So what does ORAC have to do with getting the best antioxidants?
First it’s probably worth explaining just what ORAC is. ORAC stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity. This is just a fancy way of saying, “How well does a certain food help my body fight diseases like cancer and heart disease?”.
Simply put, the higher the ORAC value per equivalent weight of food the more antioxidant power it contains. The focus on “foods” is significant as scientists have found that antioxidants are most effective when received from a whole food. Kidz 5 A Day is nothing but organic whole foods and so has a great ORAC score with the best antioxidants for your kids.
The chart below shows the fruits and vegetables found to be highest in antioxidants. The higher the ORAC number, the greater the amount of antioxidants in the food.
| ORAC Value | Food Item | ORAC Value | Food Item |
| 5 | iceberg lettuce | 45 | broccoli |
| 9 | apricot, peach | 47 | plums |
| 10 | carrot, apple | 49 | alfalfa sprouts |
| 11 | banana | 61 | raspberry |
| 15 | cabbage, potato | 63 | spinach |
| 19 | cauliflower | 77 | strawberries |
| 20 | corn, onion | 82 | dark honey |
| 24 | pink grapefruit | 89 | kale |
| 34 | cherry | 102 | blackberries |
| 37 | grape | 120 | blueberries |
| 38 | orange | 142 | raisins |
| 42 | beets | 289 | prunes |
| 2275 | Kidz 5 A Day |
ORAC value (umol TE/8g) Kidz 5 A Day has about 2275 ORAC units per serve. Broccoli has a value of 45, so 300 g (about 3 cups) would have about 30×45=1350 ORAC units. So 1 serve of kidz 5 a day is equivalent to about almost 3 cups of broccoli.
To Get The Best Antioxidants How Much ORAC Score Do You Need?
Studies show that the average child gets only about 1000 ORAC units per day from 3 servings of fruits and vegetables. However 3,000 to 5,000 ORAC units per day are required to have a significant impact on plasma and tissue antioxidant capacity. The good news is that each serve of Kidz 5 A Day powder contains about 2275 ORAC units! Scientists have determined that whole plant foods high in the best antioxidants are more effective for good health than isolated antioxidant supplements. Kidz 5 A day’s antioxidant potency is naturally occurring, NOT artificially inflated through the addition of isolated antioxidants. Another reason why Kidz 5 A Day is so good for your kids! Simply put kidz 5 a day gives your loved ones the best antioxidants.
External Links
- ORAC levels of various foods These are “old” data from the ORAC assay used before 2004 and should be viewed only as qualitative rankings. A revised ORAC assay used since 2004 provides quantitative values several times higher than these measurements. See an abstract of the reference report at this link from PubMed. the best antioxidants
- Database of ORAC values based on 2007 USDA study, sortable alphabetically or by ORAC level
- Effect of soaking, boiling, and steaming on total phenolic content and antioxidant activities of cool season food legumes, Feb 2, 2008.
REFERENCES
- ^ Cao G, Alessio H, Cutler R (1993). “Oxygen-radical absorbance capacity assay for antioxidants”. Free Radic Biol Med 14 (3): 303–11. doi:10.1016/0891-5849(93)90027-R. PMID 8458588. the best antioxidants
- ^ Ou B, Hampsch-Woodill M, Prior R (2001). “Development and validation of an improved oxygen radical absorbance capacity assay using fluorescein as the fluorescent probe”. J Agric Food Chem 49 (10): 4619–26. doi:10.1021/jf010586o. PMID 11599998. the best antioxidants
- ^ a b Nutrient Data Laboratory, Agriculture Research Service, US Department of Agriculture (May 2010). “USDA Database for the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) of Selected Foods, Release 2 – May 2010″.
- ^ Huang D, Ou B, Prior R (2005). “The chemistry behind antioxidant capacity assays”. J. Agric. Food Chem. 53 (6): 1841–56. doi:10.1021/jf030723c. PMID 15769103.
- ^ Kohri S, Fujii H, Oowada S, Endoh N, Sueishi Y, Kusakabe M, Shimmei M, Kotake Y (2009). “An oxygen radical absorbance capacity-like assay that directly quantifies the antioxidant’s scavenging capacity against AAPH-derived free radicals”. Anal. Biochem.386 (2): 167–71. doi:10.1016/j.ab.2008.12.022. PMID 19150323.
- ^ Guidance for Industry, Food Labeling; Nutrient Content Claims; Definition for “High Potency” and Definition for “Antioxidant” for Use in Nutrient Content Claims for Dietary Supplements and Conventional Foods U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, June 2008
- ^ a b Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to various food(s)/food constituent(s) and protection of cells from premature aging, antioxidant activity, antioxidant content and antioxidant properties, and protection of DNA, proteins and lipids from oxidative damage pursuant to Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/20061, EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA)2, 3 European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Parma, Italy, EFSA Journal 2010; 8(2):1489 the best antioxidants
- ^ a b Williams RJ, Spencer JP, Rice-Evans C (April 2004). “Flavonoids: antioxidants or signalling molecules?”. Free Radical Biology & Medicine 36 (7): 838–49.doi:10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2004.01.001. PMID 15019969.
- ^ Frei, B. (April 10, 2009). “Controversy: What are the true biological functions of superfruit antioxidants?”. Retrieved April 10, 2010.[dead link]
- ^ Arts, I.C. and P.C. Hollman, “Polyphenols and disease risk in epidemiologic studies.”American Journal Clinical Nutrition, 2005. 81(1 Suppl): p. 317S-325S.
- ^ a b Lotito SB, Frei B (2006). “Consumption of flavonoid-rich foods and increased plasma antioxidant capacity in humans: cause, consequence, or epiphenomenon?”. Free Radic. Biol. Med. 41 (12): 1727–46. doi:10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2006.04.033.PMID 17157175.
- ^ a b c ”Studies force new view on biology of flavonoids“, by David Stauth, EurekAlert!. Adapted from a news release issued by Oregon State University the best antioxidants
- ^ Ninfali, Paolino; Gloria Mea, Samantha Giorgini, Marco Rocchi, Mara Bacchiocca (2005). “Antioxidant capacity of vegetables, spices and dressings relevant to nutrition”.British Journal of Nutrition (Cambridge University Press) 2005 (93): 257–266. ISSN 0007-1145. PMID 15788119.
- ^ Tapsell, Linda C; Ian Hemphill, Lynne Cobiac, Craig S Patch, David R Sullivan, Michael Fenech, Steven Roodenrys, Jennifer B Keogh, Peter M Clifton, Peter G Williams, Virginia A Fazio, Karen E Inge (2006-08-21). “Health benefits of herbs and spices: the past, the present, the future”. The Medical Journal of Australia 185 (4 Suppl): S4–24. ISSN 0025-729X. PMID 17022438. Retrieved 2009-09-23. the best antioxidants
