ORAC Values
These measurements and the foods that have high ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) values are important especially from the anti aging method that uses the free radical theory of aging as a basis. Some of the foods, such as Acai berries, blueberries, and blackberries, have been labeled as "superfoods", thanks to having very high ORAC based values. When using the ORAC measurement values, however, one must remember that the way these measurements are used is to compare overall levels of antioxidants, but not which antioxidants are in the food measured. There is a wide range of antioxidants available, with different profiles in how they functions in the human body, which is why the ORAC measurements are only a good starting point in any method using the values in building a basis for a healthy diet. Because the ORAC was developed as an unit of measurement for antioxidants by the National Institute on Aging in the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the values are freely available online. One of the best free databases online that you can use, which uses data from the 2007 ORAC study by NIH, is available at oracvalues.com. To find out what type of antioxidants the ORAC foods have in them, you can use the Wikipedia article on the subject, at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_antioxidants_in_food as a starting basis for your research.
|