ORAC Value List – Top 100 Highest Antioxidant Food Products

(ORAC list below)

The ORAC value of the following products, spices, herbs, foods, and berries, is very high, so they are worth considering for your overall health and well-being.

ORAC stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity. The National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, developed the ‘USDA Database for the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) of Selected Foods’ from which some of this data is sourced.

ORAC units measure the antioxidant capacity of foods. Higher ORAC value units have the potential for better health.

(Consult your doctor for medical advice.)

It is widely believed that foods high in antioxidants help lower the risks of cancer, degeneration, and disease.

The following list includes foods and spices/herbs with high ORAC values. You might consider obtaining and consuming more of them in your regular diet.

Highest ORAC Value Product In The World?

I suggest that you read the notes below and consider the list of foods with high ORAC values—they are potentially good choices for augmenting your health. But first…

Dragon’s Blood & Astaxanthin

UPDATE: Several years ago, my initial research on ORAC value/score/antioxidants focused on commonly available high ORAC value foods and spices/herbs, with supplements not considered. However, after a comprehensive re-examination, I can now present two of the world’s highest ORAC value products in supplement form, with nearly identical scores.

For those interested, I encourage you to research Dragon’s Blood (no, not from an actual dragon, but it comes from a tree that bleeds a sap that looks like blood) and Astaxanthin (preferably sourced from the AstaReal brand by Fuji Health Science/USA&Japan). AstaReal produces natural astaxanthin, not synthetic like most others.

Research: AstaReal is the world’s most studied brand of astaxanthin. The company is known for producing high-quality, natural astaxanthin, which is supported by over 160 studies, including 80 human clinical trials specifically on AstaReal’s Astaxanthin. The FDA has affirmed it GRAS (generally recognized as safe).

According to ORAC value, Dragon’s Blood has the highest ORAC value at 2,897,110 (μ mol TE/100g), followed closely by Astaxanthin at 2,822,200 (μ mol TE/100g). That’s up to 6,000 times the antioxidant power of vitamin C!

My preference? Astaxanthin in 12mg daily supplement form, sourced by a trusted, reputable USA company, which sources the underlying ingredient from AstaReal by Fuji Health Science (highly renowned). I researched, and other sources without AstaReal may be inferior (do your due diligence).

If purchasing through my links, I may earn commission (no extra cost).
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Acai Berry Fruit/Powder – High ORAC Score

Known for their high antioxidant content, the Acai Berry ORAC value is among the highest berries (102,700 µmol TE/100g.) It surpasses other antioxidant-rich fruits like blueberries (6,552). They are commonly available in freeze-dried form and mixed into smoothies, yogurt, etc. I do recommend considering Navitas Organics:

ORAC Score ( A Few Notes About It )

Note: The ORAC values in this list are normalized to 100 grams of weight (~ 3.5 ounces) because that is how the original database of information was presented. The intent is to ‘normalize’ the various items to compare ‘raw value,’ NOT ‘amount per serving.’

Note: This ORAC list does not factor or attempt to suggest the quantities that a person would normally eat in one serving (for example – who is going to eat 3.5 ounces of cloves in one serving??). I simply intend to point out which ‘foods’ are literally the highest in ORAC value (that I could find information about).

Note: The ORAC value of a given food will vary due to growing conditions, processing conditions, specific variety and others.

Note: Data sourced from the US Department of Agriculture during 2010. The USDA recommends an ORAC unit ingestion of about 3,000 to 5,000 units daily.

Note: ORAC values listed here are in units of µmol TE/100g (micromol Trolox Equivalent per 100 grams). Trolox equivalency is used as a benchmark for antioxidant capacity.

Note: The list I’ve put together here is not all-inclusive

Note: Source: USDA’s Nutrient Data Laboratory (NDL)

Update: Sometime in 2012, the USDA removed its ORAC listings. The original was titled, “USDA Database for the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) of Selected Foods, Release 2 – Prepared by Nutrient Data Laboratory, Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center (BHNRC), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) – May 2010.”

ORAC Value List

I put together this list when I was able to read the aforementioned report. It is not all-inclusive, and there are likely other food products that could be inserted into my data. However, it does provide some insight for those who are interested.

Within the realm of spices and herbs, Ground Cloves are very high in antioxidants on the ORAC value scale: 314,000 µmol TE/100g (see explanation below). They are used in baked sweets, meats, ham, sweet potatoes, baked beans, BBQ and tomato sauces, pumpkin pie, and gingerbread…

ORAC Value Top 20 list

[ Read: STUDY FINDS 2 Tbsp Cocoa a Day Helps Keeps Memory Loss Away ]

[ Read: Mayan Cacao Powder: A Super Food ]

ORAC value of Cacao powder is 95,500 μ mol TE/100g.

ORAC Value list 21 – 40

ORAC Value list 41 – 60

[ Read: 10 Powerful Spices! ]

ORAC Value list 61 – 80

[ Read: Turmeric SUPER SPICE – Home Remedies ]

The ORAC value of ground turmeric spice (updated) is 127,068 μ mol TE/100g.

ORAC Value list 81 – 100

ORAC Value List, Top 100

Again, this ORAC score list does not factor in or attempt to suggest the practical quantities that a person would typically consume in one serving.

Instead, it simply points out the ORAC value for each ‘food’ (at least those on which I could find information).