The United Stated Department of Agriculture has put together a list of the 20 foods with the highest concentration of antioxidants.
The USDA's list:
- Small red beans
- Wild blueberries
- Red Kidney beans
- Pinto beans
- Cultivated Blueberries
- Cranberries
- Artichokes
- Blackberries
- Prunes
- Raspberries
- Strawberries
- Red Delicious & Granny Smith apples
- Pecans
- Sweet cherries
- Black plums
- Russet potatoes
- Black beans
- Plums
- Gala apples
- Walnuts
Foods that didn't make the top 20 but are also packed with healthy minerals and antioxidants include avocado, asparagus, broccoli rabe, and - dark chocolate.
There's another measure, called Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC), which determines how foods absorb. Foods high on this list include kale, spinach, Brussels sprouts, beets and many of the same berries that have high TAC.
The perfect food ?
Foods with deep rich colors signify a very strong concentrated dose of antioxidants. And we have studies that show us that berries, in and of themselves, help prevent bladder infections and Alzheimer's, age-related brain decline. Berries have fiber, but the also have vitamins and minerals, and they're low in calories and they're sweet. So they're perfect."Beans, dried or canned, are wonderful. Canned beans are just as nutritious.
One way to get a lot of antioxidants in one sitting is through a delicious salad. People think of salads as lettuce and tomato, but you can make so many interesting salads with so many personalities by mixing all sorts of healthy foods together.
