“When comparing ORAC data, care must be taken to ensure that the units and food being compared are similar. Some evaluations will compare ORAC units per grams dry weight, others will evaluate ORAC units wet weight and still others will look at ORAC units/serving. Under each evaluation, different foods can appear to have higher ORAC values. Although a raisin has no more antioxidant potential than the grape from which it was dried, raisins will appear to have a much higher ORAC value per gram wet weight than grapes due to their reduced water content. Likewise, watermelons large water content can make it appear as though they are very low in antioxidants.“

So in short, one must consider the amount of water in the food sample. The more water, the lower the ORAC score per gram of that food. When something that is freeze-dried the water is removed. With all the water weight taken out, you are left with a nutrient-dense power. This is the reason for the high ORAC scores.

So because MonaVie has freeze-dried acai as the first ingredient on the label, it must have a high ORAC value, right? Well, no. You’ll note that the first ingredient is actually “Proprietary blend of Acai (freeze-dried powder and acai puree).” There’s no way to know how much freeze-dried acai is part of that proprietary blend. It could legally be one-billionth of a gram. This would explain why AIBMR’s study by MonaVie board member Alex Schauss showed that MonaVie actually didn’t have a high ORAC score (getting trounced by an apple: MonaVie vs. an Apple).