ORAC Testing Ranks Blueberries as #1

You have probably heard about ORAC, but what does it mean?

This well-used acronym is short for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity. I heard about this rating almost every time I turned on the t.v., so I needed to find out what it means.

Basically, it is a test tube analysis of the total antioxidant power of foods. It measures the ability of the food (or other biological matter) being tested to fight against free radicals.

This test was created by researchers for the USDA at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts. Scientists developed this new laboratory test to measure the oxygen radical absorption capacity of different foods and natural substances. It is now one of the most sensitive and reliable methods for measuring antioxidant capacity.

This test measures the time it takes for the antioxidant to inhibit free radicals. It also measures the scale or degree of the free radical inhibition.

This test is one of the most popular tests being used today to rank the antioxidant potential of foods. Recent USDA research and testing has listed blueberries as number one when this test was used to study popular fruits.

Wild blueberries are highest in anioxidant capacity per serving, compared with more than 20 other fruits. (Source: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 52:4026-4037, 2004)

The study showed that a one-cup serving of Wild Blueberries had higher antioxidant capacity than a serving of other popular fruits such as cranberries, strawberries, prunes, raspberries, and even cultivated blueberries.

This recent research by the USDA is the most comprehensive study and uses the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity test because it is the most advanced way to study the power of antioxidants in various foods and substances.

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