The role of antioxidants in maintaining good health is scientifically established.
In order to help people understand how much antioxidant intake is beneficial, scientists developed a standard measure of antioxidant potency called the ORAC scale. It is the standard recommended by USDA to measure antioxidant capacity. ORAC stands for “Oxygen Radical Absorbent Capacity”, or, in other words, the strength with which a given substance wipes out free radicals. The higher the ORAC score, the more free radicals that certain substance can destroy.
The antioxidant concentration of a particular substance is measured by the number ORAC units for a particular amount of that substance by its weight, usually expressed as ORAC units per gram.
More active people may have higher antioxidant requirements than inactive people: contrary to popular belief, physical exercise actually increases the amount of free radicals in your body. If you engage in strenuous physical activity such as working out, you should be conscientious about consuming plenty of foods and drinks rich in antioxidants. Those who smoke or drink should also increase their antioxidant intake well above the recommended dose.Testing of Siberian chaga has shown that chaga has the highest ORAC score recorded in any natural food: 1,104 ORAC units per gram. This is more than 6 times as powerful as açaí berries, more than 10 times the antioxidant power of pomegranate and 46 times higher than blueberries. This means that Siberian chaga has far greater capacity to wipe out free radicals in your system.