Foods High in Antioxidants

The natural antioxidant rich food categories given on this page are foods that will improve your health. Top 20 foods high in antioxidant are listed.

Antioxidants and free radicals | Antioxidants vitamins and antioxidants supplement | Foods high in Antioxidants |

Foods High in Antioxidants

Natural antioxidant foods are fruits, vegetables, cereals, legumes, nuts and seeds. The best way to ensure adequate intake of the antioxidants is to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables through a diet consisting of 5 to 8 servings of fruits and vegetables per day.

Best Sources of High Antioxidants Foods

Fruits
Berries (Cherry, blackberry, strawberry, raspberry, crowberry, blueberry, bilberry/wild blueberry, black currant), pomegranate, grape, orange, plum, pineapple, kiwi fruit, grapefruit.
Vegetables
Kale, chili pepper, red cabbage, peppers, parsley, artichoke, Brussels sprouts, spinach, lemon, ginger, red beets.
Dry Fruits high in antioxidants
Apricots, prunes, dates.
Legumes
Broad beans, pinto beans, soybeans.
Nuts and seeds
Pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, ground nut, sunflower seeds.
Cereals
Barley, millet, oats, corn.
Spices
cloves, cinnamon, oregano

Scientists as reported at the 238th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Aug 2009 have found that some vegetables and fruits like berries, grapes, walnuts, olives, and foods like chocolate, wine, coffee and tea and popcorn, and some breakfast cereals contain large amounts of healthful antioxidant substances called polyphenols.

Polyphenols play important role in reducing the risk of heart disease, cancer and other diseases.

Best Antioxidant Foods

All foods are not equally good if we consider their antioxidant content. Some foods are better than the others. USDA recommends top 20 best sources of food antioxidants as measured by their total antioxidant capacity per serving size. These antioxidant rich foods provide more antioxidant power than antioxidant vitamins and supplement. The antioxidant content of top 20 foods are given below.

List of 20 Best Foods High in Antioxidants

In the table below, the foods antioxidant power is given as per their serving sizes.

Rank	Type	Food item	Serving size	Total antioxidant capacity per serving size
1	Beans/Legumes	Red Beans (dried)	Half cup	13727
2	Fruit, Berry	Wild blueberry	1 cup	13427
3	Beans/Legumes	Red kidney beans (dried)	Half cup	13259
4	Beans/Legumes	Pinto beans	Half cup	11864
5	Fruit, Berry	Blueberry	1 cup	9019
6	Fruit, Berry	Cranberry	1 cup (whole)	8983
7	Vegetable	Artichoke (cooked)	1 cup (hearts)	7904
8	Fruit, Berry	Blackberry	1 cup	7701
9	Fruit	Prune	Half cup	7291
10	Fruit, Berry	Raspberry	1 cup	6058
11	Fruit, Bery	Strawberry	1 cup	5938
12	Fruit	Red Delicious apple	One	5900
13	Fruit	Granny Smith apple	One	5381
14	Nut	Pecan	1 ounce	5095
15	Fruit, Bery	Sweet cherry	1 cup	4873
16	Fruit	Black plum	One	4844
17	Vegetable	Russet potato (cooked)	One	4649
18	Beans/Legumes	Black beans (dried)	Half cup	4181
19	Fruit	Plum	One	4118
20	Fruit	Gala apple	One	3903

Scientists at the USDA have developed a rating scale that measures the antioxidant content of various natural plant foods. The scale is called ORAC, which stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity.

Fruits	Antioxidant Value ORAC units per 100 grams	Vegetables	Antioxidant Value ORAC units per 100 grams
Prunes	5570	Kale	1770
Raisins	2830	Spinach	1260
Blueberries	2400	Brussels sprouts	980
Blackberries	2036	Alfalfa sprouts	930
Strawberries	1540	Broccoli flowers	890
Raspberries	1220	Beets	840
Plums	949	Red bell pepper	710
Oranges	750	Onion	450
Red grapes	739	Corn	400
Cherries	670	Eggplant	390
Kiwi fruit	602
Grapefruit	483