The Top 20 Antioxidant Superfoods (and How to Maximize Their Power!)

Want to look younger as you age, keep your cells healthy and help guard against disease? Then fill your plate with superfoods with powerful free-radical fighting ability.

The antioxidant potential of a food to neutralize free radicals is estimated by several techniques including oxygen radical absorbency capacity (ORAC) and total antioxidants capacity (TAC). There are four ways to consume and absorb higher levels of antioxidants:

Eat more fruits and vegetables
Choose fruits and vegetables with higher levels of antioxidants per serving (those higher on the ORAC or TAC scales)
Improve gastrointestinal health to improve your absorption of dietary antioxidants from food (see prebiotics and probiotics)
Consume foods that are organic and processed and prepared in such a way that preserves antioxidant levels

Superfoods: Fight Free Radicals Deliciously

A recent study published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry measured the levels of antioxidants in 100 foods. Here are the top twenty:

Small red bean, 1/2 cup=13,727
Wild blueberry, 1 cup=13,427
Red kidney bean, 1/2 cup=13, 259
Pinto bean, 1/2 cup=11,864
Blueberry, cultivated, 1 cup=9019
Cranberry, 1 cup=8983
Artichoke hearts, 1 cup=7904
Blackberry, 1 cup=7701
Prune, 1/2 cup=7291
Raspberry, 1 cup=6058
Strawberry, 1 cup=5938
Red Delicious apple, 1 medium=5900
Granny Smith apple, 1 medium=5381
Pecans, 1 ounce=5095
Cherries, 1 cup=4783
Black plum, 1 medium=4844
Russet potato, 1 medium=4649
Black beans, 1/2 cup=4181
Plum, 1 medium=4118
Gala apple, 1 medium=3903

Superfoods That Power Up Your Body’s Antioxidant Artillery

In addition to enjoying antioxidant-rich foods that are organically grown, it’s important to fill your plate with foods that stoke your body’s production of your “master antioxidant” – glutathione.