Is the "Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity" (ORAC) value still a reliable indicator?

Okay, let's talk about this "antioxidant index" (ORAC value).

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Simply put: ORAC is no longer a widely accepted or reliable measure.

Think of it like a "power level ranking" that was once all the rage, but later people realized it wasn't very practical. It was useful back then, but we now have a more comprehensive view.

What was ORAC all about originally?

Ten or twenty years ago, the concept of ORAC value (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) was huge. Scientists wanted a way to measure how well a particular food could "neutralize" free radicals – those "bad guys" that can damage our body's cells.

So, in a lab test tube, they'd mix a food extract with free radicals and measure how quickly and effectively the extract could "quench" them. The number they got was the ORAC value.

A higher value meant that, in the test tube, that food had stronger antioxidant power.

This was a great idea at the time! Because it was simple and intuitive. Food companies and supplement makers loved it. They'd splash high ORAC values on packaging for blueberries, acai berries, goji berries – these so-called "superfoods" – telling you, "Look, our product has knockout antioxidant fighting power!"

Blueberries became a classic example of a food famous because of its high ORAC value.

Why is it "outdated" now? What's the problem?

As nutritional science advanced, people gradually realized that using ORAC to guide our eating choices was highly problematic. The main issues are:

1. The Lab ≠ Your Body This is the core problem. What happens in a test tube is completely different from what happens after you eat food and it enters your gut. Your body is an incredibly complex system involving digestion, absorption, metabolism, and a series of other processes.

   • Analogy: It's like testing a gun's power on a firing range (high ORAC value), without considering if a soldier will actually use it on a real battlefield, if they have enough ammo, or the conditions of the battlefield. An antioxidant in a food might perform excellently in a test tube, but once inside the human body, it might not get absorbed at all, or be metabolized into something different that doesn't work the same way.

2. Overly Simplistic and Misleading A food's health benefits are multifaceted, extending far beyond just "antioxidant" properties. It also contains fiber, vitamins, minerals, various phytonutrients, and more.

   • Another example: A piece of candy fortified with extremely high levels of vitamin C might have a very high ORAC value, potentially surpassing many vegetables and fruits. But could you say that candy is healthier than an apple with a lower ORAC value? Obviously not. The apple contains dietary fiber, pectin, and other beneficial complex components. Focusing solely on a single ORAC value causes us to overlook the overall value of the whole food.

3. The USDA Officially "Dropped" It This was a decisive event. In 2012, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), which had once maintained an ORAC database, formally withdrew it from their website. Their reasons were:

   • ORAC values have no proven direct correlation with actual antioxidant effects in the human body.
   • The values were subject to commercialized exploitation, misleading consumers.

   When the most authoritative publishing body deems data unreliable and proactively retracts it, it signals the end of its lifecycle as a guide for daily dietary choices.

So, how should we think about "antioxidants" and "superfoods" now?

Don't be discouraged! Pursuing antioxidants and healthy eating is still absolutely the right direction. We just need a more scientific and comprehensive approach, instead of obsessing over a single number.

Here are some more reliable recommendations:

• "Eat the Rainbow" This old adage is more effective than any single metric. Different colored vegetables and fruits indicate they contain different phytonutrients and antioxidants (e.g., lycopene in tomatoes, beta-carotene in carrots, anthocyanins in red cabbage). The more diverse the colors you eat, the broader the spectrum of nutrients you consume. Your body gains a synergistic "antioxidant army," rather than relying on a single "solo champion."

• Focus on the "Whole Food," not a "Single Metric" Choose fresh, unprocessed, or minimally processed "whole foods." A whole orange is far better than a glass of orange-flavored drink fortified with vitamin C. Don't put too much faith in flashy marketing claims on packaging.

• Don't Get Swept Away by Marketing If you see a product, especially an expensive powder or juice, claiming to be the "King of ORAC" or the "Antioxidant Champion," view it with skepticism. This is likely an outdated marketing tactic. Foods in your daily diet like broccoli, onions, green tea, nuts, and whole grains, while their ORAC values might not be "stunning," have proven long-term health benefits supported by countless studies.

In summary:

ORAC value is a measure of antioxidant capacity in a test tube, but because it fails to reflect real effects within the human body and is easily misused, it is now largely "discarded" by mainstream nutritional science. We should no longer base our food choices on it.

The wiser approach is to forget this number and instead pursue dietary diversity. Eat a wide variety of colorful, natural whole foods, embracing their overall nutritional value.