ORAC Value
Do Not Get Hung Up In Numbers

Every antioxidant information site discusses ORAC ratings and values. I am no different in that respect. As you read through this page you will see that although there is probably great value in this kind of testing it is being misused all over the web.

The ORAC Or Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity is a laboratory test (read in test tubes) developed by Dr. Guohua Cao. 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. In a small nutshell the test measures the capacity of the food to resist oxidation ( read rust) It is also highly used as an advertising ploy by many juice companies especially those of the MLM variety. This can be good and bad.
Another item worth mentioning is the fact that there seems to be different ORAC ratings for the same food depending on the web site you read. I have seen blue berries rated from 2400 to 9019. The higher the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity the more antioxidant activity is supposed to be present. There are many laboratories now doing this test and there are no precise guidelines that everyone adheres to. So different labs sometimes give different scores.

One other point. Research shows that wild blueberries have 50% more antioxidant activity than there commercially grown brethren, this is from Dole a major fruit distributor. Therefore it would also seem logical that blue berries from farmer john’s blueberry patch could be different from farmer smith’s farm

So what is the bottom line? In my opinion and throughout this site I urge you to eat foods high in antioxidants. As a general rule the antioxidant Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity of a food should be just a general guideline. Get as many antioxidants as you can but but remember there are many nutrient rich foods which are not real high in antioxidants that are just as important. Our body needs a wide variety of nutrients to function and keep us disease free. My bet is, if you get 7 to 10 servings of fruits and vegetable and or a good well balanced supplement you will be just dandy. However if you are like me and want things easier here is the highest antioxidant food available in a capsule.
For your reference here is a short list of ORAC scores for popular fruits and vegetables and here is a more complete list.

Fruits highest in antioxidants and there ORAC values by the US Department of Agriculture.

• Cloves ground 100 grams 314,446
• Cinnamon 100 grams ground 267,536
• Oregano dried 200,129
• Black Chokecherry 100 grams 16,062
• Small Red beans ½ cup dried 13,727
• Wild Blueberry 1 cup 13,427
• Red Kidney Bean ½ cup dried 13,259
• Pinto Bean ½ cup[ 11,864
• Blueberry ½ cup commercially grown 9019
• Cranberry 1 cup whole berries 8,983
• Artichoke Hearts 1 cup cooked 7.904
• Blackberry 1 cup commercial 7,701
• Prune ½ cup 7,291
• Raspberry 1 cup 6,058
• Strawberry 1 cup 5,938
• Red Delicious Apple 1 apple 5,900
• Granny Smith Apple 1 apple 5,381
• Pecan 1 oz 5,095
• Sweet Cherry 1 cup 4,873
• Black Plum 1 plum 4844
• Russet Patato 1 cooked 4,649
• Black Bean ½ cup dried 4,181
• Plum 1 plum 4118
• Gala Apple 1 apple 3,903

For a more complete list please click here.
ORAC to Antioxidants Anti Aging