruit and vegetable intake and the risk of cardiovascular disease, total cancer, and all-cause mortality-a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies.” Int J Epidemiol 46:1 029-1056 (2017) Kimble R et al. “Dietary intake of anthocyanins and risk of cardiovascular disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.” Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 59: 3032-3043 (2019) Cassidy A et al. “High anthocyanin intake is associated with a reduced risk of myocardial infarction in young and middle-aged women.” Circulation 127:1 88-196 (2013) Schon C et al. “Bioavailability study of maqui berry extract in healthy subjects.” Nutrients 10(11):1720 (2018)
Maqui Fields Forever
Dr. Sears was doing his best Indiana Jones imitation when he recently went to the Patagonia region of Chile to inspect progress in domesticating the wild maqui berry. The Chilean government and other private Chilean partners have spent millions of dollars over the past five years to study the genetics of the maqui berry that grows wild in this area of Chile. Starting with more than 1,500 different clones of the wild maqui berry, they chose the “best of the best” for domestication. Now for the first time their research results are beginning to bear fruit (pardon the pun). Here you can see our intrepid Indiana Jones (without his bullwhip) standing next to a two-year old domesticated maqui berry bush that has been bred for the right height for harvesting. The difficulty of this project was even greater since the maqui berry bush changes sex every two years. That’s why it takes five years for a bush to reach full maturity. In addition, the test field was chosen to induce the maximum stress to the plant (high winds, decreased ozone layer, cold temperatures at night) to maximize the polyphenol content of the maqui berry. It is this commitment to domesticating the wild maqui berry that confirms Dr. Sears’ contention that the isolated polyphenols as found in MaquiRx™ will be the “best of the best” when it comes to polyphenol extracts. The ongoing clinical research confirms that conviction, especially with new studies demonstrating the superiority of the purified maqui berry polyphenol extract in slowing down the aging process by activation of the SIRT-1 gene. Learn more or purchase MaquiRx.
The Secret Of Blueberries: It’s The Dephinidins
We continually hear about the benefits of fruits and vegetables for better health. There are a number of them. One is obviously their lower glycemic load that reduces insulin secretion. Another is their polyphenol content that gives fruits and vegetables their colors. Although virtually no research was conducted on polyphenols before 1995, since that time there has been a explosion of animal studies that have indicated their remarkable benefits as anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatory agents. Upon deeper inspection, there is one group of polyphenols that seems to generate the most consistent health benefits. These are the delphinidins. Delphinidins are a subgroup of a family of polyphenols known as anthocyanidins. To make the story about delphinidins more intriguing, they are primarily found in blueberries. More specifically, the primary sources of delphinidins are the American blueberry, the Russian blueberry (i.e. bilberry), and the Patagonian blueberry (i.e. maqui berry). This is why the published clinical studies in humans seem to consistently involve blueberries. And the clinical data is impressive. Whether it is about reducing oxidized cholesterol or improving insulin resistance in patients with metabolic syndrome (1,2) or improving memory in patients with early dementia (3), the human data on the use of blueberries simply jumps out at you. Since the active ingredient in each of these varieties of blueberries appears to be the delphinidins, then it is reasonable that the higher the levels of this particular polyphenol, the better the potential results. The Russian blueberry contains six times more delphinidins than American blueberries, and the Patagonia blueberry contains 14 times more delphinidins than the American blueberry. This probably reflects the harsher growing climates that other forms of blueberries are exposed to when compared to the American blueberry, which has become overly domesticated (making it richer in fructose and lower in delphinidins). However, as with all natural products you have to take a therapeutic dose to get a therapeutic effect. You could measure this therapeutic threshold in terms of their anti-oxidative potential (measured in ORAC units) or the actual amounts of delphinidins themselves. It appears that for a blueberry extract to be effective requires that it provides at least 16,000 ORAC units per day. To put this in perspective, this level of ORAC units is equivalent to eating greater than 20-30 servings of vegetables on a daily basis. But if the delphinidins are so important for the benefits of blueberries, isn’t it possible that the smaller amounts of the maqui berry might be even more beneficial because of its higher delphinidin concentration? That’s why we have several ongoing clinical trials to explore that potential. I will keep you informed as the results start coming in. Yet in the meantime, keep eating lots of those colorful carbohydrates just like your grandmother told you to eat. References: 1. Stull AJ, Cash KC, Johnson WD, Champagne CM, and Cefalu WT. “Bioactives in blueberries improve insulin sensitivity in obese, insulin-resistant men and women.” J Nutr 140: 1764-1768 (2010). Basu A, Du M, Leyva MJ, Sanchez K, Betts NM, Wu M, Aston CE, and Lyons TJ. “Blueberries decrease cardiovascular risk factors in obese men and women with metabolic syndrome.” J Nutr 140: 1582 1588 (2010). Krikorian R, Shidler MD, Nash TA, Kalt W, Vinqivst-Tymchuk R, Shukitt-Hale R, and Joseph JA. “Blueberry supplementation improves memory in older adults.” J Agric Food Chem 58: 3996-4000 (2010).
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