Fight Free Radicals And More With Ellagic Acid

Ellagic acid is a phenolic acid that can be sourced from berries and nuts

. It is a powerful antioxidant that can fight damaging free radicals (harmful substances that are released as by-products of oxygen related reactions in your cells). Early evidence suggests that it may also have a number of additional benefits but more research is required before this can be confirmed. In this article I will be looking at ellagic acid in greater detail and covering its discovery, its main health benefits, the best food sources and the negative symptoms of consuming too much.

1) DISCOVERY:

The French chemist Henri Braconnot was the first person to discovery ellagic acid. He made this discovery in 1818 but the health benefits of this phenolic acid were not studied until many years later in the 1960s. The first studies on this plant based nutrient looked at how effective it was on blood clotting. In the 1970s and 1980s further studies started to look into the relationship between ellagic acid and cancer prevention. In the 1990s further laboratory studies looked at the links between this phenolic acid and cancer prevention. Although none of these studies were performed on humans, they gained a large amount of publicity across the Internet and greatly increased the popularity of ellagic acid.

2) HEALTH BENEFITS:

As discussed at the beginning of this article, ellagic acid is a potent antioxidant (a substance that protects your body's cells from damaging free radicals). However, despite the huge level of interest in this plant based nutrient, its other benefits have yet to be fully confirmed. Provisional evidence suggests that this phenolic acid may prevent a number of different cancers (a disease which causes your cells to grow in a rapid, uncontrollable way), reduce your heart disease risk, protect the liver from damage, improve wound healing, lower blood pressure and boost the immune system. However, none of these studies were performed on humans so more evidence is required before these health benefits can be confirmed.

3) FOOD SOURCES:

Berries and nuts are the 2 best ellagic acid foods with red raspberries containing the highest levels by far at 1.5 milligrams (mg) per 100 grams (g). Cranberries (0.12mg per 100g), pecans (0.33mg per 100g), strawberries (0.63mg per 100g) and walnuts (0.59mg per 100g) also contain good levels of this phenolic acid.

4) OVERDOSE SYMPTOMS:

There are no reported overdose symptoms associated with consuming ellagic acid in natural foods. However, consuming high levels of supplements that contain this plant based nutrient can inhibit other drugs and medications. They may also induce labour in pregnant women. Therefore, you are advised to consult your doctor before taking any ellagic acid supplements.

by: Tom Parker

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