Herbs and Spices For Increased Antioxidant Health

Herbs and spices add not only variety and great taste to your meals they also are the highest source available for antioxidant power. Researchers within the U.S. Department of Agriculture discovered that these plants are an abundant source of antioxidants. This high antioxidant richness of herbs and spices is not well known at the public level yet. For example a gram of cinnamon has an ORAC ranking of 2,675 and cloves are even higher with 1 gram coming in at over 3,200 per gram. Another high ranked spice is oregano with over 2,000 ORAC per gram.

These spice and herb plants are now said to be the highest ORAC ranked foods available. In comparison black choke cherry is just 160 ORAC per gram. Other popular fruits like wild blueberries are on 13,727 per cup which on a per gram basis is not even close in antioxidant power.
There are other spices and herbs that pack an antioxidant punch as well turmeric, garlic, basil and curcumin are just a few. Herbs and spices have emerged as a quick and convenient way for you to get a concentrated source of antioxidants – without all the extra calories of many foods. Not only is it convenient but fast as well. You can put cinnamon on cereal for example in just a few seconds giving you very close to the 5000 ORAC units recommended every day.

To really take advantage of the rich antioxidant activity from spices and herbs you need to find a high quality organic source and consume them fresh and raw. For example, the antioxidant activity of fresh garlic is 1.5 times higher than dry garlic powder.

Another advantage is the health benefits of not only the antioxidant power but all of the other nutrients available in fresh spices and herbs. Research is on going but these plant nutrients have been found to be very helpful in controlling heart disease, atherosclerosis, diabetes, stroke and cancer.
So, add a little seasoning and spice to your life and feel good about the antioxidant benefits they provide you. This is a very simple and fast way to improve your intake of healthful plant nutrients and make your food taste better as well as offer great variety.

In accordance with the FDA these products are not intended to treat, cure, mitigate, or prevent any diseases. Information on this site is given for educational purposes only and is not to replace the advice of your health care professional

Herbs and Spices To Antioxidant Foods