Anti-Aging FOODS
antiaging, anti age, anti aging, anti-age, antiage Scientists at the USDA have developed a rating scale that measures the antioxidant content of various plant foods. The scale is called ORAC, which stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity. They discovered that a small group of "super foods" have up to twenty times the antioxidant power of other foods. Even more amazing, these foods provide more antioxidant power than mega-doses of vitamin supplements! In studies with animals, those that were fed high-ORAC foods had lower biological ages as measured by memory, balance, and capillary strength.
It is recommended that one eat foods containing at least 3,000 ORAC units a day, which is not difficult, since 1/2 cup of blueberries contain 2,400 units. So mix it up and eat the ones you like, and just a few prunes or raisins every day combined with some of the other high ORAC foods and you are easily over 3,000. And as noted in the table below, four fruits are at the top of the list.
FOOD | ORAC Score |
Prunes |
5,770 |
Raisins |
2,830 |
Blueberries |
2,400 |
Blackberries |
2,036 |
Kale |
1,770 |
Strawberries |
1,540 |
Spinach |
1,260 |
Raspberries |
1,220 |
Brussels Sprouts |
980 |
Plums |
949 |
Alfalfa Sprouts |
930 |
Broccoli Florets |
890 |
Beets |
840 |
Oranges |
750 |
Red Bell Peppers |
710 |
Red Grapes |
739 |
Cherries |
670 |