The antioxidant content of various foods as determined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The higher, the better!

1. 
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
The Antioxidant Content of Foods
The antioxidant content of foods is measured by means of the ORAC value (Oxygen Radical
Absorbance Capacity) developed by the National Institute of Health. The below data come from the
Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture in a study released in
November, 2007.
The highest rank foods for antioxidant content are certain spices, berries and legumes. Consumption of
high antioxidant foods is felt to play an important role in the free radical theory of aging. The below
tables rank the 247 highest foods by category and by ORAC score.
The Top 27 (seasonings not included)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

2. Beverages
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Bread
 
 
 
Cereals
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

3. Fruits and Fruit Juices
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

4.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

5. Seasonings
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

6.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Seeds and Nuts
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Special Foods
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


7. 
Vegetables
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

8.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

9.  
 
 
 
 



 



 
 
 
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“In 2007, scientists with the United States Department of Agriculture published an updated list of ORAC values for 277 foods
[5]
commonly consumed by the U.S. population (fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, spices, grains, etc.). Values were reported as
micromoles of Trolox equivalents (TE, vitamin E derivative) per 100 grams both for lipid-soluble ("lipophilic" as for carotenoids) and
water-soluble ("hydrophilic" as for phenolics) antioxidant chemicals in foods, thus were a sum of lipophilic and hydrophilic values or
total ORAC. These values are considered to be more accurate than previously published ORAC numbers because lipophilic values
were being included for the first time. These data showed that all plants have variable amounts of both lipophilic and hydrophilic
phytochemicals that contribute to total ORAC.” - reprinted from Wikepedia
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