An ORAC Value or score is a number that can be used to compare the antioxidant levels in everyday foods.

This ORAC Value takes the guesswork out of getting enough antioxidants in your diet. Antioxidants are recommended for healthy diets, but understanding which foods are higher in antioxidants is best determined by using this value.

The National Institute on Aging in the National Institute of Health developed this method for measuring food's antioxidant power. Antioxidants are those helpful vitamins, minerals and enzymes that fight damage caused by free radical atoms in your body. These free radicals are created when molecules in your body break down and lose one of their electrons, a process called oxidation. Oxidation happens naturally as you live your life, but these free radicals want to find their balance again and they will take their missing electron from anywhere - including nearby molecules in your body. Borrowing electrons causes damage to your cells. Antioxidants help heal that damage. Measuring the antioxidant ability of foods tells you how good the foods are at their job so you know who to hire for your team. This process of testing foods for antioxidant abilities produces the Oxygen Radical Absorbency Capacity (ORAC value) of that food. Generally an this value is stated in thousands, but don't let that scare you. The USDA recommends that you have between 3,000 and 5,000 units daily.

Foods high with ORAC Value:

• Ground Cloves (314,446)
• Acai berry, freeze dried (102,700)
• Cocoa powder, unsweetened (80,933)
• Pecans (17,900)
• Artichokes (9,400)
• Red Delicious apple (4,275)
• Raspberries raw (4,800)
• Red wine (3,873)
• Strawberries (3,577)
• Corn flake cereal (2,359)
• Cashew nuts (1,948)
• Canned tomato sauce (694)
• Canned green beans (294)

Making sense of the numbers:

The value of a food by itself will not tell you whether you've picked a food that will give you enough antioxidant power. When using these values you should carefully compare the quantity between two foods as well as the way the food is weighed. For instance, oregano may have 200,000 as a score (another way of saying its ORAC Value) and sound like a great deal, but you're unlikely to be able to consume 100 g of oregano daily. 100 grams is how much of a substance is used in the ORAC testing method to determine the food's score. Acai berry juice or pecans are much more likely to give you the antioxidant boost you need in amounts you can eat regularly. Keep an eye on whether the food you want is weighed wet or dry. Partially dried apples and fresh apples have a different Value. Each food has a different antioxidant power based on the ripeness of the fruit, the growing season and other factors. A food's value may not be exactly the same as the food you pick out at the grocery store.

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