Top 10 Highest Antioxidant Foods in the World

Are you excited to find out the top 10 highest antioxidant foods in the world?! These foods are ranked by their ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) values. Eating a combination of foods that have been shown to have high ORAC values has demonstrated high blood antioxidant scores.

Be your healthiest self ever by consuming high antioxidant foods! Consuming these foods provide a host of benefits to your body. As mentioned above, the antioxidant content in these foods is measured by their ORAC values. ORAC was introduced by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) after years of research. In vitro, ORAC measures the ability of a particular substance to counteract free radical activity.

Now that’s clear, let’s jump into the list of top 10 highest antioxidant foods in the world! Remember, the ORAC values for each food listed below is measured as the amount of antioxidants in 100 grams of the given food, based on weight.

Top 10 Highest Antioxidant Foods in the World

1. Sumac Bran

• ORAC Value: 312,400

Sumac bran is something you wouldn’t have even heard of. But surprise surprise! It’s the top highest antioxidant food according to its incredibly high ORAC Value. What is sumac? It is a high-tannin variety of sorghum. Sorghum is a gluten-free grain that is a traditional staple food in many parts of Africa. Sumac bran is native to the Mediterranean, Sicily and Northern Italy. It is popular in Middle Eastern cuisine for seasoning salads and making pasta spicy and flavourful.

Some of the health benefits of sumac bran including improving cardiovascular health, lowering high cholesterol and fighting microbial and fungal infections.

2. Cloves

• ORAC Value: 290,283

Cloves are the highest antioxidant rich spice in the world. They are popularly used in many South East Asian dishes to give food flavour and aroma. If you’ve eaten delicious biryani, a South East Asian dish, then chances are you’ve come across a clove in your plate! You can also make clove tea, by boiling 4-5 cloves in water then sweetening it with your favourite natural sweetener. Also try making Masala Chai, which uses a blend of spices for an a tasteful aromatic tea! Cloves are great for oral health and fighting off fungal infections. If you have a toothache, sucking on a clove can give you relief!

3. Dried Amla Powder

• ORAC Value: 261,500

Amla is steadily gaining popularity in the western world! It is also known as Indian gooseberries and is native to India. It is super rich in Vitamin C too. Get this – fresh amla juice contains as 20 times more Vitamin C than fresh orange juice. Since fresh amla is unavailable in the Western world, dried amla is the way to go (it even contains more antioxidants when dried rather than fresh). Add 1/2 tsp to a glass of your healthy smoothie or mix it in raw honey and lick away. You can consume amla every day.

4. Oregano

• ORAC Value: 175,295

Oregano, or favourite herb seasoning is one of the highest antioxidant foods in the world! It is also a POWERFUL anti fungal food! Add oregano to your breads, homemade pizzas, pasta and soups to benefit from the rich antioxidant content this herb has to offer!

5. Rosemary

• ORAC Value: 165,280

Rosemary is known to be a memory boosting herb. Its fresh herbaceous scent is said to enhance and sharpen memory, that is why in Ancient Greece, students used to hang garlands of rosemary on their doors while studying. Rosemary is most commonly used to spice up roasted potatoes but you can also make a cup of warm rosemary tea!

6. Dried Peppermint

• ORAC Value: 160,280

From the list above, we are sure you can see that dried spices = antioxidant heaven! Dried peppermint makes an invigorating tea that fights colds and headaches. You can sweeten it with raw honey and drink up to get relief and a much-needed antioxidant boost!

7. Thyme

• ORAC Value: 157,380

Much like the other antioxidant-rich spices in this list, dried thyme is an excellent seasoning for pasta, pizza, breads and any other dish you desire!

8. Dried Baobab Fruit Powder

• ORAC Value: 140,000

Baobab is a superfood native to Africa. In addition to its high antioxidant content, it has a lot of health benefits you can’t miss out on! Here are some of the benefits of consuming dried baobab fruit powder: it contains a lot of fiber good for healthy bowel movements, it has high levels of Vitamin C and it is an important source of calcium.

9. Cinnamon

• ORAC Value: 131,420

Cinnamon helps lower high cholesterol levels, has strong anti-microbial & anti-fungal properties and may help treat type 2 diabetes! It is also good for weight loss and is a natural remedy for menstrual cramps. You can sprinkle cinnamon powder on pastry or make cinnamon tea and sip away!

10. Turmeric

• ORAC Value: 127,068

Native to India, turmeric is a golden spice heavy in antioxidants. It popularly used in Indian dishes and can be used externally as well, to treat skin maladies. Make Golden Milk with turmeric as follows: In a cup of warm grass fed milk or alone milk, add 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder and 1 tsp of raw honey. Stir it and slowly drink it up to gain from the high antioxidant content!

References

https://www.superfoodly.com/foods-high-in-antioxidants/