ORAC Score

You might be thinking what in the world an ORAC score is and just why everyone is talking about it. The acronym stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity, a measurement scientists use to quantify the antioxidant properties for any given food, especially fruits and vegetables.

This scale of antioxidant properties was developed by the National Institute on Aging and the National Institute of Health (NIH).The higher a food's ORAC score, scientists believe that there is an increased ability to protect our bodies from cell damage, inflammation, and other chronic diseases or illnesses. Studies show that eating a diet rich in food with high antioxidant scores have the ability to slow down the oxidation process linked to aging and other health concerns.

Oxidation occurs normally overtime but can be expedited through high stress levels, unhealthy eating habits, and excessive exposure to sunlight. A diet high in antioxidants, fruits and vegetables can help combat excessive oxidation and production of free radicals in our body. Free radicals or for lack of better words, rust in our cells, has been shown to increase our chances of developing cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol levels and many other ailments. They are also known for decreasing our joint health, which some may not be aware of.

The more antioxidants we consume each day the better. Fruit and vegetables are the best foods to increase our antioxidants and therefore ORAC consumption. Less than 17% of the US adult population consumes the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables on a daily basis and therefore we are not protecting our bodies from harmful free radicals.

Due to an painstakingly high fat, high caloric diet filled with fast and convenient foods we are only consuming approximately 1,000 ORAC units a day. For disease prevention and better health, the USDA recommends that we consume between 3,000-5,000 ORAC units a day. Not a problem if we were eating a diet rich in variety, moderation, and balance of fruits and vegetables.

As a reference, the USDA has created a scale to highlight the antioxidant scores of some of our favorite fruits and vegetables. As you can see from the chart above, the acai berry in it's freeze dried state possess the most ORAC units of even raspberries and blackberries!

Acai berries are a very popular and heavily researched fruit now a days but they are not easy to find in your local supermarket.

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