Sunday, November 6, 2011

ORAC.. huh???


ORAC, short for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity, is a test tube analysis that measures the
total antioxidant power of foods and other chemical substances. Antioxidant power is the ability to
neutralize oxygen free radicals. (http://www.promedics.ca/pdf/greensfirst_orac.pdf)
 There is yet another new trend in healthy eating and that is what is commonly called "super foods" or "Antioxidant rich foods", really what they are referring to is foods with a high ORAC level. 
The USDA is even on the bandwagon with this one!  In a study published in May of 2010 they stated "the development of various chronic and degenerative diseases, such as cancer, heart disease and neuronal degeneration such as Alzheimer's Disease & Parkinson's disease may be attributed, in part, to oxidative stress."  So basically, to me, they are saying if your are not eating ORAC rich foods you ARE making yourself sick!  It is relatively easy to get the daily recommendations (3,000-5,000).  However, based on the author of O2 (a diet plan focused on ORAC scores) we should be striving for 30K a day (again relatively easy to get - if you put just a little effort into it!).
Here is a short list of common items and their ORAC scores:

Food
ORAC Score
Serving
Blueberries
9700
1 cup
Red Delicious Apple w skin
7800
1
Blackberries
7700
1 cup
Granny Smith Apple
7100
1
Raspberries
5400
1 cup
Strawberries
5400
1 cup
Gala Apple
5200
1
Pear
5200
1
Fuji Apple
4700
1
Plum
4100
1
Cherries
3500
¾ cup
Orange
1300
1
Peach
2700
1
Grapefruit
1900
½
Pineapple
1500
1 cup
Tangerine
1400
1
Apricot
1200
3
Red Grapes
1200
1 cup
Banana
1000
1
Mango
800
½ cup
Cantaloupe
500
1 cup
Watermelon
100
1 cup
Dried Cranberries
2100
2 tbsp
Raisins
600
2 tbsp
Popcorn (air Popped)
700
5 cups
Red potato w skin
1800
1 small
Russet potato w skin
1500
1 med
Black beans
7800
½ cup
Kidney beans
7800
½ cup
Broccoli cooked
1400
½ cup
Asparagus (cooked)
1500
½ cup
Cabbage cooked
600
½ cup
Green Tea
3000
1 cup
Black Tea
2700
1 cup
Cinnamon
7000
1 tsp
Unsweetened choc
14500
1 square
Now go check out more!




Here is the USDA database of ORAC scores and the White paper referred to above: http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=15866
Here is a great pdf on how to get some ORAC scores from spices: http://www.mccormick.com/mcc/ORAC_Chart_Color.pdf

One more great read around ORAC and value: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/pdfs/superfoods.pdf
My last recommended reading for this post: http://my.apexfitness.com/uploads/ORAC(1).pdf

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