Saturday, January 17, 2009

Best Foods With Antioxidants

By Dr. Jerimiah Crossderd

A study done by scientist for the USDA to determine foods that contained the highest level of antioxidants found that the acai berry, artichokes, and beans had the highest levels recorded.

The new found discovery that Russet potatoes, pecans, and cinnamon contained high amounts of antioxidants was unknown until this study was done--confrmation was also given that . Antioxidants are important as they are thought to fight cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer's disease.

"The bottom line is the same--eat more fruits and veggies," states Ronald L. Prior, Ph.D., a chemist and nutritionist with the USDA's Arkansas Children's Nutrition Center in Little Rock, Ark., and lead author of the study. "This study confirms that those foods are full of benefits, particularly those with higher levels of antioxidants. Nuts and spices are also good sources."

This is the most comprehensive and complete study ever done on foods with antioxidants as the USDA used high tech equipment and analyzed more foods than in the previous studies. The researchers analyzed over 100 foods like acai berry, fruits, vegetables, spices and nuts.

All foods were measured based off of antioxidant concentration and antioxidant capacity per serving. Russet potatoes,artichokes and beans were the best source of antioxidants in the vegetable category. Acai berries, cranberries, and blueberries were tops for antioxidants in the fruit category--while pecans, walnuts, and hazelnuts were your best source of antioxidants in the nut family.

Spices are normally consumed in tiny increments, yet many are high in antioxidants. In terms of antioxidant concentration, ground cloves, ground cinnamon and oregano were the highest among the spices studied.

This study should prove helpful for people who are looking to add antioxidants to their diet. Please note that the total capacity of antioxidants found in foods does not indicate necessarily the potential health benefit--this depends on how the food is absorbed by the body.

At the moment, there are no government guidelines for people to know many antioxidants to take and what kinds of antioxidants to consume in their daily meals--this is also the case with vitamins and minerals. A major barrier to such guidelines is a lack of consensus among nutrition researchers on uniform antioxidant measurements.

It is encouraged for the time being to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables that have a high concentration of amino acids like acai berry.

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