How to Use an ORAC Chart to Find High Antioxidant Foods
- 1). First, in order to use an ORAC chart to find high antioxidant foods you need to understand why it's important to eat foods high in antioxidants. When oxygen interacts with a substance it ages it. You can see this happen when you leave a sliced apple out. The apple will turn brown, showing that oxidation has happened. If when you first cut that apple you squeeze lemon juice over the apple the lemon juice will protect the apple from browning because of the antioxidants in it. The same thing happens to our bodies when we eat antioxidants.
- 2). Next, find an ORAC chart to compare foods. A useful ORAC chart can be found at the United States Department of Agriculture. You can find the ORAC Chart at http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=15866
- 3). Once you have a chance to look over the ORAC chart you will see that each food item has a value or score attached to it. The higher the ORAC value of a food, the more oxidation a food can prevent. You might be surprised at how many antioxidants are in some foods and how little are in others. For example, dark chocolate has more antioxidants than apples. Look and compare---you will learn new things.
- 4). Last, make a list of the highest antioxidant foods from the ORAC chart and make a plan to eat these specific foods in your daily diet. You may notice that spices are high in antioxidants, which means you might want to add more spices to your food to increase your antioxidant level. Use the chart to your benefit. We have the technology to find the healthiest foods for our bodies. We should use this technology to benefit our health.
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