20 Common Foods With the Most Antioxidants

Antioxidants help defend our bodies from heart disease, cancer, and perhaps even the ravages of age.
 
Although you may know the benefits of incorporating foods rich in antioxidants into your diet, if youre like most you may find yourself hitting a roadblock when it comes to choosing the right foods.
 
To make life and your grocery shopping experience a little easier, we've compiled a list of some of the most antioxidant enriched foods available to you at your local market.
 
Here you go.  Now get HEALTHY!
 
1 Small Red Bean (dried) Half cup 13,727
2 Wild blueberry 1 cup 13,427
3 Red kidney bean (dried) Half cup 13,259
4 Pinto bean Half cup 11,864
5 Blueberry (cultivated) 1 cup 9,019
6 Cranberry 1 cup (whole) 8,983
7 Artichoke (cooked) 1 cup (hearts) 7,904
8 Blackberry 1 cup 7,701
9 Prune Half cup 7,291
10 Raspberry 1 cup 6,058
11 Strawberry 1 cup 5,938
12 Red Delicious apple 1 whole 5,900
13 Granny Smith apple 1 whole 5,381
14 Pecan 1 ounce 5,095
15 Sweet cherry 1 cup 4,873
16 Black plum 1 whole 4,844
17 Russet potato (cooked) 1 whole 4,649
18 Black bean (dried) Half cup 4,181
19 Plum 1 whole 4,118
20 Gala apple 1 whole 3,903
 
USDA chemist Ronald L. Prior says the total antioxidant capacity of the foods does not necessarily reflect their health benefit. Benefits depend on how the food's antioxidants are absorbed and utilized in the body. Still, this chart should help consumers trying to add more antioxidants to their daily diet.
 
SOURCES: The Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 9th edition, June 2004. Ronald L. Prior, PhD, chemist and nutritionist, USDA's Arkansas Children's Nutrition Center in Little Rock, Ark.