ORAC: Know Your Score
Know Your Score
No, I’m not talking about your credit score but your nutrition score!
The antioxidant values of foods are expressed in ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) units, a unit of measurement for antioxidants developed by the National Institute on Aging in the National Institutes of Health (NIH). If you are like me and enjoy seeing cold hard numbers this is the info for you! Thinking about assigning a value to everything you put in your mouth gives a new perspective to the words “empty calories”. Eating nutrient devoid food not only creates a nutrient deficit for that day but depending on the food, may make your body work twice as hard to get rid of chemicals and other additives in the food.
The Facts
Spices have a considerably high ORAC score, so stock up and add some flavor to your next meal.
Cloves: 290,283
Oregano: 175,295
Rosemary: 165,280
Thyme: 157,380
Cinnamon: 131,420
Turmeric: 127,068
Parsley: 73,670
Nutmeg: 69,640
Basil: 69,640
Cumin: 50,372
Another fun high scoring antioxidant is cocao 55,653, the main ingredient in chocolate!
More Info:
http://www.oracvalues.com
