The claimEvidence C · limited
'Superfoods' are antioxidant cure-alls
The evidence
Superfood has no scientific definition; its core basis, a test-tube antioxidant score (ORAC), was withdrawn by the US Department of Agriculture in 2012, and evidence on real human outcomes for any single star food is sparse.
The mechanism, in brief
The antioxidant ranking that propped up superfood marketing was taken down in 2012 by the agency that published it, the US Department of Agriculture, and the reason was direct: the number is measured in a test tube, and antioxidant capacity in a test tube does not predict health outcomes in people.
Sources (2)
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. (2012). Withdrawal of the USDA ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) database for selected foods. ARS stated ORAC values are biologically misleading because in-vitro antioxidant capacity does not predict in-vivo health effects.
- Prior, R. L., Wu, X., & Schaich, K. (2005). Standardized methods for the determination of antioxidant capacity and phenolics in foods and dietary supplements. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 53(10), 4290-4302. Describes the ORAC assay and its in-vitro limitations.