Super Antioxidants

Archive for the ‘ORAC Scores’ Category

The ORAC Or Oxygen Radical Absorbency Capacity is a laboratory test  developed by Dr. Guohua Cao and team of Tufts University in conjunction with the USDA. This analysis gives the different antioxidant activity for food. It is primarily done to show the antioxidant levels in fruits, vegetables, juices, teas and other foods. The test measures the capacity of the food to resist oxidation. It gives the consumer a comparative tool. You can now tell which food is an antioxidant and how strong the antioxidant is.

For example 1/2 cup of raw blueberries has an ORAC ranking of 74 while 1/2 cup of cranberries is 55. You can see a more complete list here.

The real value of the ORAC testing is that the public can become more educated about foods no on really talks about. Now I admit that Rachel Ray and other TV chefs are very educational but it is rare for a chef to tell you that ground cloves has the highest antioxidant ranking of all foods and oregano and cinnamon are number two and three.

These three spices can be used in almost every meal and are available anywhere. The foods which are not used often like the Sorghum bran family is all in the top twenty and is additionally a very nutritious food.

Using the ORAC ranking found here you can now be fully educated as to what foods have what ORAC ranking. This will add to your diet the free radical healing power of antioxidant rich foods and it will go along way to improve your health.